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Ascent of Katahdin on 1951-07-09

Climber: Frederick Johnson

Others in Party:

Marilyn Johnson (wife)
Jane Harley

Date:

Monday, July 9, 1951

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

Car

Peak:

Katahdin

Location:

USA-Maine

Elevation:

5268 ft / 1605 m

Ascent Trip Report

My wife Marilyn, her sister Jane, and I drove up yesterday to Baxter State Park from Augusta, ME, where we had been visiting Marilyn's folks. We had dinner and spent a comfortable night at Kidney Pond Camp. As we intended to traverse Mt. Katahdin today using a car shuttle,we drove about 25 miles to our starting point at Roaring Brook,accompanied by a worker at Kidney Pond who then drove our car and left it for our return at the foot of the Hunt Trail. He was met there to drive back to Kidney Pond.

The three of us left Roaring Brook at 10:00AM for the 3.3 mile hike to Chimney Pond (2,914'--11:35AM). The weather was overcast with cirrus clouds and considerable haze. We had some misgivings about possible rain, but none developed. We then climbed the Dudley Trail to Pamola Peak (4,919'-1:30PM). A brief lunch stop before continuing along the windy Knife Edge to South Peak (5,240'). Following the horseshoe ridge from South Peak, we arrived at Katahdin's Baxter Peak at 3:30PM. Here we encountered other hikers for the first time since leaving Chimney Pond. Soon we were off down the Hunt Trail, 5.2 miles, sometimes demanding, along the Tableland past Thoreau Springs to the Gateway, and finally our car parked, as planned, at the TH(7:30PM). Soon we were luxuriating back at Kidney Pond Camp. The traverse of Mt. Katahdin with its impressively steep glacial cirque rising abruptly from Chimney Pond, coupled with the exciting, though not techically difficult, Knife Edge provided us with a highly rewarding excursion to Maine's HP.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

3793 ft / 1156 m

Elevation Loss:

4168 ft / 1270 m

Distance:

10.8 mi / 17.4 km

Grade/Class:

Class 1-2+

Quality:

5 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Maintained Trail, Unmaintained Trail, Open Country, Scramble

Weather:

Mild, hazy, partial overcast

Ascent Statistics

Elevation Gain:

3793 ft / 1156 m

Distance:

5.6 mi / 9 km

Route:

Chimney Pond, Pamola Peak

Trailhead:

Roaring Brook TH 1475 ft / 449 m

Time Up:

5 Hours 30 Minutes

Descent Statistics

Elevation Loss:

4168 ft / 1270 m

Distance:

5.2 mi / 8.4 km

Route:

Hunt Trail

Trailhead:

Hunt Trail TH 1100 ft / 335 m

Time Down:

4 Hours

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