The HIKE MAINE III Official Trip Report Thread

“"SB and I are home, Skiracer and Sherpa also came out early. Pics and report to follow. You can not believe what a time we had!!!

You'll have to wait for morning...."
monkeyboy
08:04:09 PM
08/16/04
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Unbelievable!!!!
"SB and I headed up to Twigeater's with a very ominous weather report, compliments of a couple hurricanes. We didn't care if we could go or not, we were heading thataway for fun!

When we got to Twigeater's place, she is sweeping the floor in preparation of the gang arriving. Then she tells us that they have closed the trail and that we can not go. Dry Pond is a raging stream, armpit deep for a hundred yards or so. I am so incredulous that she has to tell me again.

Oh well, on with the lobster and clams. Shortly after we arrive, Cap'n Bobo and Lumberzac arrive. Pepsi arrives later with Twigeater's neighbor, Karen. We all have our fill of Lobster and clams. The evening fuzzes out for me as I fall asleep, but there is plenty of good times and, ahem, liqiud refreshment.

In the morning, we are weighing our options, Pepsi is considering the White Mountains, we are slowly moving, and the phone rings!!!! They have opened the trail!!! It is only waist deep and going down!!! On to Dysarts to meet up with everyone else!

Lumberzac has taken it hard from last nights frivolity, but we all eat and head on out. At the park, we load up and head up the trail. Lumberzac has to stop often, and we are all concerned for him. He came all this way, and he may not be able.... We check on him throughout the trip, Pepsi offers to take his pack, but he'd have none of that. He made it up, what a soldier!!! The stream is raging at dry Pond, but all get across dry.

At the lean tos, we find out we are the only ones there and can use the bunkhouse. No skeeters in there, so into the bunkhouse. The persied meteors that Twigeater promised appered. We all take our pads out to the field to enjoy the view. More frivolity for the night, and moose sightings!!!! He munches bushes all over, then beds down in front of the cabin. The moose was to hang around the whole trip. That night, I had to escort my bride to the outhouse. Bullwinkle is out there all the time. I nearly walk into him, half asleep. SB is freaked but I get her to the outhouse. Moosy is unconcerned about us as long as we do not bother him. Get 12 feet from him and he'll bolt.

That night, Pennsy falls out of his top bunk and lands on his butt. He klimbs right back up but is plenty sore after that.

In the morning, after eating, we have to empty the bunkhouse, in case the party who rented it shows up. Lumberzac is better and able to do it!!! Pennsy is sore but plenty able. Twigeater and Skeetah Bait head up the Saddle trail, while the rest of us go up Dudley. At Index Rock, where Pennsy and I decided not to klimb last year, Pepsi goes right up it. It is so easy, once you know how. Pennsy does the jig Twigeater requested on top. We spend a good deal of time there. It seems to be the highlight of the day.

We cross the knife edge, taking in the view all the way. Twigeater and SB are waiting for us at the top. SB is enjoying the view for the first time!!!!

We continue down the tablelands to Hamlim Ridge, which is a bit of a mini Knife edge and head back to Chimney Pond with bugs chasing us.....

We gather at Twigeater's leanto and we all chow on everything. Lumberzac tells us he has never even seen a moose before, and he sees this one up close and personal. It all goes downhill from here!! It doesn't get any better.

That night, the bunkhouse is again available. We take one side and Skiracer and Pennsy (on the bottom bunk) take the other side.

In the morning, After hugs and good byes, Skiracer, Sherpa and we head out, back to reality. We may rejoin the gang at the end of the week.

Pics are uploading right now. Soon, I'll have the address and post it."
monkeyboy
07:23:04 AM
08/17/04
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Pics are up!!!
"http://community.webshots.com/user/uphillklimber2

Some pretty good shots!!!"
monkeyboy
08:54:14 AM
08/17/04
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"monkeyboy's pics"
skiracer
10:50:56 AM
08/17/04
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"What a treat after all the rain on Friday night!!! We were bummin hard, thinkin oh @#$* why now do we have to get a hurricane! But the weather turned out absolutely great!

