It finally warmed up enough to do a valid test of my hammock set up for cold weather. With the sub zero temperatures we’d been seeing the last few weeks I’d have needed so much additional insulation that the quilt set up wouldn’t really be tested. Seeing a forecast for a 10°F night I loaded up the sled and set up camp in the woods behind the house. I’m getting ready to do a Trailspace review of the Cooke Tundra Tarp so it was also a chance to get some pics of that set up in the snow.
I won’t be doing a review of the Hammock Gear under quilt for a few months, but always good to grab pics when you can. By the time I write the review the snow may well be gone. Reviews always look better with gear in its natural habitat I think. As for the testing, it went very well. I slept with minimal insulation from clothing to see what the quilts could do and was still a bit too warm early in the evening. By the wee hours of the morning my thermometer showed 11°F and anything sticking out was feeling the chill. Inside I could tell that my top quilts were still keeping me very warm, but the under quilt was getting close to its limits which wasn’t surprising given there was a bit of a breeze.
Now that I’ve run this test it will be safe to start finding out how low I can go by adding layers to my sleepwear. Based on my tenting experience I’m sure I’ll be good for at least another twenty degrees lower, perhaps more. Despite the big thaw today I’m sure there will be plenty more cold nights to continue the testing. Hope you are getting out when you can and sitting by a warm fire when you can’t 🙂
Our little one is not so little any more and after some discussion we decided that she was ready for something a little more ambitious than previous family trips. We planned out a six day back country trip that meant the parent packs would be not so little as well. The Mama Pack came in at 38lbs with 2L of water while the Daddy Pack weighed 57lbs with 2L of water. That might seem unfair, but I had most of the food, so my pack lost more weight each day than hers 🙂
The first day called for a 4.5 mile walk from Nesowadnehunk Campground to the Center Pond LT via the Wassataquoik Lake Trail. Other than a bit of a climb right at the start this was a pretty level trail with little challenge. Great for folks getting out of the car after a four hour drive and donning heavy packs!
There was one small, two part, water crossing to navigate. Here Frau Stranger is demonstrating the extra safe, four pole technique. Well, in truth she is carrying our daughter’s poles as I had carried her over this section rather than let her get her shoes wet. She was not happy about that, but I knew doing the rest of the day’s hike wet would make for unhappy feet later and this was day one of a long, long adventure.
The weather was cool for August, mid 60s, with an amazing blue sky between the clouds zipping around above us. We stopped more than once to just stare at the view between the trees. We also stopped a few times to just look at the trees.
There were lots of bog boards in this section, even in places that didn’t really need them. Flat trails near the road always seem to be over improved while the deep back country sections get less love because they are harder to reach.
When the trees gave way to this large bog I knew we were getting close to Center Pond. Both the inflow and outflow areas were giant bogs as the flat elevation profile didn’t promote fast drainage.
Then we reached the pond itself as it came into and out of view a few times before we reached the short spur to the lean to.
It was a bit choppy out there and you can see from the color of the bag of water on the canoe that the pond had some tannin content, most likely from the bog feeding into the pond. Once filtered it would be fine to drink though still a bit brown. Easier to drink from an opaque bottle than a transparent bag despite the taste being just fine.
Another of Baxter’s fine latrines. Each one is of a slightly different design it seems and I always enjoy their craftsmanship. This one came with a clear roof that gave it wonderful light inside.
The LT was on the small side being a 4 person model, but enough room for us and all we’d carried in. With the cool weather we were happy to have a few walls to keep the wind off of us, though there was only a bit of a breeze.
Everyone seemed happy with day one and a bit amazed to think about having five more ahead of us. We were ready for bed when darkness came, though we were disappointed in the lack of a loon crying out there.
Dawn came with some interesting clouds on the mountains and some cool damp in the air.
The girls went out to pick some blueberries and the sun had warmed things up nicely by the time they returned. Most of these ended up in their morning oatmeal, but some went directly into our bellies. Just shy of being perfectly ripe they were riding the line between sweet and tart.
Then we were packed up and heading to the Little Wassataquoik Tent Site. Another 4.5 mile walk, but this one had a bit of a climb at the very end. Nothing too serious, but it looked scary on an elevation profile just because the rest of the trip was relatively flat.
There were a few water crossings, just small rock hops, but one stream paralleled the trail for quite a while. It was nice to hear the rushing water as we hiked but not have to worry about wet feet.
Soon it was time to hit the big climb. I am sort of joking, because it wasn’t really that much of a climb. I’m also a bit serious because with the heavy packs, getting up the little hill was a good workout. This is the beginning of the climb, but it got much steeper as it went up. I was definitely puffing by the time we reached the top.
