The events of my Fourth of July Weekend have been weighing on my mind since I departed Baxter State Park on 7/4. Unfortunately, work things have kept me from filing this trip report before now, but with another expedition headed to bushwhack these peaks soon, there’s no better time than now to get this posted.
Prelude: June Plans and Their Demise
Heading into June, it looked like I’d have a quality month of peakbagging. After a four day Memorial Day Weekend in the Whites, the plan was to head to Vermont on the first weekend of the month to do the Worcester peaks and the 3k’s in the vicinity of Groton State Forest. Weekend two was to be an open weekend, and the weekend after that would be spent helping with the Mount Washington Road Race, then devoting that Sunday summiting things in Grafton Notch. For June’s fourth weekend, I still had three days of vacation time to use from the previous year, so this was to be a five day jaunt through northern Vermont, starting that Friday. Once returning to work the following Wednesday, I’d only have to put in three days before heading off to Baxter State Park for Fourth of July Weekend, which would span five days for me. With some other outside commitments I had in July, there would be a better part of a month that would pass before I’d be putting in a full five day work week.
What ended up happening was that once returning from Memorial Day Weekend, rain was predicted for the following weekend, so the open weekend swapped places on the calendar with the first Vermont trip. This proved to be advantageous, since rather than go slogging through the rain, I got to spend an enjoyable weekend with the girlfriend. Then, for the following weekend, while a rainy weather pattern parked over New Hampshire and Maine, I had an enjoyable two days of peakbagging in Vermont. The weekend after that passed according to plan.
Then, for the big trip to Northern Vermont, I originally planned to leave on that Thursday evening, right after work. However, things were so busy that I didn’t get everything wrapped up until early that Saturday morning. My boss was kind enough to let me swap that Friday with the following Wednesday, which proved to be just as well, since I think Saturday ended up being a dryer day than Friday.
As it was, it looked like once I returned from Vermont, I’d only have to work two days before it was time for Fourth of July Weekend. That’s certainly not a bad arrangement. However, once back from Vermont, there was so much work waiting for me that the soonest I could get out the door was late morning on Sunday. Since I’d booked a tentsite for that Saturday night at Baxter, it bothered me a little that this ended up being money that was basically flushed down the toilet. But, it couldn’t be helped, and with the car having already been packed since Friday, I left for Maine right from work.
Originally, when I had five days at my disposal, my plan was to bag North Turner on the first day, where I had some unfinished business from my previous visit (having made an attempt on this peak from South Turner a year ago). Each of the succeeding days would be spent attempting to summit Barren, Mullen, Squaw’s Bosom, and (hopefully, time permitting) East Turner. I thought it might even be a relaxing weekend, since I’d only be conquering one peak a day, then have the remaining daylight to do more relaxing and fun activities. However, by the time I hit the road, Saturday was already shot, and getting in any hiking on that Sunday was also out of the question. I guess on the way up I could have stopped off to hike Passadumkeag or some of Maine’s county highpoints that are within an hour of the highway. However, not knowing when the Togue Pond Gate closed for the night, I didn’t want to risk getting locked out, and drove straight to the park. I must say, it was refreshing to be heading north from Augusta and not be completely exhausted, since usually I’m driving along that patch of road in the dead of night, because usually I’m not able to leave any sooner and I want to make sure I’m at my destination in time to get in a full day of hiking.
As it was, I arrived at Baxter late in the afternoon, and got the tent set up as showers passed through. It turned out to not be the warmest of nights, and the water that was seeping through the floor of my old tent wasn’t helping my attempts to sleep soundly. But, at least I’d finally reached Baxter.
Prelude: June Plans and Their Demise
Heading into June, it looked like I’d have a quality month of peakbagging. After a four day Memorial Day Weekend in the Whites, the plan was to head to Vermont on the first weekend of the month to do the Worcester peaks and the 3k’s in the vicinity of Groton State Forest. Weekend two was to be an open weekend, and the weekend after that would be spent helping with the Mount Washington Road Race, then devoting that Sunday summiting things in Grafton Notch. For June’s fourth weekend, I still had three days of vacation time to use from the previous year, so this was to be a five day jaunt through northern Vermont, starting that Friday. Once returning to work the following Wednesday, I’d only have to put in three days before heading off to Baxter State Park for Fourth of July Weekend, which would span five days for me. With some other outside commitments I had in July, there would be a better part of a month that would pass before I’d be putting in a full five day work week.
What ended up happening was that once returning from Memorial Day Weekend, rain was predicted for the following weekend, so the open weekend swapped places on the calendar with the first Vermont trip. This proved to be advantageous, since rather than go slogging through the rain, I got to spend an enjoyable weekend with the girlfriend. Then, for the following weekend, while a rainy weather pattern parked over New Hampshire and Maine, I had an enjoyable two days of peakbagging in Vermont. The weekend after that passed according to plan.
Then, for the big trip to Northern Vermont, I originally planned to leave on that Thursday evening, right after work. However, things were so busy that I didn’t get everything wrapped up until early that Saturday morning. My boss was kind enough to let me swap that Friday with the following Wednesday, which proved to be just as well, since I think Saturday ended up being a dryer day than Friday.
As it was, it looked like once I returned from Vermont, I’d only have to work two days before it was time for Fourth of July Weekend. That’s certainly not a bad arrangement. However, once back from Vermont, there was so much work waiting for me that the soonest I could get out the door was late morning on Sunday. Since I’d booked a tentsite for that Saturday night at Baxter, it bothered me a little that this ended up being money that was basically flushed down the toilet. But, it couldn’t be helped, and with the car having already been packed since Friday, I left for Maine right from work.
Originally, when I had five days at my disposal, my plan was to bag North Turner on the first day, where I had some unfinished business from my previous visit (having made an attempt on this peak from South Turner a year ago). Each of the succeeding days would be spent attempting to summit Barren, Mullen, Squaw’s Bosom, and (hopefully, time permitting) East Turner. I thought it might even be a relaxing weekend, since I’d only be conquering one peak a day, then have the remaining daylight to do more relaxing and fun activities. However, by the time I hit the road, Saturday was already shot, and getting in any hiking on that Sunday was also out of the question. I guess on the way up I could have stopped off to hike Passadumkeag or some of Maine’s county highpoints that are within an hour of the highway. However, not knowing when the Togue Pond Gate closed for the night, I didn’t want to risk getting locked out, and drove straight to the park. I must say, it was refreshing to be heading north from Augusta and not be completely exhausted, since usually I’m driving along that patch of road in the dead of night, because usually I’m not able to leave any sooner and I want to make sure I’m at my destination in time to get in a full day of hiking.
As it was, I arrived at Baxter late in the afternoon, and got the tent set up as showers passed through. It turned out to not be the warmest of nights, and the water that was seeping through the floor of my old tent wasn’t helping my attempts to sleep soundly. But, at least I’d finally reached Baxter.