Backpacking in Baxter State Park in Maine

 In the middle of June we went backpacking in Baxter State Park in Maine. We had been backpacking there, but this time we tried a different trail. We headed for a lean-to at North Katahdin lake. 

From Boston, it takes about 5.5 hours to get to the Baxter State Park. We arrived around noon. The boo point is that non-Maine resident have to pay $15 for the entry. AND you need to pay for campsites (car or backcountry). Maine residents are free of charge to enter the park, AND lower fee for camping. I feel that this is too much difference of fee. Since we plan to go to Baxter three times at least this summer, we bought 2021 pass for $40. 3 time visits would be $45 without a pass. 

We drove to the trailhead. Only one car was parked there. The number plate was customized one saying "HIKER" The owner must be an avid hiker. The trail was easy, mostly flat, but ah, so many mosquitoes. I had to put 100% DEET juice everywhere. The mosquitoes even bit me through pants and T-shirt. So I had to put DEET on my cloths. For your information, my hiking pants, REI brands, are bug-proof. Bugs are supposed to be unable to bite through them. In my case, they can. I don't have any holes on my pants. It is not a one time thing, many incidents happened to me. Bugs can bite through bug-proof clothes. I stopped trusting those bug-protective claims a long time ago.

After 2 mile of hiking, we reached the first lake. This lake was really beautiful. Katahdin mountains are visible right behind the lake. We sat on the shore and had snack. Luckily there were nice breezes at the shore and that made mosquitoes blow away.  There is a lean-to by the lake, and a canoe available there. This would be really nice to spend a night. I thought that this is a good one for beginners as an introductory backpack.

Pretty Lake

Our booked lean-to was a couple of miles ahead, so we continued hiking. After a while, we reached the destination. The hiking itself was easy and pleasant except for mosquitoes. I hiked with wearing bug net on my head.

lean-to

OK for people who are thinking, "What is a lean-to?", a lean-to picture is here. It is nice log cabin. This particular lean-to is only for reservation use, so it is private: some lean-to in the Whites are first-come, first-served and need to share with people, which I don't like it, because of snores. My one-time experience staying at a hut in Intaly during Tour du Mont Blanc, it was not pleasant due to snore all night, farts all night, and stink all night.

As you can see a fire pit is provided here. It is allowed to have a campfire by foraging. Yay! My favorite activity. Again, this lean-to also provides a canoe as well as a paddles and life jackets. The lean-to is by North Katahdin lake, which is a very big lake. After we settled down, we headed for canoeing. It is really nice that the park provides canoe. Then we don't need to bring canoe for 6 miles which is impossible!

North Katahdin Lake

North Katahdin lake is also beautiful. I wish that the Katahdin peaks were visible from the lean-to. The peaks are visible only when you canoe out for a while. The picture in the left was taken while we were canoeing. 

When we reached the other side of the lake, we saw deer. His feet were in the water. We notice it was a male, because there were very small antlers. The antlers seems just came. It was cute. He seemed to come to the lake to avoid mosquitoes. He swished tail alot and jumped a lot to run away from mosquitoes, but it was difficult. There were SO MANY MOSQUITOES!!! Poor deer. We observed the deer for about 15 minutes. I had never seen the deer jumping around so much. This is a rare experience for sure.

deer

After the evening canoeing we started camp fire. Fun!!! The smoke made mosquitoes go away. Then we ate curry and rice for dinner. Japanese curry is the best supper for camping. 

I like Maine's view: not too may trees and mixture of lakes, mountains and meadows. We will come back!

Bigelow Range Loop Backpacking, Maine

In the late September, we went backpacking in Bigelow range in Maine. 

The previous backpacking on the labor day weekend was extremely hard (2.5 days with +/- 12,000 feet), so this time we decided to do an easy one. The distance was 12 miles, and the elevation change was only 3,500 feet. Another factor we chose this one in Maine was that the internet said that fall colors was happening in the region. 

Hiking in New England. One of  the most famous things in the area is fall colors. New England has clear four seasons. Then, there are many trees in the mountain. So, New England is the great place to see fall colors. 

This fall is my second autumn since I moved to Boston. With taking advantage that I can go hiking in New England every weekend, I plan to see fall colors from beginning to the end. This backpacking is the start of fall colors. 

Saturday early morning we headed for the trailhead of Bigelow. It was 4 hours from Boston. Maine is not very close to Boston, but I like Maine. Compared to New Hampshire where mountains with trees are dominant, Maine has more variety: mountains, meadows, lakes, coast line, peninsula on the Atlantic ocean. 

