Visiting Camden, Maine
Camden is a coastal town in Maine that brings on the charm and nautical lifestyle. A must stop town in a road trip across Maine.
Tag: hike
Visiting Maine in the Winter
Your guide to visiting Maine in the Winer, with all of the best things to do.
Mt. Katahdin Hiking Guide
Mt.Katahdin is the heart of Baxter State Park. It brings in visitors and often local hikers wills summit a few times a year. There are multiple routes to summit Mt.Katahdin, and they are all beautifully difficult. Mt. Katahdin has two major peaks, Baxter Peak at 5,267 feet in elevation and Pamola at 4,919 feet. The average round trip hiking both peaks is about 10 miles give or take.
Planning:
When you choose which trail you’d prefer to hike, you need to check out the parking reservations and pass system. Baxter State Park is very strict on their parking policies, so you will need a pass to hike Mt. Katahdin if you are not camping within the park. If you live in the state your park access is free, and it is $5 per car to reserve a spot. If you do not want to reserve a spot, you can show up the day of and *may possibly* get a spot. The line of cars arrives outside the gate very early and if you are too deep in line you won’t get a spot. They start giving away unreserved spots at 6:00 am, but if everything is fully reserved they wait until there are no-shows beginning at 7:05 am.
Factor more time for driving into your “Away from home” time. I have a tendency to calculate my drive time from my home base to the trailhead into my hike time. This is mostly because I don’t like leaving Riley (our dog) for over 8 hours at a time. Between the time you spend waiting at the gatehouse in the morning and the roughly 40-minute drive from the gatehouse to the trailheads you’re adding more time to your day. Say you hike for 9 hours and drive for 3, that’s a 12-hour day instead of a 9-hour day.
Time of Year: Mt. Katahdin is a big, dangerous mountain. It may be sunny and nice at the base but cloudy, cold, and wet above the tree line. Make sure you check in with a ranger before your hike to make sure you are prepared for the weather.
Trails:
This mountain is not easy, and the labeled easiest trails up are debated. Among the list of “easiest trails up” would be the Hunt Trail, Saddle Trail and Hamlin Ridge. These don’t include your journey across the mountain and your way down.
Depending if you choose to do one peak and then descend, or do both peaks you will need to choose a trail to cross the ridge.
Knife’s Edge: This is a famous trail on the mountain where the drop offs are steep and the path is narrow. There are a few very steep spots where having a hiking buddy would be handy for a leg up. It is fine if you are by yourself but it is a more technical spot. This trail absolutely should not be done in bad weather. I would not even recommend it after recent rain or heavy wind.
This mountain is not easy, and the labeled easiest trails up are debated. Among the list of “easiest trails up” would be the Abol Trail, Hunt Trail, Saddle Trail and Hamlin Ridge. These don’t include your journey across the mountain and your way down.
Depending if you choose to do one peak and then descend, or do both peaks you will need to choose a trail to cross the ridge.
The Hunt Trail
Distance: 5.4 Miles
Elevation: 4,258 Feet
Trailhead: Katahdin Stream Campground
The Hunt Trail is roughly 5.4 miles from the parking area to Baxter Peak. If you choose this trail you get gradually worked into the steep climb as compared to the other trails where you jump right into the climb. Some people prefer to go up Hunt and come down Abol because of the openness of the Hunt Trail. Both the Abol and Hunt trails are on the back side of Mt. Katahdin.
Abol Trail
Distance: 4 Miles
Elevation: 3,969 Feet
Trailhead: Abol Campground
This trail also takes you up the backside of the mountain to Baxter peak and Pamola if you take Knife’s Edge over. It may seem like a short trail in terms of mileage but it will take about the same amount of time as the other trails. The trail was redone a few years back and is now a bit easier with the switchbacks that were added in. It is the most direct trail up and down.
Chimney Pond Trail
Distance: 3.1 Miles
Elevation: 1,463 Feet
Trailhead: Roaring Brook
The Chimney Pond Trail is a connecting trail that takes you up to Chimney Pond, where a majority of the other trails connect. You can reach the Dudley, Hamlin Ridge, Saddle and Cathedral trails from the Chimney Pond trail. This is a beautiful hike alone, with great views of Mt.Katahdin overlooking the pond.
Helon Taylor
Distance: 3.8 Miles
Elevation: 3,937 Feet
Trailhead: Roaring Brook
Helon Taylor trail will take you directly to Pamola peak, and is the only other trail that will take you there besides Dudley or coming over from Knife’s Edge. The trail is mostly exposed and rocky, until you reach the treeline again.
Saddle
Distance: 2.1 Miles
Trailhead: Connect from Chimney Pond
Saddle is the easier pick of the two if you’re debating between taking Saddle of Cathedral to the summit. It is still quite steep but it follows the valley of the mountain to the top.
Cathedral
Distance: 1.7 Miles
Trailhead: Connects from Chimney Pond
I would vote that Cathedral is one of my favorite trails because of the difficulty. It is a lot of bouldering and heaving yourself over rocks. I would not recommend taking this trail if the weather isn’t great. I also wouldn’t take this trail on the descent unless you’re a glutton for punishment. Cathedral trail takes you to Baxter Peak.
Dudley
Distance: 1 mile
Trailhead: Connects to Chimney Pond
Dudley is similar to the Cathedral trail where you are bouldering and rock hopping, but it takes you to Pamola Peak versus Baxter Peak. This trail is occasionally closed, so be sure to make sure it is open before solidifying your plans.
Hamlin Ridge
Distance: Variable
Elevation: Variable
Trailhead: Connects to Chimney Pond
Take the Hamlin Ridge trail only if you want to include Hamlin peak in your trip. You will have to descend a little bit before resuming the climb to Baxter peak. You’ll connect with the Saddle trail before you reach Baxter peak. Hamlin peak is part of the New England 4,000 footer club.
Packing Must Haves
- Flashlight or headlight (Baxter requires it)
- First Aid Kit
- Adequate amount of water or life straw
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- SLEEVES-I got so sunburned wearing just a tank top
- GPS or Downloaded Maps
- Snacks-Ben burned 3200 calories and I burned 2600 calories on our hike
- A second pair of socks-Change them at the top
This isn’t an all-inclusive hiking checklist, but these are the things that were most important to us on our hike. We saw some very unprepared people out hiking and to each their own but if something goes wrong help is far away. You can easily avoid uncomfortable circumstances by being prepared. The cell phone reception in the park is nearly non-existent, make sure you download the maps you want in advance. There is limited service on the summit of Mt. Katahdin surprisingly enough.
We hope that this guide will help you out when you’re planning your trip up Mt. Katahdin. If you have any questions that we didn’t cover or just anything else in general, drop them in the comments!
Bryce Canyon National Park Guide
Getting there is just as beautiful as being in the park. Nine miles outside of Bryce Canyon on Scenic Byway 12 is Red Canyon. It should be added to your “must see” list, and simply driving through could be good enough. This is where you …
5 Best Hikes Bryce Canyon National Park
The 5 Best Hikes at Bryce Canyon National Park. Make sure you get out and explore on your trip! 🙂
Angel’s Landing Hiking Guide
Interested in hiking Angel’s Landing? This post is the right post for you! Before our first trip to Zion, I couldn’t find much information about the nitty-gritty details and it gave me anxiety. Hopefully, this post will make things easier for you!
