As nice as the previous evening was, the real purpose of the trip was slated for the next morning. We got up early and set out on the road to the Roaring Brook trail head. According to what we had read online we thought we had to be there early to make sure that we would get a parking spot at the trail head, so it was an early start. However, when we got there we were the first cars in the lot. Oh well, who needs sleep.
Once we were on the trail we quickly started gaining altitude as we climbed the Helon Taylor Trail. Before we knew it we were above the tree line heading for Pamola Peak, which towered above us for the whole climb. The views around us kept getting better, but it didn’t really sink in until we arrived at peak itself. In one moment as we crested the ridge the entirety of the knife edge trail and the towering Baxter Peak were on full display. It was quite the view, but one that I was not really able to capture in a photo very well.
After a short break to grab a snack, it was off towards the chimney section. This was where the trail started to make me think “Ah, this is what they mean by exposure.” Just barely past the summit the trail immediately descends a wall of rock to a small saddle, only to immediately climb right back up a similarly steep face. According to the map this section is only about 100 yards long as the crow flies, but descends and climbs 100′.
Once past the chimney we started really making progress up the ridge. I found this section of the trail to be the most interesting. I had been warned before hand about the exposure on this trail, but I was not expecting it to be this significant. For around the next half mile the trail was consistently narrow with large drops on one side or the other. Fortunately most of the trail has a rock face or boulder to reach out to and give you some comfort, so in the end it was not as frightening as I was expecting either.
Now one thing I saw many times before hiking this trail was to be careful about the weather. The last thing you want is to be on a ridge like this in bad weather. Fortunately, we had a pretty comfortable day, with no sign of rain. Unfortunately, there was a steady 30 mph wind blowing across the ridge. This certainly made things more interesting, and there were multiple spots where we had to “hike” with our hands on the ground to make sure we did not get blown off balance. I’m just glad it wasn’t gusty.
Soon enough the trail widened up a bit and the drops got slightly less sheer. The trail was still exposed, but now more like something that you might find at other summits. We climbed up the rest of the ridge and stopped for lunch just before the top. Once there, the character of the trail changed completely. Suddenly we were hiking across a gently sloping boulder field with alpine grasses all around.
We slowly descended down the ridge on the other side of the summit where we were greeted by the next surprise. Our route down into the valley, chosen because it was the gentlest descent, turned out do drop straight down a rock slide. It made for awesome views, but also slow going. It was not until we were much lower in the valley before we were really able to pick up the pace.
From here on out the trail was very manageable. It featured a number of pretty views, a couple of bridges, and a pond. We knew we were close to done when we met up with Roaring Brook again for the final walk to the trail head.
This hike really felt exciting, and was a real treat after the isolation of 2020. I was really impressed at what Baxter State Park has to offer, and definitely want to return some other time to explore the rest of the hike. For now though it was back in the car to head back to civilization.