In fact, the hike started in the lake along the meadow, then went into the forest. 

Lake

Near the lake, there were several campsites. I am not sure these are called backpacking campsites or just campsites, because it was only 0.5 mile from the parking lot. It is free and fire rings were already there. A lot of logs are all over the place. That means an endless campfire can be had! My favorite thing during backpacking is fire in the mountains with logs by foraging (read: free).

Forest

After passing the lake, the trail went into the forest. The left picture is the first portion of forest. It's nice green. Humm? The internet fall color site said it is fall color peak in this area. OK. Green. Well, it is still nice to be in the pretty place. 

Then uphill started. Some portions were really steep. There were a lot of steps made by rocks. The hikers on downhill said to us, "This is the fun part." Me in mind, "On downhill."

After a while, we reached the junction. From the junction we hiked on Appalachian trail. We saw a couple of AT hikers hiking with sandals. After seeing more than 10 AT hikers wearing sandals, I am considering to try hiking with sandals. I am curious. 

Actually I got blisters during the trips in the Grand Teton. Because my feet's shapes are quite unique, it is difficult for me to find shoes that fit well. This problem leads to blisters. Maybe sandals prevent me from getting blisters. 

From West Peak

0.3 mile after joining AT, we saw a nice view, AND some fall colors. It is pretty.

There was a dog on the peak. He tried to catch a bee. The owner laughed and said, "Aw, stop catching a bee!" The dog still tried to catch it. He was adorable! 

After only a couple of miles, we reached our destination, a pond. The pond has no name. There are designated backpacker's campsite. It is interesting system. There are many flat dirt spots for tent campers. Probably I saw 12-15 sites. Then, there are 2 lean-to. For those who don't know lean-to, it is a flat space made by woods with roof. One side is completely open (no wall). If it rains, it is great to avoid getting wet, but with winds, you will get wet. The two lean-to are very large, probably 10 people can sleep in one lean-to. However, everyone was on the dirt site with their own tent, and nobody was in the lean-to. Surprisingly there was only 2 tent site open and others were all occupied. We arrived there around 5 p.m., not too late. It seems that people like to do relaxed backpacking there. We usually arrive at campsite after 6, so it was nice to have long chilling evening at the campsite even though fire was prohibited. 

There was a chatty AT hiker in the campground. She and her partner had been hiking AT for 6 months. She is from GA, and she said, "Hiking in New England is amazing, love it." It sounded like hiking in GA is not great. Also I wondered if she had ever hiked in the West. Mr.N told me that a lot of people on the East coast have never been to West. Whoa. I am sometimes surprised by the fact Americans don't travel much. I heard that many people don't have passports, and even don't go to other side of their own country. Although I know many people travel a lot here in the U.S., it seems people's activity patterns are really divided. 

Pretty red

Sunday was a short hike with only downhill. We saw more fall colors here and there. The left picture is some red leaves. It was nice with sun. 

I am looking forward to seeing upcoming fall colors in this season.

Grafton Loop Backpacking in Maine Day2 p.m no.2 and Day3

Mr.N walked down on the dry creek to see if there was some water. No luck. 

Then he walked up on the creek. After 5 minutes or so, he shouted, "I found a puddle!"

He actually found small spring. Phew. We didn't need to walk another 2 miles in dark. We settled in and ate pasta for dinner. While we enjoyed after meal tea with chocolate, I saw a small headlamp light coming to us. Wow. A hiker came in very late. 

He talked to us, "My friend is having a rough time with knee issues. He is taking time." 

Mr.N answered, "Oh dear." 

The guy asked, "You guys are the only one here?" 

Mr.N said, "Yes."

The guy said great and went to the site further. 20 minutes or so, the guy having knee issues came in and they pitched tents. We were able to see their tents in the distance. Hmm...?

We noticed that the tents were the same as ones we saw previous night at our campsite. At first when the guy talked to us, I didn't notice the same guy we saw a day before, but I think they were the same guys. Considering the distance and unpopularity of the trail, it is very unlikely for other two guys to have the same tents. 

I always feel nice to have fellow hikers on the same itinerary. We did similar experience having similar itinerary on the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton. 

I woke up in the middle of the night I heard sounds of rain hitting out tent. Grrrr. The forecast was "chance of shower", but it was raining continuously. Again I woke up in the morning, it was still raining, but it was not bad in the forest. Trees are so dense in Grafton Loop, actual water didn't come hit too much. 

