Baxter State Park
At noon on Friday, I headed out to Baxter state park in order to make the 5PM hiking cut-off from Roaring Brook to Chimney Pond. It's about a 3.5 hr drive from my place, and we made good time. By 3:45PM we were at the Togue Pond visitors center. The above picture was taken out back along Togue Pond looking out on Katahdin.
By the time we got to Roaring Brook and got our gear on, it was 4:15PM. Not bad for a 5PM cut-off, except that the cut-off had been moved back to 4PM. Fortunately, the ranger let us go after we assured him we had headlamps.
The hike up to Chimney Pond from Roaring Brook is 3.3 miles and takes about 2.5 hours. We did it in about two. It was a great warm up after so many hours sitting in the car. We are currently in the middle of a warm and humid air mass. Not quite the crisp fall air I was looking forward to, but I had hopes that the rain would stay to our south.
[image error]About half way up the trail we reached halfway rock. Some twenty feet beyond it, there is a great view point off to the right of the trail. We stopped for a few pictures and to catch our breath.
The fall colors are starting to ramp up with lots of reds, yellows, and oranges peaking through. From the view point, we had a great view of Katahdin. A little further up the trail, there is a basin said to be popular with moose. We didn't see any, but did come across their calling cards (moose piles).
Despite the elevation, there is a substantial bog. A series of strategically placed logs and impressive boardwalks keep the feet dry.
Before long the trail leveled off and we came to the clearing at Chimney Pond. It's a popular base camp for those going up Katahdin in more than one day.
That was our plan. We were staying the night at the bunkhouse with the intent of starting off the next morning after an early breakfast to climb the Cathedral trail, over the Knife Edge, and finally back along the Helon Taylor trail to Roaring Brook.
Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. We awoke to the sound of rain. Once the ranger posted the weather forecast of 100% rain, we knew climbing Katahdin would have to wait for another weekend. After a leisure breakfast and hanging around the bunkhouse, we made our way back down the Chimney Pond trail. It continued to rain/drizzle all the way back.
[image error]While we passed several people on their way up, the lack of view and slippery rocks were enough to postpone our ascent. The ranger's forecast summed it up perfectly.
"Rock + lichen + rain = Fall"[image error]
The summit can wait for a sunny day. I will add that if you have a chance to stay in a bunk house that it is well worth it. For only $11 per person, we ended up with the 10 person bunk house all to ourselves.
Next year, Katahdin. Next year.
