Home     Photos

Baxter State Pk Hiking Trip - Oct 11-13, 2003

Three days of hiking in Baxter State Park, Maine.
We camped in three different parts of the park and did three day-hikes.
Glorious weather (except a spot of rain on Sunday night),and The Color was in full swing.

Photos are organized by date, with a bit of narrative for each day.

Click a thumbnail to see a full-size photo.
Or, View as Slide Show

Day 1: Mt Katahdin

Spent the night at Abol Campground, then got up early and climbed the Abol Trail (my that was steep!) to the summit. Then we came down the Hunt Trail (a.k.a. the A.T.) and hitch-hiked back to the car from Katahdin Stream Campground.

you should see an image here 8:25 AM. It hurts to keep my eyes open this early, but the sights along the trail are almost worth it.
you should see an image here More leaf-peeping along the lower part of the trail.
you should see an image here The lower part of Abol Trail follows a stream, or is it vice versa?
you should see an image here 9:20 AM. First long-range view.
you should see an image here Also, first view of where we're going. Alas, that's not quite the summit.
you should see an image here This shot is intended to show how steep the trail is, as well as showing some fall color in the background.
you should see an image here This one shows a bit more of the background colors.
you should see an image here This shot may make it easier to tell how steep the trail is. Notice how I'm practically standing on Michal's head.
you should see an image here It's a tiring trail (did I mention it's steep?); Michal takes a break in the shade.
you should see an image here I promise: this is the last of the "look how steep the Abol Trail is" shots.
you should see an image here 11:00 AM. We reach ridgeline. View northwest along the A.T. (aka Hunt Trail). Doubletop Mountain in the background.
you should see an image here A pause on the tableland near Thoreau Spring.
you should see an image here View northeast to the summit.
you should see an image here Noon. As we approach Baxter Peak, the narrow ridge to South Peak becomes visible. Is that the famous "knife edge"?
you should see an image here No, that's the Knife Edge (to the right of Pamola and Chimney Peaks). Seen from Baxter peak.
you should see an image here From Baxter Peak, view across the Saddle to Hamlin and Howe Peaks. (Great Basin starts on the right.) You can see a bit of snow here; the rangers had been threatening to close all the trails due to snow.
you should see an image here From Baxter Peak, view across the Great Basin to Russell Pond and Turner Mountain.
you should see an image here More of that infamous snow. View southwest.
you should see an image here Me on Baxter Peak, in front of the Knife Edge.
you should see an image here Michal on Baxter Peak, surrounded by very relieved AT-ers who've walked for months to reach this point.
you should see an image here From the ridge to South Peak, view into the Great Basin. Chimney Pond in foreground.
you should see an image here Another shot of Pamola Peak and the Knife Edge.
you should see an image here View of South Peak from the ridge.
you should see an image here Some lakes through the haze, from South Peak.
you should see an image here A brave and very weary soul climbs up from the Knife Edge.
you should see an image here One more shot of Pamola Peak before turning for home.
you should see an image here Another shot across the Great Basin as we head back.
you should see an image here View west across the tableland. Mount Coe on the right in middle distance, Doubletop behind it.
you should see an image here Similar shot, improved foreground.
you should see an image here View west before we descend the Hunt Trail. Lower right: The Owl. Behind it: Barren Mountain, Mt OJI, Mt Coe, South Brother (to the right), and Doubletop (in the distance on the left).
you should see an image here Another view toward Doubletop.
you should see an image here View to the north, over the Klondike. The Owl, lower left. North Brother, center horizon. Northwest Plateau of Katahdin, on the right.
you should see an image here Farewell to the summit plateau.
you should see an image here And to the Saddle and Hamlin Peak.
you should see an image here View southeast to Millinocket Lake as we head down the ridge.
you should see an image here We chose the Hunt Trail because it looked less steep on the map than the Abol Trail. Unfortunately, it still had a steep spot or two.
you should see an image here Or three or four.
you should see an image here If you look closely, you can see the trail markers heading straight up the middle of this mess.
you should see an image here Being on the ridge means we get to see late-afternoon sun on the leaves below.
you should see an image here One way to mark the trail.
you should see an image here Katahdin Stream Falls, from above.
you should see an image here Close-up on the falls.
you should see an image here The falls from below.
you should see an image here View back up to the ridge from Katahdin Stream campground.

Day Two: The Brothers and Mt Coe

We spent the night at Nesowadnehunk Field, then hopped in the car to the Marston trailhead at Slide Dam. (For maximum daylight hiking, we developed a time-saving technique of rolling up our tents with everything in them and dumping them into the back seat.) Then we hiked a loop over three mountains.

you should see an image here Morning sun, fall foliage, reflective lake... nice place to pause before we have to climb that ridge.
you should see an image here More leaves in the sunshine.
you should see an image here Getting a good view of the water requires a bit of bushwhacking, as Justyna demonstrates here.
you should see an image here View west to Doubletop.
you should see an image here Northern shoulder of Doubletop, and Mt Veto.
you should see an image here From North Brother, view of Katahdin.
you should see an image here The Northwest Basin, from North Brother.
you should see an image here North Turner Mountain from North Brother.
you should see an image here Another summit view from North Brother.
you should see an image here 1:30 PM: Picnic lunch on North Brother consists of crackers... yum.
you should see an image here 4:00 PM: The Brothers, from Mt Coe.
you should see an image here View across the Klondike to Katahdin, from Mt Coe.
you should see an image here The summit of Mt Coe.
you should see an image here The sun starts veering toward Doubletop, seen here from Mt Coe's summit.
you should see an image here Michal takes a photo of Katahdin before leaving Mt Coe's summit.
you should see an image here Ten minutes later: you mean we have to descend that?
you should see an image here Michal wishes for skis.
you should see an image here 6:00 PM: We make it back to the trailhead, as somewhere behind Doubletop the sun is setting.

Day 3: Freezeout Trail

We spent the night at Trout Brook Farm, then went for a quick stroll in the morning before heading home.

you should see an image here 9 AM: we start tearing down the campsite.
you should see an image here The trail takes us along the top of a beaver dam.
you should see an image here These leaves are a bit darker in the photo than I hoped for...
you should see an image here That's more like it!
you should see an image here Fall is a good season for moss and lichen too.
you should see an image here Technically we're bushwhacking here, but we want to reach Grand Lake Matagamon before we have to head home.
you should see an image here And the view is worth it!
you should see an image here The lake comes into view.
you should see an image here Michal crosses that last spit of land.
you should see an image here A stop on the highway after leaving the park: Katahdin seen from the east.