My wife sounded hopeful as she read this sign and saw it was only 1 mile to the LT. She was really happy when I pointed out we weren’t headed there, but aiming for the tent site 400 yards the other way instead 🙂
There were some clouds floating by that looked a bit threatening and a chance of rain in the forecast so the first thing we did was get the tarp up. This would be our first time using the bug house under a tarp rather than inside a lean to which is why 
This is the view from in camp, looking at the rocky path that crossed over the brook on its way to the latrine. Definitely a place to keep your shoes and headlamp handy rather than trying to make the trip barefoot in the dark heh.
I got our house set up under the tarp, learning as I went exactly how I was going to do that. It worked well enough, but the next time I set it up I was smarter and it worked even better. The girls broke out the Yahtzee using my grill bag to roll the dice on.
By late afternoon the threat of rain had passed and we were back to watching happy clouds racing through deep blue skies.
Here is the view looking out at the campsite from bed the next morning. It felt extra special to wake up in this big, open air house rather than our tent. We weren’t covered in dew, so it didn’t feel like cowboy camping. It was similar, but better I’d say thanks to the tarp over head.
This shot almost captures how happy I was to be sitting there drinking coffee, but neither pictures nor words can really do it justice. Waking up in this site with the waterfall burbling and my two favorite girls there was already pretty dang special. Hot coffee was just the frosting on top!
Speaking of burbling waterfalls…here it is up close. There is a small spring just up the hill from the campsite and it was flowing nicely even this late in the year. We still filtered it, but it was some of the coldest, clearest water to be found in the park.
On our way to the Wassataquoik Island site we took the side trail to the viewpoint on the cliff. A short, 0.3 mile spur, but a hefty climb to the top.
The reward is an amazing view of most of Wassataquoik Lake down below. Our hike for the day would take us around the right side, all the way to the other end out of view behind the ridge on the left.
Being late August, late season flowers were wrapping things up before going to seed. With the cool weather there was a definitely sense that Summer was coming to an end and soon.
We had a glimpse or three of Little Wassataquoik Lake along the way. It really is little compared to its bigger sibling.
Green Falls is found via a very short, but wet and slippery, spur and is always worth the danger and effort of visiting. We stopped for snacks and pics as is the custom, at least it always is for me.
Finally we found the turn off to our island retreat. This was my first time visiting this site as it is only open for a few weeks of the year and hard to book.
The loons have right of way on the island and nesting there keeps humans off until the chicks have hatched and moved out into the lake.
These folks were out for a day paddle and seemed surprised to find us watching them from the lean to on the island.
We were glad to have a lean to that night as the sky was looking a bit ominous. There were a few periods of rain in the late afternoon, but we had some time to explore a little as well. We would like to come back again if we can get a two night reservation so we can explore both the island and the lake for an entire day.
Here you can see our canoe on the island and the rack on the far shore where we launched from. It wasn’t far, but much drier to use a canoe than walking across hehe.
I’ve gotten pretty good at setting up the bug house in shelters now. It makes a great place to play cards, rain or shine.
Finding wood on the island was a bit challenging, but I put together enough to make a small fire. Fire of course leads to marshmallow toasting!
It looks like this one turned out pretty well if she does say so herself.
I bought my daughter a small, blank paged journal for the trip that she could use to create an art journal. Each day she created a few pictures to capture the story of part of the adventure or to show something she found worth sharing. If she says it is OK with her I may post some of those pictures here in a future post.
My view outside as the sun began to rise. So quiet, so peaceful, so beautiful.
That goes for these two as well! So wonderful to come to such a special place with them instead of being here alone wishing they’d been able to come. They had worked hard to get here and deserved the chance to rest so I let them sleep in peace.
Later I caught this beautiful shot of my daughter looking out at the lake. That is no special filter there. That is shooting through the bug net, into the sun with a lot of zoom, but it sure looks nice to me.
Then came a series of challenges that might have sent other folks into fits of rage or despair, but only served to leave us laughing. We packed up fast and were well on our way to an early lunch until I tried to put on my pack after we put the canoe away. It seems I had lost part of my belt buckle and there was no way I was carrying the Daddy Pack without a belt.
It was another beautiful day in the forest and everyone was happy to be moving finally. We were trying something new on this trip and eating hot lunches once we finished our hike for the day so we were motivated.
Going back the way we’d come now we had familiar landmarks to tell us of our progress. 
The girls were headed up the final bit of climb and showing no signs of slowing down.
I ducked down a short path to Little Wassataquoik Lake to grab a few pics and feel the breeze blowing across the water.
Then it was back to the tent site to set up camp and eat that hot lunch. We had delicious potato soup on two days and salmon with rice one day and noodles on another. Heavy stuff to carry, but boy were we happy to be eating like royalty out there.
The next day dawned cold for August. I took a reading of 38°F that morning which I consider beyond cool for the time of year. We were glad we had packed plenty of warm layers along with the swimsuits that were never used.
