Maine Trip Report

“First, I gotta say that Twigeater did a fantastic job of arranging the hiking. She arranged for those who were from out of state to hike Katahdin, even though she has done it, oh... I don't know how many times. She also arranged for all the reservations, set the itenerary, delivered on great sights to see and points of view, even delivered the moose! The hikes were of such that there was no rush, and yet a full day of hiking. Extremely relaxing, and enjoyable. Twigeater, great job.

Then to all those I hiked with, what a memory. You all were just great to hike with. The time around the campfire at the end of the day were most pleasant. I expected a smoker or two on the trip, as other threads here showed that many TT'ers are smokers. The only smoking any of us did was when the campfire smoke went the wrong way. I HATE RABBITS!!!LOL.

I took a group picture and you can see it at :
http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=viewall&albumID=52481322
I also have a hard time with names, but here is the roll call: Our leader, Twigeater, Cow Patty, Lindy, Artex, Pennsy_Hiker, Fritz, G-Force, Wolfman's Brother, Myself, Uphill Klimber, and Skeetah-bait (formerly known as Slasher75).

On to the trip report: We rolled in well after 8 PM Friday night, and arrived to be greeted by Twigeater and Artex. We broke out the ice cream and somores and set our tent up. The chatter around the fire would make you believe we were all old friends. All of us hit the hay at 10.

Saturday morning, we are all car camping, eating moose sausage, and toasting bagels. We clean up and oput and head for Roaring Brook parking lot. We start out around Sandy Stream pond and get several nice views of Pamola and the mountains around Katahdin. Today would be about a 12 mile hike. Along the way, we would cross several streams ( including one crossing where we would get wet), clamber over boulders and see Grand Falls. They were, as their name implies, grand! We were to get to camp at Russell Pond well before dark, set up and chow. After the hike, we were ready for camp. Lindy and Cow Patty take a tent site, we take another site, far from the group, and the remaining take the shelter.

Personally, I had footwear problems for the first time in years. I had some discomfort on the balls of my feet, and I tried an insole. I had been breaking them in for a month in the concrete jungle, but that's not the trail. Within a couple hours, by the time I noticed it, I had a couple blisters the size of nickels on the backs of my heels, and one had ripped open. I mole skinned them, but the left one was to cause me much discomfort through out the trip. Now you didn't think this would dimish my fun in any way, did you?

Since I hike with Skeetah-bait, and can share the load of a tent with her, I go a little heavy on the food we take in, and we were to eat some hamburgers that night, while many enjoyed chili. Later as we are filtering water out of the pond, the moose moves ever closer to us. There are many opportunities to view this critter! Back at camp, we shared many a hiking story, traded gear info, and basically chummed around the fire.

Sunday morning, after eating and cleaning up, we day pack it into Green Falls. Taking in all the sights along the way. Several of us canoe to Wassatoquoik island and around it. What a peaceful area.... Then we continue onwards to Greene falls. There, Twigeater heads right up the falls, with artex and myself right behind her. Man, it is great to be 18 years old!!!! I can't thinmk of anyplace nicer to eat lunch. I am scrambling all over the falls. The hike back is quick paced as we are only day packing it. We get back to camp at 2, rest and then 8 of the group head to lookout rock. It's a nice walk, but it's cloudy, and the rain that was promised starts to make it's presence felt. We head back to camp and chow, and share more good times around the fire. It does not start to rain proper, until 8 or so. We set a time to leave in the morning, and hit the hay early.

Monday morning, we are rapidly hiking out, almost forgetting the views to be had. But Fritz and I comment that the trip ain't over, just because we are hiking out, and we use up the rest of our pictures on the way out.

At the parking lot, Fritz and Lindy head straight home after hugs and good-byes. The rest of us meet at the Appalachain trail cafe for lunch. After lunch, the waitress asks about desert, and our resident chow hound, Wolfman's Brother, asks for a Rueben for desert ( another ham and cheese sandwich)!!!! Then after dinner we stand out front saying good by and not really wanting it to end... But it still wasn't over. At the rest stop on the highway, we were to meet again and yuk it up!!! But all good things come to an end, and we have to go home...