The "raging" river was an interesting crossing, more for some, than others. :) After gettin to Chimney Pond, when we found out about having the cabin vs. the lean-to, well let's say, I was all over that. Now I really don't mind sleeping in the out- of-doors...but the black flies were all over me! Guess they didn't bother anyone else too much though.

Well, Twigeater and I made it from Chimney Pond up Saddle and over to Baxter Peak in about 2hrs, not bad. We leap frogged with some other girls and a park ranger, but ended up leaving the girls behind about half to three quarters of the way up Saddle. I think this is first time I've made it to the top of the Saddle Trail without being totally exhausted.

When we finailly made it to Baxter Peak the sky clear on one side of the Knife Edge and cloudy on the other. Twigeater and I just took a seat and enjoyed the view watching others reach the top in the different directions. We commented on how each time we've been up there it's been over-cast or cloudy. When the rest of the gang arrived fog rolled over the top. Poor Pennsy...he also commented that every time he arrives it's foggy. We just kinda smerked and said what took you so long, shoulda been here an hour ago.... :) JK Pennsy, there always next year.

Well after a nice long relaxing lunch break, Twigeater and I decided to join the gang for the trip back down via Hamlin Ridge. I had never gone this way, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Well for the most part, it wasn't too bad, there were a few hairy spots for me, but made it and actually enjoyed it. Still owe Skiracer for that comment though....smirk Monkeyboy and I were dragging behind(more like I dragged Monkeyboy behind)when we caught up with the rest after the few hairy spots. He says to me "turn around", so I was thinking that my pants were grimy from siding on my butt, he wanted to "see any brown spots" on my behind. LOL I have to admit it was pretty funny, but you know what they say, payback's a #&%!$...JK We'll see on the next trip who's pulled the wool over on them, eh, eh, eh....

Very enjoyable trip over all. With promises from Twigeater for the Moose sighting, metor showers, good weather, and good company. It was great to meet more TT'ers. BTW, I hope Lumberzac has learned his lesson, unfortuately the hard way. :) Bobo was great fun and company to be with. Pepsi you rock! One heck of a backpacker! Keep it up. It was good to meet Yam, didn't really get much time to talk too much though, maybe next time. Sherpa was always in for a good laught, what a nice guy...carrying all that stuff. Always good to see Pennsy, Skiracer, and Artex. With Artex being closer, probably do more trips together? Well can't wait to hear how the rest of the week went, I'm sure well....too bad we couldn't have stayed, but someone's gotta work sometimes. That always seems to get in the way, gotta find another way. LOL"
monkeyboy
07:57:56 PM
08/17/04
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"It happened again!!! Sigh...just can't walk away from the computer for a minute ;)(JK)....that last post was/is Skeetah bait...I was logged in."
monkeyboy
08:00:56 PM
08/17/04
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"Just got back and have to unpack and get some sleep. Absolutely fantastic trip with fantastic people.

A few quick notes:

Twigeater planned the bestest trip ever. I even got to sleep in the gear room.

Bobo packed in the sunshine.

Monkeyboy forgot to mention his headstand beside Index Rock but I'm sue the pictures will surface. Skeetah bait is a very patient woman and is quite possibly keeping him alive.:)

Pennsy's jinx is broken. We climbed to Baxter Peak via the Cathedral Trail yesterday and had
excellent views.

We accompanied twigeater over the Northwest Basin Trail to Davis Pond, the only trail on Katahdin that she hadn't hiked yet. She has now redlined Katahdin.

Pennsy, Zac and I hiked South Turner this morning on the way out and saw 3 more moose (a mommy and 2 babies) on the way down. Another excellent hike.