Last year our daughter completed the Baxter Junior Ranger program and received an official badge which we augmented by buying her an official looking hat. Now she takes her duties very seriously, including raking the sites before we leave if there is a rake available.
She also watches out for her mother on trail. Here you can see her waiting to make sure Mama is safely across this little water crossing before heading down the trail.
Relaxing is not her forte though I’m afraid. After hanging the hammocks both parents would gladly have taken a nap, but someone had to stay on duty to keep the little one from jumping in the pond. My total hanging time after putting up both hammocks was probably less than ten minutes, but still worth the effort, especially because Mama got at least a tiny nap in.
A very peaceful afternoon on Center Pond even if I didn’t get a nap. The trip that had seemed impossibly long to start out now seemed to be ending too soon. Having some time to reflect (get it? 🙂 ) on our adventure was nice.
After dinner we decided to try putting some of those fresh blueberries to use in a couple of muffins. This is the first one going into the pot.
I’d been carrying the gear for days and was glad we were giving it a shot to justify the effort. We’ll see how they turned out later….
This wood grouse was making a lot of noise near camp so I had my camera ready expecting a deer or a moose to pop out. Frau Stranger whispered for me to hand her my camera and caught this shot around the corner from our camp.
More quiet reflection time (OK I will stop now)
Also time for more marshmallows. Not sure this one was as good as the one on the island, but she seemed happy enough with her effort.
I wasn’t that happy with my muffins though. The large pot seemed to leave the muffins below the heat at the top needed to brown them. They tasted fine enough, but didn’t fully rise like they should. We’ll apply the lessons learned next time and either use a shorter pot or a taller rack.
Last sunset of the trip with just a sliver of moon floating in the sky and in the pond.
One last peaceful morning on the shore. Definitely time to soak in that peace so you can carry it home with you.
Another chilly morning encouraged us to get moving though, first to make breakfast and then to break camp.
First we said our goodbyes to the camp and lean to…
Then we said our goodbyes to the pond….
Then we stopped to eat a bunch of blueberries!!!
These are the “Holy cow we survived!” faces as we reached the trail head with our car just around the corner. Who could have guessed that we would make it through six days out there and still be smiling?
This made me laugh when we got back to the car. You could see the rangers had to keep wiping off that spot to read our permit. I can imagine them each time thinking those poor folks must be lost for their car to be here so long, then seeing our permit through the dust and realizing we meant to be gone so long. Now that we’ve pushed our limits I can’t wait to see what we plan for next years adventures!
The road walk to start of about half a mile to where you pick up a snowmobile trail that leads to the real trail a mile or so in flew by this time. My pack felt light and so did my feet.
There are no big signs for the trail along the highway, but on foot these are easy enough to spot. They mark the field gate you need to walk around before following the snowmobile/GLT signs through the private property.
Crossing Bear River via the snowmobile bridge it was good to see some water. Western Maine wasn’t in as much of a drought as we were at home towards the coast and this wasn’t looking bad for August.
The small flows at the base of Bald Mtn were still running. Also a good sign that water wouldn’t be too much of an issue on this trip. Sounded nice too 🙂
Lunch break after climbing over the first mountain of the day. A little time with the pack off and some cheese in my mouth had me ready to hit the climbs I knew were coming up next.
Mossy glen in the col before heading up towards Sunday River Whitecap.
Closing in on the tree line you can start to see more sky between them. It gives you hope!
Then this!
The top of Sunday River Whitecap is always one of my favorite spots to be. There is just so much open sky with mountains lining the horizon in several directions.
Extensive board bridges and scree walls have been put in place to define the trail and protect the fragile alpine growth. Looking a bit beyond, you can see Old Speck on the left side of the notch, a bit of highway down below and then Hedgehog Hill and part of West Baldpate on the right. I’d worry about that the next day though. I just had a few more miles to my intended camp at Bull Run.
A big plus on this hike was the free fruit! A little hard to get there, but darn tasty and plenty to be found because this section of trail sees little traffic. I left some for the wildlife, but admit to eating more than a few.
Water at the Slide Mtn site was running low so I was happy to carry on another mile or so to the Bull Run site where the water, as usual, was flowing better.
The tarp isn’t up yet, but the laundry has been hung out to dry. Plenty of room on the platform to share and another nearby, but I have never seen another soul at this site. It helps that I usually hit it on a weeknight I imagine. With good water and a bear box I make it my first night’s camp every time I come up to try the loop.
Always windy here and there are lots of dead trees laying all around the campsite. I sleep well despite that because I know that when the tree with my name on it comes at least I’ll be well rested heh.
The climb up Old Speck from this side is always a joy because it starts out easy, with dirt under foot and actual switchbacks winding their way up towards the steeper climb at the end. We don’t see many switchbacks here in New England so they sort of make me giggle a bit because it seems so easy, even if you are wasting time wandering around the side of a mountain rather than getting to the top.
