Just FYI regarding the breakdown. Caboose and I submitted yesterday and we were number 394 & 395 for Nobo summit permits.
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Just FYI regarding the breakdown. Caboose and I submitted yesterday and we were number 394 & 395 for Nobo summit permits.
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“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates
Baxter totals via Ole Man at the AT Lodge:
For the inquiring minds who want to know how many hikers have come through KSC.
As of 8/21, Nobo's 433+, SoBo's 538+, section N 326, S 121, FFers,N 75, S 131, total 1623 .
It will be interesting to see the final results for the season.
Teej
"[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.
Just wondering....do the folks at Amicalola complain about dealing with AT thru hikers as much as the Baxter State Park folks?....jus sayin....
My experience at BSP with the Rangers was phenomenal. I signed up for the Birches just after Abol Bridge and a little later ran into a BSP ranger that asked if I was a thru and proceeded to let me know the details of the Birches program. He was very cordial, informative and congratulated me on my hike. He also advised that due to rising water, I should consider taking the blue blaze bypass trail. Good call.
When I went to the ranger station at KSC, they were very helpful, giving me my permit and answering all my questions, including whether trekking poles made sense on the final climb. When I mentioned after summitting I wish I could go down the Abol Trail instead of re-tracing the Hunt Trail, they volunteered to take my backpack from the Katahdin Stream Campground (I was using their daypacks and leaving my pack at the ranger station) to Abol Campground and have it there for me when I got back down from the summit. The Ranger was also very kind in his congratulations for completing the trail.
Having spent some time in BSP and given the entire situation a lot of thought, I don't see the BSP folks as quite the villains in this tussle as I once did. I think those guys are pushing the ATC to do something about the growing thru-hiker numbers and have just gotten frustrated with the lack of progress by the ATC. I'm not throwing the ATC under the bus, but I can easily see BSP's position. That park does a lot of things for thru-hikers and treated me like a VIP. Nothing but high praise from me for BSP.
From Baxter State Park, on 8/28/17:
"AT Hiker Permit Card update: we are now north of 1,750 permit cards issued."
Teej
"[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.
I had great experiences with the staff at BSP and Amicalola. They were very welcoming, encouraging and the BSP folks were very helpful with the logistics of summiting and getting off the AT.