To all I hiked with, thank you for a most enjoyable weekend!”

“Great trip report!

8)”

“Thanks, Uphill Klimber, for the pictures and the rousing trip report. I had a trip of a lifetime, and I really appreciated you and Skeetah bait and Twigeater taking turns hanging back with me when I was slow-poking it. The views were so awesome that I hope that I can get my family up there to car camp and hike some day. Baxter State Park is truly a special place. I couldn't believe the Katadyn trails. They were for mountain goats not people. But dozens of people scramble up and down them every day.

Twigeater, thank you so much for putting together this trip. It was so perfect. You knew all the good places to go, and the weather and foliage and even the moose cooperated. It was wonderful to have met everyone. Cow Patty was a terrific tent mate and the guys were all like my big brothers or baby brothers. Pennsy was ever present with the camera. I should have brought a halloween wig to wear just for his photos. He is one of the funniest people alive. Wolfman was always willing to eat some extra food so we could lighten our packs. Fritz was quick with the wise cracks and quick on his feet even with his creaky knees. Gforce still won't tell us what his name means, but he really likes to car camp in style. I especially appreciated him firing up his big stove for hot water and Cow Patty's cooking after the first day of hiking when I was a little under the weather. Twigeater was handy with some extra meds and some encouragement. Artex is just a human hiking machine. He and Uphill were the monkey boys, climbing all the big glacier boulders that lay here and there. One was the size of a navy destroyer. It was a super group of good people that I really want to hike with again.”

“Lyndy-

I couldn't view the album. Webshots is giving me an error message that says something about not being the owner of the album.”

“I did a search on LyndyS on Webshots and came up with a couple of photos, but they are from the Delaware Water Gap - July 2002.

The Gang at Mt Minsi parking area

LyndyS”

“you guys went to Maine?






HA! ;-)
those are excellent pictures.”

“Nice trip report. Glad to see everyone had a great time. Thanks for sharing.”

“Thanks, Fritz!

Great pictures Uphill.”

“Im so glad you guys had a great time. great pics. The colors are awsome. Im glad it didnt rain to much. I was thinking about how cold it was over the weekend. did it get real cold for all? Im glad you got to see a moose and it didnt go looking for a mate! hahaha im glad you got to go on the water, I bet that was so pretty!”

“You guys ain't seen nothin yet. There are a lot more pics to come. It was a most memorable trip for me. Everything went perfect. Knife Edge was not what I expected. 8-10 foot hallway corridor? yea right. Someone left out the climbing as well as the coordination, dexterity, and balance it took to get across. Thanks to everyone for sharing their food and companionship with me. Everytime I meet someone new from trail talk I am blown away by their kindness and generosity. I got home around 1am and I'm at work this morning. Fritz and Lindy - how was your trip home and what time did you get in? great pics Uphill. Big ups to Twigeater for organizing the trip and the moose stew, sausage, and jerky. I highly recommend Baxter State Park for all those considering a trip there.”

“OKAY PEOPLE --

FOr those of us living vicariously . .

1) I need a moose head count

2) Blow by blow of the trip up to Baxter Peak, across the knife edge and Chimney, and down Pamola (or the reverse, whichever way works)”

“Artex's Pics I

Artex's Pics II

This trip kicked major arse!!!

Wolfman's Brother and I left Wednesday night, crashed at a rest stop in New Hampshire, woke up and drove the rest of the way to Baxter. A few miles from the park in East Millonocket, we saw some hunters weighing in a 650 lb. moose they shot. Sweet!! I knew I was truly in the country now and this got me pumped up for the adventures ahead.

We arrived at our Avalanche Field campsite around 1pm and Pennsy Hiker got there a short time later. We ran into Twigeater shortly thereafter and we all hiked up to Sandy Stream Pond. Sure enough, a female moose was there, chomping away at some aquatic vegetation! It was so cool! Shortly after, her baby calf showed up and we watched the two walk around the lake. We headed back, and almost everyone else trickled in that night and the next morning.

The next morning, we climbed to Baxter Peak, the tallest point on Katahdin (5267'). Pennsy Hiker, Wolfman's Brother, Fritz and I chose to go up the Helen Thomas Trail, then the Knife Edge trail, to get there. Along the way, a HUGE moose and her calf were right in the middle of the trail, blocking our path!! After a few minutes, we were able to get by. It was awesome!!!

In time, we got above treeeline and reached the almight Knife Edge trail. Knife Edge is SKEEEEEERY! Very technical, steep, jagged, and of course, FUN!! The pics just can't do it justice. One wrong step and you're dead though, no exagerration. Some parts are wider than others, but along several stretches you have about a foot, maybe two, of room on either side of steep ledges which shoot down thousands of feet. It was AWESOME walking along it and looking down on either side into the abyss below. And, the Knife Edge is more than a mile and a half long!!!!!! It's one thing to hike a section of trail like this for a few hundred feet.. but for that distance, it's just INSANE! The Knife Edge trail also started off with a section known as Chimney Notch. It's nuts!!!! Vertical to near-vertical climbing down about 75 feet(?) of very scary rocky face and back up to continue the trail. Check it out in my pics, it's nuts!! So from there the trail continues along as I previously described. It was great!! I used to get vertigo at times, and was very happy I didn't get it along this trail. I wasn't sure how I'd do, and was very happy to only experience pure, sweet adrenaline... and lot's of it!

We reached Baxter Peak, the tallest point in Maine at 5267'. Gforce and Cow Pattie arrived at the summit via a different route not too long afterwards.

That night, I cooked up my celebratory steak for dinner and the beer flowed like wine, as did the wine. Uphill Klimber and Skeetah Bait (formerly Slasher) arrived shortly thereafter and we all just hung out around fire, recapping the days events and enjoying each other's company. The night was clear, and I opted to sleep under the stars, which were bright and vivid. I slept very soundly that night, and woke up refreshed and ready for the day's hike into our next camp spot at Rusell Pond.

The hike in to Rusell Pond was very scenic and absolutely beautiful!!! We checked out Grand Falls and Ledge Falls along the way, which were very cool. We arrived at Russell Pond and I was greeted by another moose and her calf! It was awesome!!!!

The next day we dayhiked up to Wassatquoik Lake and did some canoeing, and checked out Green Falls, which were also very cool. I'll let the pics speak for themselves, it was just absolutely beautiful. That night, back at Russell Pond, I watched beavers swimming and playing in the water and we saw another moose eating plants in the pond. Totally unbelievable.

The next day we hiked out and those that didn't have to hurry back ate lunch in nearby Millenocket.

I can't thank Twigeater enough for arranging this trip. One couldn't ask for a better hostess!! Her knowledge and experience in Baxter State Park was most impressive. Twigeater, you also make some mean moose jerky and moose sausage! Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much for everything. This has been the most memorable backpacking trip for me so far. I had such a great time and I'm still in shock of the challenging and scenic hike along Knife's Edge and all the wildlife and scenary we witnessed. It was just absolutely incredible.

Just as incredible were the people on this trip. Everyone was just turbo-great!! I had hiked with about half the group on this trip before, and I REALLY hope to hike with the others I had met for the first time during this trip again as well. You guys are truly a fantastic group of people who are a lot of fun to hike with, and you enhanced the experience GREATLY! :-)

I can't tell you how badly I want to move up there now!!!! :-)”

“Hey Lee - to answer your other question, I saw a total of 7 moose!”

“Seven LIVE moose, not counting the one's we saw the hunters got to first. :-)”

“Glad to hear those that are home had safe trips.

I keep starting to post, but don’t know where to begin or what to say even. I never expected to meet such a great group of people! I had such a blast this weekend, I hated for it to end. You guys ROCK, lol!

Thanks to everyone for coming to Maine, I know it was a long way for many of you and I hope it was worth it.

My apologies to my lean-to mates (especially poor wolfman’s bro, hehe) for my nasty snoring and any other ruckus I made in the night. :)

Can't wait to hike with you all again!”

“x-cellent pics mr. stinky! the snoring was an absolute pleasure compared to what artex subjected me to on the ride home.”

“WOW! Great pics, and an awsome report. Let me know when you folks will be hiking again this year. I'd like to meet/hike with you soon.

BB”

“I gotta say a few things about twigeater. She is pure gold! A "Venutian Queen," I think she liked that. :)

She did a terrific job of setting up this trip, being our guide and trailmother, and she had never met a single one of us--nine complete strangers!

Also, she is a beautiful and charming woman, a good storyteller with a great smile and infectious laugh.

And, twiggy, the accent I kept teasing you about? I loved that, too. :) You're the best!”

“She is also a hiking machine. The woman just goes, goes, goes....”

“thanks slick! right back at ya!
(do I pay you now or later, lol)

Wolfman, I don't think I've ever seen anyone exit a vehicle quite as fast as you did.”

“Man I have just looked at some of the pictures and they are kick @ss!!!!

You guys and gals must have had a blast out there.

8)”

“Crazy Mike, G-Force says you ROCK!”

“Hey WB, I just got done cleaning out my car. You left some clothes, deodarant, ect. behind. I guess you'll have to go hiking with me again soon so you can retrieve your belongings. Moohahahahaha!”

“You don't pay me ever.

I meant every word.

:)”

“You are too sweet Fritz, all of you are. If my face wasn't already red from windburn, people would wonder about me today...

btw, how's your sunburn?

I just got a box o' grub from campmor today, when and where is the next trip?!”

“Thank you Artex . . .
Not quite as nice as being there . . .but great story, great pictures.

Wolfmans' bro . . .I think I may have been the one that said that the Knife's edge was no narrower than a hallway . . .and if you can walk down an 8 foot wide hallway you should be fine.

Okay . . .strew some boulders in the hallway that narrow the navigable passage down to a few feet in spots, and more boulders under foot, and then tip the hallway to 40- 60 degrees here and there.

So sue me!! :-)”

“That was you, lee? I was trying to remember who had said that.

In my opinion that was a very misleading description of the trail. Perhaps it has been a while since you were there. :)

There was no place to "walk," it was all rock-hopping, and lots of places where you either had to:
(1) walk upright with nothing to lean on, nothing to grab if you lose your balance, and noplace to fall that wouldn't draw blood and break bones, or
(2) drop down to the side of the mountain a little, off trail, so you at least had one side that you could lean on something, or
(3) crawl on your hands and knees.

I did a lot of #2. :)

Also, the chimney (if I am calling it the right name) was of course not walking, it was rock climbing, and ALMOST impractical for the non-experienced climber to do without ropes. Four of us guys--fit and generally very self-confident on the trail--all found it to be a serious adrenaline rush, we all respected the fact that it would be easy to fall there and impossible to get off the mountain unassisted if we did fall.

Overall, it was much harder than I had expected. And the difficulty has little or nothing to do with "fear of heights."

Just my 6 cents (adjusted for inflation.)”

“By the way, lee, I'm not posting my "refutation" for the sake of trying to prove you wrong, I just think it is important for people to know what they are getting into if they decide to tackle that trail.

Peace.”

“Told ya Twig put on a great show! Did ya think of me at all!LOL Yo bear!”

“Sure looks like a GRRRRREAT time, kiddies. I really like the pics! Maine es fantastico!”

“jerbear, actually we did more than think about you, we talked about you! Something about, lessee, stream crossing...speedo...secret photographs....”

“I have to say, that Twigeater was a most gracious hostess!!! And that their IS another Mainer out there with a biggha accent than me!!!LOL No, really, that was a great trip!! I had such a good time with everyone and would love to have another opportunity to do it again.

This makes the third time for me to see a moose up close and personal. Especially Sat. nite when one of them came tromping through our tent site in the middle of the nite. All I could think of was, god, just don't step on me!!! Didn't faze UK though, I woke him to tell him...all he could say was, that's nice and rolled over and went back to sleep. UK couldn't get any closer that he did with the moose that scared me any from the pond earlier that eve, probably the same one.

I think before the next hike, I'll need to work a little more on my endurance to keep up with the youngsters and more experieced hikers. If it makes you feel any better Lindy, I couldn't keep the pace the whole way either, but I was determined not to hold anyone back, so it was a help to me to have someone else to keep pace with.

I have to say Artex you are just about as nuts as UK, climbling the rocks and that big log. I liked that everyone had a good sense of humor too, you guys and gals are pretty funny, the stories that got shared around the campfire was great. Great pics Artex. Hey Wolfman's brother, thanks for helping eating the food we brought in, made our load a little lighter. LOL Can't wait to see how Pennsy Hiker's pics come out. Cow Patty, I like how you took over the job of modeling for Pennsy.

Last, but not least, everyone had some pretty good ideas with my new name, and now I'll wear it with pride.... :)”

“Jerbear, we did hear something about a bare bear...care to elaborate.

Fritz, oh yeah, it does to ME anyway, have a LOT to do with the "fear of heights". Last year when I did the Chimmey Trail, all I could think of was WHEN is this hell gonna ever end? No really, that and this year finially seeing the Knife Edge made me decide that kind of hiking is NOT for me.”

“Skeetah Bait - It was great meeting you and Uphill Klimber as well! :-) I have to say though, your man definitely one-upped in the Monkey Boy department. He was climbing everything he could get his hands on! It was great to hike with another member of the Monkey Boy clan and I can only hope to achieve the spider monkey level that he has mastered so well.”

“Artex, I definately enjoyed the opportunity to clamber around with you. Spider monkey, eh? I like it. LOL!!! You ought to see my son, he's a chip off the ole' block and climbs better than me. Too bad he didn't come, he would have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Actually, I've never done any technical climbing with ropes and what have you. Some day maybe.....”

“Skeetah bait, I am glad that I didn't push myself beyond my limits, because there were so many times that I slipped or tripped and was thanking God that I didn't injure myself. Instead I had a fantastic trip and am even more stoked to be more disciplined in my exercise regimen. I got some more tips today from my girl scout co-leader about running and other exercise. I'm a little bummed that I did all that hiking and lost only 4 lbs. considering I didn't really eat that much. But to see scenery like that is the goal. It was a trip of a lifetime, and just the beginning.

Fritz, Artex and Wolfman, did you guys see the moon out the whole drive home? It was ahead of me the whole time, like a constant companion, even during the bright sunny day. That was where I got too much sun, on the drive home. I had three places where I had to sit in traffic and listen to my CD's. Then I had to endure that I-84. I hate that stretch, all wind-ey and through downtowns. I need to find a different route.”

“Don't worry about your endurance or holding people back. That will improve with time and more hikes. The fact alone that you were out there and carrying a pack is AWESOME! Trying to keep pace with faster people will help your endurance but can also be discouraging. Everyone hikes their own hike.”

“Something tells me you'd pick it up veeeeeery quickly! :-)”

“Lyndy, never did I feel like I was "hanging back" with you, I enjoyed hiking and talking with you very much. With all of you, it was great. So glad you and David Arquette could make it skeetah, nice to finally meet my fellow Maineiacs! ;)

I'm glad we took the Russell Pond trail out since it had so many fun little features lol, plus I got to revisit the scene of my bellyflop. I guess I was hurrying last time as I couldn't really see why I fell before. :)”

“Lyndy, I missed the moon... D'oh! Actually, I think loosing 4 lbs. in 4-5 days is awesome! :-)”

“I loved talking with you Twigeater. You reminded me of a good friend of mine from Virginia that I went to college with. You had a lot of her facial expressions and good sense of humor. What I really want is your hair though. All you single guys, Twigeater has the most beautiful thick blonde hair. Some of us looked like raggamuffins pretty quick, but her hair always looked nice, not coiffed but still great. And somehow her sunglasses stay on top of her head throughout her hiking, like they were attached in some way.”