Looking back at Sunday River Whitecap, the big mountain of day one. Now we are above it, despite the easy climbing, which seems sort of unfair given the challenging climb the day before.
At the summit of Old Speck thin clouds were flying past from left to right almost obscuring the Baldpates on the other side of the notch. I didn’t waste any time with pics up there. I was hoping to make it all the way to the East Baldpate campsite that day and had the whole of the notch in front of me before hitting the big climb on the other side.
Half way down looking back up towards the summit of Old Speck. This descent has knocked me off trail before by slowing me down and making my knees weep. Not on this trip though. I just kept rolling down that trail at a steady clip.
A nice view of Hedgehog Hill, West Baldpate and finally on the far left the open slabs of East Baldpate. They were getting closer with every step and starting to look bigger too!
The falls were barely flowing on the brook near the bottom of the notch. I was glad I still had plenty of water from Bull Run so I didn’t need to worry about it for a while.
To heck with those Baldpates, I’m sleeping here. I made it as far as Baldpate Shelter on the climb up West Baldpate and found myself looking at it being too early to stop but too late in the day to get where I was headed. Having pushed too hard and failed before I opted to try the easy route this time and set up camp early. It would mean a very long hike the next day to get back on pace, but for now I could take my boots off.
About twenty AT thru hikers also spent the time at the shelter, though only one was actually camped in the LT. These were all or most all NOBO thru hikers and many of them opted to stop early rather than take on the rest of the climb that day, but they had come though Mahoosuc Notch that day so had earned a break.
I had a lot of miles to do and weather was threatening so this is the only pic from the first climb.
Just as I reached the summit the rain began to fall. Just a few drops at first, but more steadily as I made my way down into the col before the next climb.
With the wind picking up and water coming down I knew the exposed climb ahead would be “fun”. Those slabs can get a bit slippery when they are wet.
Dawns last gleaming or Sailor take warning. This was about the time the rain really began to come down and I suited up with rain jacket and kilt. 
One last pic of the disappearing mountains and then the camera was packed away for the rest of the very very very long day.
Completely soaked, exhausted and starved is no time to find out you have a tangled ridgeline. Had to sit down to calmly deal with that before I froze to death, then set up camp, get wet clothes off and get dry clothes and down quilts wrapped around me. Rough day 🙂 It had been 15 miles with 3.5 mountains climbed and steady rain for most all of it, but I was within a few miles of finishing this loop after years of failure. I wasn’t feeling great, but I was feeling hopeful.
There’s got to be a morning after, right? Well I was still feeling pretty crappy, but this sunshine certainly lifted my spirits. Putting on wet trail clothes is never fun, but I was stoked about finishing the climb up Puzzle Mtn for the first time.
The views on top of Puzzle Mountain were definitely worth the wait and the effort. I began to run into day hikers at the summit as well as a couple who were planning on doing the entire loop in two days. Ahhh, to be young! Not sure if they succeeded, but I wished them well.
It really was a glorious morning up there and if I wasn’t in a hurry to get down to search for a cheeseburger I might have stayed up there for hours.
The climb down was wet, steep rock slabs which were very tricky so no more pictures. We’ll just leave these happy little cloud pictures as the end of the story for now. This last shot shows most of the mountains along the loop. Perhaps that will help you understand why it has taken me so many attempts over the years to finally make it all the way around. If not this might help…
I hope you like this picture from the South Branch camping area looking towards Pogy, not so much because I put a lot of effort into it, but because it is the only picture from day one. We parked and loaded up packs just in time for a few sprinkles. I took a moment as we walked through the campground to the trail head to snap this. Good thing because soon after the sky opened and we were walking in rain for the rest of the day’s hike.
We were soaked when we arrived at the Pogy LT, but the rain stopped about that time so setting up camp was easier at least. A good dinner and sleep helped, but putting on wet clothes the next morning was not part of the original plan.
Things were still wet, on the ground and in the air. We set out in rain gear to protect against the wet undergrowth of the campsite spur.
Some nice views across Pogy towards the mountain despite the less than nice weather.
Things were starting to brighten up a bit as we passed through the Six Ponds area. Here we had the chance to test our balance using the outflow debris as a bridge at no risk since our boots were wet anyway.
Then things really started to look up as we made our way around Wassataquoik Lake. We had sunshine, a nice breeze and glimpses of the mountains and cliffs rising up around the lake.
The view from the shore in front of the Wassataquoik Lake LT didn’t include the island at the far end of the lake and we had no sense we were sharing this wilderness with anyone else.
None of my maps give a name to this little knob but it can be easily climbed via a trail that loops around the far side and has great views.
I had a nice view from under my tarp in camp too. With the lingering threat of showers it was nice to have some additional protected space since we were staying here for two nights.
I think the boys may have tried some fishing that first evening, but I was content to just shoot some pictures.