I went out of the tent and actually surprised. Wet forest was very pretty. It was extra quiet. The rain covered all the noise. 

Wet leaves were shining. The forest was in the moist, which was pretty.

I did enjoy walking in the beautiful wet forest. Well, for a while. At the same time I have to admit it was not very comfortable wearing rain jacket and sweat couldn't go out and the rain jacket was stick to my arm. 

Luckily it was a good distance to be in the forest, meaning enjoyable distance, because the day3 was only about 6 miles. 

Surprisingly, near the trailhead, some people were starting backpacking in the rain. How hardcore they were. 

Super hardcore, and nice loop in the long weekend.

Grafton Loop Backpacking in Maine Day2 p.m

Between East and West Baldpate

After enjoying the view at the top of East Baldpate, we descended a little and ascended to the West Baldpate. There was no view at West Baldpate, but the way there was nice as you can see in the left picture. 

After here was descending 1800 feet. We descended to the road. There is another trailhead. On the parking lot, a group was doing BBQ for Appalachian trail through hikers. There was a sign of "trail magic"

We saw two AT hikers on the trail after we passed the parking lot. We were on the uphill, but the first AT hiker passed us (we yielded), but the second one yielded us and said, "You guys have the right of way. (for the first hiker) Heard about trail magic and running lol". It was funny. I can imagine how BBQ sounds for AT hikers. 

It reminded me of a day before final day of my John Muir Trail trip. I only had one pack of ramen left for dinner. It was only 2 p.m. No snack for the day or next day. I had to hike out the next day, because of ride. Then I met another JMT hikers who were hiking out that day. They had a bunch of bars no longer needed: they offered surrounded JMT hikers to take them as much as people want. I got 5 or 6 bars. I was really hungry, so it saved me!

Old Speck Mountain

After we crossed the road, we climbed (again.) to Old Speck mountain. 2000 feet of ascend. On the summit, there was not much view, but you can climb the fire tower. The scenic view is offered from the top of tower. In New England it is typical to have a fire tower on the top, since summit is still in the forest. Usually stairs to the top are provided, but this time it was a long ladder! Grrrrrr. It was very scary for me! The view was nice from the top. It was worth climbing the ladder. 

After we climbed, took pictures, went down, and we rested for a while on the ground. 

One day hikers' party came and one guy was saying on the ladder, "Wow this is ***king high!" and joking, "Mommy.....!" 

I was glad that I was not the only one who got scared of ladder.

Another funny incident here was about a dog. A couple brought cute black labrador to the top. The couple went to the fire tower. The doggie couldn't climb the ladder, she had to wait for the bottom. Then she started crying, "Cayn cayn can....!!!" She was feeling unsecured by being left alone. So one of the owners had to come down very quickly. Cute and funny! After 2000 feet climb, the dog was tired and she started sleeping. Adorable!

Sunday River Whitecap

After leaving Old Spec, there was literally nobody until we reached the campground. After 1200 feet descend, there was a chance to stop and camp at Slide Mountain Campsite. It was 4 p.m. Options were: stop early and set up camp and relax, or push more and have short day on day3. We chose the latter. The reason was the third day's weather forecast would be rain, so I thought that it would be better to climb the final mountain when it was sunny. So we started climbing another 800 feet. The final mountain name was Sunday River Whitecap. Well, it was better anyway to climb Sunday River Whitecap on Sunday, rather than Monday. Actually I liked the this peak best. It was getting evening time, which is extra beautiful in the mountain. Also there was nobody there. Extra peaceful.

Then we descended 600 feet and finally made it to the campsite, Sargent Brook campsite. These designated campsites along Grafton Loop are all near the creek or stream, so that water source is nearby. Actually the sign indicate "water 50 feet, campsites 0.1 mile". 

Good, and we turn right and arrived the campsite. There are 3 or 4 big campsites. Nice.....but wait, we didn't see any water source despite of the sign. We came back to the 50 feet point and found completely dried up creek. Mr.N walked around and searched another creek further campsites. No luck. We relied on creek near this campsite, so we only had 300 mL of water. According to map, reliable next water source is 2 miles further. It was already 6:30 p.m. and getting dark in the forest. 

What did we do?! 

To be continued...

Grafton Loop Backpacking in Maine Day1, Day2 a.m

In the U.S. the first Monday of September is a holiday. It is Labor Day. That means there is a three-day weekend. 

We went hardcore backpacking in Maine: Grafton Loop. 2 and a half day. 2 nights/3 days, but the last day we finished before noon, so it was 2.5 days. 

