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We have redone our website in July 2009. We are working on it day by
day. It will be a work in progress as we have great plans for this new
site.
You are here because you are seeking information to help
you prepare for your trip to Katahdin. We suggest that you first visit our forums for advice from the pros.
Climate of Baxter Park
The Park lies within the Northern Forest Region of the American Continent and experiences the cool, moist climate typical of this region. Climatic data from Caribou, Maine (70 air miles northeast) provides an overview of our seasons:
* Annual mean temperature: 38.6°F
* Record high temperatures: ~ 95°F
* Record low temperatures: ~ -45°F
* Average annual precipitation; ~ 37"(includes ~ 100"/year snow)
Summer temperatures and conditions peak in the Park in July and August. Fall colors begin to emerge in deciduous trees in the Park in early September and fall colors usually peak in late September or early October. Leaf-fall in deciduous trees is complete by the end of October. Lasting snowfall usually begins in mid to late November and lasts through April. In the Park, leaves emerge on deciduous trees around the last week in May. Weather in Baxter State Park can be characterized primarily by its variability; snowfall can occur any month of the year and temperatures can, and often do, fluctuate widely around the averages.
The Forests of Baxter Park
Baxter State Park as we know it today began to develop about 12,000
years ago as the Lauren tide ice sheet melted northward out of New
England (Katahdin was once covered with glacial ice). Over the next
1,000 years the land that would become the Park developed a tundra
ecology and the first human inhabitants left evidence of their
presence. The following 1,000 years brought a steady emergence of
forest growth:
"The
development of the first forests in northern New England disrupted
Paleo-Indian culture. Northern boreal forests of spruce and fir support
relatively little herbaceous vegetation, and therefore offer little
subsistence for gregarious herbivores like the caribou. Some of the
large herbivores, such as musk ox and caribou, remained on the tundra,
drifting gradually northward out of the region. Many other species
simply died out, no longer able to find enough forage." 1
Over
the ensuing 8,000 years as the climate gradually warmed, the forests of
the northern Maine developed from the boreal forests now found further
to the north to the spruce and fir dominated "Acadian" forest. This
forest is characterized by poor or moderately drained soils, over
compressed glacial till or areas of shallow soil over bedrock (Leak and
Riddle, 1979). U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 544 of 1917
offers a description of the earlier Park forests:
"....Spruce,
birch, soft maples, white pine, hemlock , and balsam are the
characteristic trees in mixture...The presence of black ash, which is
usually accompanied by considerable balsam, denotes conditions
bordering on the swamp type. The presence of sugar maple, on the other
hand, denotes a transition to the hardwood lands. White pine of good
quality formerly occurred in abundance in this type in both Maine and
the Adirondacks... Spruce attains an intermediate development here,
while birch and the better hardwoods are inferior in development as
compared with the same species growing on the hardwood
lands.....Windfall is not uncommon, and as a result young even-aged
stands of spruce are found occupying the ground where this has taken
place...".
A landmark study by Ralph S. Hosmer in 1902-3 in a Greenville area Township described a tract of "virgin forest"
of 20 acres (even by the 1900's unharvested forest was rare) on sites
similar to Baxter State Park. Over ninety percent of the stand was
composed of 5 species, red spruce (65.4%), yellow birch (14.3%), sugar
maple (5.7%), paper birch (4.1%) and balsam fir (2.7%).2 The
maximum diameter of spruce measured on the site was 27 inches. In most
respects, this description would probably apply reasonably well to the
forests of Baxter State Park around the start of the nineteenth
century. Without question, human action over the ensuing decades has
altered the forest mosaic in many ways.
The nature of Baxter Park
The Park is home to numerous mountains, the two most notable
clusters being the peaks comprising and surrounding the Katahdin massif
and the cluster of peaks in the northern part of the Park consisting of
the Traveler Range. Pink and white Katahdin granite make up the rugged
mountains on the southern end of the Park while the Traveler range
further to the north is composed of Rhyolite with prominent columnar
jointing visible in many places. The north end also features
sedimentary rock in certain localities. Glacial features are abundantly
evident throughout the Park in the form of kettle ponds, eskers,
moraines, erratics, the Knife Edge arête, the glacial cirques of
Katahdin and the splendid U-shaped valley running north to south from
the Travelers to South Turner.
The mountains
combine with a wide array of ponds, lakes, streams, waterfalls and bogs
to create a varied and beautiful landscape. Favorite waterfalls include
Katahdin Stream Falls, Big and Little Niagara Falls and the remote
Green Falls. Two of the most significant streams are Nesowadnehunk
Stream and Wassataquoik Stream. Ponds such as Kidney and Daicey Ponds,
Grassy Pond, Rocky Pond and the Fowler Ponds, among many others,
provide excellent fishing in most cases and the chance to canoe with
friends and family with the scenic north woods as a backdrop. We have
numerous bogs with the associated plants, birds and wildlife unique to
such areas. In the forested areas, wildlife includes moose, deer, bear,
otter, mink, marten, fisher, weasel, coyote, bobcat, beaver, muskrat,
raccoon, woodchucks, snowshoe hare, squirrels, chipmunks, flying
squirrels, mice, voles, lemmings. Avid birders enjoy the variety of
environments found in the Park, resulting in sightings of many
different wood warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers as well as game
birds, several species of owls and hawks, and many ducks and other
wetland birds. Amphibians and reptiles are representative of freshwater
habitats throughout northern New England and provide our young campers
some engaging encounters. Insect life is abundant and diverse,
including some beautiful beetles, dragonflies and butterflies, however,
the insatiable black fly seems to have achieved the greatest notoriety
in the memories of some of our campers!
The plant
life in the Park is as varied as the terrain and wildlife. From wetland
plants to woodland ferns and wildflowers to alpine plants, the regular
Park visitor will find a plant guide to be very useful. However, the
plants that are sure to be most popular with most summer visitors are
the blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Just remember to check
the other side of the bush to find out if a resident black bear has
prior claims on the bush!
Baxter State Park was originally conceived as a park "for those who love nature and are willing to walk and make an effort to get close to nature"3
Unlike some parks which are designed to display the area via auto
access, with groomed viewpoints along the road and convenient travel by
automobile, the features and diversity of Baxter State Park are best
seen on foot. The Park was designed primarily to be a hiking park with
vehicular access on the limited and very primitive road system
intended not as a means to thoroughly experience the wilderness but
only as a way for visitors to reach their starting point, . There are
approximately 200 miles of trail maintained by the Park. These trails
range from the heavily-used boardwalks around Sandy Stream Pond to the
remote and little traveled Freezeout and rugged Northwest Basin Trail.
There are moderate trails around ponds, pleasant trails to waterfalls
and challenging boulder-strewn pathways up many of our mountains. All
these trails must be marked, brushed out and repaired regularly by
BSP's Trail Crew. Each season roughly 10 people, usually volunteers
from the Student Conservation Association, along with the Trail
Supervisor and two BSP Trail Crew Leaders, undertake this task. They
are joined each summer by dozens of individuals who volunteer either as
a group or alone to contribute their time and effort to maintain
quality trail access to this Park.
Thanks
The Park was designed by Park donor Percival P. Baxter to preserve
the Park in its natural state. All of the Parks geological features,
animals and plants, such as mentioned above are, by regulation, to be
left in the Park, undisturbed for their own sake and for the enjoyment
of future visitors. Of course, harvesting berries and fern fiddleheads
for personal consumption and catching fish according to the state
regulations for the particular body of water you are fishing are all
permitted within the mandate of the Park. Just a note of interest:
throughout the Park, hikers may stumble upon the remains of old lumber
camps or settlements. While preserving human artifacts is not a
management priority, cultural objects are also protected from
collecting. Objects such as wood stoves, old kitchenware, old tools,
horseshoes and other items should not be collected but should be left
where they are found, so that Park visitors discovering them might be
able to reflect on the history of the Park's land, passage of time and
the regenerative power of nature. We expect all visitors to practice low-impact camping and hiking in this wilderness area.
We hope you enjoy the diversity of settings and life found in this
beautiful gift former Maine Governor Percival P. Baxter so generously
gave to the people of Maine!
1 From
a draft synthesis paper on the effect of forest practices in northern
forest lands, C.R. Foss, L.S. Deming, S.F. Gage, Audubon Society of New
Hampshire, 1992.
2 Pg.79 " A Study of the Maine Spruce" by Ralph S. Hosmer, as part of the Maine Forest Commissioner's Report of 1903, Table 4.
3 Word of Park donor former Maine Governor Percival P. Baxter.
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