As you can see from the feature picture, and surmise from the title for this post, I have completed the northern part of this journey and summitted Mt Katadhin last Friday, August 23, 2024! So, please indulge me a bit longer than usual on the intro for this entry!
This ‘little’ sign was a long time coming, and my time came this past week!
The last week on the trail before Katahdin was awesome. Everyone knew a special ending was right in front of us. Interactions with other hikers were often intense and meaningful. One such hiker was a young man of 20 years old. We bumped into each other several times the last week and had great and brief talks. At our first meeting at a shelter he had music playing, it was Neil Young. He asked if I liked Neil Young to which I replied. “I grew up on it!” His story is great and impressive. He had started the trail on May 11 and was finishing the Trail on Friday, Augist 23, to resume college the next Monday! (Kind of a backwards version of how I started the trail!)
Reflecting on our conversations I thought of my life as a young person. And, I also started thinking of a question Laura had posed to me early on this trip when I was bemoaning how hard it was to get up to speed as a thru-hiker at my not young age. She asked if I wished I had done this hike earlier in life. To which my response was no, of course not, it was not my time until now. I later told the young hiker that the first album I ever bought was when I was 14 or 15, the album, Comes a Time, by Neil Young. And it all kind of flowed together out there for me in the amazing world that was the 100 Mile Wilderness. This is my time to do this journey – not earlier in life or later, but now! And, I’ll let Neil finish this intro from the great song and album, Comes a Time:
Oh, this old world keeps spinning round
It’s a wonder tall tree ain’t layin’ down
There comes a time
| Days | Start/Finish | Miles |
| 62 | Shaw’s Hiker Hostel to Stealth Site at Thompson Brook | 9.2 |
| 63 | Stealth Site at Thompson Brook to Chairback Gap Lean To | 17.5 |
| 64 | Chairback Gap Lean To to Logan Brook Lean To | 17.1 |
| 65 | Logan Brook Lean To to Potaywadjo Spring Lean To | 23.1 |
| 66 | Potaywadjo Spring Lean To to Abol Pines Campground | 33.2 |
| 67 | Abol Pines Campground to The Birches Campsite | 9.9 |
| 68 | The Birches Campsite to Mt Katadhin, Baxter Peak (and back) | 10.4 |
| Total for Week 10 | 120.4 | |
| Total for Trip | 738.5 | |
I’m not sure where to start as there are so many storylines here. But I will go with the big one first – I finished the northern flip of this AT Flip-Flop that has taken me from the New York/Connecticut state line to Baxter Peak on Mt. Katahdin. There is no more Appalachian Trail to hike any further north – I have completed it. That is something I could never say before and now I can. I started this journey on Monday, June 17 and completed it on Friday, August 23, 68 days later. A lot has happened in this time, some I anticipated, some I did not and yet this is the journey that I envisioned. It seems like so long ago I started. I am so proud of what I have accomplished. I have spent endless hours in thought, reflection, distraction, amazement, drudgery, exhaustion, perseverance, light-heartedness, not light-heartedness, and so much more. I have grown, evolved, learned, and questioned, with lots more sure to come.
This is a full view of Katadhin, kind of a ‘wow’ picture. I did not see this view until the next morning when Laura and I drove out for some sunny morning views. My week in the 100 Mile Wilderness and Katadhin was spent largely in clouds – but I am not complaining at all!
Next big one – I climbed Mt. Katahdin and submitted Baxter Peak, its highest point at 5,268 feet. Like many thru-hikers, I can compartmentalize things while hiking. You may know every little thing about this stretch of the trail, but for some reason don’t dig too deeply into what the next stretch of the trail is like. Well, that was how I handled Katadhin. I had read enough to know a general ‘lay of the land’ and what the trail and climb would be like. But I had not done much in-depth reading about the accent before I started hiking.
This is the bridge over the Abol Stream crossing into Baxter State Park at northbound mile 2183!
This sign announces that after 200o-plus miles (700 for me) northbound hikers have reached the final destination, Baxter State Park and Mt Katadhin!