How hard? 33.5 miles, 11,500 feet elevation gain and loss total. 54 km, +/- 3500 meters. Considering very rocky terrain here, +/-11,500 feet was A LOT. 

<Day1>

First climb is for Puzzle mountain. On the way we met two cute dogs on the trail. A black and a yellow labrador retrievers! The black one is younger and running back and forth. The yellow one is calm and just following the owner. The hiker said by pointing the black then yellow and said "Young one and old one. hahahaha" 

It is nice to see many hiking doggies on a trail in New England. All hiking dogs are happy and cute. 

On the way to Puzzle Mountains

On the way to the Puzzle mountain, there was a good view point (the left picture). The perfect weather on this day. Up high and shadow from clouds could be seen on the mountains. 

This Grafton loop is not popular at all, so it was very quiet. One exception was near here a female trail runner passed us. Running up and down on this tough trail! Very hardcore. 

After Puzzle mountain was about 2000 feet climb. From the top we started descending. Now 1600 feet elevation loss. Grrr. Sometimes I think, "Why going down? I just climbed so hard." After the descend, again 1200 feet climb to the Long mountain with no view. Here we saw a solo female backpacker going on opposite site. It was really rare to see backpackers here, which was nice. Then again 1200 feet elevation loss. Our first plan was stop here at Lane campsite, but we pushed ourselves to the next campsite. Here at Grafton Loop trail, there are some official established campsites. All of them are near the river (water source) with plenty of flat dirt space. Usually 3-4 parties can camp. Good thing is free. A little sad thing is fire is not permitted because most of the Grafton Loop trail is in the private land (some portion is in the state park). After 300 feet elevation gain, we decided to camp at East Baldpate campsite. It was nice to camp in the forest. The creek was nearby, so the sound of stream was relaxing.  In the forest, there was no wind. It was not cold or hot. It was rare for a person like me whose optimal temperature range is very narrow. 

Ten or twenty minutes after we arrived at the campsite, two male backpackers came and they camped at East Baldpate, too.   

<Day2>

Day2 started by climbing 1500 feet. On the way we saw many interesting kinds of mushrooms, which were clearly poisonous, and lichen on the ground.

 

This it the trail

There was nobody on the trail. The trail is not popular, and also because it was only 7:30 a.m. It is far from a trailhead with car access, so no dayhikers were there, and also it is probably too tough for normal hikers to come here. It was very quiet and peaceful. Nice...but trail was hard to walk smoothly. Not only rocky as typical in New England, but also there were many roots.

The left picture is an example. It is pretty to look at. It is nice to take pictures. However, I admit I am not a fan of walking on roots. Anyway, it is a good training for sure!

The top of the first climb was East Baldpate. On the top is the junction with Appalachian trail. From the top I could see mountains popped up from rolling clouds. It was something like islands on the sea of clouds. It also looked like waves of ocean. 

This view reminded me of the 4th grade summer. 

One of my 4th grade's summer homework was to write "sea of clouds", in Japanese "雲海" in calligraphy. At that time, I didn't know or had never seen sea of clouds, so I was bored to write it. In calligraphy, it is required to write at least 30 papers the same letter(s), and hand in the perfect one. I wrote and wrote and I didn't know what it was. After I saw these kinds of scenery, I know what it was. I wish I had know the meaning at 4th grade. 

To be continued...

 

Katahdin Backpacking

日本語は英語の後にあります。

Katahdin, also called Baxter Peak, is a mountain located in Baxter State Park in Maine. This mountain is pretty and famous. It is famous, mostly because it is a northern terminus of 2200 mile of Appalachian Trail. So far, I don't have a plan to hike Appalachian Trail, so I thought that it might be a good idea to hike up to Katahdin. 

Maine state park is kind of harsh to non-Maine residents: the fee if much higher for non-Maine residents. Anyway, we did it. 

On the first day, we started at Chimney Pond trail. The destination was Chimney Pond. There are lean-to to stay overnight. It was interesting. I had never slept at such thing. The next day we planned to hike up to Katahdin, but check-out time is 10 a.m., and we didn't know if we would be back by 10. So Mr.N went to ranger station at the pond and  asked if it was okay to leave our backpacks past 10 at a lean-to. Mr.N was told to bring backpacks to the peak. What the hell?! It is soooooo ridiculous. It is super common to leave backpacks at a junction and check out peaks. I saw it everywhere. The most famous one is for JMT hikers to leave huge backpacks at trail crest and check out Mt.Whitney. He argued and got successful for ranger to say yes. 

