End of July & Baxter Camping Trip

Hard to believe it is the last day of July! It has been a busy but fun month, and we wrapped it up in style with a camping trip to Baxter.

Ryan and I got out for a walk around the school block on Tuesday afternoon. The sun was warm but the breeze was lovely. (1.7 miles walked)

Wednesday morning, I headed out around 7:15 for a run on the powerlines. It definitely looks and feels and smells like high summer out there, with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, plus so much sweat! 💦(9.4 miles)

Goldenrod spider camoflaged on a black eyed susan

Thursday, before we headed up to Baxter, I got out for a road run around town. Like swimming through soup 💦(7.0 miles)

Rain started as we headed north, but thankfully it wasn't a complete washout, and after a greasy spoon lunch in Patten, we arrived at South Branch Pond campground and were able to set up and keep the tent reasonably dry. The rain abated enough for us to get in a short walk down to the pond and around the campground (0.7 miles walked) before we headed up the short Ledges Trail to check out the view and enjoy the blueberries. (1.2 miles walked)

Water lobelia at the water's edge

Ledge Trail view

Swamp candles at dusk 

I took a short trip down to the pond and up to check the weather forecast early on Saturday morning. The clouds were hanging low, sitting atop the distant peaks, but the weather looked good, so around 9:30 we finally headed out for our trip up North Traveler. The trail pulled no punches, gaining about 1,000 feet in the first mile, with some loose scree scrambling as we emerged from the trees halfway up and an amazing amount of ripe blueberries too!

The clouds cleared out as we climbed higher, allowing some beautiful views out into the middle of the park, although Katahdin itself remained shrouded in clouds. More rocky ledges, more blueberries, and then a wide expanse of what seemed like an alpine meadow, filled with fireweed, bunchberry, blueberries, grasses, aster, meadowsweet, steeplebush and more. Very cool. 

The day warmed up as the sun shone down on us out in the open as we ascended the open ledges and meadows to the summit, but it was fairly gusty, so it didn't feel too hot. We had a snack at the summit and then made our way down. Sam did a great job on this rugged, rocky hike, and it was really cool to be above treelines on such a beautiful day. I definitely would like to get back to do the full Travelers loop, but for the day, this was perfect! A solid day in the mountaings together 💗 (5.2 miles walked)

So many blueberries!

So many nice spots for photos as we wandered across these open ledges

Through the meadow

Summit photo 😍

Headed back down

So windy my pigtails are sticking straight out! 😂

A heart for Ann 💗

Neat birches at the edge of the meadow

Meadowsweet

Looking down on the ponds

After dinner, Ryan and I walked down to the water's edge. Such a pretty spot!

Saturday morning dawned clear, and dare I say, crisp? Honestly it felt wonderful! We didn't rush to get out in the morning, sleeping in, making pancakes and bacon, and finally heading down to the pond to get a canoe around 11:30 am. The plan was to paddle across to the landing and start our hike from there. Ryan and I paddled across, with Sam as a passenger in the middle. (0.7 miles paddled)

The hike up the Howe Brook Trail was reasonably mellow, with some rocks and roots and a bit of climbing, but it was very gradual. It was a beautiful day to be out in the woods. Lots of mushroos as we wandered along, the trail parallel to the bubbling brook. So many pools and waterfalls, and at the end of the trail, a beautiful pool with a 20 foot waterfall. So cool!

On the return trip, we stopped at one of the pools so that Sam could take a swim. I stuck my hand in the water, and Ryan got in up to his ankles, and that was enough for us! Even Sam said the water was cold, and that's saying something 😂, but she did get in! Brave girl! The water was gloriously clear, and the pool so deep. It was the perfect hike to follow up our rather intense and rugged hike up North Traveler, and a fun meander for the day. (4.2 miles walked)

One of the many waterfalls and pools along the brook

Purple toothwort - so cool!

Such a neat spot!

So cold!!!!!

In!! 

Taking a short swim around the pool 

Even Sam thought the water was cold! Brrr!

Sam and Ryan paddled on the return trip, so I got to sit in the middle and be a passenger! I must admit, it was not super comfortable, but it was nice to take in the views! We paddled up to the stream connecting the two ponds but we couldn't have gotten through without portaging, so we skipped that 😉😆

😍

We had some rain late in the evening on Saturday and overnight, but skies were clearing when I got up and out early on Sunday morning for a run. I had devised a loop up and over Barrel Ridge, down to Middle and Lower Fowler ponds and then back on the Tote Road. I had run up to Barrel Ridge and back last year, so I knew what to expect from the first three miles - a gradual climb through the woods until the final steep stretch to the summit, very overgrown, and this morning, also very carwash-esque! Definitely did not stay dry! 

From Barrel Ridge, it was a very steep downhill mile to the edge of Middle Fowler Pond. And it was obviously not a very well-used trail, as the brush was most definitely taking over! Certainly not a quick mile. But the pond was beautiful, and there was some nice running between the ponds, and back out to the Tote Road with lots of mushroonms and some gorgeous pipsissewa. The final 5 miles back on the Tote Road felt a bit long, especially the long climb up on South Branch Road, but it was fun to make a loop of it, and neat to explore a few new to me trails (12.2 miles)

Waxy caps

Barrel Ridge blueberries

Barrel Ridge views

Golden Spindles

Middle Fowler Pond

Lower Fowler

Beautiful Pipsissewa

Tote Road running

Once I got back, we packed up the car and headed out. See you next time, South Branch Pond! We wanted to get in a bit of movement before our drive, so we decided to check out the short Forestry Nature Trail we had seen on the map. They had done some nice work labeling trees, etc, but the trail was very lightly trodden and not well defined. Still, some nice woods with some neat lichen, bunchberries and pipsissewa seen. (0.8 miles walked)

Lungwort Lichen. So neat!

As the walk wasn't even a mile, we decided to drive a short ways up the road and check out the Frost Pond Trail. Yet another lightly traveled trail. In fact, we were the first to sign in on the register in 2 weeks - the last check-in was 7/15! Trail was very overgrown, quite buggy, and while it paralleled the river, it was too high up and far in to offer any views, so we turned around fairly quickly and called it good. (1.0 miles walked)

We stopped at Trout Brook Farm to have a final picnic lunch at the edge of the meadow awash in joe pye weed, goldenrod, yarrow, aster and cow vetch, and then made the long trek home. While camping someplace like Baxter takes a bit of extra work and requires some additional lifting, and therefore means there will be a bit of additional whining, it is worth it, and we are always glad once we are up there. Such a special place, and one that is always a treat to visit.  And even Sam said she had a fun trip, so we'll call that a win!💗

And as it is the end of yet another month, here's the round up:

July wrap-up:

Miles run: 203.3

Miles walked: 23.5

Miles XC skiied: 0

5 zero days

YTD:

Miles run: 1,274.9

Miles walked: 116.0

Miles XC skiied: 18.1

42 zero days