Katahdin Climber's Log

Viewing: 1-20 of 239
McCannster

McCannster - Oct 8, 2018 7:21 am Date Climbed: Oct 10, 2018

righteous!  Sucess!

Great day with great friends. Climbed the Armadillo with Cletus and Alex. Was pretty chilly in the morning, but it warmed up enough after the first pitch and soon we were on the summit. State highpoint #37. No wind, clear skies, perfect. A long awaited outing. 9 hrs 45 mins car to car from Roaring Brook.

marciamallow

marciamallow - May 26, 2018 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Sep 18, 2011

HP # 21  Sucess!

First summit in 2011 was prior to new mandatory permit regulations, 2nd summit was on 7/18/2017 during my thru of AT and I needed permit, horrible camping situation if you didn't reserve way ahead

NonaRider

NonaRider - Mar 29, 2018 10:52 am Date Climbed: Jun 5, 2005

Peak #22 [NonaRider]  Sucess!

Definitely one of my favourite hikes of all times, will be going back! [Approximate Date]

wdimpfl

wdimpfl - Dec 29, 2017 1:21 am Date Climbed: Mar 15, 1977

Winter Ascent  Sucess!

Date approximate. Joined Arlene Blum and two others. The park requirements for climbing were horrendous (requiring a physician's certificate like the old requirements for climbing Denali in Alaska).

alynch - Nov 15, 2017 12:03 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2017

Lives up to the hype  Sucess!

Went up the Hunt Trail, down Abol. This was the conclusion of hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness for us, and what a conclusion it was. The only clouds we saw on the way up were condensing above the peak itself, like the ancient volcano that it isn't. Views from the top were unforgettable. We brought coats and raingear - should have brought sunscreen.

cdog

cdog - Aug 5, 2017 11:11 am Date Climbed: Aug 4, 2017

Mystery Mountain  Sucess!

Hiked w/ Amy up and down the Abol Trail. We got a glimpse of the lower mountain on the way, then more clouds roiled on and we had no more views the entire hike. Still a fun outing. Lots of humidity for us westerners!

Tracy

Tracy - Jul 24, 2017 5:43 pm Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2017

Hunt Trail up & back  Sucess!

Great day to hike this one except for a drenching thunder and lightning storm that rolled through shortly after noon. I was near the large rock slab shelter/cave that can be found along the Hunt Trail and avoided the drenching downpour that lasted about 30 minutes.

larvitar

larvitar - Jun 25, 2016 11:45 am Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2016

Larvitour Stop #25  Sucess!

Spent the night at Roaring Brook Campground, then headed up first thing in the morning via Helon Taylor and the Knife Edge. The weather was beautiful all the way up: sunny and blue with next to no winds. For someone used to Eastern peaks, the exposure and scrambling was a little intense (particularly in the Chimney just below Pamola Peak--if that wasn't class 4, I don't want to know what is), but I made it to the summit in decent time and descended via the Saddle Trail (the round-trip took a little over seven hours). This was the last of the major Northeastern high points for me--only RI's Jerimoth Hill to go.

stinkycheezman33

stinkycheezman33 - May 15, 2016 5:52 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2015

What a great hike  Sucess!

One of my favorite hikes of all time. Did the Hamlin Peak/Baxter Peak/Knife Edge loop from the campground. What a great day!

Mike D' - Apr 3, 2016 11:12 pm Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2006

Great Success  Sucess!

Good times with four good friends...quite crowded...fun scramble, long descent

Boorman

Boorman - Dec 7, 2015 3:48 pm Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2015

Best East Coast hike  Sucess!

Definitely the best hike I've done on the East Coast. Hiked up the Saddle Pass Trail and down the knife edge. Fun hike and nice to finally find a mountain above the ridgeline east of the Mississippi.

Jkells

Jkells - Nov 28, 2015 8:30 pm Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2015

1st Katahdin Summit  Sucess!

The hike took right around 9 hours flat. We went up Saddle, then went across the Knife Edge and down Helon-Taylor. Took 2 small breaks: the first at the Chimney Pond view right by the water and the second at the summit to make and enjoy a Mountain House meal. We were encompassed by clouds soon after heading up Saddle and all the way until about a third into our decent down Helon-Taylor.

cwoods17

cwoods17 - Oct 20, 2015 8:48 am Date Climbed: Oct 4, 2015

Knife Edge  Sucess!