The mountain was getting ready for night, wrapping itself in what clouds it could find.
If we had known this was the last calm we’d see at this site we would have been out paddling or fishing. I was too busy enjoying how pretty it was to think that far ahead.
The next day was bright and breezy. Great weather for hanging out the hiking clothes, at least for a while. The boys were planning a quiet day around camp with hopes of fish for lunch, but I had a day hike up to Little Wassataquoik Lake on my to do list. 
It was a great day for hiking, not too hot and I had almost nothing in my pack besides water and lunch. Hiking below these cliffs was interesting in several ways.
Seeing these chunks that had come down long ago standing next to the trail made you think about gravity and time. Well they did that for me at least.
Then I reached my target for the day; the tent site named after Little Wass Lake, but not actually on the water. We had reservations to camp here later in the year as part of a family trip and I wanted to do a site inspection so we’d know what to expect. There was hope of leaving the tent at home and using the tarp and bug net to save weight. I made some measurements and took notes so I could figure out a plan later at home.
Then I headed up the back side of that cliff via a short viewpoint trail and while it was steep it was definitely worth the climb.
Looking back down at the lake our campsite was on the big point sticking out into the lake from the right side. It really isn’t that far or hard of a hike and would make a great day hike if staying down below.
Little Wassataquoik Lake is indeed little in comparison to the larger neighbor. It seemed shallow and rocky. I don’t believe there is a canoe here for that reason. Just a nice place for peace and quiet. 
I was quiet enough to not drive this doe off when she was first startled by my approach and announced her presence.
I resisted the urge to move to get a better angle and she rewarded me by moving around the trees to see what I was doing. She kept moving until I found myself snapping shots of her in this spot as she bobbed her head at me trying to figure out what the heck I was doing. This went on for a few minutes and I only wish I’d thought to hit the movie button.
Long time readers will know who this shot is for 🙂
Back in camp there was still plenty of time left to enjoy a lazy day off. Instead of planning a rugged mountain climbing adventure we were trying to relax more this year.
This camp on the lake was certainly a nice spot to spend some time. The water was amazingly clear and still nice and cool in the middle of Summer. The wind kept us out of the canoe and made for poor shore fishing, but we had a nice couple of days there.
On our way back out on day four we stopped at Green Falls reached via a short and wet side trail.
It is a neat spot I’ve been to several times now and I think I’ll always be willing to make time for this side trip when I’m near by.
Stopping to take pics and some video I sent the boys on ahead. Racing to catch back up I missed my turn onto the main trail and almost walked right into the lake. Since I was there I figured I would take a few more pics before racing back the other way after them.
Then we were back at Pogy for our last night on trail. This time we were dry and in much better spirits. Sunshine and dry socks will do wonders for morale.
It was hot though with barely a puff of breeze now and again. We sweltered through the late afternoon and then began to hear murmurs of thunder in the distance. As it drew nearer we made some efforts to prepare for a little shower while grumbling about the 10% chance of rain in the forecast. Given the lack of wind we expected vertical falling rain so I set up my tarp in a bit of a porch mode to get some air. Then there was this odd noise for a few minutes that we eventually placed as powerful wind and rain because it was upon us 🙂
The Tato tarp connector sliding down the ridgeline is what led to my doom. This was after ten minutes of driving wind and rain. My brother has done some sailing so I trust his judgement of the winds which he thought were maxing out north of 40mph. Combined with the heavy downpour there was a lot more stress put on that tarp than I’d rigged it for. I never settle for a single hitch on that connector now and always double it up so it can’t go anywhere.
After a while the storm tapered off into just a shower, but it had left a flood behind. This had been one whopper of a summer thunderstorm. Felt bad for anyone caught out on trail in that one.
I stepped out into a bit of a puddle, but was able to stay under the tarp while getting it hooked back up properly. The next day while driving out we kept finding tree limbs and entire trees laying across the road. Guess there had been some sort of storm come though 🙂 The Boys from Texas always bring out Baxter’s best weather when they come! Thanks again to my brother for documenting my fight for survival. 
Day five started with some heavy looking skies over Pogy Pond. We knew the trail would be wet from the previous day, but now we were worried about more rain falling too. Still it looks sort of pretty and we were walking back to the car which is always easier.
One last long look at the pond. Never enough of these moments so I try to soak them in when I can. Nature can be rough, make life difficult, but even at its darkest, there is great beauty.
Climbing the bluffs along Upper South Branch Pond is always bittersweet. It is the last real effort before the flat trail that returns to the parking lot. I’m always happy to be up there and done with the work, but know that soon it will be time to start seeing the end of the fun too.
Someone paddled over from the campground to start their day hike. We’ll end this trip here looking across South Branch Pond towards the campground, the car and civilization beyond.