Skeetah bait is great, and patient (I guess she has to be)

It's not taking Artex long to get the Florida out of his legs. It was great seeing him again and meeting yam, skiracer, and craig.

Much more later but I must un-pack and sleep."
pepsi
12:55:04 AM
08/18/04
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"I have to agree with pepsi. the folks we have met at these trailtalk trips are some of the greatest we have ever met.

Great people, great fun!!!"
monkeyboy
07:00:49 AM
08/18/04
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Holy Crap!
"I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Great scenary, great buttkicking hiking, and great company. A huge thanks to Twigeater for another outstanding trip.

My quick trip report: Yam's flight got rearranged a bit Friday night. Instead of flying in to Portland, ME, she came into Manchester, NH at a later time. After calling Pennsy to figure out how to get there, I was off and picked her up with no problems.

After picking up Yam the night before, we shoved off the nexty morning around 6:30am. We got to Dysarts near Bangor in plenty of time, and saw Pennsy in the parking lot. A short time later, everyone else arrived, including a very hungover Lumberzac. The poor lad did not look good, and barely touched his homefries. What a waste.

Anyway, we got to Baxter and the weather report called for a 100% chance of rain on Sunday. No worries, at least the trail to our campsite at Chimney Pond was open. As Yam and I were getting ready at the trailhead parking lot, we chatted with a ranger who said the chance of rain was less, and it'd be clear by the morning. Turned out, it never rained at all, aside from a few drops the last night that I never would have noticed had I not gotten up to pee at 2 am.

As the others have said, it was really cool having the bull moose hang around that first night and the days to follow. I'd never seen a bull, only females, so this was a real treat for me.

That night, we slept in the bunkhouse because it was supposed to rain. Pennsy somehow fell out of the third row bunk in the middle of the night. Hearing that and the reactions of others who woke up quicker than I did was a surreal experience, to say the least. He bruised his butt, and no one would massage it for him.

Itinerary for Sunday called for climbing up the Dudley trail, and traversing Knife Edge to the summit of Katahdin. Dudley was very, very steep, and a lot of fun to climb. We "Gollomed" up most of it. The Index Rock was a great. I had always wanted to skirt up it, and was glad to get the chance. Knife Edge was also a blast. Probably the most terrifying 1.1 miles of trail on the East Coast if you have vertigo.

We summited Katahdin and then descended down the Hamlin Ridge trail. That night, more shannagans.

Monday morning, some hiked out. The rest of us split into two groups. Half of us climbed Katahdin again via the Cathedral trail, and the other half went up Saddle. We all met up at the ridge and hiked over towards Dudley pond.

This stretch of trail was amazing. We didn't see anybody on it, and it was downright beautiful. Yam, Bobo, and I decided to wait along there while the others skirted down to the pond.

The Monday night, Yam and I turned in early. We woke up early the next day and hiked out ahead of the others to allow time to get to the airport. We got to Portland in plenty of time, and I showed Yam what little I know of the city.

Notes:

Twigeater - what a hoot! Thanks again for the trip. I'm hoping to plan some trips for next year which will potentially alleviate some work on your end.

Pennsy - You're an animal! I suggest buying a futon for your home. You see, they're lower to the ground.

Skiracer - Glad you're closeby. I know you're busy studying and what not, but let me know when things cool down and we'll plan a trip.

Pepsi - I prefer Diet Coke, but to each their own. I know you also dig the Whites, so let's do a trip soon.

Bobo - You funny! I enjoyed hanging out with you along with the Yamster on the ridge while the others hiked down to Dudley.

Lumberzac - Glad youth prevailed and the hangover didn't.

Monkeyboy & SkeetahBait - Great seeing both of you again. The moose pics are great. We'll have to watch a Patriot game or two together this season.

Sherpa - I'm impressed with your hiking prowess, but would expect nothing less from a native Mainer.

