FSAR Baxter SAR coverage August 26-28

 FSAR is new to providing SAR coverage in Baxter State Park. The weekend of August 26-28 was the 4^th time we have been the on call SAR team in the park this year. Due to other commitments, we were only able to field 2 members for this weekend, Chuck and Mit.  Ironically, neither of us has hiked Katahdin before so we were a couple of newbies on the mountain! We figured that it was important to learn the mountain, so our training focused on trail familiarization and hiking. We left Strong at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning and were on the trail at Roaring Brook just after 9 a.m. Our first stop on the trail was the amazing Chimney Pond. This is a place that should be experienced in person.  

The Cathedral trail that we had elected to ascend was steep almost from the start. It was a wonderful adventure, since we had no real knowledge of what the next pitch held for us, as we picked our way up the steep trail. Chuck does not generally enjoy heights, but he did very well with the considerable number of steep cliffs on the Cathedral Trail. Once at Baxter Peak, we took a short lunch. We have both heard Knife’s Edge stories for years, and Chuck decided that it was ‘now or never’ for an expedition down the Knife to Pamola Peak. We made good time along to South Peak and down the upper Knife’s Edge trail and we were feeling quite confident. I remember thinking to myself “What’s the big deal!?” Once we hit the lower Knife’s Edge trail, things got tough. We were both concentrating hard and psyching ourselves up for each increasingly more difficult and more dramatic section. We passed a pair of soiled underpants lying on the side of the trail which summed up some sections of the lower Knife trail. After we conquered the descent down Chimney Peak and the final ascent up Pamola Peak, we were overwhelmed with psychological exhaustion and a major sense of accomplishment. After a brief celebration with M&Ms, we headed down the Helon Taylor trail frequently breaking out in laughter thinking about what we had just done (survived!). It was an amazing day that I will not forget.  

The following day, Saturday, we were given a SAR assignment by the duty ranger Mike Martin. Hurricane Irene was due to hit the park during mid-morning on Sunday and the (rare) decision was made to close the park to all visitors on Sunday and Monday. We hiked over 11 miles around Katahdin Lake to 3 lean-tos to warn 2 separate groups of park visitors that the storm was on its way and they needed to evacuate. After successfully completing the task, we went back to the bunkhouse for a fine dinner of delicious lamb burgers from the Royce farm.

Sunday morning, the Baxter folks encouraged us to head back to western Maine where the worst of the now tropical storm was forecast to hit. We made good time in the still moderate rain bands of the early storm.

In late fall, Pat will be announcing the Baxter dates for the 2012 season. If you ask any of the 8 FSAR members who were able to participate in this year’s Baxter weekends, I think you will hear that these opportunities are worth the effort.