Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
One prime wilderness spot is
Russell Pond
, in the park's center. Reach-
able only by foot trail, it has lean-tos, a bunkhouse and canoes for rent. It
is a great base camp for exploring the rusting remains of the lumbering
era's heydays which lay in nearby woods and fields. It is also a good jump-
ing-off point for the
Davis Pond
lean-to, a solitary shelter that is with-
out a doubt the most remote camping location in Maine. Baxter rules
require a night's stay at Chimney Pond or Russell Pond before heading to
Davis.
South Branch Pond Campground
(tent sites, lakeside lean-tos and
bunkhouse) is also a favorite. Mountains rise steeply from the lakes here
and moose and deer are frequent visitors to the shores.
There are no motels, stores or gas stations in the park. Cellular tele-
phones are banned, as are noise-making electronic devices such as radios
and tape players.
Hiking
In all, there are 180 miles of hiking trails in the park. Many lead into re-
mote, foot-access-only campgrounds and lean-tos. There are 46 different
mountain peaks, some with no paths to the top save the one you'll meta-
phorically blaze. Nearly 20 peaks exceed 3,000 feet in elevation. The
highest are on Katahdin, where Baxter Peak tops out at just 13 feet shy
of a mile at 5,267 feet. Here, in the treeless alpine zone, rare Arctic flow-
ers bloom in spring, and snow can fall in any month of the year.
By far the busiest section of the park is the south end around Katahdin.
Because of the big mountain hiking it is the most popular destination.
Even people who have hiked in the Presidential Range in New Hamp-
shire's White Mountains concede that a hike here is a major undertaking.
Baxter's terrain is basically steep slopes of boulders and precipitous cliffs
intertwined with almost impenetrable brush and stunted trees.
Hikers above the treeline are urged to stay on
the trail to avoid harming fragile alpine vege-
tation. Katahdin is a busy place in summer
with as many as 300 people on the summit at
one time on busy weekends. Without due care
the terrain would be quickly trampled to
dust.
WATCHABLE WILDLIFE:
Nearby
Sandy Stream
Pond
, an easy half-hour walk, is a spectacular spot to
moose watch. Moose frequently wade along the shore
with the peaks of Katahdin and Hamlin Mountains in
the background.