This is what the AT looks like as you head into Baxter State Park from its southern boundary. A nice gentle trail!
6:45 AM, Friday, Augist 23. I am ready to go climb Katadhin!
I took a picture of this sign last May when Laura and I scouted out the park prior to me starting this trip. Now to see it for real as I started heading up Katadhin from The Birches campsite was surreal!
After about a mile and a half from the base of the mountain and The Birches Campsite, you come across this sign, the start of Baxter State Park’s Wilderness and the trail gets much rougher!
My best clue as to the difficulty of the climb was the day before. I was talking with another thru-hiker who had just summitted. I know him well and respected his hiking abilities. He appeared still somewhat shaken and was telling me how technical parts of the climb were. ‘Technical’ is thru-hiker speak for difficulty and death-defying! Having summitted Katadhin, I can say without hesitation that the middle third, about 1.5 miles, was the most challenging, difficult, and technical climbing I have done. Think 10 to 30-foot vertical walls of rock, 50 to 60 MPH winds pushing you around, limited visibility, and a seemingly endless series of high and steep rock scrambles. At one point I was looking up into the gloom and said to myself incredulously, ‘How am I supposed to get up that?’ I did an internal gut check, reminded myself that nothing had stopped me yet and this rock would not either, and away I went.
These are the first ‘cliffs’ I saw on Katadhin and knew I was in for some serious climbing!
And then it’s on. What came next was series after series of cliffs, rock scrambles, a few timely and well-placed rebar hand and foot holds and lots of adrenaline pumping!
You would climb one cliff or rack scramble, to come to the top and see the next one. And then next one…..
Sometimes the white blazes were helpful. Other times the path they suggested had me thinking, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me!’
Sometimes the blazes just disappeared into the clouds and fog. You just knew you needed to follow! If you look closely at this picture, you will see a hiker shrouded in the clouds ahead of me!
And it always seemed there was one more knob, hill, or cliff to get over!
After about 2.5 hours I made it up to the ‘tablelands’ which is the rock-strewn more flatter part of Katadhin. It was then about another mile and a half to the peak and the famous sign. There were about 15 thru-hikers summitting that day. When I got to the top some were already there and others arrived as we hung out to celebrate. It was very cold and windy up top and I did not stay too long. As I climbed down Katadhin it felt great to have completed what I set out to do. I spent lots of time thinking back on these past 2 plus months and looking forward to seeing Laura who was meeting me at the bottom! I am home taking a week off to enjoy time together and let my body recover some and am already looking forward to getting back on the trail for my southern flip!
Once you are above the cliffs and on the ‘tablelands’ you are greeted by this sign announcing the fragility of the flaura up high.
The last mile and a half or so to the summit is a more forgiving trek above treeline and through an alpine environment.
Four very proud hikers!
Hikers hiding out from the cold and wind after summitting.
Let’s talk the 100 Mile Wilderness! It was gorgeous! And, big secret, once you get past the first 30 or so miles in the southern part, you leave behind big mountains and the terrain at times can be some of the friendliest on the AT! There are a few logging roads that cross the 100 Mile Wilderness – 2 of them are gated and can be accessed by vehicles. And, there was one working railroad track that crossed the area too. After that, there is nothing else but woods, and streams, and rivers, and lakes, and ponds, and hills, and mountains, and just at times, drop-dead beauty. I want to go back there sometime not to walk across the 100 Mile Wilderness, but to hang out there and spend time exploring all it has to offer. And, because there is nothing else there, some of the shelters and campsites are in stunning locations – like right next to waterfalls and pools for swimming and along cliffs and ledges with great views. As long as you can figure out your food situation – there are endless possibilities for adventure and fun.
This sign announces the southern boundary of the 100 Mile Wilderness – no supplies until Abol Bridge.
This sign announces the northern boundary of the 100 Mile Wilderness, no supplies until the town of Monson. Notice it’s dark. I walked out of the 100 Mile Wilderness around 10:30 PM! It took me 5 days to complete the 100 Mile Wilderness.
