SteveHiker
New member
East Baldpate (8/23/08) #100 in New England
Baldpate. I'd been here before. On November 12, 2005 to be exact. Amicus, Alpinista, AMSTony and I made an attempt on that day. Stymied by an abundance of fresh blowdowns, deep snowdrifts in the col, and ice on the ledges of East Baldpate, all coupled with our lack of the right gear to deal with all these situations, caused us to turn around. It was frustrating and a little demoralizing but we knew it was the right thing to do. I still had almost 2 dozen peaks remaining on the list that I never expected to finish anyway so I quickly got over it. Two days later things got really busy at work and I ended up working every day from then until Christmas Eve, thus effectively ending my hiking season. Later that winter I decided that if I ever did finish the list that I'd save this little stinker for last.
It turned out to be a good choice for last. For starters, there's a real trail to the top. The AT even. It also features a wide open summit with 360 views. It isn't the shortest drive to get to, at least from where I live, but there are further ones. Unfortunately, Amicus and Alpinista couldn't join me on the return trip, but AMSTony made it. Also making the trip was Christa, getawaygrl, Trail Trotter, bobandgeri and Mainiac who we first met in the parking lot. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and it was a little on the warm side as we crossed Route 26 around 9:30. We decided to head up to Table Rock first. Some in the group had been that way, but most hadn't. It was a rather steep climb to start out with. There was one slight mishap along the way. How 6 people managed to walk past that bright orange arrow I don't know (because I was one of them). Eventually we topped out on Table Rock and took a break. After taking in the views and playing with the resident chipmunk we headed out. The trail back to the AT was much mellower than the climb up. The AT itself was too, until we passed the Lean-to. From here it got steep and the group spread out a bit. We all reconvened just past the summit of West Baldpate and took another break and broke out the chocolate chip cookies that Christa had baked the day before.
By this point it had gotten pretty warm. Tony and I took the lead down into and across the col, trying to remember where it was that we turned around. When we got to the short ladder, we immediately recognized it. From this point on, it would be new territory for both of us. Unfortunately, 5 or 6 steps into this new territory, I rammed the top of my head into a sharp tree branch that I didn't see. A little further and I found a shady spot to stop. My head was pounding and I felt a little sick to my stomach. I fumbled around my pack looking for something, anything to calm this splitting headache. Well, Advil will have to do. I sat in the shade and contemplated things. Ahead on the ledges were 6 people patiently waiting for me, and probably wondering what the hell I was doing. Christa asked how I was doing. I replied that it didn't matter, I was this close, and I wasn't turning around again. I got to my feet and headed for the ledges. A slight breeze came up, and I felt a lot better. We climbed up to where everyone else was and continued to the summit. It was picture time. And food time. We probably spent an hour on the summit. After six weeks of rainy hikes, it felt good to be in the sun.
On the way back, the short climb up West Baldpate bothered me a little, as the headache started coming back, but once we headed downhill I felt fine. The miles or so from the Lean-to to the upper junction with the Table Rock trail seemed to take forever, then the last mile or so from there seemed like nothing at all. Along the way was a steady stream of uphill thru-hikers. Most had their heads down and were in the zone. One young woman, Peanut, asked if we'd seen her 2 companions. We had not. So we offered her some cookies instead. Somewhere in that long mile, I broke one of my hiking poles. Seems almost poetic that it waited until the 100th to finally give out. Once back at the parking lot, more cookies and some lukewarm beer made us another thru-hiking friend. Lukewarm is good enough if you're thruhiking but we decided to head to Sunday River for some cold ones instead.
Here are pictures from this hike East Baldpate
Now the big question for everyone is, where do I hike next weekend?
Baldpate. I'd been here before. On November 12, 2005 to be exact. Amicus, Alpinista, AMSTony and I made an attempt on that day. Stymied by an abundance of fresh blowdowns, deep snowdrifts in the col, and ice on the ledges of East Baldpate, all coupled with our lack of the right gear to deal with all these situations, caused us to turn around. It was frustrating and a little demoralizing but we knew it was the right thing to do. I still had almost 2 dozen peaks remaining on the list that I never expected to finish anyway so I quickly got over it. Two days later things got really busy at work and I ended up working every day from then until Christmas Eve, thus effectively ending my hiking season. Later that winter I decided that if I ever did finish the list that I'd save this little stinker for last.
It turned out to be a good choice for last. For starters, there's a real trail to the top. The AT even. It also features a wide open summit with 360 views. It isn't the shortest drive to get to, at least from where I live, but there are further ones. Unfortunately, Amicus and Alpinista couldn't join me on the return trip, but AMSTony made it. Also making the trip was Christa, getawaygrl, Trail Trotter, bobandgeri and Mainiac who we first met in the parking lot. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and it was a little on the warm side as we crossed Route 26 around 9:30. We decided to head up to Table Rock first. Some in the group had been that way, but most hadn't. It was a rather steep climb to start out with. There was one slight mishap along the way. How 6 people managed to walk past that bright orange arrow I don't know (because I was one of them). Eventually we topped out on Table Rock and took a break. After taking in the views and playing with the resident chipmunk we headed out. The trail back to the AT was much mellower than the climb up. The AT itself was too, until we passed the Lean-to. From here it got steep and the group spread out a bit. We all reconvened just past the summit of West Baldpate and took another break and broke out the chocolate chip cookies that Christa had baked the day before.
By this point it had gotten pretty warm. Tony and I took the lead down into and across the col, trying to remember where it was that we turned around. When we got to the short ladder, we immediately recognized it. From this point on, it would be new territory for both of us. Unfortunately, 5 or 6 steps into this new territory, I rammed the top of my head into a sharp tree branch that I didn't see. A little further and I found a shady spot to stop. My head was pounding and I felt a little sick to my stomach. I fumbled around my pack looking for something, anything to calm this splitting headache. Well, Advil will have to do. I sat in the shade and contemplated things. Ahead on the ledges were 6 people patiently waiting for me, and probably wondering what the hell I was doing. Christa asked how I was doing. I replied that it didn't matter, I was this close, and I wasn't turning around again. I got to my feet and headed for the ledges. A slight breeze came up, and I felt a lot better. We climbed up to where everyone else was and continued to the summit. It was picture time. And food time. We probably spent an hour on the summit. After six weeks of rainy hikes, it felt good to be in the sun.
On the way back, the short climb up West Baldpate bothered me a little, as the headache started coming back, but once we headed downhill I felt fine. The miles or so from the Lean-to to the upper junction with the Table Rock trail seemed to take forever, then the last mile or so from there seemed like nothing at all. Along the way was a steady stream of uphill thru-hikers. Most had their heads down and were in the zone. One young woman, Peanut, asked if we'd seen her 2 companions. We had not. So we offered her some cookies instead. Somewhere in that long mile, I broke one of my hiking poles. Seems almost poetic that it waited until the 100th to finally give out. Once back at the parking lot, more cookies and some lukewarm beer made us another thru-hiking friend. Lukewarm is good enough if you're thruhiking but we decided to head to Sunday River for some cold ones instead.
Here are pictures from this hike East Baldpate
Now the big question for everyone is, where do I hike next weekend?
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