| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Katahdin - Baxter Peak, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Cathedral Trail, Hamlin Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, February 20, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Abol Bridge parking lot plowed and pretty full ... carpool if you can |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction, Ice Axe |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
bridged |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
trails were well maintained |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
cross country ski conditions in Baxter State Park featured plenty of hard packed snow on feb 18 on our way in to Roaring Brook ...
Chimney Pond Trail was packed by BSP Ranger snowmobiles, we snowshoed up to Chimney Pond on feb 19 ...
trails above Chimney Pond had a couple feet of mixed soft and packed snow, covered by a thin hard crusty top layer ... snowshoes were fine for reaching the first Cathedral on Cathedral Trail, but icy crusty top layer above that required crampons ... occasional postholes made for tough going and beat up the knees on our way up to Baxter Peak, down Hamlin Ridge ... for some reason we decided to whack down an icy slide on the south face of Hamlin Ridge instead of hiking over the lower Hamlin Ridge bump ...
over six days at Chimmey Pond we also climbed the gully east of Elbow Gully in North Basin (on our way down the ridge, we exited too early before reaching the east end of that ridge, our descent route grew scrappy negotiating rock bands with thin snow cover) ... some of our crew also climbed Chimney Slide, Piggy Wiggy, Practice Slabs and bc skied Saddle Trail > Brook ...
six inches fresh snow friday yielded excellent cross country ski conditions for our exit from the Park on feb 25 ... ski conditions and trail conditions should hold decent snow for a few more weeks until Winter begins to fade ...
Abol Pond was frozen enough that we could exit the Tote Road a mile early, through the small camp, across Abol Pond to Abol Beach ...
. |
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 | Name: |
arm |
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 | E-Mail: |
gmail-winterhiker |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-02-28 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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