We got camp set up right away because rain was expected. We set up the bug house and a giant plastic tarp was strung over the picnic table.
The girls had a safe place to play cards if it rained and I had a place to cook. The real genius of this set up showed up later as I toasted marshmallows over a giant fire while safely protected from the rain. We are backpackers at heart, but car camping does have some nice perks.
Before the rain started we did a little exploring by walking around the campground. We found the sign that points the way for the southbound AT hikers as they head out of the park.
We also found this lovely mushroom which my assistant is so nicely pointing out here.
Katahdin Stream was flowing well giving us water right in our front yard both for drinking (filtered) or just listening to the burbling brook thing.
The weather did catch up to us and there was some fair bit of rain though only a little thunder and wind. We were content to enjoy our dinner, toast marshmallows and snuggle in for the evening.
The next day we decided to take our time enjoying breakfast before moving the car to the day parking lot. While eating and enjoying a pot of coffee (Car camping rocks!) we watched the day’s summit seekers head past our site to the trail head. Then we headed up the Hunt Trail to see how far we’d get before we’d had enough. There were no delusions that we were climbing Katahdin that day as parts of the climb are too much for our daughter yet.
It was a great day to start, though you could feel the humidity of the day building into more rain. We climbed for much farther than we expected and were rewarded with several nice views and water features including this falls.
Out on an open ledge we could see the clouds were building and sure enough the bottom fell out. No more pictures for a while as we threw on rain gear and carefully made our way back down hill.
About the time we reached the spot where the little bridge crosses the stream the sun came back out so we stopped in the open to dry a bit. These butterflies seemed to think they’d found long lost kin when they saw my gloves drying on this rock.
The girls were happy to have the sun back out but I think you can tell mama is worried about her baby going over the falls.
It was a great hike back to the car and then we drove back to the gate before turning towards Roaring Brook campground where we had another two nights booked.
Another beauty spot with the brook running right past our site. It is campground camping so there are voices and cars, but a nice brook can cover a lot of that up.
These LTs are a bit close, but we had nice neighbors the whole time which makes all the difference. They were from NJ as I recall and ended up bailing a day early because the bugs were driving them crazy. We’ve really enjoyed having the bug house on our lean to stays this Summer.
Then it was time for the big event of the trip. Ever since 
Then we headed down the Sandy Stream Trail a ways until the mountain came into view through the trees. I told her to take a good look so she knew where we were going. The first test of her determination.
No problem she says, we got this!
There was time for a few beauty shots as we walked through a Sandy Stream Pond viewpoint or two.
Hard to resist standing there and watching that cloud pour over the Knife Edge with only Pamola in sight, Baxter Peak completely obscured.
Then we remembered what we trying to do. That mountain with the big lumpy thing near the top was calling us out. We had some climbing to do!
Lots of little steps, lots of daddy holding his hands out as she did the steep parts and plenty of rest stops to drink water and eat snacks got us up the first half of the climb. Then we dug into our reserves of determination to get us up the next sections.
Finally we emerged from the trees onto a little ledge below the big lumpy thing. I kept expecting either mother or daughter to say that’s crazy and I’d have been happy to turn around here if they did. Nope, excelsior was the word of the day!
This is the last pic until we reached the summit because it was the last time I wasn’t right behind my daughter with hands ready to catch her if she stumbled. She may be strong and courageous, but I worry. Both ladies were amazing considering the unstable, rocky terrain. They took their time and soon we could see the post at the top.
Posts are nice, but first you’ll notice that the clouds have shifted and not only has Baxter Peak come into view, but Hamlin and its bowl were clear as well. 
Now back to our post! The sign was just leaning there, but the geo marker made it clear we were in the right spot. We had just climbed a 3100′ mountain as a family setting a new elevation record by far.
Just such a beautiful day out there everywhere you looked. Sunshine and puffy clouds as far as the eye could see.
Then there was this beauty! She had said she was going to climb this mountain and given the chance, she proved she could do it in style. 
While mama was equally proud of her little girl I have to say I was really impressed with my wife’s bravery as well. This was her first time climbing a mountain like this too, plus she had parental worrying to deal with just like I did. Everyone had a lot to feel good about after this adventure, that is for certain.
Back down at the pond we stopped for a break and to soak in more of the mountain views.
Looking back up to where we’d been it was hard to believe we were up there just a little bit before. The descent went much quicker than the climb 🙂
Back to camp for a giant celebratory dinner and of course more marshmallows over the fire. We didn’t have to worry about climbing mountains or long miles back to the car in the morning so we could pull out all the stops. Back country adventures are always nice, but we’re ok with a little car camping too!
Our goal was the top of Blueberry Mountain for lunch after climbing up the White Cairn Trail, then a walk across the short ridge and down the easy trail back to the road. Our little camper was excited at the prospect of bagging another peak. She has a lot of trail miles in her short years, but not too many mountains. This year she has started to use my old poles and thinks she is ready to hit the summits with daddy.
