Gathering around the campfire at the Big Moose Campground, about 10 miles outside the park entrance.. We roasted marshmallows and had s'mores, getting ready for the next day's hike.
September 29 - October 1, 2000 with Heather, Gene, Marie, Chia, Christy, and Tara
We drove the six hours from Boston (some from farther away) to Baxter State Park with the mission of climbing Mt. Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine. But we didn't just want to get to the top, we wanted to go along the Knife Edge trail - a narrow rocky ridge fully exposed to the wind, with the mountain dropping off steeply to both sides.
Gathering around the campfire at the Big Moose Campground, about 10 miles outside the park entrance.. We roasted marshmallows and had s'mores, getting ready for the next day's hike.
Look how high we've come already!
As we climb higher and higher, the trail begins to become rather rocky. As the white blaze on the bottom right of the photo shows, the trail does in fact go straight over those rocks where Christy is.
Christy points towards the summit of Katahdin.
The final push before we reach the tableland is really steep! Here Heather and Tara (further down) make their way up.
We stopped to rest, have a snack, and to get out of the relentless wind. Gene takes cover in the lee of a rock while Tara crouches on another rock.
Finally, after climbing and scrambling over boulders, we reach the Katahdin tableland. Still we are over a mile from the summit, visible in the top center of the photo.
The gang (from left to right: Gene, Christy, Tara, and Heather) at the summit of Katahdin, 5267 feet above sea level. This sign not only marks the summit of Maine's tallest mountain, but also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, which has its southern end on Springer Mountain in Georgia, some 2100 miles away.
The view towards the northeast from the summit. The peak in the center is Pamola Peak, and the ridge extending to the right of that is the Knife Edge, the narrow ridge trail that we came all this way to do. Notice the small (at least it looks small from here!) hump just to the right of Pamola Peak. That is Chimney Peak, and the gap between Chimney and Pamola Peaks is appropriately called the "Devil's Crotch". You'll see why soon.
The Knife Edge didn't turn out to as scary or dangerous as we had expected (at least in the relatively tame conditions we were hiking in). But there was one very narrow section, about 3 or 4 feet wide, and steep dropoffs on either side. We were on our hands and knees for the most part here. If the wind were blowing hard, I could definitely see the danger. Heather is leading (in the distance) followed by Gene and Christy who are negotiating the narrow section.
Looking back along the Knife Edge and what we have just come across. The high peak on the left is actually South Peak. Follow the ridge to the right to find the true summit (just before it drops off on a long slope). The perspective makes South Peak look higher than the true summit, but in fact it is slightly lower.
Climbing Chimney Peak - from left to right: Heather, Christy, Gene, Tara.
Descending into the Devil's Crotch. Look back at the panorama photo taken from the summit and notice how steep and long the descent is from Chimney Peak down into the Devil's Crotch. It is near vertical with some parts where we needed to jump down onto a ledge hardly bigger than a doormat. If we missed the ledge, we were going for a tumble. Yikes.
Resting on our descent. We're taking a break from the knee and back pounding descent just below Pamola Peak.
The fall colors on full display.
Looking kinda spooky Gene... Like when you're alone in the woods and have this feeling that someone is watching you, and you look up and find some guy standing there staring at you.
After what seemed like hours (wait, it was hours), we finally reached the stream, and relatively flat and easy terrain. By this time we are very close to the trailhead.
More beautiful colors in the trees
After a well deserved dinner at the restaurant by the campground, we all had a good night's sleep. Here we are the following morning, chipper for the most part, enjoying our breakfast before heading back home. From left to right: Heather, Tara, Christy, Marie, Gene, Chia.
Check out these sites for more photos from our trip:
