A New Sign for Katahdin

Saturday, July 25 was a special day on Katahdin.  17 volunteers from throughout New England, and even one from Florida, gathered at Chimney Pond at 9:30 in the morning to carry a new summit sign and framework up the Saddle Trail to Baxter Peak.  Temperatures were mild, wind was light from the Northwest, and we were treated to about 15 minutes of sunshine before spending all day in the fog on the mountain.

Baxter Park Trail Supervisor Paul Sannicandro was on hand for organizing and guiding the group up Katahdin.  Everyone pitched in to distribute the 6 timbers, 4 cedar planks, the new summit sign, tools and hardware among the volunteers.  It was a great group of people, with only a few members of MATC or the Friends of Baxter State Park in attendance. 

Preparation for this event had been going on for several months.  I volunteered to make the new sign in November of last year;  I was subsequently volunteered to orchestrate the installation as well.  The sign was made from 4 pieces of white pine that were laminated and reinforced with 2”x 6” back braces.  The sign is stained dark brown with white letters and weighs 27 pounds. 

Paul and I prefabricated the sign frame in February.  We cut, mitered, planed, and predrilled the unit and assembled it at the BSP shop.  Over the winter I applied a water seal finish and double checked the assembly.  It is the same “saw horse” design that Steve Clark invented in the 1960’s.  The old frame had been in place since John Neff’s crew installed it in 1977.  It held up very well.

Elsa hiked with me on Friday night as I packed the sign to Chimney Pond in preparation for the work trip on Saturday.  It rained heavily and things got dark early, making for an interesting trip.  We experimented with umbrellas which worked surprisingly well.  It was very nice not to need to wear a raincoat while hiking up the trail in the rain.  We finally got to Chimney Pond about 9:00 PM and made ourselves very comfortable at the crew camp where Ranger Tom Bell had a fire going to dry us out.  Mac ‘n Cheese with hot dogs and peas never tasted better!

Of particular note was having our new vice president Tony Barrett along for the day.  Tony and I found ourselves hiking together at a similar pace, and took the time to visit and compare notes on future club projects.
We all arrived at Baxter Peak around 1:00 PM and quickly set to the task of rebuilding the sawhorse and mounting the new sign.  Helpful hands were everywhere and a group of 8 hikers lent theirs, too.  I asked 6 people to form a human workbench and we bolted the two halves of the sawhorse frame together.  The old sign was unbolted, and the old frame was taken apart to be packed down in short order.  Once the new frame was assembled, the task of stacking rocks on it began and continued until I was finally satisfied that it would stay in place and survive people removing rocks, as they always will.

Cameras were numerous as pictures were taken to record the old sign, the new sign and the replacement process.  Most of the event was recorded on video as well!

As we packed up our tools and old sign lumber, the sky darkened, and a very heavy fog/mist began to blow in our faces as we started down the Saddle Trail.  It was as if Pamola, the avenging spirit of Katahdin, had just allowed us to do our task before testing our mettle with some wet weather.

Everyone made it down the mountain in good season,  with no mishaps.  Jarod Hester, of Micanopy, Florida volunteered to pack the new sign up the mountain, and then packed the old sign all the way down to Roaring Brook.  Kudos!  For most people it was a 12 hour hike on the mountain.  Being a little slower than most,  I pulled into Roaring Brook at sunset.  Elsa and I started for home, finding the only hot food available in Millinocket was at McDonalds.  That tasted pretty good too.

Thanks go to everyone who helped us put up the new sign.  If you couldn’t join us this time, you will have another chance in 10 years – see you then!

Lester C. Kenway
President, MATC