Date: 2009-09-01
From: Katahdin Stream

To: Katahdin!
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

I woke up and rejoiced that I had slept. It may have taken me nearly 11 hours of lying down but I got at least 8 hours of pretty good sleep. Yeah! Thank you, God! I was signed in and on the trail at 6:08. I felt pretty good, like I had some energy and the cough, while still there, was not as bad. The first mile in was pretty normal trail, not level, but 500 ft or so elevation gain in a mile is nice enough trail. I crossed the bridge and wondered where the falls was. It was .1 mile farther. I did not get a pic at the bottom of the falls as you had to go off trail and I was concerned about how long this hike was going to take me and how much energy I was going to have. Katahdin is probably the hardest hike on the AT, even for young folks. I did get a picture of the top half of the falls though which was nice. After the falls the trail got gradually more and more rough. There were more and more large boulders in the trail. An older couple caught up with me after a while and our paces seemed to be similar and so we hiked together most of the day. David and Ann are from Florida and have been having an extended vacation with their motor home through lots of Canada. They have been gone from home since April. They are a very adventurous pair, although not backpackers for long distances. They run marathons though and lots of hiking. Ann is my age, well, 2 weeks older, we figured out. She looks on the high side of 50, maybe. The day was beautiful!. One could not ask for a better day to climb Katahdin. The sky was blue, no fog, no clouds, very lttle wind, even as we got higher. We were blessed! The higher we got, the more difficult the trail. Rock slabs and boulders. I kept my poles looped on my wrists but had to use hands much of the time and wished for a tail. 4 places there was rebar placed to help but the rebar and most of the trail seemed built for 6 ft men, not 5'4" grandmas. Much of the middle 2 miles (3,000 ft elevation gain) was rock scrambles with exposure to steep drops. I was very glad to be with David and Ann. We also ran into a young couple of newlyweds on their honeymoon, Becky and Mike. Becky had some fear of heights and I was actually a bit better at the rock scrambles than Ann. (She was better at everything else, and the young couple could zoom on the flatter portions.) But we all helped each other over the roughest spots. There were at least 4 or 5 places I don't think I could have made it without a pulling hand or someone to guide my feet where I could not see. Not too far above tree line we came to the top of a rise and we could see the way going up the slope ahead of us, all on rocky hillside. This view is a fooler, making you think it is the summit you are seeing. Not so. After struggling up over more boulders and rock slabs we finally came to "The Gateway." Stretched out before us is "the tableland", a high plateau, and at the other end, about a mile away there is another 500 ft up to go. But we can just make out the sign and some people at the top. So, onward we go, the tableland was easy and the last rise not too hard. It all just takes time. I think we were all on top about 1:30. On the way there I met a white haired and bearded pastor I had heard about from someone who passed us earlier on the trail. Turns out he is a Lutheran pastor too - I think he said from Long Island. There were others we met or passed on the trail but I cannot remember all of them. There were probably 10 or so when we got there and 10 or so more before we got there and others coming. There are a number of trails to the summit. I don't think any are called easy. It was beautiful and we could see forever - glorious! The sign looked more freshly painted than I remember from other's pictures. Maybe those pictures were just seen through a lot of fog. Maine is not flat, contrary to my earlier observations. From here you could see mountains in the distance, especially to the west and north. But the most striking aspect were all the lakes. I think Maine is one quarter lakes, of all sizes and shapes. Very beautiful. It was a little hazy but not enough to spoil the view in person though the pictures may be less than stellar. I hurriedly ate lunch and we were all aware that the way down would be as difficult as the way up. David and Ann and Mike and Becky were ready to go before I was. I told them to go but if they could wait for me on the other side of the tableland, I would really appreciate it. I set out after them and did meet up with David and Ann on the other side of the tableland. Thank you for waiting! So, down we went and it was every bit as challenging going down, sometimes more so. It had taken 7 hours to go up. We were on the summit about a half hour and going down took nearly as long as going up. And my coughing started to worsen. It is hard to make good time when you have both poles planted in one place while you are hacking your insides out. For all of Becky's fear of heights, she must have done very well going down as we never saw them close again. David, with his long legs and easy going personality was a great help going down as well as up. Once we joked that he caught a flying pastor instead of a flying nun. Both Ann and I were very tired and I knew I needed to stop and rest a bit and eat more. We were past the worst of the rocks and about 800 - 1000 ft above the falls when I stopped and told them to go ahead. I had my head lamp and was confident about getting back but I needed to eat and go slower. They went on thinking I might catch up with them but that was not to be. I should have said a better goodby and thankyou. They were such helps to me and made the hike more enjoyable. Both Ann and David were gracious, kind and sweet people and the perfect companions for me on this climb. I ate and went on and made it to the falls before dark. I stopped again to use the privy and a bit later to put fresh batteries into my headlamp. I walked on in the gathering darkness but I could walk at whatever pace I chose. Before long I could see the light of campfires at the campground. I signed in at 8:01, 20 minutes after Ann and David. Nearly a 14 hour day. I was not as wiped out as I thought I would be, but plenty tired. I had to pump some water as I had drunk all of my 3 liter capacity. Then I just had some almonds and dried pears and went to bed. Katahdin climbed, survived, on a beautiful day with gracious and simpatico people. Who could ask for more? Life is good.