MountainHikerCO - Jul 9, 2019 8:11 pm Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2019
Up Abol, Down Hunt
Reserved site at Abol Campground. Went up Abol trail. Lower part of trail was in great shape. We were surprised how sustained the scrambling was above treeline. Thought coming down Hunt, the AT would be easier. It wasn't! Just as much if not more scrambling. The trail was more eroded below treeline. The bugs were obnoxious at the trailhead. There was no relaxing afterwards. Just fleeing from the onslaught.
Made it to the summit and then chased by storms on the descent.
billydheyhey - Nov 19, 2018 9:34 am Date Climbed: Aug 9, 2014
HP #6!
Very tough for a day hike, especially if you take Cathedral route which has some scary scrambling to it. Do not recommend this route for anyone that has no familiarity with rock climbing; instead take the saddle route.
McCannster - Oct 8, 2018 7:21 am Date Climbed: Oct 10, 2018
righteous!
Great day with great friends. Climbed the Armadillo with Cletus and Alex. Was pretty chilly in the morning, but it warmed up enough after the first pitch and soon we were on the summit. State highpoint #37. No wind, clear skies, perfect. A long awaited outing. 9 hrs 45 mins car to car from Roaring Brook.
marciamallow - May 26, 2018 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Sep 18, 2011
HP # 21
First summit in 2011 was prior to new mandatory permit regulations, 2nd summit was on 7/18/2017 during my thru of AT and I needed permit, horrible camping situation if you didn't reserve way ahead
NonaRider - Mar 29, 2018 10:52 am Date Climbed: Jun 5, 2005
Peak #22 [NonaRider]
Definitely one of my favourite hikes of all times, will be going back! [Approximate Date]
wdimpfl - Dec 29, 2017 1:21 am Date Climbed: Mar 15, 1977
Winter Ascent
Date approximate. Joined Arlene Blum and two others. The park requirements for climbing were horrendous (requiring a physician's certificate like the old requirements for climbing Denali in Alaska).
alynch - Nov 15, 2017 12:03 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2017
Lives up to the hype
Went up the Hunt Trail, down Abol. This was the conclusion of hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness for us, and what a conclusion it was. The only clouds we saw on the way up were condensing above the peak itself, like the ancient volcano that it isn't. Views from the top were unforgettable. We brought coats and raingear - should have brought sunscreen.
cdog - Aug 5, 2017 11:11 am Date Climbed: Aug 4, 2017
Mystery Mountain
Hiked w/ Amy up and down the Abol Trail. We got a glimpse of the lower mountain on the way, then more clouds roiled on and we had no more views the entire hike. Still a fun outing. Lots of humidity for us westerners!
Great day to hike this one except for a drenching thunder and lightning storm that rolled through shortly after noon. I was near the large rock slab shelter/cave that can be found along the Hunt Trail and avoided the drenching downpour that lasted about 30 minutes.
larvitar - Jun 25, 2016 11:45 am Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2016
Larvitour Stop #25
Spent the night at Roaring Brook Campground, then headed up first thing in the morning via Helon Taylor and the Knife Edge. The weather was beautiful all the way up: sunny and blue with next to no winds. For someone used to Eastern peaks, the exposure and scrambling was a little intense (particularly in the Chimney just below Pamola Peak--if that wasn't class 4, I don't want to know what is), but I made it to the summit in decent time and descended via the Saddle Trail (the round-trip took a little over seven hours). This was the last of the major Northeastern high points for me--only RI's Jerimoth Hill to go.
stinkycheezman33 - May 15, 2016 5:52 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2015
What a great hike
One of my favorite hikes of all time. Did the Hamlin Peak/Baxter Peak/Knife Edge loop from the campground. What a great day!
Mike D' - Apr 3, 2016 11:12 pm Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2006
Great Success
Good times with four good friends...quite crowded...fun scramble, long descent
Boorman - Dec 7, 2015 3:48 pm Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2015
Best East Coast hike
Definitely the best hike I've done on the East Coast. Hiked up the Saddle Pass Trail and down the knife edge. Fun hike and nice to finally find a mountain above the ridgeline east of the Mississippi.
