South Turner Mtn (3,110 ft) 7-31-17

Distance: 4.51 mi.
Elevation: 1,633 ft (overall) 1,699 ft (total)
Time: 2:09 (Summit) 3:22 (Total)
Trails: Sandy Stream Pond Trail, South Turner Mtn Trail, Sandy Stream Pond Trail

For the last day of this Baxter State Park trip I wanted to hike South Turner Mountain so that I could get some good views of Katahdin. Since I was starting from the Roaring Brook trail head, I still had to get an early start to guarantee a parking space. With that accomplished, I think I was on the trail around 7am. I also hoped the early start would help my chances of seeing a moose at Sandy Stream Pond.

The mostly flat 0.3 miles to Sandy Stream Pond went quick and easy. When I got to the first lookout on the pond, I was greeted by....... ducks. Some of the ducks were swimming, some were still sleeping. Oh well, time to keep hiking. After the pond, the trail stays flat for a little while before coming to some large rocks that make up the trail. After these rocks, there are more small ones that make up the trail.

Oh boy, ducks

Soon, the trail starts to climb. The climbing doesn't stop until you reach the top. For what seems like a small peak, it's still a bit of a strenuous hike to get to the top. There really isn't anything overly difficult about the trail, no scrambles or anything like that until the top. It's just a steady uphill climb with smaller rocks making up much of the route. There is a spring closer to treeline, but I didn't head down to it. It sounded like the brook in that area was running today though.

Rocky section of trail

Steady climbing

As soon as you come out of the trees shortly before the summit, you can see that the last bit of trail to the summit is the hardest. It starts off with lose rocks and gravel and gradually turns into larger and larger rocks to climb over. It's also a bit steeper than the rest of the climb. Once you are on top though, the views make it all worth it.

Last stretch to the summit

Katahdin from the summit

I had very few clouds (even with a chance or rain for the afternoon) and just a little bit of breeze. I also got the summit to myself for quite a while before a family of hikers made their way to the top. We sat and talked for quite a while, all enjoying the great views in all directions.

View to the north

Sandy Stream Pond

On the way down, I made good time down to the pond. I headed out onto the platform at the third lookout to see if there was any wildlife out near the other lookouts. I was surprised to see a cow moose looking at me from about 30-40 feet away. I tried to duck behind the bushes and get my camera out, but about the time I pulled the camera bag out of my hiking pack, she decided she had had enough and started walking away. I made my way quickly to the big rock lookout, but the couple there said the moose headed off into the woods rather than up the shoreline. Oh well, no pictures of her, but at least I got to see her. I spent a fair amount of time sitting on the rock before heading back to my truck and then Togue Pond for a nice swim.br>

View from the big rock

South Turner from Sandy Stream Pond

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Doubletop Mtn (3,489 ft) 7-30-17

Distance: 7.83 mi.
Elevation: 2,204 ft (overall) 2,738 ft (total)
Time: 2:44 (North Peak) 2:52 (South Peak) 3:07 (North Peak) 4:57 (Total)
Trails: Doubletop Mtn Trail

On my last visit to Baxter State Park, I had asked rangers what their favorite hikes in the park were. Multiple rangers said Doubletop was their favorite. Adding that to the fact that I liked the look of the mountain as soon as I saw it, and this hike become the second hike that I really wanted to get done during this trip to the park. After resting yesterday, I was ready to tackle the hike on a day that looked like it was going to have perfect weather.

The trail starts at Nesowadnehunk Campground and is easy to find past the ranger station. It turns left heading past some campsites and then further into the woods. It good footing (except a couple muddy spots) with a gradual incline almost all the way until it nears Doubletop Brook. As you near the brook, the trail starts downhill gradually, then steeply just before the brook.

Early section of trail

Doubletop Brook

After the brook is where the real climb begins. For most of the remaining distance to the summit, the trail heads steeply uphill. It's a mix of good footing, eroded sections with small rocks and roots exposed, and big rocks that you must climb up and over. The only real break comes about a mile before the summit where there is a nice section of nearly level trail. In this section, you'll even see a sign next to the trail letting you know there is a mile to go. My only real guess as to why this sign is here is because some people might think they are at the high spot and turn around without actually reaching the summit. It's the only time I can think of seeing a sign giving distance that wasn't at an intersection or trail head.

Steep rocky section of trail

One mile before the summit

On the map, this trail doesn't look as steep as it actually seems. But since I had all day to get this hike done, I kept hiking along and in the end it didn't seem that bad. The trail is certainly more rugged than I expected, but it was still an enjoyable hike going up.

