FSAR is new to providing SAR coverage in Baxter State Park.
The weekend of August 26-28 was the 4th 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.