Jkells - Nov 28, 2015 8:30 pm Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2015
1st Katahdin Summit
The hike took right around 9 hours flat. We went up Saddle, then went across the Knife Edge and down Helon-Taylor. Took 2 small breaks: the first at the Chimney Pond view right by the water and the second at the summit to make and enjoy a Mountain House meal. We were encompassed by clouds soon after heading up Saddle and all the way until about a third into our decent down Helon-Taylor.
cwoods17 - Oct 20, 2015 8:48 am Date Climbed: Oct 4, 2015
Knife Edge
We went up Helon Taylor to Knife Edge, down the Saddle Trail and back to Roaring Brook. There was rime ice all along the Knife Edge, and the weather was great. We took a very leisurely pace and did the loop in about 8 hours. The authorities were out in force, no thanks to Scott Jurek, but were not particularly helpful.
After being bullied by several park rangers we started at 1 oclock pm from Roaring Brook trailhead and it took us only 3 hours to make up to the top via Cathedral. It was a gorgeous hike. 4000 feet of elevation gain - about half of it on the 1.5 mile stretch on the cathedral ridge. We spent nearly an hour on top and took a leisurely pace back down the saddle trail to see some different scenery. Katahdin is a cool mountain and I'll be back to backpack through some of the other part of the park some day for sure.
The rangers must be used to all sorts of inexperienced people trying to hike this mountain. Here are a few things they were very adamant about telling us before we hiked to make sure we knew that Katahdin is the roughest and toughest mountain in the world:
-You CANNOT start hiking after noon.
-You must have a headlamp and a backup headlamp.
-Katahdin WILL kick your @$$.
-They don't move rocks off the trail like on some trails back west.
-It WILL take you 8-12 hours.
-It doesn't matter how many 4k+ foot elevation gain mountains you have hike before because they aren't the same as a Katahdin 4 thousand feet gain."
My thoughts as I hiked Katahdin in 7 hours at a leisurly pace well past their cut-off time on a beautiful bluesky afternoon:
-There are more signs in this park than any trail system I've seen in any part of Utah.
-There are nearly as many rangers and ranger stations in this area as a National Park.
-There are at least 3 places you register or checkin/checkout.
-There were all sorts of volunteers wearing hard hats (probably working on trails).
-The trails are marked by Color Coded Spray paint rectangles and arrows every 10 feet.
-Once up above tree line there are 5-6 foot cairns every 10-20 feet with the color coded spray paint in between the cairns in case you can't see the carins.
-There are many boardwalks any time it gets marshy.
-There are bridges across streams.
-There are huts you can rent to camp in at the half-way mark if 4 miles is too much for you to handle in one day or if you want to acclimatize at 2400 feet for a few nights before a summit push.
-It felt like a normal 4000 foot elevation gain mountain.
-The trees and understory grow in so thick in Maine that it would be nearly impossible to get off-trial.
Just as a disclaimer to this:
We were not being irresponsible hikers starting at 1:00 pm. We had been checking weather reports for days. We had turn-around times if it got too late. We had plans for bad weather. We would have been fine going back down and camping if things got ugly. We had the 10 Essentials and some non-essential gear with us. Katahdin is a serious mountain, no doubt, but not any more serious than any other mountain I've been on.
islandborn11 - Jul 12, 2015 1:00 am Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2015
The Sun Came Out
after about three hours of steady rain. I summitted an hour later and got occasional great views from the top between cloud cover. A fun, challenging solo climb across the Saddle trail. The park and area in general is just so remote and beautiful. Due to the rain the ranger advised me against the Knife Edge and Cathedral (especially going down) but I still had an outstanding eight hour hike. #22 and done with the East.
Hiker4life - Feb 28, 2015 10:37 pm Date Climbed: Sep 11, 2008
Abol/Hunt
After missing the turnoff to Baxter SP and driving about 25 miles out of my way, I made my way back and had a great day hiking up to Katahdin. Great weather and views!
siekkid - Jan 5, 2015 4:43 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2013
Katahdin
Solo hike of Katahdin up Abol Slide, across Knife Edge and descending via Helon Taylor trail. Perfect weather. Hitched a ride back to Abol Campground with a van full of Amish from Iowa.