Chimney Pond

On the first day hike at Chimney pond where it was pretty, one family was chatting. The kid was chatty and said to their mother, "You got married only once!" It made me laugh. It is very....very American. It is not unusual for Americans to get married several times. In contrast, in Japan, it is very rare to get married multiple times. I always find culture differences in the wilderness. It is interesting and funny. 

Going up in the early morning

The next day we started at 5 a.m. On the way up, we already saw one party coming down around 7 a.m. They went up there to see a sunrise. Wow. Hardcore!

From the top

Some portion was hard: it was scrambling, even though it is a normal trail on the map. In California, (nanny state), it doesn't happen like this. If it is steep, there are many switchbacks in CA, but there is not a single switchback in New England. After steep hiking up, we reached a top. It was a really good view. I felt charismatic environment at Katahdin. So many hikers must have been celebrating here at the top. I remembered the moment I completed my JMT at Mt.Whitney. AT must be much longer and tougher. 

At Katahdin, I was above the clouds. I saw a carpet of clouds. I wish I could walk on that. It was pretty. I think this is one of the best hikes in New England. 

カターディン、バクスターピークとも呼ばれる山はメイン州にある。この山はハイカーの間では有名だ。なぜならこのピーク、アパラチアントレイルの最北端、つまりアパラチアントレイルの最終地点だからだ。

アパラチアントレイルとは、アメリカ合衆国のジョージア州からメイン州まで 続く長距離トレイルだ。距離にして約２２００マイル、３５００キロ。アパラチアン山脈に沿って作られたトレイルだ。そのゴール地点がこのカターディン。私は今の所アパラチアントレイルを歩く予定はないので、カターディンに登ってみようかなと思い、キャンプに行った。

カターディンはメイン州の州立公園の中にある。バクスター州立公園だ。まず入場料金がメイン州民は安いのだが非メイン州民は高い。差別が激しい！と思いつつ、入る。

カターディンに登るために今回は一泊のバックパッキングをした。泊まったのはチムニーポンドのそばにある”リーンツー”。リーンツーとは小さな小屋みたいなものだ。屋根はあるがドアはなし。壁は３方向にある。日本の屋根付きのバス停みたいなものだ。底上げの床があるのでそこに寝袋を敷いて寝る。風があっても風除けにはならないし、風があれば雨も入ってくるという感じだ。リーンツーの大きさとしては、寝袋４つくらいは並べれば入る程度。この日はチムニーポンドのそばでディナーをとった。写真にあるようにこの湖、いい景色だ。ニューイングランドにしては予想外に美しい。

次の日のチェックアウトは朝１０時と書いてある。朝早くにカターディンに登るつもりだが１０時までに帰ってくるかはわからない。小さいデイパックだけで登り、寝袋などはリーンツーのそばに置いておいて、降りて来てからそれらと一緒にトレイルヘッドに戻る予定でいた。一応、公園のレンジャーに１０時過ぎるかもしれないが寝袋などを入れたバックパックを置いておいても良いかMrNが聞きに行った。レンジャーは機嫌が悪いのか、全部山の頂上まで持って行けという。ハァ？どう考えてもおかしい。普通、バックパックの途中で脇の山に寄り道で登るときは小さいデイパックだけで登り、大きな荷物はトレイルジャンクションに残していくのが山の常識だ。メインでは違うのか、それともここのレンジャー（おそらくこのレンジャーだけ）が非常識なのか？MrNもうんざりした様子でさらに交渉し 、なんとかオーケーをもらったが、これはややおかしなレンジャーだなと思った。

次の日朝５時に登り開始。これぞニューイングランドという感じでスイッチバックが全くなく、一直線に登るトレイル。とにかくニューイングランドにはスイッチバックがない。急なセクションでは４つんばいにならないと登れない箇所もいくつかあった。ぎゃー。やはり一筋縄ではアパラチアントレイルは終われないらしい。

そしてついに頂上へ。３枚目と４枚目の写真が頂上からとった写真。すごく綺麗だ。メイン、ニューイングランドの中では一番綺麗だと思う。草原と山が混じった景色が美しい。そして反対側を見ると雲が。雲の上まで上がって来たのだ。雲が絨毯のようにふわふわと浮いている。幻想的な景色だ。

カターディン、これまでのニューイングランドで行った中で今の所一番綺麗だと思った。ニューイングランドのハイクの中でお気に入りとなった。