Highpoint #26: Maine

The Highest Point in Maine!!

With Vermont and New Hampshire under wraps, I continued to upstate Maine to try my hand at Mt. Katahdin.  I could not have had a more beautiful afternoon for the driving.  I worked my way across New Hampshire on Route 2, aka “the Presidential Highway”, and the views were simply magnificent with the ever-present White Mountains bedecked by an extensive national forest.  I really had no idea that New Hampshire was so beautiful.  That’s definitely one of the advantages of highpointing, seeing some of the more beautiful parts of the U.S. states that might otherwise be overlooked in one’s travels.  Similarly, passing through Maine was quite beautiful as well with its numerous lakes and plentiful trees. 

Not Exactly Close to Millinocket...

I eventually made my way to Millinocket, and I was still a good ways away from Baxter State Park.  If Mt. Katahdin is anything, it IS remote.  Seriously, even after entering the park, there was still a good bit of driving on narrow paved roads and unpaved roads before I reached the campground.  Despite the remoteness though, the park is quite popular.  In fact, I reserved my camping spot a couple of months in advance online to make sure I had a spot, and it was not cheap:  $30 for the campsite + $14 in fees for being out of state and wanting to park my car, making the grand total come out to $44 for one night. 

I checked in before the 8:30pm cut-off, but the rangers at the ranger station were definitely preoccupied.  Apparently a paraplegic Wounded Warrior tried his hand at climbing the mountain with his military buddies and ran into a serious issue of dehydration.  There was a lot of radio traffic, and finally one of the rangers went out to assist and rescue the party if needed.  Yikes!  Eventually I was able to check in though and was given a pretty good rundown on the mountain.  I was told though that I would have to park my car in the morning at the visitor’s parking lot just below the station, since I would likely be back after 11am.  Fair enough.

I went up to my camping spot and dug in for the night with the sound of rustling leaves lulling me to sleep.  The first thing the next morning, I decamped, re-parked my car, and made my way over to the ranger station to log in.  It was just about 5:45 am at this point.  

Early Start...

My plan:  ascend by the Abol trail, connecting with the Appalachian Trail to the summit, and then descend either by the same route or by the Appalachian Trail entirely and making my way back to the campground along the main road.  I was just going to leave it up to how I feel once I summited. 

Very Useful Sign at the Trailhead

The trailhead for the Abol Trail was pretty good about laying out what was in store.  In only 3.8 miles, there would be 3,970 feet of elevation gain.  Half of that distance would be above the treeline, and the total round-trip time was estimated at a healthy 8 hours.  That comes out to a 1mph average pace.  Fair enough. 

Enjoy the Flat Stretch While it Lasts...

The trail started off pretty easily with a wide, tree-lined approach that was distinctly flat.  That changed pretty quickly to a moderately upward sloping trail that was a bit narrower and noticeably rocky.  

Getting Rockier

I brought along my hiking poles, which were fine for this section, but they didn’t see much use once I reached the slide. 

Beginning of the Slide

“The Slide” is just that, an incredible rockslide extending from the ridgeline below the summit all the way down to the valley below.  The drop-off is steep and filled with rocks, more rocks, and excessively large boulders.  All of these have to be scrambled over in succession in order to reach the top.  Because of the steepness, elevation is gained quickly.  Also, because half to the trail is above the tree line, these elevation gains quickly open up the view making it grander and grander with each rock that is climbed. 

Note the Low Cloud Cover

The demand of the scrambling is not to be underestimated.   There is never really any exposure, but the steepness of the terrain can have you breathing pretty hard if you don’t scale back the pace a bit.  Some rocks look precariously placed too, but I never saw any rock fall on my approach. 

More of the Slide

Leaving so early in the morning, there was pretty low cloud cover and fog.  So, as I kept gaining elevation, it was never clear how far away I was from the ridgeline to the summit.  

Much More Fog Now

My progress was slow and steady, and just when it seemed interminable; I saw the distinct line where I would not have to climb any higher.  Relief!

The End of the Slide, I Think...

