A friend had Katahdin on her "list" of mountains to climb this year so I agreed to set up a quick run over to Millinocket this summer to make it happen. Our schedules lined up for last Friday July 2nd, so as an experiment I tried out the day use parking reservation system and booked a parking space at Katahdin Stream Campground.
We drove over from the Whites via RT 2 and I95 using the various shortcuts along the way to get it down to about a 3 hour 30 minute drive. If you are going this direction, its worth checking out the bypasses around the Rumford, Farmington and the cut over to I95 in Norridgewock as they do save substantial time especially with summer traffic in full swing.
Arriving in Millinocket around supper time we had a chance to check out the Pelletier Brothers Logging Restaurant and Bar as well as show my friend the entrance to the "fabled" Golden Road (for those not familiar there is a cable show on American Loggers that feature logging in the area by the Pelletiers). Our impression of the restaurant is that its a great facility but getting things coordinated is a work in progress. Our food was good, but it did take awhile and the staff, although enthusiastic, is still trying to get everything functioning seamlessly. While we were there the two brothers who run the logging operation were there and were willing to sign autographs and have pictures taken. In general, I expect this amount of attention is not something they ever expected. I do like that they built the restaurant in downtown Millinocket, as it will draw more business to an area in sore need of any help it can get.
We stayed overnight at Katahdin Cabins out on the Medway road. This was very basic accomodations, bascially an old tourist court with somewhat updated cabins (despite the fancy website).
In the AM we drove from Millinocket and arrived at the BSP gate at around 6:45 AM and waited in line behind one car. After paying the road feed (now $14 dollars) we drove to the trailhead at the Katahdin Stream and were the second car there. After getting geared up we headed up the Hunt Trail. Surprisingly there were no bugs with the exception of deer flies.
The hike up to the begining of the boulders was uneventful, although we did appreciate the new extensive stone steps past the crossing of the stream. The Gateway and the boulder fields (complete with the infamous Iron Bars) were fun as usual (although my friend who isnt really into bouldering or heights would rate them less then "fun"). Along the way we met Nelson Daigle, a local who has climbed the mountain over 300 times (he was on his seventh climb this year). He volunteers in the park and climbs the local mountains, but isnt interested in driving any distance to go climb elsewhere (including the whites). At 71 he still sets a good pace.
The walk across the plateau and up to the summit was uneventful but a bit windy. The top as usual was quite busy with groups coming from all directions. After hanging out at the summit for awhile, we headed back down Hunt Trail and made a very slow descent down the boulders and then down to the parking lot.
For those who think that the Hunt Trail has to be "easy" as it is the Appalachian Trail, be aware that some folks with fear of heights or used to well graded trails will find it challenging neverthess. For comparison, in the whites, it would be close to the Castle Ridge trail or the lower section of the Caps Ridge trail for exposure, although some of the scrambles up and over boulders are more difficult than either. For those who dont like exposure, the Saddle Trail from the east side is about the only option, although there is a short section of the trail which is a loose slide to balance out the lack of exposure. There are several locatons on the Hunt Trail that require upper body strength to pull yourself up and over a boulder. As my friend noted, there are also many opportunities to wear out a pait of shorts sliding down rocks.
Some very unscientific observations on the parking pass system. When we checked on Thursday night there were very few reservations shown on the website for Friday (or the rest of the weekend). While driving out of the park past Abol, the lot was marked "Full" which indicated that at least one lot was filled with day hikers who didnt reserve in advance. I didnt see a lot of traffic on the Hunt trail or the Abol trail so I expect the majority of folks came over from the east side of the mountain. Givien these observations, I suspect that there are still a lot of hikers who arent aware or are not using the reservation system, therefore someone planning to come up on a weekend, is probably going to be able to grab a slot a day or two in advance and save the 4:30 AM wait at the gate. Of course Labor day weekend will be the big test, but I will leave that up to others to check. The ranger at the gate did mention that an upgrade for next year is to incorporate the option to pay the road fee from out of state vehicles when the parking pass is reserved.
We drove over from the Whites via RT 2 and I95 using the various shortcuts along the way to get it down to about a 3 hour 30 minute drive. If you are going this direction, its worth checking out the bypasses around the Rumford, Farmington and the cut over to I95 in Norridgewock as they do save substantial time especially with summer traffic in full swing.
Arriving in Millinocket around supper time we had a chance to check out the Pelletier Brothers Logging Restaurant and Bar as well as show my friend the entrance to the "fabled" Golden Road (for those not familiar there is a cable show on American Loggers that feature logging in the area by the Pelletiers). Our impression of the restaurant is that its a great facility but getting things coordinated is a work in progress. Our food was good, but it did take awhile and the staff, although enthusiastic, is still trying to get everything functioning seamlessly. While we were there the two brothers who run the logging operation were there and were willing to sign autographs and have pictures taken. In general, I expect this amount of attention is not something they ever expected. I do like that they built the restaurant in downtown Millinocket, as it will draw more business to an area in sore need of any help it can get.
We stayed overnight at Katahdin Cabins out on the Medway road. This was very basic accomodations, bascially an old tourist court with somewhat updated cabins (despite the fancy website).
In the AM we drove from Millinocket and arrived at the BSP gate at around 6:45 AM and waited in line behind one car. After paying the road feed (now $14 dollars) we drove to the trailhead at the Katahdin Stream and were the second car there. After getting geared up we headed up the Hunt Trail. Surprisingly there were no bugs with the exception of deer flies.
The hike up to the begining of the boulders was uneventful, although we did appreciate the new extensive stone steps past the crossing of the stream. The Gateway and the boulder fields (complete with the infamous Iron Bars) were fun as usual (although my friend who isnt really into bouldering or heights would rate them less then "fun"). Along the way we met Nelson Daigle, a local who has climbed the mountain over 300 times (he was on his seventh climb this year). He volunteers in the park and climbs the local mountains, but isnt interested in driving any distance to go climb elsewhere (including the whites). At 71 he still sets a good pace.
The walk across the plateau and up to the summit was uneventful but a bit windy. The top as usual was quite busy with groups coming from all directions. After hanging out at the summit for awhile, we headed back down Hunt Trail and made a very slow descent down the boulders and then down to the parking lot.
For those who think that the Hunt Trail has to be "easy" as it is the Appalachian Trail, be aware that some folks with fear of heights or used to well graded trails will find it challenging neverthess. For comparison, in the whites, it would be close to the Castle Ridge trail or the lower section of the Caps Ridge trail for exposure, although some of the scrambles up and over boulders are more difficult than either. For those who dont like exposure, the Saddle Trail from the east side is about the only option, although there is a short section of the trail which is a loose slide to balance out the lack of exposure. There are several locatons on the Hunt Trail that require upper body strength to pull yourself up and over a boulder. As my friend noted, there are also many opportunities to wear out a pait of shorts sliding down rocks.
Some very unscientific observations on the parking pass system. When we checked on Thursday night there were very few reservations shown on the website for Friday (or the rest of the weekend). While driving out of the park past Abol, the lot was marked "Full" which indicated that at least one lot was filled with day hikers who didnt reserve in advance. I didnt see a lot of traffic on the Hunt trail or the Abol trail so I expect the majority of folks came over from the east side of the mountain. Givien these observations, I suspect that there are still a lot of hikers who arent aware or are not using the reservation system, therefore someone planning to come up on a weekend, is probably going to be able to grab a slot a day or two in advance and save the 4:30 AM wait at the gate. Of course Labor day weekend will be the big test, but I will leave that up to others to check. The ranger at the gate did mention that an upgrade for next year is to incorporate the option to pay the road fee from out of state vehicles when the parking pass is reserved.
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