“Whhoooops --

Sorry to hit a nerve Fritz. I am thrilled that you all did the Knife's edge and did it safely.

It truly is a spectacular trail. In most spots you'd bounce a bit before actually plummeting thousands of feet to your death.

In terms of testing beginning climbing ability the Chimney is somewhat difficult . . but not really close to needing ropes. Yes . .it is vertical, and YES if you fell you would get seriously injured . . .BUT there are clear, logical "steps" and handholds the whole way up and down . . .it ain't like your hanging your butt off a 1000 foot drop with a tiny lip of a hold.

I have done it with 2 packs strapped to my back . . . and my Mother did it for the FIRST time as a 63 year old with no upper body strength . . .

YES it is scary, yes a fall would hurt you, but unless it is wet and slippery, or you just space and throw yourself off, you are fine.

That being said . . .I wouldn't want to roll an ankle and go down on that trail!! I think about those things too . . . "lee (I say to myself) . .if you twist or roll your ankle here . . .YOU ARE DEAD!!!

(of course, I say that to myself running on a busy road too).


Anyhoooooo two other trails you should think twice about:

1) that Catherdral trail up to Baxter Peak from Chimney Pond. Unrelenting steep, a LOT of rock action like the CHimney. Let's put it this way . .when the other trails are still closed because of snow, this one is not . . .because snow can't stick to it (well . . that and bare rock/sun exposure ;)

2) Huntington Ravine on Washington. Also not be done on a wet day. I have never done it; but will get to it someday. My understanding is that is has a couple of sections of steep steep slab rock (that is, WITHOUT the handholds that were easy on the Chimney). I have been on the mountain when folks have taken a header on the steep section . . it was a wet day. Disaster . . major head trauma.

I am NOT trying to refute your refutation . . .the Chimney and KNiefe Edge are truly one of the most adrenaline inspiring hikes inthe Northeast short of a techinal climb. ANything more adreniline inspiring and you WOULD have to be roped in . . that is what makes it sooooo wonderful.

cheers.”

“Lyndy,
Don't kid yourself. 4 lbs. in 4-5 days is A LOT if it's not water weight. Losing weight is something you want to do SLOOOWWWW. Try to walk everyday (or whatever you like to do), increasing the distance weekly or monthly and keep introducing healthier and healthier foods slowly. Cut back on animal products slowly as well if that's a part of your daily intake and eat fish (hopefully you like it - especially salmon or sardines). I'm no expert and as you can see I'm genetically predisposed to not gain weight (so I'm not one to talk) but studying about nutrition and diet is a hobby of mine.”

“Thanks Artex, you're a pal! :)

It feels wierd not to have Gforce, CowPatty and Pennsy on here talking about the trip. Pennsy is still hiking in Acadia Nat'l Park and I think that Gforce and CowPatty should be just now getting home. We'll have to get Gforce and CowPatty to meet us for some centrally located trips, they were great to hike with and party with. I can't wait to see Pennsy's pictures also. He must have taken about 800 pics.”

“DAMN!
Amazing pics, you guys musta had a blast! Wish I coulda made it, that knife edge thingy looked like fun!”

“Wolfman, I appreciate your advice, but if I lose weight any slower, I'll be dead before I get back to the weight I was BK&L (before kids and Lyme). But you are right about nutrition, I have been studying it a lot since I was sick two years ago. I eat pretty healthy now.”

“you're right lee, it really isn't climbing. I have some limited climbing experience (the gunks) and there is nothing like grabbing rock with you're finger tips and toes 100 ft off the ground on what looks to be a flat vertical slab of rock from the ground. I think the danger of injury on the Knife's edge is what's scary. It is easy to twist or break an ankle, arm, wrist, or leg if you're not focused and I have no idea how you'd get out if something like that happened.”

“OK. I’m officially jealous. I want to see just one moose. You guys have them practically tripping over you along with their calves? Some things are not fair. Why-oh-why didn’t I do this trip?”