Yam - (I saved the best for last) I'll censor myself here and just say it was a blast. ;-)

My pics turned out great, and I'll try to get them up soon."
Artex
08:44:09 AM
08/18/04
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"Yammy's home (I think)... lets hear some more taltrip tales!"
lizs
02:33:32 PM
08/19/04
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“It should be noted that this trip is continuing for Twigeater, Capn Bobo, Pennsy and Lumberzac. They'll be at the Bigelow Preserve in Northwestern Maine this weekend.”

“oh sure - rub it in


glad everyone had such a nice time...lobster...dang”

“I didn't get any lobster because I drove up early on Saturday morning, but I did get to hike Dudley, Knife Edge, Saddle and Hamlin Ridge trails in Baxter State Park. I even got to stand at the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail on top of Baxter Peak.”

“ack! i'm trying to upload my pics so i can post them and do a brief TALLTALES FROM MAINE report, but my webshots page keeps locking up.”

“Yam, the same thing happened to me. I tried to upload 50 pics at once and it would only do 7-8 at a time. So I loaded 7 at a time and finally got them all up. Whew!!!! Keep at it!!!”

“Damn! That looks like one of the best TT trips in a long while. i'll have to allocate time for this trip in the future.”

“OK. Got the pics up. I'll post a mini TR when I get a chance!

yam's pics”

“Penster fell on his bony butt! Ah poor baby!

Sounds like a great trip!

Lovely pics Yammy!”

“Looks like a fun fun fun fun time. Maybe I'll get to join in the fun next year!

Thanks for the TRs and pics, y'all.”

“Excellent pics, yam. Wow! Youans had great weather!”

“great pics yam and good reports ya'll.”

“Awesome pictures!!!!
Glad you made it home safe Yam!”

“Yam your pics are great. We really enjoyed the captions you pu with them!!!”

“Great pics Yam! Mine will be up within a couple of hours. Stay tuned......”

“My pictures will most likely be up sometime this weekend.”

“Nice shots, Yam! Hey, well you were up mighty TALL... err, high, right?”

“Artex's Pictures

Enjoy!”

“Sounds like a great trip!! Wish I had been there.”

“Heyyyyy!!!!! Artex!!!! I did not hurl insults and words of discouragement at Yam. I gotta say she was a real trooper. She took on Pamola and conquered it!!! Kudos!


ummmm. (sheepishly)... I did klimb off trail around heading up to the Knife edge. I'm sorry if I discouraged her..... I was anxious to scramble.....”

“Cool pics Dude! I really liked the pics of the clouds. That knife edge really looks sharp too bad I can't say as much for your moose pic! j/k Loving the new homeland, I'm sure!”

“Artex,

Great, GREAT pictures! (Some of 'em wouldn't show up in Webshots though.) That scenery is awesome! Index Rock, Knife Edge... Yeow! ...gotta get up there one of these days. I like some of your funny captions too. And what's with that yam always making strange faces?

Thanks!”

“Awesome pics ya'll...thanks for sharing !!

For those that I have met, Yam, Pennsy, and Artex...it's great to see you guys having a good time !”

“Nice! I love the North.”

“LOL! Monkeyboy, that was a joke. Albeit a dry one. :-)”

“Here's all of the currently available pics in one quick and easy location. You'd have to be on crack to not view them all.

Monkeyboy's Pics

Yam's Pics

Artex's Pics”

“HELLOOOOOOOOO! :D

I'm home and all my bad boys have left me... :(

What a great week, thank-you all for coming all this way to hike. As always, I enjoyed meeting everyone and had a great time.

To add to others trip reports...the group size dwindled over the week...we were 11 for two nights, 7 the next night, then four until today...and three for the post hike monster lobster dinner and slide show of Bobo's 500 or so pictures.

Once we became 4, we showered at Hidden Spring, then drove to the KI Jo-Mary gate. Although it was $7-8/person to camp, we also had to pay the day use fee of $5-7/person or something like that, anyways, it was a ridiculous amount of $$ for a campsite.

