Date: 2015-06-23
From: Baxter Park Inn

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 5.2

That morning went off really well. We got up at the time we wanted to, and we even managed to get Dunkin Donuts coffee to accompany our breakfast of Clif Bars and pilfered items from the still unopened continental breakfast.The morning went so well that we decided to check out where my father and I are were going to meet up after summiting. The location was a mere 15 miles from the peak of Baxter. We found tht trail, and I remembered how excited I was to see my first white blaze. My dad took a picture of me smiling beside it. We both travel quite a bit around the world, so it is pretty funny to think back recognize the tell-tale signs of tourists.Surely I could make it here by 5 PM. We reasoned it was all down hill after making the summit, so 15 miles wasn't too ambitious. My father and I are both two different people, be we share distinctions that definitely make us a duo from time to time. Blind, romanticized ambition is probably one of our biggest ones. We are both from scientific background; however, logic mean little to us when we are making plans.We drove into Baxter Park to start our day. From the front gate to Raring Brook Campsite it was a 30 minute drive by dirt road. Pops and I were both optimistic and filled with the energy that can only be found in a large commercial cup of coffee. In short, we were ready for this mountain. Only one thing stood in our way of starting this journey, we had to sing into the register at the Ranger Station. I signed us in, and we had a chat with the Ranger. He asked us what our plans were. After I told him he informed me that I probably wouldn't be able to hike 15 miles after summitting Katahdin. I wasn't about to argue with a man wearing 3 different shades of green, so we took his adved and afreed to meet at a drive up campsite on the other side of the park. There were 3 different routes for summiting:1) Saddlebrook, which is the most popular, and the easist according to the ranger.2) Chimney Rock wouldnt be a good option as the weather was badd.3) Halon, which eventually turn in Knife Edge, which a trail of some renown.I once saw a picture of someone summitting via Knife Edge, and it looked amazing. I looked at my dad, told him I wanted to take Knife Edge, and then looked back at the Ranger. "Knife Edge has a few climbs in it," was all the Ranger said. I didn't know how to read Baxter Park Rangers before, but have since become a little bit better at it. They have a way of underhyping things.I am going to have to paraphrase the day at this point. I wrote the above a few days after the start of the trail, and I am now 2 weeks into it.Halon was a very difficult 3.3 miles. There were times when I wasn't sure if my father would make the climb...heck there were times when I wasn't sure if I would be able to. The weather was miserable, but it made it that much more rewarding when we reached the peak; however, the peak we thought was Katahdin wasn't. We had summited the Pamola Peak, and still had another 1.1 miles to go. Reader...I know what you are thinking 1.1. miles isn't really that much, and you are correct. That was the most difficult 1.1 miles that I have ever walked, and I have hiked in some pertty remote locations across the globe. The climbs that the Ranger had mentioned ended up being more of a rock wall scale. In a word...it was technical. We finally made it to the summit we had inted to make, and both of us were filled with joy that only turmoil and near death experiences can breed. I had summitted with my pack on because at that point I wanted to hike a purist hike. This means that I had a fifth of Woodford Reserve on me, which is my favorite whiskey. My father and I each had a shot on top of the peak while the weather was stormy, and I think it was the closest that we have ever been. I wish I had written more immediately following this trek, but the trail leaves you pretty exhausted a the end of the day.We took different trails down, and both proved to be very difficult. My dad ended up picking me up at our spot 2 hours after aggreed upon time. In total he spent 13 hours in the rain, and I ended up spending 12. There are so many more things to say about this day, but in the end I am going to leave them between my father and myself. Looking back on it after 300 miles on the trail it still leaves me speachless, and was by far my most difficult day on the trail.We ended the day with a drive back to Millinocket, the town that we were staying at. All we could do was laugh about how dumb we were to summit in this weather, but in all honest I wouldn't have it any other way. My dad and I have never been closer, and I love him that much more for coming to Maine with me. We ended the day with McDonalds, because it was the only thing open. It was the most delicious thing that I have ever eaten.