ARE YOU PREPARED?
Baxter
State Park, Chimney Pond Coverage
By: Barry London
The FSAR
blog for July 11, 2012, was certainly very appropriate for the Chimney Pond
coverage this past weekend. Pat Cyr and Barry London traveled to Baxter for
weekend coverage, hiking into Chimney Pond Saturday morning. We met thirty-two
out bounders, mostly who were ill prepared. The temperature was 60 degrees as
we left Roaring Brook campsite (in the forties on the summit Sunday morning),
with a steady drizzle, light rain: classic hypothermia weather complete with
hikers in cotton clothing.
Arriving at Chimney one hour and forty-five minutes later (Pat, in shorter time), we were greeted to a socked in mountain with numerous people heading up the steep terrain that we knew was there, but could not see. It was nice to move into the dry crew cabin, allowing us to hang wet gear and to address our body’s demand for hydration and nutrients. The hike in, with numerous rocks and boulders, and deep standing puddles from the 2 ½ inches of rain the mountain had received in the past forty-eight hours, went better than expected, but was quite different from the March 2011 hike with the smooth, snow packed trail of our last visit. We checked in with the ranger (Mark, who was at Trout Brook Farm during last summer’s coverage) and settled in-aka hurry up and wait.
As there
were only two of us (pitch for FSAR members to go to Baxter), we were limited
with our own ability to hike but, given what we were seeing, felt it best to
hang tight anyway. We watched as families ignored the recommendations of the
ranger not to climb the Cathedral Trail, or go across the knife’s edge with the
still clouded in, rainy weather with a forecast for showers and thunder
showers, others hiking in open-toe sandals, and still others acting as the
lemmings, following their leader with no idea where and what they were about to
do. Pat and I got out the compasses, the topo maps, and as peaks started to
appear, practiced some navigation skills; magnetic to north calculations and
vise versa, grid method orientation, and triangulation. Additionally, GPS units
came out and we honed skills we unfortunately don’t take or get the opportunity
to practice with enough.
As it
turned out, the weather defied the forecast and the peaks started to show
mid-afternoon. We met some really interesting people that had hiked and climbed
all over the U.S. On Sunday, we stayed until 5PM waiting for the last of the
uphill hikers to register back in with the ranger. We made our way back down
the trail to Roaring Brook that turned out to be uneventful weekend for injured
hikers but still enhanced our knowledge of the park terrain and added
experience if and when we are called to climb.
It was good
to get together as team members, share skills and experiences (and beat Pat at
cribbage) and to talk about the passion FSAR members share for the outdoors.
Assessing my preparation on the hike out, and during the 3 ½ drive home, what
would I add/leave out of my pack (it weighed in at 41 pounds) when I go again,
and am I prepared physically for the
demands of the big mountain.
As a recovering gearhead, it is
always difficult to leave things out that I just might “need.” My clothing
selection, given the weather was good- I used most articles and would have used
the rest if called to rescue/search, and I had enough extra food for the same
situation. Except for two tired feet at the end of the hike out, I felt
physically competent but recognize the need to increase the cardiovascular
activity. Overall, I’d give myself a “B” using my teacher jargon.
Now back to
being prepared. There are numerous places and resources to obtain information
(see side bar of this blog) about being prepared for the backcountry, yet many
people get introduced and survive on shear ignorance and good luck. It becomes
our task to assist these individuals or groups when these experiences become
stupidity and back luck. When you inquire about their readiness, some can
become quite indignant if you question their intentions, and head off without
regard for themselves or those that volunteer to rescue them.
(Barry London is an avid outdoorsman, teacher, outdoor
educator, Maine guide, EMT, Ski Patrol and an FSAR Board member.)
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