MountainHikerCO - Jul 9, 2019 8:11 pm Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2019
Up Abol, Down HuntReserved site at Abol Campground. Went up Abol trail. Lower part of trail was in great shape. We were surprised how sustained the scrambling was above treeline. Thought coming down Hunt, the AT would be easier. It wasn't! Just as much if not more scrambling. The trail was more eroded below treeline. The bugs were obnoxious at the trailhead. There was no relaxing afterwards. Just fleeing from the onslaught.
rkalnins - Jul 3, 2019 4:58 pm Date Climbed: Jul 18, 2012
Saddle TrailMade it to the summit and then chased by storms on the descent.
billydheyhey - Nov 19, 2018 9:34 am Date Climbed: Aug 9, 2014
HP #6!Very tough for a day hike, especially if you take Cathedral route which has some scary scrambling to it. Do not recommend this route for anyone that has no familiarity with rock climbing; instead take the saddle route.
McCannster - Oct 8, 2018 7:21 am Date Climbed: Oct 10, 2018
righteous!Great day with great friends. Climbed the Armadillo with Cletus and Alex. Was pretty chilly in the morning, but it warmed up enough after the first pitch and soon we were on the summit. State highpoint #37. No wind, clear skies, perfect. A long awaited outing. 9 hrs 45 mins car to car from Roaring Brook.
marciamallow - May 26, 2018 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Sep 18, 2011
HP # 21First summit in 2011 was prior to new mandatory permit regulations, 2nd summit was on 7/18/2017 during my thru of AT and I needed permit, horrible camping situation if you didn't reserve way ahead
NonaRider - Mar 29, 2018 10:52 am Date Climbed: Jun 5, 2005
Peak #22 [NonaRider]Definitely one of my favourite hikes of all times, will be going back! [Approximate Date]
wdimpfl - Dec 29, 2017 1:21 am Date Climbed: Mar 15, 1977
Winter AscentDate approximate. Joined Arlene Blum and two others. The park requirements for climbing were horrendous (requiring a physician's certificate like the old requirements for climbing Denali in Alaska).
alynch - Nov 15, 2017 12:03 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2017
Lives up to the hypeWent up the Hunt Trail, down Abol. This was the conclusion of hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness for us, and what a conclusion it was. The only clouds we saw on the way up were condensing above the peak itself, like the ancient volcano that it isn't. Views from the top were unforgettable. We brought coats and raingear - should have brought sunscreen.
cdog - Aug 5, 2017 11:11 am Date Climbed: Aug 4, 2017
Mystery MountainHiked w/ Amy up and down the Abol Trail. We got a glimpse of the lower mountain on the way, then more clouds roiled on and we had no more views the entire hike. Still a fun outing. Lots of humidity for us westerners!
Tracy - Jul 24, 2017 5:43 pm Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2017
Hunt Trail up & backGreat day to hike this one except for a drenching thunder and lightning storm that rolled through shortly after noon. I was near the large rock slab shelter/cave that can be found along the Hunt Trail and avoided the drenching downpour that lasted about 30 minutes.
larvitar - Jun 25, 2016 11:45 am Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2016
Larvitour Stop #25Spent the night at Roaring Brook Campground, then headed up first thing in the morning via Helon Taylor and the Knife Edge. The weather was beautiful all the way up: sunny and blue with next to no winds. For someone used to Eastern peaks, the exposure and scrambling was a little intense (particularly in the Chimney just below Pamola Peak--if that wasn't class 4, I don't want to know what is), but I made it to the summit in decent time and descended via the Saddle Trail (the round-trip took a little over seven hours). This was the last of the major Northeastern high points for me--only RI's Jerimoth Hill to go.
stinkycheezman33 - May 15, 2016 5:52 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2015
What a great hikeOne of my favorite hikes of all time. Did the Hamlin Peak/Baxter Peak/Knife Edge loop from the campground. What a great day!
Mike D' - Apr 3, 2016 11:12 pm Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2006
Great SuccessGood times with four good friends...quite crowded...fun scramble, long descent
Boorman - Dec 7, 2015 3:48 pm Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2015
Best East Coast hikeDefinitely the best hike I've done on the East Coast. Hiked up the Saddle Pass Trail and down the knife edge. Fun hike and nice to finally find a mountain above the ridgeline east of the Mississippi.
