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| View from the Balancing Boulder, The Owl Summit Cone |
Katahdin means "Greatest Mountain." But I'm renaming it "Decoy Mountain." We only had one day set aside for hiking in Baxter State Park and it turned out to be a banner, blue bird day of absolutely perfect hiking weather. Since we can't stand being around hoards of people when hiking, we theorized that Katahdin would be a good decoy. Since EVERYONE would be up there, we'd have a neighboring mountain called The Owl all to ourselves.
We were right.
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| First View of the Owl Summit |
We arrived at the gatehouse at 7 a.m. and sat in a jam of 20 or so cars waiting to get inside. We almost turned around in frustration, but stuck in our and got a parking space at Katahdin Stream Campground. We started off on the Hunt Trail to Katahdin and, of course, saw a bunch of hiking parties. But one mile in, the Owl Trail branches off to the north. From that point until the end of the day, we only saw a single hiker.
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| Topping the Owl |
The Owl Trail is an excellent trail leading to an awesome mountain. It starts with a steady climb through a mossy forest along the banks of a small tributary of Katahdin Stream. After crossing it - the last water source - the trail heads up the ridgeline until popping out of the trees below the summit cone, which supposedly resembles the form of a Great Horned Owl. The summit climb first emerges at a precariously balanced boulder, with the first great views of the ridge below and Katahdin to the east. Rock scrambles then bring you out onto a wide open expanses with a large rock cairn. This is the best place for a a long break, but the true summit is a little further on, with no additional gain needed to reach it.
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| Descending from the Owl Summit |
Peak: The Owl
Elevation: 3,736 feet (2,571 feet Gain)
Distance: 7 miles
Route: Out and back, The Owl Trail
Conditions: Sunny, 40 degrees F