The north peak (highest of the two) has nice views, especially of the bigger peaks in the park. But after a short rest here, I wanted to head across the ridge to the south peak. It's only 0.2 miles with very little elevation change. It's an interesting piece of trail as it mostly follows the ridge. It goes around some very large rocks and over some others. It's both in the trees and exposed in some places. There is one spot just before the south peak though where the trail is a bit narrow and goes over the rocks at the top of the ridge with no protection from the steep drop and hillside next to it. If you are bothered by heights, this spot could be a bit unnerving.

View from the north peak

South peak from the north peak

The south peak however has tremendous views in all directions. There was lots to look at today since there were very view clouds. Plenty of mountains and lakes around. The view back up the ridge is interesting as well. After a nice long break here, I headed back to the north peak where I took another break and some more pictures. On the way back to the north peak I also noticed a plaque that I had missed in the other direction. The rest of the hike down went as expected. More hikers were starting to make their way up the mountain. Doubletop Brook made for a good place to splash water on my face and head to cool down, but I was really looking forward to swimming in the river at Ledge Falls instead.

View west from the south peak

Looking at the north peak through a crystal ball

Plaque on one of the large rocks along the ridge

Looking over towards the Brothers

Route for the day

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Abol Falls 7-29-17

Distance: 1.61 mi.
Elevation: 247 ft (overall) 299 ft (total)
Time: 0:20 (Falls) 0:40 (Total)
Trails: Little Abol Falls Trail

After yesterday's long hike,I decided today should be a bit of a rest day, hiking something shorter so my legs could recover a bit. Since I'm camping in a lean-to at the Abol Campground, a hike out to Abol Falls seemed like a perfect choice.

The trail starts in the campground just past a couple lean-tos. There is one brook crossing and it is at the start of the trail. The trail then turns left and gradually gains a little bit of elevation over easy terrain. There are a couple turns in the trail with one left turn in a bit of an open spot where someone might go straight if they aren't paying attention. There was one muddy spot just before the falls as well. All in all, this is a pretty easy hike and would be great for people just getting into hiking or families with younger children.

The falls themselves are about 12-15 feet high in a single cascade. There are rocks you can sit on at the top, or a path leads down towards the base so you can see the whole falls. It's a nice little spot for some relaxation. My only complaint was that I went at the wrong time of day for my photos to come out how I wanted them. The sun was shining directly on the falls and everything around them was in the shade.

Abol Falls from the side

Abol Falls from a rock in the stream

Base of the falls

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

North Brother (4,151 ft), Fort Mtn (3,867 ft), South Brother (3,970 ft) & Mt. Coe (3,795 ft) 7-28-17

Distance: 13.0 mi.
Elevation: 2,965 ft (overall) 5,029 ft (total)
Time: 3:28 (North Brother) 4:16 (Fort Mtn) 5:17 (North Brother) 6:35 (South Brother) 7:50 (Mt. Coe) 9:28 (Total)
Trails: Marston Trail, Bushwhack, Marston Trail, Mt Coe Trail, Marston Trail

Having hiked North Brother before, I needed the other three peaks today for my New England Hundred Highest list. Until Last night, I was thinking I would do today's loop counterclockwise, going up the Coe Slide. But with rain last night, I didn't want to try that if it was too wet. Having been to North Brother before, I also knew what I was in for if I went clockwise instead. This would also have the added benefit of getting the bushwhack done earlier, instead of waiting until I was more tired. Having a few days in Baxter State Park as well, if the bushwhack didn't go as planned, I could also more easily split this hike into two hikes if I stopped after North Brother and Fort Mountain.

Early section of trail

Either direction, you still have to take the Marston Trail at the start. It starts out pretty flat, then gradually gets steeper. It stays at a pretty good incline until a little before the lower junction with the Mt Coe Trail where it flattens back out some. I turned left at the junction and headed towards Teardrop Pond. The hike to the pond goes by pretty quickly and is similar to what you have come up so far, but with some wet sections with rocks to step across.

Teardrop Pond with clouds above the ridge

The pond is small, but an interesting little spot. There is a short path that leads out to a big rock on the shore you can stand on and look up at the ridge between this hikes peaks. After the pond, the trail works its way up the ridge line next to the pond. An early section of trail was relocated to avoid a steep eroded section, but after that the trail again stays steep with some roots and rocks exposed. At the top of the climb though the trail levels out and is quite nice. It goes up for a bit more before then coming downhill some to the upper intersection with the Mt Coe Trail.

Above Teardrop Pond

The trail from here to North Brother starts flat, but steepens as it goes. There was some running water and plenty of wet rocks on the way up thanks to last night's rain. As you keep going, the trail gets very eroded and becomes a bit of a trench with large rocks and roots to climb up and over. Eventually though, you start to come out of the trees and only have a few small scrambles to negotiate before the summit.

Eroded section of trail

View from North Brother

The bushwhack out to Fort Mountain starts with a few small cairns that are easy to spot near the summit of North Brother. Above treeline, the herd path is easy to follow. But as the path enters the trees, the branches get thick and tight, and it is much slower going. You'll need to keep looking down at the ground to make sure you are following the herd path. The trees are thick enough you could lose is pretty easily if you aren't paying attention. Looking down some is also a good idea as there are some hidden drops and holes along the path that would normally be obvious on a standard trail. I actually stepped into one on the return trip.

At the first split in the herd path I took a left, which paralleled the treeline a bit. I had found some GPS tracks to use as reference in case I got off the path and all but one took the left here. As you follow the path, there are more splits you will come to. Most of them seem like they would meet back up either way you went, but I can't say for sure since I didn't try any other options on my way back. Currently there are some pieces of flagging that help you find the way. At almost all of the splits there seemed to be flagging in one direction or the other. This might get taken down in the future, so don't rely on just that to find your way. There was only one short section on the bushwhack that doesn't have you pushing through branches. It was a nice break, but no where near long enough. On the way back from Fort to North Brother, the branches all seem to be facing the wrong direction and it is much harder to push through them as you near North Brother than it was heading to Fort Mtn.

Most of the bushwhack looks similar to this

Fort Mountain summit

Once back down off of North Brother, the trail to the South Brother Spur is pretty nice. The corridor was wide, but the tread way was a bit narrow and eroded in places. The trail doesn't have any steep spots on it and it made for a nice walk that wasn't too difficult. The trail out to South Brother is mostly easy, but does have some large boulders that could be a bit tricky before the summit. The high spot is a large rock above treeline which made for a nice place to sit and rest while taking in the great views.

View from South Brother

Continuing on to Mt Coe, the trails drops in elevation more than I thought it would, but it then follows the side contour of South Brother before gradually climbing up Mt Coe. There is one last semi-steep section just before the summit, but it wasn't that bad even as I was getting tired. The summit are of Mt Coe is small, but again has great views, especially of the Klondike between it and Katahdin.

Ascending Mt. Coe

Looking across The Klondike from Mt Coe

Coming down the slide wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The only tricky spot is right near the top. On the way down, the trail mostly follows the right hand side until it nears the bottom and funnels into a narrow section of slide in the trees. At times it took some looking around to make sure I was following the blazes, but I never felt off trail. What surprised me most is how many rocks and how much loss dirt is on the slide. It is steep enough and smooth enough that it seems like more of that should have made its way down the slide or that is easily could in the future. After the slide, the trail follows the ravine and small brook that leave the bottom of the slide area. You'll cross the brook 4 times with the last one being a short distance from the junction with the Marston Trail. From here out you just follow the same route that you took to start the hike.

Looking down the slide

Looking back up the slide

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Google Earth representation of the hike

Mt. Katahdin, Hamlin Peak (4,756 ft) 10-4-14

Distance: 10.9 mi.
Elevation: 3,229 ft (overall) 3,884 ft (total)
Time: 2:02 (Chimney Pond) 4:14 (Hamlin Peak) 7:23 (Total)
Trails: Chimney Pond Trail, Saddle Trail, Northwest Basin Trail, Hamlin Ridge Trail, North Basin Trail, North Basin Cutoff

This hike was still needed because I wasn't able to get both Baxter Peak and Hamlin Peak in the same hike earlier in the summer. So this meant a second trip to Baxter State Park. This time I stayed at the Abol Campground and hiked up the mountain starting at Roaring Brook. Any early morning drive got me a good parking spot and also helped me get an earlier finish too.

The trail starting out from Roaring Brook is gentle and easy to follow. No hard obstacles or rough terrain. After a couple bridges and following the river a ways, the trail does get more rocky, but it's still pretty easy going. After a little more, you will see a short side path that leads over to Basin Pond. This is a small pond that has very clear water. Today, there was also a beaver swimming around nearby.

Chimney Pond Trail

Basin Pond

After leaving the pond, you'll come to a nice long boardwalk that has been built over a wet area along the trail. After this, you will also be going past the lower end of Dry Pond. Which right now is just a field of large boulders. I can see this being in the drainage area in the spring and having plenty of snow built up in it, but I don't see it becoming much of a pond. Beyond this, you will come to the Chimney Pond campground area. I made a quick stop her at an outhouse and then headed straight to the pond. Like Basin Pond, the water here is super clear. And even though the ridge and summits were in the clouds, being in front of the pond at the bottom of the basin was impressive. Definitely a cool spot to visit. I can see why many people camp here.

