Baldpate Mountain, Maine

Hiking up and over Baldpate is one of the more unique and memorable mountains on the Appalachian Trail. Going north, you first cross the forest covered West Peak. On your way down, the East Peak comes into view and it has some huge exposed rock slabs. You would think the trail works around these rock slabs but as you get closer, you realize the trail is just going to go right up and over. This is fun but I would imagine in bad weather they could scare a few people and be slick in places. On the summit are fantastic views in all directions. But the trail is not done; it drops down and climbs over Little Baldpate, a small bump with more views.

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Appalachian Trail

Elevation: 3,815 feet
Prominence: 2,263 feet

With an unexpected break in the weather and some incoming rain, once I hit treeline, I started climbing up and over fast. It appeared there might be some lightening associated with the storm, so I was not going to take chances. Also, I did not want to walk on wet rock slabs. Although I did not hear any thunder, I still was ducking and moving very quickly by the time I got caught up in it at Little Baldpate. It started pouring rain shortly after I reached the trees on the north side and I was feeling pretty sorry for some hikers I passed that were probably just reaching the summit of the main peak.

My Visit: