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<title>Baxter State Park in Winter, Katahdin Hamlin peak</title>
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<h1>Baxter State Park in Winter: A Novice's Tale<br />by<br />Sam Jamke</h1>
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<!-- table of contents start -->
<h2><a name="toc" id="toc"></a>Table of Contents</h2>
<p>On <b>previous</b> page:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="baxter97.html#tocref1">Winter Peakbagging</a></li>
<li><a href="baxter97.html#tocref2">Planning</a></li>
<li><a href="baxter97.html#tocref3">Preparation</a></li>
</ul>
<p>On <b>this</b> page:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="baxter97_2.html#tocref4">The Trip:</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="baxter97_2.html#tocref5">Day 1: To Roaring Brook</a></li>
<li><a href="baxter97_2.html#tocref6">Day 2: To Chimney Pond</a></li>
<li><a href="baxter97_2.html#tocref7">Day 3: Hamlin Peak</a></li>
</ul></li></ul>
<p>On <b>next</b> page:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Trip (continued):
<ul>
<li><a href="baxter97_3.html#tocref8">Day 4: No Hiking</a></li>
<li><a href="baxter97_3.html#tocref9">Day 5: Back to
Civilization!</a></li>
</ul></li></ul>
<!-- table of contents end -->
<h2><a name="tocref4" id="tocref4"></a>The Trip</h2>
<p>We met up with the rest of our group at the Hamlet Motel in East
Millinocket that night and found that most of us were
sick—either getting over, in the middle of, or coming down
with colds. What a bunch of troopers! We double-checked our group
gear and supplies and decided who would carry what. We met for
breakfast in the morning, ate heartily and did not hurry because
several inches of snow followed by freezing rain had made for
slippery roads. Everyone gassed up their vehicles, repacked gear
for the wet conditions and headed to the park. We were on the trail
at 8:30 am under a sky showing patches of blue.</p>
<h3><a name="tocref5" id="tocref5"></a>Day 1: To Roaring Brook</h3>
<p>Those blue patches were not to last, however, and we had snow,
sleet and rain on and off all day. The trip to the perimeter road
(about 1.5 miles) was a period of sled adjustments, clothing
changes and just getting into the rhythm of the day. We soon
reached the Perimeter road and were at the Togue Pond gatehouse by
11 am. From that point on, the trip seemed endless to me. Since it
was my first time walking this road, I had no idea of what to
expect and had not realized how few landmarks there are along the
way. No signs with mileage, so you could only "guesstimate" how far
along the eight-mile stretch you were.</p>
<p>Three of us were walking, the rest skiing. I was feeling very
tired from my cold and found myself seriously running out of steam
about 3 miles from Roaring Brook (although I had no idea at the
time where I was). I realized I had better eat and drink something
more and told my two fellow walkers I was stopping to down a
Thermos® bottle of soup. Not too much further along we finally
came to Avalanche Field, a spot we knew to be less than two miles
from Roaring Brook. At last! We began to hope our
spouses/significant others would have reached the bunkhouse,
dropped their loads and be on their way back to offer some relief
to us. Soon, we saw our heroes approaching and were only too glad
to graciously accept assistance. We all finally made it to Roaring
Brook shortly before 4 pm and found that the early arrivals had the
stove stoked up and the cabin toasty warm. We unloaded gear, draped
clothing from strings stretched the width and breadth of the
bunkhouse and changed into dry clothes. What a relief to finally be
"home."</p>
<p>The bean stew I made heated nicely right on the wood stove, so
we did not even have to fuss with our backpacking stoves. Everyone
just helped themselves and ate stew and fresh bread until they were
quite full. We had brought a couple of collapsible 5-gallon water
carriers in with us, so filling those and three 6-liter "Dromedary"
bags once a day gave us enough water for all our daily needs. We
purified the water at Roaring Brook by filtration and/or tablets
but skipped this practice at Chimney Pond. Although the park
regulations say all water should be treated, past experience of my
fellow hikers and the winter rangers has been that the Chimney Pond
water in winter is quite safe. We also had pots of water simmering
on the wood stove all day, so water for soup and hot beverages was
readily available to everyone. We had three single-mantle lanterns
for lighting the common area and used headlamps or candle lanterns
for finding our way around the bunkrooms.</p>
<h3><a name="tocref6" id="tocref6"></a>Day 2: To Chimney Pond</h3>
<p>That night the temperature dropped sharply and the precipitation
turned to snow. By the time we packed up and left for Chimney Pond
Wednesday morning, the temperature was in the teens and the air
dry. Most of us left our skis on the porch of the ranger cabin at
Roaring Brook, since the trail was too steep for anyone to ski up
and too steep for most of us to ski down with a sled. I also
wrapped up several pounds of leftover bean stew and left it on the
porch, figuring that if the animals got it, at least I would not
have to carry it out!</p>
<p>It took about 3+ hours to climb to the bunkhouse at Chimney
Pond. Snow conditions were good (no ice) and we snowshoed the
entire way. I had new Sherpas for the trip, with the new Prater
step-in bindings that Steve had given me for Christmas. These
bindings have very aggressive crampons, excellent lateral control
and go on my mountaineering boots in a snap. Just the thing for
someone whose hands become painfully numb and useless in the cold.
I found the trip to the pond less difficult than I had been
expecting, though it was certainly no easy feat to haul a loaded
sled up some of the steeper terrain.</p>
<p>When we arrived, we found that the bunkhouse had not been used
for several days at least and was very cold indeed—about
20°F. It took some effort to get the ice-cold stove to draw
properly and clear the cabin of smoke. But once it was going, the
temperature climbed quickly and soon we were opening windows and
shedding layers of clothes. The temperature outside plummeted
through the afternoon and night, while we relaxed and recovered
from the long hike of the previous day. We listened to the weather
on a weather radio and invited the ranger on duty (Lester) to
dinner. He told us it would be cold and windy on New Year's day. We
celebrated New Year's eve on Baxter State Park Time. (We all set
our watches four hours ahead because we knew we would never last
until midnight EST.) By 9 pm we were all down for the night!</p>
<p>Sleep—how it eluded me! We had a snorer in our bunk room
and I am a light sleeper under the best of circumstances. I had a
prescription for Ambien sleeping pills (reserved for backpacking
trips) and generally took one or two every night. I managed perhaps
four hours of sleep a night…it had to be enough.</p>
<h3><a name="tocref7" id="tocref7"></a>Day 3: Hamlin Peak</h3>
<p>Next morning we were in no hurry to get going because, though
the day was crystal clear, it dawned at -15°F with a raging
wind. The latest time at which the Park regs permit a summit climb
to begin is 9 am, so we hit the trail at that time and headed for
the Hamlin Ridge Trail via the North Basin Trail, a total distance
to Hamlin Peak of only 2 miles. But it is not a two-mile trip to be
sniffed at, especially at sub-zero temps in high winds. Nine of us
started the trip, three turned back at a very windy spot on the
ridge and six of us (me included) made the summit. Going across the
open ridge to Baxter Peak (the terminus of the Appalachian Trail
and the summit usually referred to when folks speak of climbing
Katahdin) was not feasible. So down we went after the documenting
summit photos were taken. The round trip took only four hours and
we had the afternoon to play cards, take photos and plan the next
day's activities. We would try Baxter Peak if the weather
permitted.</p>
<p>We took turns fetching water from a spot across the pond that
was open. The first trip I made with Steve across the frozen pond
was cold and windy; the next day, however, there was slush on the
surface and we were very careful to watch where we were stepping.
One slip completely through the ice could mean certain
death—the body can not take such cold temperatures for long.
The slush turned out to be only a covering on top of very solid ice
and had resulted from the pond level dropping and water flowing
over the resettling surface. It was nonetheless disconcerting to
see Steve's foot disappear beneath the surface on the trip over to
the watering hole.</p>
<p>Another feature of our Chimney Pond accommodations was the
outhouse. It was located only about 50 yards from the bunkhouse and
the path to it was well packed—as long as you did not step
too far to either side. A mis-step meant postholing to one's thigh!
I had to shovel the wind- whipped snow out of the outhouse when we
first arrived and it was truly a cold place to visit. No books or
magazines were carried to the toilet by anyone on this trip!</p>
<p>The regular ranger (Stuart) was back on duty Thursday and we
invited him to join in our chili dinner. He also filled out the
extensive paperwork required before we left on the next day's climb
(we had forgotten to do this with Lester and were properly contrite
about our omission—since we had told Lester our plans in
great detail, we had figured we were covered.) We sent Stuart home
with all the leftover chili because we did not want to carry it,
and he had been living on three-week-old soup for too darn
long!</p>
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