Jkells - Nov 28, 2015 8:30 pm Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2015
1st Katahdin SummitThe hike took right around 9 hours flat. We went up Saddle, then went across the Knife Edge and down Helon-Taylor. Took 2 small breaks: the first at the Chimney Pond view right by the water and the second at the summit to make and enjoy a Mountain House meal. We were encompassed by clouds soon after heading up Saddle and all the way until about a third into our decent down Helon-Taylor.
cwoods17 - Oct 20, 2015 8:48 am Date Climbed: Oct 4, 2015
Knife EdgeWe went up Helon Taylor to Knife Edge, down the Saddle Trail and back to Roaring Brook. There was rime ice all along the Knife Edge, and the weather was great. We took a very leisurely pace and did the loop in about 8 hours. The authorities were out in force, no thanks to Scott Jurek, but were not particularly helpful.
harbor - Jul 15, 2015 5:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2015
Great Hike up CathedralAfter being bullied by several park rangers we started at 1 oclock pm from Roaring Brook trailhead and it took us only 3 hours to make up to the top via Cathedral. It was a gorgeous hike. 4000 feet of elevation gain - about half of it on the 1.5 mile stretch on the cathedral ridge. We spent nearly an hour on top and took a leisurely pace back down the saddle trail to see some different scenery. Katahdin is a cool mountain and I'll be back to backpack through some of the other part of the park some day for sure.
The rangers must be used to all sorts of inexperienced people trying to hike this mountain. Here are a few things they were very adamant about telling us before we hiked to make sure we knew that Katahdin is the roughest and toughest mountain in the world:
-You CANNOT start hiking after noon.
-You must have a headlamp and a backup headlamp.
-Katahdin WILL kick your @$$.
-They don't move rocks off the trail like on some trails back west.
-It WILL take you 8-12 hours.
-It doesn't matter how many 4k+ foot elevation gain mountains you have hike before because they aren't the same as a Katahdin 4 thousand feet gain."
My thoughts as I hiked Katahdin in 7 hours at a leisurly pace well past their cut-off time on a beautiful bluesky afternoon:
-There are more signs in this park than any trail system I've seen in any part of Utah.
-There are nearly as many rangers and ranger stations in this area as a National Park.
-There are at least 3 places you register or checkin/checkout.
-There were all sorts of volunteers wearing hard hats (probably working on trails).
-The trails are marked by Color Coded Spray paint rectangles and arrows every 10 feet.
-Once up above tree line there are 5-6 foot cairns every 10-20 feet with the color coded spray paint in between the cairns in case you can't see the carins.
-There are many boardwalks any time it gets marshy.
-There are bridges across streams.
-There are huts you can rent to camp in at the half-way mark if 4 miles is too much for you to handle in one day or if you want to acclimatize at 2400 feet for a few nights before a summit push.
-It felt like a normal 4000 foot elevation gain mountain.
-The trees and understory grow in so thick in Maine that it would be nearly impossible to get off-trial.
Just as a disclaimer to this:
We were not being irresponsible hikers starting at 1:00 pm. We had been checking weather reports for days. We had turn-around times if it got too late. We had plans for bad weather. We would have been fine going back down and camping if things got ugly. We had the 10 Essentials and some non-essential gear with us. Katahdin is a serious mountain, no doubt, but not any more serious than any other mountain I've been on.
islandborn11 - Jul 12, 2015 1:00 am Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2015
The Sun Came Outafter about three hours of steady rain. I summitted an hour later and got occasional great views from the top between cloud cover. A fun, challenging solo climb across the Saddle trail. The park and area in general is just so remote and beautiful. Due to the rain the ranger advised me against the Knife Edge and Cathedral (especially going down) but I still had an outstanding eight hour hike. #22 and done with the East.
Hiker4life - Feb 28, 2015 10:37 pm Date Climbed: Sep 11, 2008
Abol/HuntAfter missing the turnoff to Baxter SP and driving about 25 miles out of my way, I made my way back and had a great day hiking up to Katahdin. Great weather and views!
siekkid - Jan 5, 2015 4:43 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2013
KatahdinSolo hike of Katahdin up Abol Slide, across Knife Edge and descending via Helon Taylor trail. Perfect weather. Hitched a ride back to Abol Campground with a van full of Amish from Iowa.