From here, the approach was considerably gentler and mostly flat.  Now I was following rock cairns hoping that they would lead somewhere.  The fog was pretty thick, so I had limited visibility.  

Couldn't See Very Far Ahead at this Point

After several hundred yards, I arrived at the major intersection of the Abol trail with the Appalachian Trail.  I still had a mile to go to the true summit.  Being an alpine zone, I was encouraged, as always, to stay on the rocks and keep to the trail as much as possible.  

Intersection of the Abol Trail with the Appalachian Trail

Take Heed!

The flat rocky path with the white blazes, turned into a path filled with boulders.  So there was more jumping from rock to rock rather than walking among rocks.  

Getting Close to the Summit!

The View Opened up for a Moment

Finally, one last hill of rock presented itself, which was where the true summit lied.  I anxiously made my way up to the top of it.  Quick on my heels though was a young hiker trying to catch up to me.  I managed to get to the summit first, but only barely, by a footstep really.  He had good reason to be in such a hurry though.  Turns out he was starting the Appalachian Trail right then and there as a southbound thru-hiker.  In reality, this was a monumental step for him, beginning an extensive journey all the way to Springer Mountain in Georgia, more than 2000 miles away!

I Opted to Not Thru-Hike... This Time.

He graciously agreed to take a photo of me at the summit, and I returned the favor.  We both poked around a bit to see what else the summit had to offer.  In terms of view, there was not much to behold; simply lots of fog.  The knife-edge trail was pretty obscured too.  

Knife-Edge Trail, Almost Fully Obscured

I saw a large plaque nearby, but there was no sign of any USGS markers that I could see.  

Official Plaque at the Summit

I made my way over to a pretty large rock cairn and added a rock.  There really wasn’t much more to see under these conditions, and other hikers were starting for the summit in the distance, so I decided, after some reflection, to start making my way downward. 

It took no time at all to rejoin the Abol trail, and I decided to simply return the way I came and made my way over to the edge of the cliff.  The cloud cover lifted somewhat by this point, and the view was pretty dramatic.  I could really see the drop-off to the valley, which seemed so distant below.  

Note the Drop-off!

I pulled out a Slim Jim to snack on as I jumped down from one rock after the other.  I was encountering some pretty exhausted hikers who were looking up at me in wonderment.  Yeah, all my hard work was done at this point, so I could relax considerably; but they were still trying to make their way through the toughest portion of the approach.  So it goes. 

Spotted this Guy on the Way Down

I continued farther down the slide and encountered a few more hikers.  Some were just off to a later start, but some were a little worrisome.  I encountered one guy just baking in the sun who apparently was also starting his thru-hike south on the Appalachian Trail.  He wanted to do something different by starting up the Abol before starting on the Appalachian Trail.  He mentioned that the entire campground the night before was packed with would-be thru-hikers, having traveled by bus up to Maine with several himself.   While I encouraged his efforts, I was a little skeptical.  He didn’t have the right disposition for a southbound thru-hiker.  He was pretty low on the mountain, and it was almost noon.  With the sun getting pretty hot (mid-80s) and most of the trail above the tree line, he was very likely going to dehydrate.  He should have gotten an earlier move on the slide.  I offered him some water, but he refused.  After all, there was a ranger rescue just the night before for this same issue.  Oh, well; I did my part.  

Check out this View!

I continued downward and soon found myself at the trailhead once again.  I signed out from the register and proceeded back to my car.  All in, it took less than 7 hours, including my downtime at the summit.  Not too bad. 

Sky Cleared a Bit towards the End of my Hike

I debated about continuing onward to New Brunswick for a try at Mt. Carleton, which is a much, much easier hike by comparison.  Ultimately though, I decided to just head back home to D.C.  It had been a long, packed weekend up to this point.  I could save Carleton for another day.  It was better to head home and rest up for a few weeks since my next highpointing trip was going to be MUCH more demanding.  Stay tuned…

Highpoint #25: New Hampshire

At the Highest Point in New Hampshire!

Finishing the highpoint in Vermont just after sunset gave me precious little time to drive into New Hampshire and catch some sleep.  I managed only a few winks too, before the sun started to peak out from the sky early the next morning.  Well, there was no time to waste given my packed weekend, so I was up and at it. 

