attn hikers
 

trying to plan a trip in august to hike mt katahdin. has anyone done it before? i've heard you need to reserve a place to stay inside the park 4 months in advance.

i'm looking for recommendations for a day hike loops that access the knife edge trail. any help would be appreciated. 10 miles of hiking in one day is manageable for my wife and i. not sure how strenuous it gets during the boulder scrambling towards the top.

There are plenty of places to stay outside the park as well. I haven't climbed it but certainly want to.

I hiked, and camped Katahdin a few years ago. We stayed @ the Katahdin Stream Camp ground then hiked up the Hunt trail. There are plenty of campgrounds in the park. The camping is rustic to say the least, but worth it. It was an out and back hike. For a summit loop hike you may need two vehicles. Knife edge looks scary. One of the hikers were were with did not like heights, so that trail was out. There are plenty of books about it, or look at the Baxter website. There are some easy loop hikes you can take at the base of the mountain. Good luck

You can google plenty of info, and definitely get an AMC guide or some other appropriate trail guide/map. I generally hike NH where I've bagged all the 4'000', some several times. My one trip to Katahdin was a combination rafting/hiking trip. Unfortunately, we didn't reach the summit, because one of our guys suffered a serious case of heat exhaustion. It was a June trip during an unusual hot spell. Early season also means lots of black flies.

Did the knife edge years ago, stayed outside the park. I've also stayed at Katahdin stream camp ground, very nice experience. Keep your food in a vehicle or tied up in a tree, bears DO make their way into the camp grounds. I was just there the last week of Sept. and hiked to Katahdin stream falls. Nice hike if you are looking for a hakf day hike. Great view.

I've been up to the peak 4 times,but not for at least ten years.The best ascent was via Pamola and then taking the Knifes Edge. To do this you will need good weather and must be confident with heights.I would highly recommend reservations at Chimney Pond the night of this climb as well as trying to raft the Noth Fork during your trip.Have fun!!The Hunt is a moderate ascent, the Abol Slide can hurt though.

you probably did helon taylor trail to knifes edge then down cathedral to chinmey pond trail?? i've heard you do not want to descend the cathedral trail and a chimney pond - cathedral - across knife edge - down helon taylor is a 10 mile loop. the only problem is i think you need a car to get back to the chimney pond trail head from helon taylor trailhead.

you can google alot, but there's limited info on exact trailhead locations, mileagel, and specific summit loop trails. it's a little more mysterious compared to stuff you can get for free on franconia notch or washington area hikes.

Helon Taylor is correct.I wish we had stayed at Chimney,but we went back to the vehicles.I think it was 14 miles in about 8 hours that day.Two weeks later the skin came off the bottom of both feet.It was worth it,the pictures and memories are irreplaceable.