Chimney Pond

Upon leaving the pond, I headed up the Saddle Trail. Things started off being a bit steeper and rockier, but not much. After climbing up through the woods some, the trail levels out a bit and you can see the path you need to take up ahead of you. It looks pretty steep. The trail goes a bit further and then you start the climb. While still at least partly in the trees, there are some large rocks to go over and around. Being damp today, they were a bit trickier than normal I suspect. Soon though, you start to come up out of the trees. While steep, this does mean smaller rocks. Footing can can a bit loose in places, but you just need to look ahead. I found staying to the right helped. Shortly before the top, you'll come to a spot that has a large rock face to climb over. If you follow the blazes pretty closely, you'll have a good route.

Coming into the saddle

Climbing up the saddle

The hike from here to the summit is pretty easy. It doesn't get very steep and just follows along the ridge line. There are a couple larger rocks to go over though. One or two spots required paying attention to my footing, by mainly due to the damp conditions. It seems many people consider the summit of Hamlin Peak to be where the sign is, but to me it looked like a cairn just past it was on slightly higher ground. I took a few pictures in the wind and clouds and measured the temperature and wind speeds. 50 degrees and wind gusting to 23 mph. Then it was down the Hamlin Ridge Trail I went.

Hamlin Peak summit

Hamlin Ridge was interesting to come down. I didn't have any views into the North Basin due to the weather and the wind coming in from my right was blowing the clouds right at me and trying to send me towards the steep descent into the basin. This would be a nice trail to come up when I visit again. With the damp conditions and exposure to the wind, this route was tricky in a couple places. There were a couple short and steep descents and walking near edges with good drop offs. With taking care though, everything went well. With being in the clouds, I couldn't see overly far down the trail and it did seem like I was above treeline longer than I would have thought. Maybe this was just because of the careful pace I was taking.

Along Hamlin Ridge

More of Hamlin Ridge

Once back into the woods, it was a pretty quick descent back down to the car. It didn't take long to the get to the North Basin Cutoff, which I was taking because it looked a bit shorter than going back towards Chimney Pond and also because I figured there would be less people. After coming close to Basin Pond again, you'll pop out back onto the Chimney Pond Trail. From here on down it was pretty quick hiking. Near the end I didn't care much about getting wet anymore, even though the rain had mostly stopped. I also knew the conditions would be good all the way back down.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

North Brother (4,151 ft) 9-9-14

Distance: 8.88 mi.
Elevation: 3,088 ft (overall) 3,307 ft (total)
Time: 3:46 (summit) 6:43 (total)
Trails: Marston Trail

For my second full day in Baxter State Park this weekend, my plan was to hike North Brother. I had thought about hiking Mt. Coe, South Brother, and Fort Mtn. as well today, but figured I would play it safe and just enjoy North Brother (the only 4K of the group) after how tiring yesterday was.

The trail head has a nice view looking up Doubletop Mtn on the other side of the river. And as you head out onto the trail, it's pretty easy to start. There is one small stream crossing, but it is very shallow. The trail gradually gets a bit steeper for a while, but not hard. It then levels back out some before hitting the junction with the Mt. Coe Trail.

Early bit of trail

Steep section of trail

From here, the trail works gradually up to a small pond. After going around the pond, the trail then turns to head straight up onto the ridge next to the pond. This was the steepest part of the hike, but there is also a trail reroute in the works here, so that might change. While coming up this section, I saw something dark in the trees ahead of me. I thought it was just a root ball or some other kind of debris in the trees, but then it started to come towards me. It was a small black bear (probably 125-150 lbs). He wasn't running at me, but it was faster than a casual "what's that over there" stroll. I made him aware of my presence and told him he didn't want to come any further down the trail (well I didn't want him to). After a couple pauses and steps closer, he finally went off to the side of the trail and down over the ridge. Normally I'd want to grab a photo of a bear, but when even a small one is about 25 feet away, that isn't your first thought.

I continued up onto the ridge where the trail levels back out again before coming to the upper junction with the Mt. Coe Trail. I turned left and headed up the rest of the Marsten Trail to North Brother. Soon the summit could be seen through the trees. As the trail goes along, it gets steeper and narrower. It could use a good brush trimming, but it is also getting very eroded. From talking with a park ranger, they are looking into the best option about this.

The trail coming up out of the trees

Before too long you start to come up out of the trees though. As you do, there are some large rocks to get up and over or require a hop from one to another, but not many. The trail soon brings you up to the summit. While taking in the beautiful views, I thought about making the bushwhack over to Fort Mtn, but stuck with my initial plan of just one peak today. I'll come back soon and grab all four peaks here to get the three on the New England 100 Highest list as well.

After a nice long time at the summit, it was time to head back down the same route I came up. The hike went well with no bear encounters and soon I was back at my car. The day was nice enough and I had enough time that I explored some of the Tote Road and nearby locations while on the way back to my campsite.

View northeast from the summit

Katahdin from the summit

View of Coe, South Brother, and Doubletop

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE