Date: 2004-10-11
From: The Birches Lean-to, Baxter State Park

To: Katahdin/Baxter Peak/Millinocket
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

5.7 off-trail milesI didn't sleep soundly last night, thinking about the importance of today's hike. So when Wu Li tramped over across the gravel outside the shelter and said, "I'm up," I jumped out of my sleeping bag and quietly made breakfast and stuffed my gear into my pack. Blue-gray pre-dawn light was enough to get me to the ranger station without my headlamp on. There I selected one of the daypacks they offer for hiker use, packed my headlamp, rain gear, lunch, two liters of water, a can of Coke (that Regular Brian and his girlfriend had brought, with some other snacks, to the Birches last night for trail magic -- thanks Brian!), my polka-dot hiking dress, camera, and a few other items.I was on the trail by 7:05 a.m. A miracle.The first part of the trail was under low clouds. By the time I got to the sections requiring both hands and feet -- some spectacular bouldering -- I was in the clouds. The rough bouldery ridge up to the table land of Katahdin was completely clouded in except for intermittent gusts of wind blowing open picture-window views of the valley below. A bit like a gargantuan slide show, with long periods of blank screen between brief glimpses of breath-taking vistas.The transition from the ridge to the tableland included a tremendous increase in wind. I had to duck back down to the ridge to put my extra layers on. Once on the table land, the rest of the hike was relatively easy -- a gently inclined rock walk to Baxter Peak, which was completely clouded in. Caroline took a couple of pictures of me by the Katahdin summit sign inbetween the other summiters who also waited in line for their photo ops. Some also sat at the summit to have their lunches and wait, hopefully, for the clouds to clear. I wasn't feeling that optimistic, so I headed back down -- mission accomplished -- to find that the cloud line had risen meanwhile. I'm not sure the summit ever cleared completely, but the views across the table land -- with the crisp, fall, noonday shadows across the boulders and wave upon wave of sedge flowing in the stiff winds -- were quite wonderful.On my way down the ridge, I ran into Pooja Blue, Sarah with whom I started from Springer Mountain, Georgia, on March 18. She, too, had jumped ahead and still had a section of trail to do after this. She was not having fun. "I hate this mountain!" she said more than once, preferring hiking to bouldering.I also saw Mr. T and Scorch again; they'd met up with Mr. T's parents and taken a zero day before summiting. They were wishing now they'd climbed Katahdin in yesterday's better weather, and worried about getting down before dark. When I reached Katahdin Stream, her parents were there, asking how much longer they'd be. I estimated three to four hours, which brought a look of horror to their faces. (The next evening I got to see them again at a diner in Millinocket -- all safe and sound!)It was not quite 4 p.m. when I got back to the camp. I retrieved my pack, changed into my hiking dress and long underwear (my only moderately clean clothes), and headed out to the park road to hitch a ride into Millinocket. Standing out there alone, looking as much like an abandoned orphan as I could manage, I waved down a van with a nice couple in it, a computer graphics artist and a landscape architect, both Mainers, who gave me a ride into town as well as a couple of apples. They had lots of questions about the trail, and before we parted, he picked up my pack to see how heavy it was. More nice people.Got a room at the A.T. Lodge, in a house that used to be a boarding house for mill workers, and rewarded myself with a long, hot bath. A good day.