Mount Katahdin

Well I finally made it. After years of trying and planning and getting rained out I finally got to the top of Maine. I was supposed to meet up with Ryan, Steven and Dan to hike this one together but due to a some poor communication, lack of phone reception and bad luck I wound up hiking it mostly solo.

I woke up late because my alarm/phone died in the cold night air and hurried there, assuming they had already started since I told them if I was late for some reason not to wait and I'd try to catch up if I could. They however were told by rangers that the trail I went to was full and they needed to go elsewhere. Mike dropped me off since he wasn't hiking because of a bad heel and I went on my way. They ended up climbing up from the camp ground we were all staying at that night. We even passed them on the way to the trail but neither of us knew what car the other had so we just drove by each other. I crossed paths with them in the middle of the Knife Edge going in opposite directions so we continued on our ways and met up at a pond to finish the hike back to Mike's car together. We all went back to our sites and the five of us had a great all you can eat Meat House dinner.

It was a beautiful day out to hike alone and take pictures. Alone isn't even really correct since this mountain that is heavily "restricted" to a limited number of climbers was probably the busiest I have ever been on. Mount Katahdin has at least seven peaks, the highest of which is Baxter Peak at 5267 feet. I also went over Pamola, Chimney and South peaks. Those four are the most spectacular so I had to get them in on this perfect day. Hamlin and Howe are kind of flat and dull so they will have to wait for another day. I met plenty of friendly hikers along the trails, most from Canada, who were chatty enough enough to keep me company from time to time. Everyone had great hikes one way or another. To see our different routes click the map below and to see my pictures click here. For a panoramic summit view click the video at the bottom.