Katahdin Sunrise Hike!

One of my bucket list items: a sunrise from Katahdin.  Well this was my chance.  Without getting too much into the details, let's just say I have some privileges as ex-staff at Baxter State Park, and was able to acquire access to the park at the time of night needed to start for a sunrise hike.

I brought Eliot along for his first visit to the park, which both of us were very excited about.  I love to bring new people to Baxter, where I spent three months of my life in 2014 as part of the trail crew.  During that time, I grew to love the park very deeply.  It was a home for me, and there is a magical essence that I feel every time I come back.  Long story short, I try and show to new visitors why it is such a special place. Hopefully the following pictures can help that message come across.

We began our hike from Roaring Brook campground at around 1am, with a nearly clear sky to ourselves.  A rainstorm had recently passed through, compromising our confidence in a good-weather hike, but as the moon shone through the trees, hope was restored.

The trailhead, with Helon Taylor waiting for us.

The next few hours passed by pretty smoothly, and I didn't take pictures because there was a whole lot of nothing to see in the darkness.  The Helon Taylor trail goes up steadily and slowly, at least compared to some of the other trails.  There were some patches where we were able to see just enough to hike without headlamps for a little while.  The moon was to the left of Pamola Peak, which we could see looming ahead with clouds whipping by at immense speed.  As soon as we began to hit the bald ridge that Helon climbs toward the end, we got to experience the aforementioned wind first-hand.  It was incredibly windy, and the issue was not staying up, but instead adjusting to varying gusts of wind.  We would adjust to a strong gust, then it would go away, causing us to nearly fall over.

Here are several things I very much enjoyed about hiking on a night like this.

• We had the place to ourselves.
• The moon and sky are beautiful at night.
• It's cooler at night, and you don't overheat.

Upon reaching the final section of the Helon Taylor trail, the sky began to brighten with hints of sunlight.  At Pamola Peak, a red-orange glow was visible, and was perhaps one of the more beautiful skies I've seen.

Pre-dawn glow from Pamola Peak

We took some time to munch a bit, and as the sky got brighter, unfortunately the clouds began to roll in.

The opposite view was dark and stormy, looking across Knife Edge.  We chose to continue along it since it was getting cloudy anyway, and it looked like we may miss the sunrise itself.

The Chimney is one of my favorite parts of the Knife Edge.

Eliot scaling down into the Chimney

Katahdin Lake behind Knife Edge

We had to be extremely careful due to slippery lichen on the rocks due to the dense fogginess.  Aside from clouds condensing on our hair and eyebrows, all was well.

Eliot killin' it

Looking back to where we'd come, a gap in the clouds provided a bit longer of a view.

Slowly crawling up and across South Peak, we made it to Baxter Peak, where a large pile of rocks stands tall for all hikers.

Great view right?

I convinced Eliot that we should hang around at the top because I knew for some reason it would clear up.  From past hikes, I knew the view was absolutely stunning, and to hike on and miss that would be a shame. After some more munching, the sun did make an appearance!  Six hours into the journey, and we got to see the sunlight.

Baxter Peak at 7am

Looking north across the Tablelands, the summit sign sits on the throne that we call Katahdin, or Ktaadn, as it was once spelled.  It was fulfilling to see this summit for the third time.  It never gets old - it's just too special of a place to become boring.

Looking behind us, the Knife Edge became visible, showing just how gnarly a piece of rock it is.

The rocks are very square up here - perfect for lying down

We then headed down the Saddle Trail, with the intention of either going down the saddle or up to Hamlin Peak depending on how we felt.  It was around here that we saw our first person of the day.  He was hiking up the Saddle Trail, likely from Chimney Pond CG, after having looked at everyone's start times in the register at Roaring Brook afterward.

The Chimney in the background

Index Rock and the Chimney

We did end up going to Hamlin Peak, however we were blessed with more clouds, and walking through a patch of krumholtz soaked our pants.  At the summit, we saw another hiker who had come up the Hunt Trail.  Together, we groused about the cloudiness.  I would like to return in fair weather to see the view from that summit, since it looked neat from Baxter Peak.

Eliot was very happy on our descent along the Hamlin Ridge Trail.  The sun had returned.

This was a new trail for both of us, and I admit the view from this ridge is quite amazing.  You can look right into the South Basin across to Knife Edge, or to the left into the North Basin, where Blueberry Pond lives.

South Basin and Knife Edge

After entering the tree line, we found a small unnamed pond with crystal clear water.  The northern ridge of the Katahdin massif is in the background.

We rejoined with the Chimney Pond trail, and stopped by Basin Pond to get a view of the South Basin once again before leaving.

One week during my time as BSP Trail Crew, we worked on a waterbar reconstruction on the Chimney Pond Trail, and I was pleased to see it held up so well over the winter.

After twelve hours on the mountain, we returned to the parking lot and ate many cookies!  I offered to drive Eliot to the other side of the park, up to Kidney Pond, where I lived last fall for the Trail Crew operation.  I saw Dean, the ranger at the campground, and he let us take out a canoe to see the surrounding mountains.  From left to right: Moose Mountain, Doubletop (pointy), West Peak, OJI, Barren Mountain, and Katahdin.

Here is proof that we at least sat in a canoe.

All in all, it was another beautiful day in BSP.  We left the park very tired, and ended up taking a nap at the Trading Post by Ambejejus Lake. Three hours later and fueled with caffeine, I was ready to make the trek back to Monroe.

Here is the Google Earth track and elevation profile for the hike.  (We went clockwise.)  Distance was 11.5 miles according to the map, though know knows....