Inaccessible trails and fear that rare alpine plant communities might be damaged prompted Baxter State Park to open only one of three hiking trails to Mount Katahdin on Friday for Memorial Day weekend.

Abol Trail, the shortest route to the summit, is open. Hunt and Chimney Pond trails remain closed at the trail heads until further notice, said Jean Hoekwater, the park naturalist.

"It isn’t unusual for us to have some trails still closed at this time, and Memorial Day is a little bit early this year," Hoekwater said Friday. "The good news is that all the hiking trails below the tree line are open. People should expect to find muddy conditions. In some cases, they may not be able to get to a trail head."

Jensen Bissell, the park director, decided to open Abol Trail after hiking Mount Katahdin on Friday morning. He could not be reached for comment.

"Some of the roads are too soft and there are too many washouts that need to be repaired to make the closed trails accessible," Hoekwater said. "In some cases, there are portions of road that are still not open, so you cannot get to the trailheads."

Park officials are also concerned that by straying from the closed trails, hikers might accidentally stomp rare foliage that is crucial food supply to many rare or endangered animals and insects.

"These are basically rare plant habitats that are extremely limited in supply on Katahdin," Hoekwater said.