My Poison of Choice for the Day

My route of choice was the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.  It is on the west side of Mt. Washington with the trailhead conveniently located just down the road from the Cog Railway Station.  Yes, one can simply take a train to the top of the mountain, or even drive up along the auto road on the east side, but there is nothing sporting about that.  I wanted in on one of the best hikes in America instead.  Now, supposedly you can just start hiking from the secondary hiker lot just before the railway station, but I failed to see where the uphill path connected to the ravine trail.  I decided to just park down the road, instead, at the main trailhead and hike up from there. 

Sign at the Start of the Hike

Official Start

The route is 4.5 miles to the summit, passing the Lake of the Clouds hut along the way after 3.1 miles, prior to joining up with the Appalachian Trail for the remainder of the distance.  In total, there is 3800 feet of elevation gain along this route.  I was in for a treat. 

In truth, other than those statistics, I really wasn’t sure how the route would play out.  The trail is a “summer” route, but it really wasn’t quite summer yet.  I was worried that there might be a lot of snowmelt causing the river to be high.  I also wasn’t sure what the conditions were like on the upper mountain.  Would I need crampons?  Would the weather at the summit be unbearably windy and cold, as it notoriously can be?  I tried to bring a mix of gear, just in case any of these conditions would present themselves.  I brought rugged soft-shell pants for the scrambling, super gaiters in case the water level was high, a rain suit should the weather change for the worse, and I even packed a compressed down parka in case I encountered freezing temperatures at the top.  Sounds crazy, but those were exactly the conditions the weekend before. 

The hiking started off quite gently.  It was almost flat really, following the Ammonoosuc river from one side or the other.  

First Encounter with the Ammonoosuc!

More Ammonoosuc, with Rustic Bridge

Eventually, I made my way up to a pool of water at the foot of a large waterfall. 

Gem Pool

This is where the hike got decidedly interesting.  For the next couple of miles, it would be nothing but steep scrambling, climbing alongside this waterfall and higher waterfalls leading all the way up to the Lake of the Clouds Hut. 

The Steep Scrambling Begins!

Great Waterfall Action

A Completely Unnecessary Ladder!

The nice thing about a steep route, is that you gain elevation quite quickly and the view really starts to open up, rewarding you for all of the hard work.

First of Many Great Views!

Plenty of Waterfalls on this Route!

Continuing along, I soon found myself in the alpine zone.  There was a sign marking the boundary, admonishing hikers to try to stay on the rocks as much as possible as any plant life is sensitive and vulnerable. 

Alpine Zone!

If only it were simple as that!  No, as soon as I entered the alpine zone, the trail conditions took a turn for the worse.  Now I was encountering ice floes.  The character of the ice was pretty tough too, which explains why they had yet to melt by the beginning of June.  They were not everywhere, but they were present enough that they became a consideration on how to proceed. 

First of Several Ice Floes

I opted to not bring crampons, so I had to be a tad more careful in these parts.  In all, they were pretty negotiable except for one place where it was quite dangerous.  Indeed, in one section there was a very large slab of ice where one had to cross the water just past the head of a giant waterfall.  I was left with the awkward choice of climbing onto and over this slab of ice and being very careful not to slip, lest I continue all the way down the waterfall and into the ravine.  I spent a good 15 minutes deliberating what to do in that section, before finally sequencing a set of moves that put me safely on the other side.  Yikes!  Definitely bring crampons, if you are trying this early season – just in case!

Another issue with the ice and occasional snow, was route finding.  Somehow I managed to lose the trail up high.  I found myself making a beeline for the Lake of the Clouds Hut working my way up a boulder field.  It definitely felt wrong, but I wasn’t exactly lost with the hut in plain view, so I just kept going.  I pulled myself up and over the ridge, and popped into the hut to see what was going on. 

First Glimpse of Lake of the Clouds Hut, Completely Off Trail

Sadly, no one had any time to talk to me.  It was the first day of the season for them, and the staff was working furiously to get the hut clean and in good working order.  As such, I really didn’t stay long, but I managed to fill up the water bladder in my daypack, so all was good. 

