Overnight Hiking and Camping Galleries

Baxter State Park-9/12/09 -9/13/09 Day 3 & 4- NE 67 N Brother : Day 3, the big day. On this same day Rols and I were to try to climb North Brother Mountain and finish our 67 New England 4000 footers AND Marty was finishing his New England 100 Highest list- on the same hike! Sort of. Marty and Jason left early to hike Coe Mountain, South Brother and then North Brother to Fort Mt. Mike and Larry left to head north in the park for a 3 day backpack. Rols and I headed to hike North Brother. We arrived on the lot surprised to find it ¾ full with groups of people heading up. We hit the trail at a good pace, hoping to enjoy the day. We met some nice folks from Canada and chatted and then headed up the first steep section. It was Rocky, rooty and was eroding and had to be one of the least favorite trails I had been on. There were lots of downed trees and stumps, and luckily views of the pond and back to DoubleTop Mt. overcame the ugliness of the trail (ugly in my opinion). We arrived at the Coe Trail jct and chatted with the nice Canadian group and talked about all the lists out there. Paul and I finally geared back up to finish the work we had worked on heavily over the last year. Lots of long drives, multi peak days were going to culminate in .8 miles. We finally arrived above treeline and soaked in the great views, including the summit. As we started to head up, I looked back and a few hundred yards below the summit, Marty and Jason emerged from the rocks! They had come around and met us right below # 67! Marty ran up and Paul, Jason and I then summited to the cheers of Marty and the Canadian family who Marty encouraged to cheer as well. It was a GREAT finish, with Rols in which I did ¾ of my 67 peaks and Marty who had helped hike and guide us through the end. Also having Jason along, who is a great addition to our group of hiking nuts was excellent. We took some pix, and then it was time for Marty and Jason to get serious. They had to continue to Fort Mt. for Marty’s 100. Rols and I waited for an hour on N. Brother and then we saw Marty and Jason pop up on the Ridge for Marty’s #100! Congrats to a great guy, he deserves it. We also met a fellow VFTT’er, Bugbait while waiting. Paul and I them headed down and thought a lot about all the hikes we had done and people who had helped us and GREAT places we saw in VT and Maine. Arriving down, we headed to Abol campground for the next few nights. We had a nice celebration as Marty and Jason arrived and we celebrated our list finishes. Nine plus miles on the day. Day 4- rest day. We all were tired from tough hikes and decided on a day of rest. We got up late, and hung out and did nothing. After lunch, it started to rain and we went into our lean-to joined by Marty and Jason and listened to the Red Sox game. Finally a break in the rain, we went on the .8 hike to Little Abol Falls. Stretched the legs, nothing great at the falls. An easy relaxing day all around.

Baxter State Park-9/12/09 -9/13/09 Day 3 & 4- NE 67 N Brother

Day 3, the big day. On this same day Rols and I were to try to climb ...

Updated: Sep 16, 2009 10:10am PST

Baxter State Park- 9/14/09 Baxter Peak Day 5 : Day 5. After all we had done, we weren’t finished. Our hope was to do Katahdin, Baxter and Hamlin Peaks from Abol Slide Trail down the Hunt Trail. All night long, the wind whipped and we doubted our chances to go. Come morning, we decided to head up the protected portion of the Hunt Trail and decide as we go. The weather looked better at Katahdin Stream campground and we headed up. We were passed early by a group of ladies heading to their AT finish, this would be a theme on the day. The trail got tough about Katahdin Stream Falls, at first with steep rock stairs and then some tougher spots with roots and steep rocks. As we headed above treeline we geared up; and were stopped in our tracks by some very tough rock scrambles. Then more- some requiring metal rungs and hand/footholds. Then, it got steep. And steeper. We were all taken aback at the roughness of the trail- it was slow going, we progressed fine but most steps required some decision making. The cloud cover was low, around 4000 feet or less, and Rols called for a discussion at “decision rock”. We talked over the clouds, wind and possible rain. After a while, we decided to go point to point and reassess. We hit the final steep approach to the tablelands; and lo and behold the clouds started to rise and we had full views to 5000 feet. Decision made, we headed on. We were thrilled to be up here and enjoyed our walk towards the summit. Marty summited Baxter Peak first, then Jason and Rols and I. We saw celebrating AT’ers and others like us up for the day to enjoy. We savored the history of the summit and took some pix and dropped near the Knife’s Edge for a snack. Out of the clouds on the Knife Edge was a gentleman who was wearing a golf shirt and Khaki’s and had the littlest knapsack. He told of heading to Pamola Peak and how the weather had turned on him. We were worried for him, but then he went on to explain this was the 53rd straight year of summiting Baxter Peak. Wow. He moved on and we shook our heads, still not sure to be worried and/or impressed. The clouds rolled back in and the wind picked up so Marty and Jason decided to forego Hamlin Peak. As we got on the Tablelands, the clouds rose and we had views, except of the summit for the rest of the way. We battled down the rocks into the woods and then headed out. What a trip; The Traveler Loop, 67 Finish on N. Brother and Baxter Peak. Ten plus miles on the day. Mike and Larry returned from their backpack and we all spent the night reflecting on the trip- among other things :).