Next day we hiked the Gulf Hagas loop. What took us 4-5 hours to hike in, took 1.5 hours back out. Some of us swam at the head of the Gulf. And some of us have sensitive 'lil feet. ;)

On our way out we stopped for a moose sighting and to check out the Ironworks. Next stop was supposed to be Bigelow, but we stopped around 8pm for supper and decided we were too tired to drive all that way. The staff at Kelley's Kitchen in Milo not only fed us very well, but told us about places to stay nearby and let us use the phone as well. Great people!

Next day we awoke to overcast and drizzle...so we did the drive Maine thing and gassed up, got provisions and headed to Bigelow. I goofed and we ended up at the better of the campsites, which worked out well cause we snagged it by minutes and it was gorgeous.
No coyote songs though, which is the first time I haven't heard them there. Though technically we were car camping, our campsite required 4WD and a stream crossing. Once set up, we chilled around the campfire.

More to follow...”

“Next day there was much waffling about hiking from some of us - I felt obligated to kayak since the kayaks had come all this way, plus the pond was flat calm.

Instead, we all hiked the Fire Warden's trail. I rested at the col while the other's went to Avery Peak. They also went to North Horn and I didn't, as I was dragging major butt (in more ways than one, lol) the others patiently waited for me and we had a great day of hiking.

It started raining about 3am, and just stopped a little bit ago. We packed up in the rain, ate at a diner in Stratton, then hit the road for home and lobster.

It was great meeting yam, Bobo and lumberzac and seeing all the rest of you again.

HIKE MAINE!

I see you peeps gave my Sherpa a name on the hike out, LOL!”

“Artex, planning trips isn't work, it's lots of fun. Enjoy! :)”

“All the pictures look great and I can't wait to see the rest of them. Glad the weather turned out nice.”

“You should have seen how much, well, I wouldn't want to suggest beer, Sherpa hauled (for Twigeater)! When we rested, he'd lean over, hands on his knees and place all the pack weight over his hips.

Sherpa has earned his trail name!!!”

“skiracer's photos are finally posted!”

“Hey guys, good trip!

Pennsy, you are gettin' too old for prat-falls...”

“Heh-llllooooo!!!!!!
=D

What a wicked awesome trip!!! I got home about 8AM this morning and got in alittle snooze, now it's time to clean up the gear, eeek!

WOW! My pics are gonna take alittle while to get up, but from the pics I've seen from everyone so far, I think they speak volumes as to the success of HIKE MAINE III!!!

BAG BALM ROCKS!!!
=D


I wrote this little ditty below, thinking it up on the way home, I hope you enjoy.

A Perfect Trip

Racing down the East Coast
Anxious for sunrise
Thinking about our crazy time
Amazed at how time flies

It was a perfect trip
with perfect weather
and hardly any bugs
A chance to meet with TT friends
to share a rock in time

And now I know the twigeater's secret
to make a perect trip
It begins and ends with lohbstahh!
A Dish that I just can't seem to quit!

With lush green forest
Cool Maine lakes
and Mooses far and wide
Majestic Mountains that rise soo high
and Tablelands that touch the sky

A heaping helping of laughter
and Fragile Alpine Zones
Thanks to you my friend Melissa
For sharing a perfect trip!”

“Nice poem, Bobo! :)”

“Great reportS and fine pics - wish I'd been out there with y'all.

How about someone getting a pic of index rock next time?”

“Good one, ped...nobody seemed to want a picture of that rock ;-)”

“helloooooo!

I got home late last night, and I'm trying to play catch up. These Maine trips keep getting better and better. Thanks once again to Twigeater for organizing a super 3 part trip. The weather gods were kind, the people were fantastic, as well as the hiking. It doesn't get any better than that.