Detail of Sign at Entrance to the Hut

View from Above the Hut

Surprisingly, I was still a good 1.4 miles from the summit.  It looked so close, but there was still quite a bit of meandering left, moving from one rock cairn to the next.  I was now following the Appalachian Trail at this point, so it was quite a bit easier.  I enjoyed the gentler, if not exactly easier, hiking and took in the great panoramic views.  It was still early morning, so there was hardly anyone out here, though I did spot 2 hikers ahead of me that must have come up along one of the other routes. 

Another View of the Hut

The "Lake of the Clouds"

At one point, there was a sign telling me to “stop” and to be careful about proceeding, as some of the worst weather in the world has been seen at the summit.  No joke!  Winds have gusted all the way to 231 mph at the summit.  That’s not a typo.  The conditions can be dangerously unpredictable, changing drastically in mere hours.  Hence, the reason I brought all of my extra gear.  Luckily, I wouldn’t need any of it though.  I was in for a great viewing window.

Stop!  In the Name of Love?

Well, it wasn’t long after seeing the antenna at the top come into view, until I found myself at the foot of the stairs for the Tip-Top House, and then the summit itself!  

First View of the Antenna at the Summit

Tip-Top House, Adjacent to the Summit

I arrived at the same time as a small group of hikers who took the Jewell trail.  They obliged to take a photo of me at the summit sign, before returning the favor.  I also managed to get a photo of the summit marker as well as a USGS directional marker located in the rock pile nearby. 

Summit Marker

USGS Directional Marker, Nearby

I managed to work my way over to the famous observation tower.  It was kind of weird being on the other side of the live camera in front of the “X” that is visible on nice days, and completely invisible on the not-so-nice days.  Again, this was a great day, so I had a perfect view all around. 

Note the "X" and the Exceptionally Good Weather

I made my way farther down to a lookout for the peaks that make up the Presidential Traverse as well.  Another day, another challenge. 

Detail of the Presidential Peaks

After taking in all the views, I noticed a considerable influx of tourists that were arriving by car and train.  I decided to head into the gift shop and the adjacent cafeteria to play tourist for a while.  I signed the tourist register, bought a mug, and loaded up a cafeteria tray with plenty of food.  Unfortunately, the food was not very good, but after hiking all morning it worked well enough.  If I arrived by car or train, I would have been sorely disappointed, however. 

The Gatorade was Okay...

I hung out for a bit in the cafeteria, just resting up.  It was a welcome respite after all of my hiking that morning and the night before, not to mention the driving.  Looking at the time though, I was worried about my ability to hike down the mountain in a timely manner, given some of the sketchier spots, and still drive to upstate Maine to check in at the campground where I had a reservation before the cutoff time. 

I decided to take the easy way out and join the tourists on the train ride down instead.  A mere $45, would buy me back a few hours of time, so it made sense.  Plus, I kind of wanted to get the “other” experience, too.  I already did all of the hard work and earned the summit; I might as well rest up a little bit before trying my hand at Mt. Katahdin. 

Tourists Lining Up to Take the Train Down

I lined up at the next boarding call, all the way in the back as a stand-by passenger, and easily found a seat to myself next to one of the open windows.  The ride down was narrated in detail, so it definitely added to the experience.  We had a bit of a hiccup half way down though, so we had to go back up, trip one of the switches and come back down a second time before finally pulling in at the Cog Railway station. 

Detail of the Train at the Base of the Mountain

So, I managed to save a little less time than I was intending, but I still found myself at the bottom fairly quickly, so all was good.  From the station, I just walked down the road to the main trailhead, got in my car, and continued on to my next highpoint:  Maine. 

All in all, this was a great hike on a formidable mountain.  I definitely want to come back and try my hand at it again from the east side.  I also want to do a winter ascent and maybe even a Presidential Traverse one day.  There are so many possibilities here, making the experience that much richer.  What a great highpoint to mark my halfway point!  Yep, 25 states down!  Yay!

Parting View from the Top!