Hey Twigeater!

“Noticed your 5/24-5/26 trip to Baxter, is that still on? Do you have room for a west-coaster? I'm planning a business trip to New England on 5/27, wuz thinkin I could head out early & get in some East Coast hikin!”

“Beware of the twigeater!”

“Twiggy will fill you in on more, but the trip is still on. My 16 y/o son and I are on the trip and it looks like there is still room for one more.

I figure it would be fun to have you roll on over from the Left coast and join us.”

“I've heard she takes people on "Three Hour Tours" that are anything but! ;)”

“......and cooks road kill!”

“Why are you still so upset about her cooking the road kill? It really wouldn't have been a good idea to eat it raw.”

“Road kill sushi?”

“How many rednecks does it take to eat a possum?

Two, one to do the eatin' while the other watches for traffic.”

“Its a good thing there are no possums in Maine.

That wild woman would've had us eatin' possum jerky!”

“Twigeater, did you ever make it to the Bonds?”

“I dunno TT - possums have made it into New Hampshire, they might have made it to Maine.”

“She's a ....gasp.....bunnie boiler!”

“I seen plenty of possum up here, roadkill variety and otherwise....”

“Oh, $h!t!

Not possums in Maine!

Don't tell the twigeater!”

“LOL @ you guys! I'm home with the flu today, finally can sit up for a minute to drink a cup 'o soup and here you're all taking about road kill!

Yep, the trip is still on and there's one more space available, you're welcome to it wanderer!

I actually do have a canoe/hike in mind that could turn into a 3 hour tour... hehe, just kidding! ;)

So what' wrong with road kill anyway! I've cooked up a coupla partridge that I hit before, they are yummy! Why waste a good bird?

I didn't make it to the Bonds Mad, I opted for farm camping with the kidlets instead. It was so much fun we're doing it again Mother's Day weekend.

back to bed for me! :(”

“Sorry your not feeling well Twiggy. Guess you'll hafta boil up that road kill a little longer next time.
( btw: this is especially important when the snow is melting, because it can be hard to determine just how long the kill was there before it was revealed through the snow).”

“Thanks Twigeater, hope you're feelin' better soon.

I have a million q's for whoever can answer, I'll probably have to pack way ahead of time & ship my pack/gear out to my customer site & pick up there.

1. Where do we meet? Date / time?
2. Do I pack my 0 deg or 20 deg bag? What are daytime & nighttime temp ranges?
3. Do I bring my snowshoes?
4. I've never stayed in a shelter before??(we don't have them out here), do I bring my tent or bivy sack?? (yeah, you can now officially start ragging on us west coasters).
5. I can't ship fuel, can someone pick me up a fuel cannister for my Giga SnowPeak, or maybe some white gas (if it'll be cold enough that I should bring my Whisperlite?) (I'll pay you ahead of time, send me an email!)
6. I'd love to have a map of wherever we're going... can you give me some suggestions / or which quadrants I should get??

Thanks, I know I'm acting like a little kid in a candy store, but I feel like a little kid in a candy store right now!

Anything & everything you can tell me would be much appreciated.

YEEAAH, a new hike!”

“I am so stoked to do this trip...

I've been all over the Baxter site, can't find the answer...

What's the requirement for food storage? I have an Ursack I use when not in bear country, works great to prevent rodents from getting my food...

I also have a bear-i-cade when in bear country...

Any requirements at Baxter? What do I bring?

Thanks again.”

“Twiggy can prolly answer more definitely but I'll take a stab at it.

1. Where do we meet? Date / time?
Date's on the trip page... time is not set. I think we can make arrangements between us or meet at the lean-to.

2. Do I pack my 0 deg or 20 deg bag? What are daytime & nighttime temp ranges?

I certainly wouldn't take the zero degree bag. Temp ranges will change dramatically as we gain elevation, but don't worry about it getting too cold for a 20 degree bag where we will be staying. If we go much up Katahdin, we may get to winter conditions at elevation.

3. Do I bring my snowshoes?

You can find things to do that don't require them. But I'm betting we can find significant snow.

4. I've never stayed in a shelter before??(we don't have them out here), do I bring my tent or bivy sack?? (yeah, you can now officially start ragging on us west coasters).

You don't need either for the shelter (tents in shelters are no 0 nos - bivy won't hurt, except for the weight)

5. I can't ship fuel, can someone pick me up a fuel cannister for my Giga SnowPeak, or maybe some white gas (if it'll be cold enough that I should bring my Whisperlite?)

I can do that - heck we could prolly even share a stove. (I'll pay you ahead of time, send me an email!)

6. I'd love to have a map of wherever we're going... can you give me some suggestions / or which quadrants I should get??

It's the southern end of Baxter State Park.

What's the requirement for food storage?

There is no food storage requirement in BSP. Be ware of small rodents, though.”

