PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 20, 2025
We spend two nights and three glorious days at the Martin Ponds Lean-to, one of three shelters in the Katahdin Lake sector of Baxter State Park. The others are located on the south side and north side of Katahdin Lake. The shelter at the southerly of the two tiny Martin Ponds is a 2.3-mile hike from the Avalanche Field trailhead on the Roaring Brook Road. Katahdin Lake is a relatively new addition to Baxter State Park. In late 2006, after a long and complicated conservation deal involving a host of public and private entities, 4,100 acres around the lake were gifted to the park, finally fulfilling a long-held dream of Percival Baxter. Since that time, several other small private inholdings around the lake have also been acquired. ~ Carey Kish