 |
| Photo by Brian Ray |
Cushy Colorado huts and cozy Vermont B&Bs are terrific, but they’re like ski lifts—you don’t really need them to enjoy winter adventures. Where winter is cold, gray, windy and wet, you need warm shelter. And 204,733-acre Baxter State Park in northern Maine is just such a place.
Winter travel in Maine’s Great North Woods is so arduous that Baxter requires visitors to Mt. Katahdin, the state’s highest peak, to stop halfway for the night. After 12 miles of kick-and-glide or snowshoeing along the rolling approach road, you’ll be grateful for this rule when you spot the simple bunkhouse at Roaring Brook Campground.
The next day, you’ll attach skins to your skis or snowshoes to your boots and climb 1,450 vertical feet in 3.3 miles to reach the bunkhouse at Chimney Pond, at the heart of Katahdin’s awe-inspiring Great Basin. Camping is allowed here, and open lean-tos are available, but you’re smarter than that. The cabin may be primitive, but you’ll be much happier inside when temperatures plunge to –30° F.
Katahdin’s ice-plastered north face fills the cabin’s picture window like a scene straight out of the Canadian Rockies,
providing plenty of inspiration for each day’s adventures.
Assuming avalanche conditions are stable, you can head out after a hot breakfast to explore windswept basins and link turns on wide-open slopes. You may startle a moose among the willows and scrubby firs between Chimney Pond and North Basin. The Appalachian Trail terminates on Katahdin’s 5,267-foot summit, but that path lies on the other side of the mountain. To climb Katahdin in winter from Chimney Pond, you need technical climbing skills and a calm day. Take comfort in the knowledge that you won’t be knocking snow off an icy tent after your descent—you’ll return to a snug cabin, warm fire and perhaps a glass of celebratory cheer.
GO THERE: The trail to Katahdin starts about 20 miles north of Millinocket, Maine. Obtain a permit at least two weeks in advance. The bunkhouses cost $37 per night, per person at Chimney Pond, $18 per night, per person at Roaring Brook. Baxter State Park imposes numerous requirements for winter visitors; start planning early at the “Camping & Reservations” section of www.baxterstateparkauthority.com, or call 207-723-5140.
