Monday July 4, 2005

Hamlin & Baxter Peak

The day we have waited for since last Fall. Today we would hike Hamlin peak, and then head over to Baxter for our 100th peak on the New England Hundred Highest list.

This is the route we took today. The red line shows our ascent first to Hamlin, then over to Baxter. The blue line shows our descent.

The profile of our hike.

A 3-D view of our hike to the summit.

Once again under bright blue skies we see this plaque at the begining of the hike.

Baxter peak is the northern end of the Appalachian trail.

Geri and Julie waiting to get going.

The first 1 mile of the trail is very easy to traverse up to the bridge crossing Katahdin Stream.

Geri enjoying a snack while MichaelJ makes his way up some fairly steep boulders. After the stream crossing, the trail gets very steep.

A view of some of the ponds. In the upper left is Lost Pond, below it is Daicey Pond where we had our cabin. The one on the lower left is Grassy Pond. The large one in the center is Elbow Pond. Below it is Tracy Pond and the one in the upper right is Kidney Pond.

Julie resting on the next steep boulder section that requires a lot of scrambling and use of metal foot holds.

Geri making her way through the boulders.

Geri giving the thumbs up after coming over the ledge with MichaelJ behind her.

Just when you thing the tough stuff is over, you have to go up this.

At the top of all the rocks you reach Thoreau Spring trail junction and get a feel for how large Kathadin is. Note - the srping is actually .2 miles South on the Abol trail.

We can now see our first peak for the day - Hamlin.

A short rest and re-group before heading over to Hamlin.

A great view of the Knife Edge and the Chimney.

Zooming out a bit we now see Baxter Peak as well.

Looking West we see several of the peaks along the Northwestern trail.

At the summit we enjoy a quick lunch.

.2 miles below the summit is another spring where you can fill up your water supply before heading over to Baxter peak.

Here we are at the summit!!!!! Bright blue skies and a steady breeze made this a perfect day.

A closer view of the Knife Edge.

The USGS marker.

The mandatory photo in front of the summit sign.

The 4 of us at the summit carin.

We spend almost and hour on the summit before we decided we should head down.

Chimney Pond from above.

Looking over at Hamlin peak.

This young woman was just starting her trip south on the Appalachian trail.

Looking back at Baxter Peak as we descend.

MichaelJ on his way down.

Geri indicating she is ready to keep moving at a water stop.

One last look from the Camp Ground as we head back to our cabin.

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