KATAHDIN

K A T A H D I N

This.

This is it.

This is what it comes down to.

All the hard work, sweat, tears, boils down to and ends with climbing and summiting Big Mama K.

Baxter State Park

September 30th 2015

Me & my group hiked 10 miles, from Abol Bridge, into Baxter State Park to the ranger station. through knee deep flooded trail n a very heavy rain storm. By the end of the 10 miles the wind gusts were blowing trees sideways and the bridges over the creeks and waterways were feet below water. Every article of clothing and my pack was soaked through. It made for a cold, slippy and flooded day. I unfortunately don't have many photos of the trail for my phone was waterproofed and tucked away.

Taken By: Keychain.

Bloody knees, I always seemed to get bloody knees, even in the last 15 miles of the trail.

After trudging through knee deep flooded trail for hours we arrived to the ranger station in time to catch the daily afternoon shuttle into Millinocket. Our plan was to stay at the hostel and dry out before the big day. The shuttle was suppose to arrive between 3:30 & 4:30. We changed into our only dry set of cloths and huddled together on the rangers screened in porch. Hours went by with no sign of the shuttle. The original ranger we talked to was very nice and understanding, saying the shuttle driver is never late and should be here soon. The original ranger had to leave to clear multiple blown down trees from Baxters State Park roads. He encouraged us to stay safe and dry on the screen in porch and said he would try to contact the shuttle driver to see what was going on. We waited patiently as we watched the storm outside get progressively worse, trees being blown sideways and branches flying in every which direction. Just as the sun was setting another younger ranger came to the station and told us that the shuttle driver wasn't going to make it, that many of the roads were currently flooded and therefore impassable. He told us that we needed to pay to stay inside the park or start walking 10 miles backwards in order to exit the park boundaries in order to camp. (Baxter State Park doesn't allow any camping except in designated areas, all of which cost a fee, and can only be paid for with cash, no exceptions, no billing later on, and no stealth camping. Cash to stay within the park or leave the park.) We explained to him that we didn't have any cash on our persons, our plan was to get the shuttle into Millinocket and stay the night there, we asked him if he could run our cards, or bill us later, but to no avail. You have to start walking 10 miles backwards, in a storm that was blowing trees sideways, had flooded everything, and was nearly freezing rain in the dark. No exceptions. We looked at the ranger and told him there was no way we were going to walk 10 miles backwards in these kind of hypodermic weather conditions. An older couple that was also waiting on the shuttle loaned us the cash to get a shelter in the park for the night because they didn't agree with the ranger and thought it was dangerous to send us out in the storm. They were godsends and I will forever be grateful for their generosity and it was some of the most appreciated trail magic out of my whole journey. Baxter State Park is notorious for not being friendly to thru hikers and I am appalled that the ranger had no problem sending four wet and freezing hikers into hypodermic conditions.

Summit day.

October 1st 2015

5.2 miles left.

The first part of the trail was a rushing gushing stream because of the intensely heavy downpour the days before.

The terrain of the first part of Katahdin is rocky & bumpy, normal Maine terrain.

The second part of the terrain up Katahdin is what makes Katahdin one of the toughest three climbs of the entire trail. Crazy boulders, rock scrambles, climbing, crawling and cursing all included.

Taken by: Keychain

This photograph pretty much sums up how I got up most of Katahdin... like a tree frog.

Taken by: Keychain

Mine & Keychains favorite rock.

The fog was slowly clearing the farther up we got.

Up, Up, Up.

Taken by: Keychain

The tablelands is a "flat" section after the boulder scramble and is the final push before the summit.

Thoreau Spring

The Summit

It was an emotional experience to say the least. I cried, a lot. I cried because Katahdin had been a mirage in my head for months. I started out this journey with a partner who quit on day three. I continue walking, alone, vowing I would make it to Katahdin. I had walked up and over hundreds of mountains, through fourteen states in order to take my photo on top of this sign. I had shed blood, tears, and sweat. And here I was. I actually did it. The overflow of emotions was intense and personal. It will forever be ingrained in my mind. I was excited that I made it to Katahdin & sad that it meant that it was over. The the life I had grown accustomed to and people I had come to call family were about to end.

I wasn't the only one who got emotional. Woodchuck had been dreaming of this day for a long time too.

My tramily at the summit.

Descending.

The knives edge.

--- Afterwards ---

Millinocket, ME

Sputnik & Fair Enough.

A caribou.

Playing house with the tramily.

A 2,200 mile hiking callous.

(just to make you a little grossed out)

Bar Harbor, ME

Keychain is from Bar Harbor and her family was kind enough to let us come and stay for a few days after summiting in order to lounge around, eat the world, and enjoy a few days together before heading back home.