Full Trip: 4.4 Miles
To Scout’s Lookout: 3.9 Miles
Scout’s Lookout to Angels Landing: ½ Mile
Total Elevation Gain: 1,604 ft
Estimated Time: 2-5 hours
Permit System:
In April of 2022, the National Park Service began the permit lottery system for Angel’s Landing. We were among the first groups of people that needed to get a permit to hike, and it’s not too bad of a process. You’ll need to apply for the lottery months before you actually want to hike. For example, we wanted to hike the week of April 16-20th, and the lottery for hikes April 1-May 31st was open January 3rd through the 20th with the announcements made January 25th. It was $6 to apply for the permit and would have covered up to 6 people. The fee is non-refundable. When you apply for your permit you’ll have to choose up to 7 days and time windows and rank them from most favorable to least. We did not get our first pick and ended up getting a permit to hike on the day we had to check out of our campground and leave Zion. They now also have a “Day before” lottery where you can apply between 12:01 and 3:00 pm the day before you want to hike, they will announce who gets the permits at 4:00 pm. The system is flawed but it is better than having massive crowds while on your hike.
Getting to the trailhead:
The trailhead begins at bus stop #6, the Grotto. This is the same bus stop used for the Emerald Pools Hike as well as a few other shorter hikes. Most people take the bus from the visitor center directly to the trailhead. We met a few people who stayed at the Zion Lodge (bus stop #5) and walked to the trailhead.
What if you want to start your hike before the buses begin to run? We did not want to start our hike at the same time as a bunch of others would begin their hike, so we chose to do things the hard way. We rented bikes in Springdale the day before our hike was planned so we could ride in before the buses started for the day. We left our campsite at the Watchman Campground around 6:00 am when it was still dark out (mid April). It took us 30 minutes to bike to the Grotto bus stop. If you rented e-bikes this time would be significantly less, but road bikes are less expensive to rent. We locked our bikes right at the bus stop and left for the trail. A side note: there are nice bathrooms at the bus stop to use before you hit the trail.
The Trail
The Grotto to Scout’s Lookout: (No permit necessary)
This is where a majority of your time spent getting to Angel’s Landing will be. It is roughly 3.6 miles to Scout’s lookout, and it is a steep incline most of the way. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the lookout and we all but ran. I would more likely estimate that if you’re dealing with crowds, hiking in a group or just enjoy hiking at a leisurely pace that it could take up to two hours to reach Scout’s Lookout. The path crosses the river and takes a sharp right to follow the river for a few hundred yards until it turns up towards the hills near the river bend. The trail itself is mostly paved with a few sandy/dirt spots to traverse. The views are amazing the entire trail. Once you begin to get to higher elevations you’ll notice that the switchbacks have begun, these will be your best friend for fighting the steep incline. When you’re a bit past the half-way mark you’ll enter a canyon that is a quiet zone for the Mexican Spotted Owls. The park has a sign out that asks visitors to remain respectful of the owls and keep their voices and noises to a minimum while in the canyon. Then you’re on to your last set of (21) switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles. Scout’s Lookout is an open, flat area where a lot of people can hangout. There are outhouses at Scout’s Lookout but our run in with them was sub-par, even first thing in the morning. You have an amazing view from the lookout, including the top of Angel’s Landing.
Scout’s Lookout to Angel’s Landing: (Permit now required)
The hike from Scout’s Lookout to Angel’s Landing is roughly half a mile, and about another 500 feet of elevation gain. This is the most technical part of the entire hike, where you enter the chain area. There are not always chains to hang on to so you will always need to be watching your step. This section of the hike is not well suited for people that are afraid of heights or families with small children. We were the only ones up there at the time and I could not imagine trying to traverse the trail when it is fully packed. We saw some people using grippy gloves with the chains, which is a great idea for germs and the elements. Once you exit the chain area you come to a flat, wide-ish area that spans the top of Angel’s Landing. This pad area can get quite busy. The views are breathtaking and worth every high elevation step.
10 Best Zion National Park Hikes
The 10 best hikes in Zion National Park! There are so many trails covering all different difficulty levels so there really is something for everyone here!
10 Best Maine Hikes
Maine has some of the best hiking trails around, However, finding which ones you want to do is incredibly difficult! We use Alltrails to find our perfect fit for the day but it can be hard to weed through all of the “destination” hikes. We …