“Also, Wanderer - check this out:

http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=45.88722&lon=-68.99722&scale=25000&type=1&zoom=100&bpid=MAP0060030900&latlontype=DMS&searchscope=dom" target="_blank"> maptech for Katahdin stream campground

You can zoom in or out and it will show you the longitude and latitude of wherever your cursor touches... lots of kewl features and fun to play with.

BTW: Where in New England is your business taking you?”

“LOL @ ped, and thanks!

Ditto what ped said, except a coupla things - tents are allowed in the lean-tos, but there won't be room for one with 5 people. Also, if Katahdin is still in winter conditions, the trails to the peak will be closed.

I use the Stephen Clark map that you can buy from BSP - it should be listed on the Baxter park authority web page. I have extra maps, and I'll share my stove with ya.

We can meet at the lean-to. I'll e-mail everyone with details prior to the trip.”

“Hmmm... a lot of people get ticked off at tents in shelters.”

“... but maybe that's more a function of places where you don't reserve spaces?”

“I'll be in CT for biz, from looking at the map I'm guessing the drive up I95 is for maybe 4 -5 hours to Baxter SP?

I'll leave the tent home, I've honestly never seen a shelter before (these are East Coast phenomena!) so can't envision what I'm headed into. Just trying to figure out what to bring...”

“Wanderer - I'm up late working on a consultation (someone appealing a denial of disability benefits).. and glad you posted so I have an excuse to take a break.

Anyway, you are probably talking something more like 7 hours - maybe even more depending on where you are coming from. You can check it on mapquest.com using Millinocket ME as your destination. Mapquest is usually conservative about driving speed, but there is some extra driving to do from Millinocket. You might want to consider an open jawed flight plan, a round trip to some interesting intermediate destination - or a stop over on the way between CT and Maine.”

“We always figure on a hour to our site from Millinocket or Patten, mostly because of the speed limits once in the park.

I know on the AT a tent in a lean-to is a no-no, but in BSP you rent the site so only your party is in the lean-to. Can't pitch a tent on a lean-to site though. I prefer lean-tos because I like to know what's going on outside. Everytime I'm in a tent and hear a noise I have to get out and look - I might miss a critter sighting!

there is a BSP map here (not very good but it shows the trails):
map

picture of a lean-to here:
lean-to
That's a side view - around front it's a wooden floor, all open.”

“Critter sighting?

Like a Camera-toting Pennsy?

Or a Blue-underwear Dork?”

“My favorite critters, LOL!”

“I hope you get well soon, dear!

So's we can pick on ya!

Take two shots of whiskey and get back to bed.”

“Thank-you, I'm feeling MUCH better today! I'm here at work hoping to infect some of my favorite people, LOL - although I guess the big boss was out yesterday with it as well.

I wish I liked whiskey, it's supposed to cure anything ain't it?!

=D”

“It'll knock you out and kill germs too!”

“you May trippers have mail! :)”

“Question for Twig and anyone else:

Since it seems the Rangers have some discretion about letting people take the trails to the summitt - what would I want to do in the way of gear or preparedness to increase my chances of getting the nod?”

“Kiss up to the rangers?”

“Good advice, TomT! ;)
I've gotten permission to hike closed trails before but only from the old Chimney Pond ranger. And I think it was because he had seen me and my group there and on the mountain many times.

I've never found the ranger at Katahdin Stream to be very friendly, but ya never know, and there may be a new ranger anyway.

You could call the park and ask just for the heck of it - 207-723-5140.”

“Wear something revealing!”

“I'm a little nervous about your strategy Tom - if the ranger is straight, he might be appalled... and if he's not, I might be appalled!”

“Anyway, I guess I'll call a few days in advance to ask about trails and see if there is wiggle room.”

“Rock(Hudson) and a hard place?”

“Just learned I have to re-arrange my biz trip, which means bailing out on this opportunity to see some of Maine. #@$%@.

Hope y'all have a great time, I'll be looking for pics!”

“Sorry to hear it wanderer.

Lemme know if you want to take a hike in Northern New England while you are through... I can't show you the old man in the mountain, but...”

“No way! :(
I was looking forward to a west coaster getting his butt kicked on one of our little hills, LOL. (j/k) =D”

“(shh... Twiggy)

Don't let anyone scare you off from getting your butt kicked in coming and having some fun in the Whites.”

“Thanks for the offer Ped, I may take you up on it if I can.

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I was raised in PA, my early backpacking days were in the Appalachians. I've been in your hills, they're beautiful. Very different hiking than the West, I was looking forward to it.”

“....looking forward to feeding roadkill to unsuspecting guests....HOOHOOHOOHOOhahahahahahahah!!!!!!!”

“Wanderer: jess lemme know when your plans are coming clear - the offer stands. Who knows maybe the Tiwgster will come down and cook up some "found food."”

“You've got e-mail! Bihtc! ;-P”

“yeah, well #&%!$ you too!

LOL...

got it, and I'm on...

=D”

“I'm IMing.... not going through, it appears. let me restart it!”

“It might not be a good idea to walk around wearing the hat that Bobo gave you at the Hike Maine trip.”