Trip Report
I was on the east coast for work and planned in a few days of hiking. First up on my list was Mount Katahdin, high point of Maine.
Mount Katahdin is above the treeline and a beautiful peak. In addition to it's popularity for being state highpoint, it is also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The peak is located within Baxter State Park.
Being a popular peak and in a state park, Mount Katahdin has some regulations they enforce. The first is that parking is by permit only and they limit the number of vehicles at the 2 main trailheads. I was able to score a parking permit for $5 2 weeks before my climb. There is also a $14 entry fee into the park (for out-of-staters). Lastly, you are required to carry a flashlight or headlamp.
I left the Portland area at 3:30am heading for the trailhead. My parking permit was void if I arrived after 7:05am. My GPS said the drive would take 3:20 minutes, so I didn't have much time to spare. Around 4:15am it was already getting light... wow!
Turns out the GPS over estimated the drive time and I was through the gate by 6:30am and on the trail by 7am.
I had heard the trails in the northeast were rugged, and within a quarter of a mile of hiking, the Chimney Pond trail was proving that. My goal was to reach the ranger cabin near the pond in 1 hour and 30 minutes, so I kept a quick pace. I arrived just shy of that time, but took an extended break to get things dried out after a sweaty start to the day.
From the ranger cabin, I chose the "easiest" route to the top, the Saddle Trail. Off I headed up the trail, expecting a good trail. Almost immediately, I found the trail to be quite rough and rocky. Eventually you reach the Saddle Slide section which is class 2 and 3 scrambling over large boulders. This leads you to the saddle between Mt Katahdin and Hamlin Peak.
From the saddle, it was another mile. It was also about this time that some clouds came in and it even sprinkled a bit.
Soon I was on the summit and enjoying the views that came and went as the clouds moved in and out. After some pictures, I set off for the knife edge.
I hadn't really thought about what way to descend, but something came over me on the summit and I just headed down that route.
The knife edge wasn't bad at all at the beginning. Where it was narrow, the exposure wasn't bad. Where the exposure was bad, the climbing was easy. I made good time on the knife edge, passing quite a few people.
Then a quick shower moved through. I kept thinking to myself "dude, every guide book and sign says to not be on this route in inclement weather". The wet rock didn't make it too treacherous though, except in the section coming down off of Chimney Peak where the footing was somewhat slick and a line of climbers had backed up as people were slow moving down this 50 foot section. Soon enough, I was off the knife edge and on top of Pamola Peak.
The Helon Taylor trail wasn't much better (a dry stream bed basically), but after dropping over 3000 feet I could eventually hear the roar from Roaring Brook and then joined the Chimney Pond trail for the final .2 miles to the trailhead.
Despite the sore feet and poor trails, Katahdin was a great experience and Maine is a gorgeous state.
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