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Baxter State Park

July 20, 2011   Hiking, Nature, Outdoors

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White water rafters on the West Branch of the Penobscot River

What a beautiful day! I spent the day up north with Melissa, my sister. We drove out the Golden Road in search of moose and other photo ops.

The weather was perfect – not hot but warm and breezy. Melissa got a little sunburn. We brought a picnic lunch and ate at Cribworks, also on the West Branch.

Crib Works on the West Branch of the Penobscot River

Melissa saw Mathew, a friend of hers, at the south gate of Baxter State Park. He’s a ranger there. We’re completely jealous of his job. When we grow up we want to be park rangers at Baxter State Park. We’d get him fired if we could have his job. Just kidding! I can’t imagine anything could get Mathew fired. He knows that park upside down and backward and obviously loves his job. When I said we were going to Ledge Falls, a natural water slide, he said every vehicle that had gone through the gate in the 20 minutes he’d been standing there were going to the falls. “What are the odds of getting into the parking lot to go to Sandy Stream Pond?” The parking lot fills up quickly. If you want to be sure to get in you have to pay $5 to reserve a spot. If you don’t show up by 7 am you lose your spot even though you paid for it. I love BSP but really? Lose your paid-for spot? That sucks. We lucked out. A moose pass had just been turned in. A moose pass gives you three hours from the time you leave the gatehouse until you have to be back. You lose nearly an hour in driving and stopping at an outhouse before hitting the trail.

Two bull moose in Sandy Stream Pond, Baxter State Park

The boardwalk at Sandy Stream Pond is 4/10 mile from the parking lot. It’s an easy hike. Melissa spotted the bull moose on the left in the shadows at the far side of the pond. Not long after we got there we heard a grunt coming from the woods on the opposite shore. The bull in the water immediately moved away from the second moose when it appeared at the edge of the pond. It took a while for the first moose to relax before they were this close together. The darker moose in the back is very thin. You can see his ribs and lack of muscle tone. They’re two or three years old.

We left SSP and drove nearly an hour to Ledge Falls. It was 5:30 pm by the time we got there so we didn’t slide. We will next time. We’re planning to go back soon with a group of friends and kids to spend another day in the park.

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