Baxter State Park- 9/14/09 Baxter Peak Day 5

Day 5. After all we had done, we weren’t finished. Our hope was to ...

Updated: Sep 15, 2009 6:10pm PST

Baxter State Park- 9/11/09 - Traveler Loop Day 2 : Rols and I got to Mike and Larry’s lean-to around 6am for an early start- we were doing the Traveler Loop. Marty and Jason were saving some energy for their bog hike the next day and hiked North Traveler. We headed along the Pogy Notch Trail and enjoyed the flat trail and views of the South Branch ponds. At the Center Ridge Trail, we turned up, and the theme of the trail was up and over the rocks, never around. It was a tough rock scrambling trail, in which we earned our arrival at our first peak of the day, Peak of the Ridges. There were great views everywhere and the view of the days 10.6 mile loop opened up. We knew it would be a tough day. The drop off Peak of the Ridges was a rocky descent, and we were happy to get in to the forested col. The ascent of The Traveler sloped along the forest and rock and we happily arrived at the Traveler, approximately 3500 feet. After lunching, we dropped down into the forest to start the ascent to North Traveler. It was a rocky ascent and went over several false summits. We arrived at North Traveler, very hot. It was a sunny day and with 7 miles above treeline it was draining. We dropped into the shade, rested and then began the descent of N. Traveler through an alpine meadow and then rocky slide. The views of the Ponds were great, and we happily arrived at the trailhead. A fantastic and challenging hike. Around 10.6 miles and 3700 feet of elevation on the day. It was another early night to sleep.

Baxter State Park- 9/11/09 - Traveler Loop Day 2

Rols and I got to Mike and Larry’s lean-to around 6am for an early s ...

Updated: Sep 15, 2009 4:48pm PST

Baxter State Park- 9/10/09 - Day 1 : Rols (Paul) and I arrived in Patten Maine after leaving Hampstead NH at 4am. We met LarryD, Mike, Jason and Marty in front of the Patten General Store; and we picked up our last odds and ends and headed into the park. After checking in at the gate, we arrived at South Branch to find the road blocked by downed tree limbs. The ranger, Gabe, had been trimming trees so we walked the road clearing the debris and moved on into our sites. Looking for an easy day, we headed out onto the Middle Fowler trail to head to the Ledges for some views. After a few pictures we headed further up the trail to a viewpoint and then back to the camp. For our first night, we had a potluck dinner including hot dogs, kielbasa, steak tips, corn on the cob and baked potatoes. After enjoying our meal and some friendly conversation it was an early night, as we had big plans for day 2. Four easy miles for the day. There will be several sets of short reports and pix; in no way can they convey how great a trip this was with a cool group of people.

Baxter State Park- 9/10/09 - Day 1

Rols (Paul) and I arrived in Patten Maine after leaving Hampstead NH a ...

