Date: 2011-08-05
From: Mount Katahdin

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 137-Although the starting location on my journal today is Mount Katahdin, one must hike up the mountain to begin a southward journey. We were up by 4:30 am and on the road by 5:00am heading to the Appalachian Trail Cafe in Millinocket, well-known for hiker sized breakfasts. They also prepared us turkey sandwiches that we took along for later in the day. We had to drive 25 miles into Baxter State Park and an additional 8 miles to the parking area. This parking system is very regulated and we had already reserved passes online for Friday and Saturday. We had to be at the park entrance no later than 7:00 am or our parking place would have been given away. We arrived at 6:30am and there were already a line of cars right outside the park entrance in hopes of obtaining an unreserved or unclaimed spot. We started up the trail at 7:20am and it was 59*F. The ascent up Katahdin is only 5.2 miles but gains 4,162 feet in elevation. The initial 2.5-3 miles, though a steep climb, it was a trail under tree canopies. Once we broke out of the tree line, the real fun began. All sources reiterated that this particular journey was not a "hike" but a "climb" and they were correct! The trail had us climbing and scrambling up large, steep boulders including many areas of hand over hand movements on hands and knees with sheer drop-offs all around. It was very strenuous and words or pictures cannot fully describe it. Remarkably, there were people of all age groups, including young children who were completing this hike today as well. I am not sure if it was because I had been off the trail for so long or because of the difficulty of the climb, but for the first time my knees really hurt. It may have been a combination of the two together. There were many sections that required 18-24 inch high steps which put a tremendous amount of stress on my knees and quads. The mountain was enshrouded in clouds, but fortunately, the weather was not overbearing which would have made this even more difficult. There were essentially three sections of the climb, the wooded section, then the Gateway-which included the very difficult climbing and finally the Tableland, which was more gradual in ascent but had good sized rocks and required careful footing to protect your ankles. Somewhere along the Gateway, we left the trekking poles on the side of the trail as they were more cumbersome than helpful; we needed both hands to climb. After hiking 4 and 1/2 continuous hours, we summited Baxter Peak and the famous "Katahdin" marker at 11:50 am. Fifteen to twenty thru-hikers passed us on the ascent, they had left Springer anywhere from March 1 through 20. By the time we reached the peak, they were well into their celebration: shouting, cheering, taking pictures and smoking cigars! We spent 35 minutes eating lunch and recouping for the trip down the mountain. It was a little disappointing to not have panoramic views because of the cloud cover. However, there were several places on the descent that afforded gorgeous views of the area's glacier carved lakes and nearby mountains. We began our descent at 12:35 pm. It was a foreboding thought knowing the difficulty in hiking down as descending often is more demanding on all your joints. There was also apprehension scrambling down the steep boulders with no protection on either side! The descent was most difficult, spending time on our rears, sliding down boulders, looking for secure hand and foot holds to gain a firm grip. It was fatiguing both mentally and physically. We arrived back to the car at 5:30 pm. It was a trying day; my knees and feet hurt. In addition, my neck and shoulders were very sore from constantly looking down. I took my first Alleve since June 1. Given the length and difficulty of this day, it would have been a very difficult culmination for a continuous northbound hike. The pizza and beer this evening tasted pretty good. My daily mileage was 5.2 fora total of 1,126 miles. I have 1,055 more miles heading southward.