We went up Helon Taylor to Knife Edge, down the Saddle Trail and back to Roaring Brook. There was rime ice all along the Knife Edge, and the weather was great. We took a very leisurely pace and did the loop in about 8 hours. The authorities were out in force, no thanks to Scott Jurek, but were not particularly helpful.

harbor

harbor - Jul 15, 2015 5:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2015

Great Hike up Cathedral  Sucess!

After being bullied by several park rangers we started at 1 oclock pm from Roaring Brook trailhead and it took us only 3 hours to make up to the top via Cathedral. It was a gorgeous hike. 4000 feet of elevation gain - about half of it on the 1.5 mile stretch on the cathedral ridge. We spent nearly an hour on top and took a leisurely pace back down the saddle trail to see some different scenery. Katahdin is a cool mountain and I'll be back to backpack through some of the other part of the park some day for sure.

The rangers must be used to all sorts of inexperienced people trying to hike this mountain. Here are a few things they were very adamant about telling us before we hiked to make sure we knew that Katahdin is the roughest and toughest mountain in the world:

-You CANNOT start hiking after noon.
-You must have a headlamp and a backup headlamp.
-Katahdin WILL kick your @$$.
-They don't move rocks off the trail like on some trails back west.
-It WILL take you 8-12 hours.
-It doesn't matter how many 4k+ foot elevation gain mountains you have hike before because they aren't the same as a Katahdin 4 thousand feet gain."

My thoughts as I hiked Katahdin in 7 hours at a leisurly pace well past their cut-off time on a beautiful bluesky afternoon:
-There are more signs in this park than any trail system I've seen in any part of Utah.
-There are nearly as many rangers and ranger stations in this area as a National Park.
-There are at least 3 places you register or checkin/checkout.
-There were all sorts of volunteers wearing hard hats (probably working on trails).
-The trails are marked by Color Coded Spray paint rectangles and arrows every 10 feet.
-Once up above tree line there are 5-6 foot cairns every 10-20 feet with the color coded spray paint in between the cairns in case you can't see the carins.
-There are many boardwalks any time it gets marshy.
-There are bridges across streams.
-There are huts you can rent to camp in at the half-way mark if 4 miles is too much for you to handle in one day or if you want to acclimatize at 2400 feet for a few nights before a summit push.
-It felt like a normal 4000 foot elevation gain mountain.
-The trees and understory grow in so thick in Maine that it would be nearly impossible to get off-trial.

Just as a disclaimer to this:
We were not being irresponsible hikers starting at 1:00 pm. We had been checking weather reports for days. We had turn-around times if it got too late. We had plans for bad weather. We would have been fine going back down and camping if things got ugly. We had the 10 Essentials and some non-essential gear with us. Katahdin is a serious mountain, no doubt, but not any more serious than any other mountain I've been on.

islandborn11

islandborn11 - Jul 12, 2015 1:00 am Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2015

The Sun Came Out  Sucess!

after about three hours of steady rain. I summitted an hour later and got occasional great views from the top between cloud cover. A fun, challenging solo climb across the Saddle trail. The park and area in general is just so remote and beautiful. Due to the rain the ranger advised me against the Knife Edge and Cathedral (especially going down) but I still had an outstanding eight hour hike. #22 and done with the East.

Hiker4life

Hiker4life - Feb 28, 2015 10:37 pm Date Climbed: Sep 11, 2008

Abol/Hunt  Sucess!

After missing the turnoff to Baxter SP and driving about 25 miles out of my way, I made my way back and had a great day hiking up to Katahdin. Great weather and views!

siekkid

siekkid - Jan 5, 2015 4:43 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2013

Katahdin  Sucess!

Solo hike of Katahdin up Abol Slide, across Knife Edge and descending via Helon Taylor trail. Perfect weather. Hitched a ride back to Abol Campground with a van full of Amish from Iowa.

lorothy12 - Jan 3, 2015 8:12 pm Date Climbed: Jul 19, 2014

great summer hike  Sucess!

Hiked this with a big group of friends (under 12 of courseā€¦). Beautiful weather and a great, challenging hike.

bshirley - Nov 11, 2014 11:48 am Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2005

Great Hike  Sucess!

Camped a couple of days to bird and hike. Bagged the peak and got a Bicknell's Thrush along the way!

Bluebell08

Bluebell08 - Oct 19, 2014 12:52 pm Date Climbed: Aug 23, 2014

Beautiful  Sucess!

Bushwhacked a gulley/rock scramble route from Chimney Pond and descended Cathedral. Beautiful weather and isolation until the summit crowds. Highpoint #25.

Viewing: 1-20 of 239
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