She is both fearless and strong when it comes to adventure. We never have to push her into this stuff, but we often have to hold her back heh. Thankfully everyone remembered their head nets because inhaling black flies while climbing can be bad for your health.
It really wasn’t supposed to rain on us, but the building overcast was looking a bit ominous at times. The early season greens seemed extra bright against the dark skies.
On the NH side of the highway we could see Baldface and were glad we’d left that for another day. It has much more exposure, not to mention miles and elevation. Our little one will be ready for that next year I’m guessing, but more than she’d enjoy at this age.
Both my wife and daughter have had far too few opportunities to get up into places like this. The experience was exciting enough to overcome the flies which I have to admit were pretty thick that day. Certainly not the most stunning view in the Whites, but through their eyes, and mine, it was a pretty special thing to take in.
Here they are posing together, from the rear we have daughter, mother and fly. For the most part everyone remembered to lift their nets before putting food or water into their faces…for the most part heh. Even with the swarming bugs I have to say this was one of the best birthday meals I have ever enjoyed. 
After lunch we headed along the ridge and then took a side trail to the ledges. Looking at my topo maps I think we crossed the actual summit in here somewhere but we didn’t notice anything that day. 
Well we did notice this big hole in the ground! We had started down there somewhere to the right of the pond, only about 1150′ of climb to the 1781′ summit, but enough to count as a real mountain. Which of course means that these two are real mountain climbers!
Once my daughter was safely down the trail I dared to sneak closer to the edge for a few shots of the valley. 
I’ll just leave the view from the ledge as the end of this trip. The hike down included two groups of folks with uncontrolled dogs that took most of our focus so there were no more pictures. Other than that I would say we all had a great time with this strange day hiking thing. I’d have preferred to stay up there and camp, but dinner out and sleeping in a bed can be nice after a hike too. Certainly one of the best birthdays of my life and enough to make me want to stick around for another one to see if we can top it!
Once we arrived I hurried to set up the new bug house we are trying this year. We’ve always set up our Kelty TR3 in lean tos previous years. The shelters vary quite a bit in terms of size and shape with some being a real challenge to squeeze the tent into. This big net rectangle can change shape to fit into what space is available. Thankfully the bugs weren’t too bad, it was cool and threatening rain, but it was good to have a safe place in case we were attacked.
The skies were looking like the bigger threat at this point. Baxter and Pamola both disappeared into the clouds on the far side of the pond.
There was still a lot of snow up in the Hamlin bowl. Looking at that under the dark and threatening sky made me look forward to getting under the quilts later. We were expecting a damp night before the real weather hit the next day.
There were only a few early trillium out and about as Spring was taking it slow this year. 
With the increasing dampness we decided to get rigged for weather before dinner. This being our first trip with a tarp rather than a tent we thought it best to have a plan that had been put together before we got wet rather than after. First I rigged it for the coming storm, then pulled it back like you see above so we had more light and air inside. This way I could go back to storm mode in an instant if the wind started pushing rain at us.
Knowing we’d be hiding out from the weather all too soon made me want to hang out down at the pond for a while after dinner. It looked very dramatic no matter which direction you turned your eyes in this light.
Even South Turner, a lower peak just to the north of our camp, began to fade into the clouds. The sky was coming down to meet us and it looked like it was going to be a wet embrace.
I said goodnight to the pond and what trees I could still see and headed up to join the girls in the lean to.
A good night’s sleep, warm cereal in our tummies and even a little coffee for the big kids left us all smiles as we prepared for the short hike to the North Katahdin Lake site. The rain waited until we were ready and then started in earnest just as we left camp.
You can see puddles were forming before we even got started. I was taking advantage of the opportunity to test out a new rain skirt. Weighing almost nothing it kept my legs pretty dry until I topped my gaiters on a water crossing a little later in the morning. This soon after the snow melt things were pretty wet before the storm hit. After an hour or two of heavy downpour the two small water crossings we had to manage were a bit larger than we’d have liked.
We call this the gumdrop look. You’ll notice my wife hasn’t even taken off her garbage bag skirt and we already have our little one in dry layers and swaddled in her 20°F synthetic bag. You can also see that she is staring intently at something she is about to devour heh. I stripped out of wet layers and applied dry ones to myself as well, though I opted to keep my down quilt packed up to avoid soaking up too much moisture from the air.
The scene in front of our new lean to looked a bit grim though there was more light in the sky than during the worst of the storm. The rain would linger throughout most of the day with some breaks later.
We made sure everyone stayed warm and dry. No duck left behind! is in fact one of our family’s official mottoes and we made sure this one, Boo Boo was as comfortable as the rest of us.
After making certain our daughter (and her duck) was warmed up it was my wife’s turn to get under her quilt. Then the Skip-Bo battle reignited which also helped keep things warm.
