Katahdin Falls
Jun. 23rd, 2021 06:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerMaine Week Travelog #17
Baxter State Park, ME - Friday, 18 Jun 2021, 12pm.
Ahh, back into the time warp. Back to a time before our trip turned into a mess trying to get home. Back to when we were standing at the base of Mt. Katahdin (pronounced Kataaaahdin by locals) and lacing up our boots to hike to some waterfalls.
The trail was easy at first, a literal walk in the woods. The air felt closer than the modest 75° temperature (24° C) indicated. It was probably the humidity. And the insects. Mosquitoes were so thick they practically bounced off us.
The trail rose steadily for a while then crossed a fork in the stream and climbed steeply. We knew we were getting to the good stuff! We picked our way over rocks and back down a bit to a perch with a good view of Katahdin Falls.
![Katahdin Falls, Baxter State Park, Maine [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/740247/740247_original.jpg "Katahdin Falls, Baxter State Park, Maine [Jun 2021]")
While we'd had the trail mostly to ourselves on the hike up, seeing only one other small group going in the opposite direction, here at the falls there were 2-3 other couples or solo hikers enjoying the views with us. It was a crowd! But a crowd by remote Maine standards— not Acadia National Park standards, where it was like a conga line climbing the face of the Beehive.
![We're at Katahdin Falls, Baxter State Park, Maine [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/739900/739900_original.jpg "We're at Katahdin Falls, Baxter State Park, Maine [Jun 2021]")
One of the hikers offered to take our picture. As we chatted we learned he was on his way back down from The Owl, one of the peaks in the area. It's not as tall as Katahdin (the highest in the Maine) but is still an ascent of over 2,000' from the trailhead. If we were in better shape we'd have done that, too.
![Upper end of Katahdin Falls, Baxter State Park, Maine [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/740448/740448_original.jpg "Upper end of Katahdin Falls, Baxter State Park, Maine [Jun 2021]")
We spent at least half an hour near the falls. We climbed further up the steep slope and picked our way out on various rocks and ledges for different views. The third picture (above) shows a close-up of the top tier of the falls.
Soon enough it was time to go. As beautiful as the falls are, there are other falls in the park, too. We'd mapped out three hiking trails we hoped we could get to. Coming down from Katahdin Falls we knew we'd have energy for at least one of them... would we make it to all three? Stay tuned.
Baxter State Park, ME - Friday, 18 Jun 2021, 12pm.
Ahh, back into the time warp. Back to a time before our trip turned into a mess trying to get home. Back to when we were standing at the base of Mt. Katahdin (pronounced Kataaaahdin by locals) and lacing up our boots to hike to some waterfalls.
The trail was easy at first, a literal walk in the woods. The air felt closer than the modest 75° temperature (24° C) indicated. It was probably the humidity. And the insects. Mosquitoes were so thick they practically bounced off us.
The trail rose steadily for a while then crossed a fork in the stream and climbed steeply. We knew we were getting to the good stuff! We picked our way over rocks and back down a bit to a perch with a good view of Katahdin Falls.
While we'd had the trail mostly to ourselves on the hike up, seeing only one other small group going in the opposite direction, here at the falls there were 2-3 other couples or solo hikers enjoying the views with us. It was a crowd! But a crowd by remote Maine standards— not Acadia National Park standards, where it was like a conga line climbing the face of the Beehive.
One of the hikers offered to take our picture. As we chatted we learned he was on his way back down from The Owl, one of the peaks in the area. It's not as tall as Katahdin (the highest in the Maine) but is still an ascent of over 2,000' from the trailhead. If we were in better shape we'd have done that, too.
We spent at least half an hour near the falls. We climbed further up the steep slope and picked our way out on various rocks and ledges for different views. The third picture (above) shows a close-up of the top tier of the falls.
Soon enough it was time to go. As beautiful as the falls are, there are other falls in the park, too. We'd mapped out three hiking trails we hoped we could get to. Coming down from Katahdin Falls we knew we'd have energy for at least one of them... would we make it to all three? Stay tuned.
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Date: 2021-06-23 06:22 pm (UTC)