Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1923-08-22
MT. KATAHDIN.
Prof. A. L. Grover, U. of Nj

Most residents of Maine are aware
that in some portions of the State we
have beautiful mountain scenery, but
few realize that right here, almost at
our very door, we have that magnifi-
cent grandeur in scenery which many
people travel thousands of miles to
see.
"Katahdin is the best mountain in
the widest wild on this side of the
continent" Theodore Winthrop
made this statement. He was a man
who had the time and means to
travel where he wished. His inclna-
lions took him to the mountainous
regions of four Europe,
Asia, North and South America He.
/ therefore, knew whereof he spoke.
The most impressive feature of
/ Katahdin, when traveller makes his
/ first ascent, it its immensely. 1t con-
sists of a great, irregular plateau or
/ table-land four to five miles long,
north and south, varying greatly in
/ width. The area of this table-land
is probably 1000 to 1900 acres The
mountains toughest and most spec
| tacular feature is the southernmost
of three big spurs extending east
ward from this plateau. This is a
curved, serrated ridge of vertically
| fractured granite called the saw
teeth, or 'knife-edge," which termi-
mates in the most eastern peak
called Pamela, named after the In
dian avenging spirit of the noun
TAIN The top of this ridge is very
narrow; in places not more than two
feet wide. In traversing it, one looks
down on the northern side into
2000-foot abyss, at the bottom of
which is Chimney pond, the beauty
spot of the mountain These walls
are so steep on either side that one
has to travel the crest of the ridge
rather than attempt to crawl
along the sides.
The view from the northern shore
OF Chimney pond furnishes a COM
bination of beauty and titanic
grandeur seldom surpassed. The
precipitous mountain wall from Pa
mola to West Peak, SCARED by hun
dreds of avalanches of rocks and ice,
encircles the pond on the south; the
ing to the very edge of the water.
Standing on the summit of Katah-
din and looking to the west, one sees
the silver simmer of Moosehead
lake. sixty miles away, flashing be-
tween the intervening peaks of the
Lily Bay mountains and the Spencer
mountains, while in the middle dis
lance and immediate foreground are
scores of lakes and ponds, each sill
Yer gem in an emerald setting. To
the southwest and south, the land
scape is strewn even thicker with
these bodies of water, each hello
graphing the message of its own in
dividual beauty to the mountain
traveller who happens tc be fortunate
enough to be standing ION top of the
State"
There is not an equal area in the
Western Hemisphere so well
watered" as the panorama here
stretched before the observers eye
This may seem like an extravagant
statement, but any doubter can
easily verify it by looking at the
maps showing the details of our
hemisphere. If every resident of
Maine could behold the lovely
grandeur of Katahdin as seen from
the mouth of Katahdin stream, !
could gaze across Chimney pond
upon its 2000-foot background of .
mountain wall, or could look out
upon his State from the summit of
its highest mountain, it would be |
only short time before the Katah- /
din State park or the Katahdin Ma .
tional park would become reality. .