The next day we took our time leaving camp so we could dry out a bit before putting on our wet clothes for the trail. It also made sense to give the water levels time to go down, or at least we hoped they would be lower rather than higher.
The rain had stopped but the damp air was cool and no one felt like paddling out on the lake. It wasn’t choppy, but it didn’t look inviting.
This is one of the camps where a canoe is included in your site rental at no extra charge. I have a feeling we will be back here for a warm weather visit so we can spend some time paddling and swimming in the clear lake water.
This was the little flow we used to collect drinking water to filter. It didn’t look like it would last into the drier months but it was handy on this trip. The lake had a lot of debris on the surface and suspended after the storm despite being relatively clear by Maine pond standards.
Then we were back on the trail headed to Martin Ponds for one more night. We stopped for a morning snack break next to this little falls.
Just below it filled a swampy bog which looked about ready to explode with life. These areas and the larger ponds support huge populations of frogs. The sound can be deafening at times as multiple breeds try to all be heard at once.
Beautiful to look at, but areas like this are why bushwhacking is not a good idea in large parts of Maine. If you don’t know how to get around all that wet then you are going to get wet!
Here we had the luxury of relatively well maintained trail including the occasional, well placed bog board or two. 
This was part of our exciting water crossing the day before. It was still exciting, but without the pouring rain and having survived the first attempt, it seemed less dangerous. The water level had dropped a bit too which likely helped.
Here are the girls bushwhacking back downstream after we finished crossing the second channel. Again I have to acknowledge that I have been blessed with two strong and courageous trail companions. These two handle adversity better than most folks out there, staying cheerful and full of adventure.
This is where the two channels rejoined making for a wide, deep section that was flowing strong. I could have crossed this alone that day, but we don’t take any chances with our little girl.
Once we got back to Martin Ponds I got the bug house set up first, then set up my hammock down by the pond so I could air out a bit in the breeze. Good thing I had the bug net because this was their day and they were out in force.
I also had a lot of time to play with the camera. Total count for this trip was 277 pictures over four days, plus some video that will show up once I’ve had a chance to do some editing. Here I was testing out the zoom function looking at Pamola and the start of the Knife Edge from a few miles away.
It isn’t all pretty out there though. After all the rain it was nice to have a chance to hang out the wet trail clothes. Something hopeful about stringing up the line and seeing if just maybe you can put them on dry the next day.
The girls were enjoying a bug free afternoon of Skip-Bo in the shelter. After one trip we have decided that we really like this new set up in the shelters. We just aren’t sure if we will like it under a tarp without a lean to. It would work well enough in good weather I’m sure, but rain might be difficult to manage.
Later in the day the wind dropped enough for the pond to start reflecting the sky and everything around it.
This is the summit of South Turner which my daughter would like to climb later this month. If we have good weather on the day we’re scheduled to be there we’ll give it a shot. Not sure she can do it, but she wants to try so we’ll find out I guess. No harm in turning back I always say 🙂
One of the best parts of going on family trips is seeing how happy my wife is when she gets to play outside. I feel the same way myself, but it is nice to see that look on another person’s face. Just the simple joy of existing in a beautiful place with time enough to appreciate it.
I don’t know exactly what she sees when she looks at the mountain. She has never been up there and I can’t imagine Katahdin looks the same to those who haven’t as it does to those who have been to the top. I hope we get the chance to do it together some day, with or without the little one.
The rhodora around the pond were just starting to put out their beautiful flowers. For now green was still the dominant color around the edges of the water, but within days the entire area would turn purple it seemed.
As the water became even more calm and the sun started drifting lower bringing softer colors out it was time to capture some magic. Camera and location get all the credit, I just lug it around and point it at this stuff, so I’ll be quiet and let you look at the pretty pictures for a few minutes…
The next morning started with fog hanging just above the trees. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful. It would have been a good morning to go back to bed, but after three nights in the woods we were all looking forward to the traditional on the way home cheeseburgers.
Still there was time to stop and soak it all in for a few moments. To be here at this misty pond listening to the nothing and being the better for it.
These are ringed ducks I’m told which explains why they didn’t look like loons to us. Other than splashing about playing or fishing they made no sound we noticed. They were pretty though!
Also pretty! I rarely make a fire these days, but on this damp morning it seemed it would be appreciated. It looked picturesque as I recall so I thought it should be documented as a darn nice fire given the wet conditions.
Homeward bound! Everything, wet or dry, crammed into packs one last time and then it was a sprint to the car. Cheeseburgers highly motivate us on the last day which is why everyone is sworn not to mention them earlier in the trip. 
Despite that we had to stop along the road on the drive out of the park for this view. In another week that meadow was probably filled with colorful flowers, but you won’t find me complaining about the way this looked.
Less traveled by 