Updated: Sep 15, 2009 4:19pm PST

Maine Camping Trip August 14-16 :

Maine Camping Trip August 14-16

Updated: Aug 17, 2009 11:14am PST

Baxter State Park- South Branch Pond- June 19-21, 2009 :

Baxter State Park- South Branch Pond- June 19-21, 2009

Updated: Jun 30, 2009 5:36pm PST

Weekend in the Presidential Range- :

Weekend in the Presidential Range-

Updated: May 11, 2009 5:03pm PST

Baxter State Park Day 5-7, September 17-19, 2008 : For the purpose of these pictures, I am using some abbreviations as the park has some tough names to keep spelling. Nesowadnedhunk= Neso, anything Wassataquoik= Wass. It will become clear in the picture notes. Full trip report can be found here- http://tucohiking.com/id18.html and http://tucohiking.com/id19.html for Day 2.

Baxter State Park Day 5-7, September 17-19, 2008

For the purpose of these pictures, I am using some abbreviations as th ...

Updated: Sep 20, 2008 4:31pm PST

Baxter State Park Day 1-4, September 13-16, 2008 : For the purpose of these pictures, I am using some abbreviations as the park has some tough names to keep spelling. Nesowadnedhunk= Neso, anything Wassataquoik= Wass. It will become clear in the picture notes. There are a lot of pix, yes, so of course feel free to skip. Baxter has so much beauty the more pix the better. Full trip report can be found here- http://tucohiking.com/id18.html and http://tucohiking.com/id19.html for Day 2.

Baxter State Park Day 1-4, September 13-16, 2008

For the purpose of these pictures, I am using some abbreviations as th ...

Updated: Sep 20, 2008 2:42pm PST

Pillsbury State Park Camping 7/20-7/22 : Jason and I had a camping trip planned for a few months, and finally a day or so before the weather cleared and we were confident to go. If was a fun trip, and I learned a lot- mostly how to plan better  We headed up Friday afternoon and started to carry items down to our site. We had site 40 at Pillsbury State Park, a hike to site. It was about 300 yards to the site down a little trail. We set up camp, and I made burgers and corn on the cob for dinner. Awesome food, and then we listened to the Red Sox game on my crank radio- Jason got a kick out of the crank thing. It started to drizzle so we ran into the tent fairly early and played PSP until I couldn’t stay up any more. Next am we had a cereal breakfast and then went hiking- yes Jason went hiking. It was a 2.4 mile hike up the Balance Rock Trail. It was fairly easy, but did have some incline to it. Jason ran up trying not to stop and rest and we got to the balance rock and took some pix- see below. There were a couple of nice views of the ponds below. We headed down, joking about the number of blazes and we counted them to occupy the time. It was a nice hike and the weather was great. We then went to the town of Newport for a few supplies. We got back and went fishing at the Narrows, a small spot between tow of the ponds. Not a fish to be found there. After an hour we started back but stopped at a new spot with a nice view. Jason fished and almost caught a fish, but it let go. It was a great time anyhow. Headed back to the site and built a fire and cooked dinner. It was really nice out. We watched the ducks hunt for their dinner for a while and hung out by the fire. The day went quick, and then we headed back to the tent, hung out for a while and I crashed. Sunday I woke up early to make breakfast, and built a nice fire. Bacon and eggs, Jason loved the bacon. We hung out for a while around the fire talking until we decided to pack and go. All in all a great trip and lots of fun. Funny side notes- I brought my large tent, and when we got to the site there was a tent pad that in no way could fit it. Luckily I brought my 2 man tent also, so we had a place to stay. I worked out great; we used the tent pad to hang out on since it was near the fire ring and had a nice view of the pond. Also, the wood at the campground was horrible. I tried to cut some with my axe and it was like trying to chop petrified wood. The stuff I purchased in Newport burnt much better. It made making dinner a challenge for sure, but it all worked in the end. There were only pit toilets at the campground- at site 40 there is a trail to a box in the woods with a toilet set on it. Jason didn’t love that! The hike to the site was a bit of a pain, next time we’d hit a site you could drive to. Too many trips back and forth to the car. It’s a beautiful place all around.

Pillsbury State Park Camping 7/20-7/22

Jason and I had a camping trip planned for a few months, and finally a ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2007 8:17am PST