Baxter State Park

I had the honor of going up to Baxter with Pastor Nielsen last week, and, although it was wet, windy, and cold, it was still a blast, as we got to see wildlife, do some good walking, and discuss the future of the youth group program at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection. For those of you who dont know about Baxter State Park, the phrase used to sum it up in one word would be "Wild." Years ago, Governor Baxter gave the park to the state of Maine, on the condition that it would stay "forever wild." The park is hundreds of thousands of acres big (look on a map on Maine....it is near Millinocket Dad!) and there is no hunting or trapping. There is very little evidence of human progress or civilization: No paved roads (just old tote-logging roads), no facilities, no gift shop, NO DRINKING WATER, etc. It is truly a wilderness park. And it is stunning. Here are some pictures.

On Tuesday night Pastor and I went for a short hike around Sandy Stream pond where we were entranced by this:


a baby moose and its mom eating and drinking from the lake! For all the time I've spent in Maine and NH, this is only the second moose sighting I've had. Interestingly, the other time I saw a moose was at Grace pond, and it was also a cow and her calf. The light coloring of this baby moose means that it is about 2 months old....Here, it posed for us....
Below is a picture of mom, taken from afar, with South Turner Mtn. in the background. The summit of S. Turner kind of reminds me of the side of Cannon Mtn in NH, where the old man used to live before he fell seaworthy. Pastor and I ALMOST climbed South Turner that night, but then, when we realized it was 7:30, we thought it might not be a good idea to attempt an almost 4k foot mountain....
Here is a better shot of mom, enjoying some delicious aquatic plant-life.
A good shot Pastor got of me (not because I am in it...but because you can see Pamola peak and Katahdin in the background. Not the rocky, perilous looking ridges connecting the taller peaks. They are, as I hear, as breathtaking and scary as they look. If you blow this picture up, you can see the blob of brown (the moose) behind me......


Above is me standing at "Blueberry Knoll," which is a great "lookout" sort of cliff overlooking the Great Basin and Hamlin Ridge, which connects to Katahdin. After hiking into Chimney pond (the true "basecamp" of Katahdin) and realizing the weather was too perilous to continue (look at my shorts), we took a side-trip to the knoll, to at least see something. Even the knoll, which was still pretty far below the treeline altitude, was RIPPING with wind gusts. I cannot even imagine being above treeline on a narrow ridge and summit! I never thought I really understood the allure of Kathadin until I saw it in person; it is NOT your average mountain. There really is something mystical, unique, and intriguing about it. I NEED to climb this mountain.....