Great trip reports everybody and great photos. Who said the bugs weren't bad? That's because they were all at my feet. I just took an inventory of ankle/feet skeeter bites and stopped counting at 70. Oh, and for the record, my fall from the 3rd bunk was NOT alcohol influenced, but from some weird nightmare that I still can't recall. It's a strange feeling to wake up on the floor with a sore butt, still in a sleeping bag, not knowing where I was and how I got there, and why 5 headlamps are staring at me.

Before I forget.. great poem Skipper! How did the SS Minnow sink with you at the helm? ;o)

When Ski Racer, MB and Skeetah Bait left, the remaining crew decided to recreate that fabled tale and came up with the following casting:

The Skipper: Capn Bobo
Gilligan: Lumberzac
Ginger: Twigeater
Mary Ann: Yam
The Professor: Pennsy
Mr Howell: Pepsi
Mrs Howell: Artex
Wrong way Horrigan(?) and other special guests: CraigM aka Sherpa (since he's not a TT'er, he makes the perfect guest star)

Anywho, thanks again to the Twigstah and all the crew for making this a memorable week. My pics should be up in a few days. Yes, there will be an Index Rock pic (lol Ped), but also pics of Bobo with a mashed Yam, moose refelctions, and perhaps some other surprises. Can't wait to see Bobo's pics though. He was a busy boy.”

“Pennsy, SB wants to know: Were the bites black flies, skeeters or a mix?”

“I gotta comment on those that took on the Knife Edge for the first time. That is a trail that gives many a sturdy hiker a tough go of it. An exhilerating experience to be sure, just preparing to do it , because of it's reputation. Then looking it right in the eyes and taking it on!!!

Y'all rock!!!!”

“Once I climbed down and then up the Chimney, I didn't feel like I had a choice but to go on and do Knife Edge. The Chimney was worse than Knife Edge for me. I'm glad that I did both!”

“HELLOOOOOO!

What a great trip. Hats off to Twigeater for hosting such an event.

I would also like to thank Capn Bobo for being my chauffeur for most of the trip.

I would also like to say I don't think that Dr. McGillicuddy is a very good doctor. That had to have been one of the longest 3.3miles I've every hiked on the way in. Fortunately it was only a short-lived setback and I was ready to hike by Sunday morning. My only real complaint about the trip was I couldn't stay a week longer. I should be able to get a trip report up later on in the week as well as some pictures once I get all this film developed.”

“Oh yeah I forgot to mention that when I entered Maine I was but a boy, but left a man. ;D
Katahdin was my first, Appalachian peak that is. And I also made my first steps onto the AT as I hiked part of it on the summit, all 50ft of it that is. lol
Actually I managed to hike a few other short sections of the trail at Gulf Hagas and at the Bigalow Range for a whopping total of about 3 or 4 miles. Oh well at least now I can at least say I've set foot on the trail.”

“Great trip reports and INCREDIBLE pics. Glad to see the Gilligan crew had a nice time and a safe trip!”

“LOL - it takes a trip to Maine to turn a boy into a man. :)

I have to admit, I'm amazed at the pics I saw of you all playing on Index rock - you peeps are cray-Zee!

I made stew out of the leftover seafood. It'll be yummy tomorrow night after I return from flying over Katahdin errrr I mean, flying north on business. ;)

I'll try and get my few pics up on Tuesday.
(skiracer, I can't view yours)”

“Webshots has been messing up lately, try again, here and there....”

“I couldn't view my pictures from the link I posted above, but when I went to my community page from my login page on webshots, they came right up. They are now available through the link above and below.

skiracer's pics

”

“"Monkeyboy on top of Index Rock. It gave me the heebiejeebies just looking at him up there."

Hell brother, just lookin' at them shorts he's wearin' gives me the heebee-jeebees!

Bobo on the rocks........what's in that container?”

“It was cool reading you other castaway's trip reports. But Mrs. Howell? C'moooooooooon!”

“Really Artex......Mrs. Howell???

Did they make you wear coconut shells for "jubblies"?”