Much of my time in the 100 Mile Wilderness was overcast but it still was an amazing and awesome experience!
This is not me complaining, despite several places where there were supposed to be views of Katadhin, this was my only view from the 100 Mile Wilderness.
Did a number jump out at you from the daily mileage table above? If so, you read it right – I hiked 33.2 miles in one day! (My previous most ever was the 23.1 miles from the day before.) How did this 33-mile day happen? A few things. First, as I said, once you got past the mountains in the south, there was a lot of relatively flat land to cross in the 100 Mile Wilderness where you could do bigger miles. What really precipitated this long day however was a phone call with Laura that I had on day 65. (Even in the 100 Mile Wilderness when you got to elevation you could at times get at least 1 bar of service, particularly for Verizon and ATT users.) My original plan was to summit Katadhin on Saturday but as my miles increased I thought there was a chance I could do it one day earlier on Friday. Laura told me she had changed her work schedule and took Friday off to meet me there just in case. Well, that was all the inspiration I needed! I woke up on day 66 and told myself to go for it! By 5:00 PM I had already done about 20 miles, so just under 14 more to go. I had a quick dinner, got out my headlamp (dusk was around 8:00 PM), and figured I would have the last 2 to 3 hours of hiking be in the dark.
What’s the rush you ask? Well, Mt Katadhin is in Baxter State Park. And the state park prioritizes nature first, hikers second. So, they limit the number of hikers that can camp at the thru-hiker site and can summit the mountain. Which means, if you want to be one of the 12 people to get a site at The Birches, the thru-hiker site at the base of Katadhin, you need to be there before the signup list is posted at 7:00 AM each day. If you’re number 13, you need to find other arrangements, including possibly delaying your summit until the next day! With Laura arriving, and me wanting to be done, I was going to be one of the 12. So, I did the 33 miles to camp at a campground that is three-quarters of a mile from the information kiosk where the list is posted in the morning. I got to the campsite by around 11:00 PM, set up my tent, slept for a few hours, set my alarm for 4:30, and by 5:00 AM I was at the kiosk! When I got there, there were already three hikers ahead of me! By 6:15 there were 11 of us! But, we all got a site at the Birches and summitted the next day!
Hikers waiting as patiently as possible for the 7:00 AM posting of the sign-up sheet for the Birches Campsite.
Any minute now it will be 7:00 AM, honest!
Abol Pines is a Maine Department of Forestry campsite 3/4 mile from the Baxter State Park boundary where you can register for the Birches campground and get a permit to summit Katahdin.
Okay, deep dark secret time, Another number that may jump out at you from the mileage table above is the 9.2 on day 62. You might ask, ‘what’s up with that?’ Aren’t you a tough mileage-crushing thru-hiker? Unfortunately, I woke up around 4:00 that morning at Shaw’s ready to vomit, and then some more, and then some more – you get my drift. I was struck with a somewhat common affliction among thru-hikers and one I had worked so hard to avoid. It’s something like a norovirus, a gastro-intestinal thing. Well, I avoided it no longer. It took all the strength I had to pack up my stuff and catch the 8:00 AM shuttle back to the trail. I know how my body works. I felt miserable and would for some time. But I would feel miserable laying around at Shaws or just as miserable hiking. I chose the latter, to keep making progress down the trail. It was a very slow day. I ate nothing all day and just sucked on a few Swedish fish and some water for sugar intake and fluids and told myself to get as close to 10 miles in for the day and it would not be a fully lost day. I found a great stealth site by a river and settled in for an early and much-needed rest. Over the next couple of days, I gradually increased my miles, pace, and what I would consume. By day 65 and 66 I was back to feeling pretty close to normal – just in time for the big miles!
This is me entering the 100 Mile Wilderness. I felt terrible but it was still exciting and thrilling to be on my way into the wilderness and the last steps before Katadhin.
A few more things from this past week:
Wildlife update: I saw a moose! I was coming down Little Boardman Mountain on day 65. The day, like the rest of my time in the 100 Mile Wilderness, was overcast, dreary, and there was a light rain/heavy mist in the air. It was around mid-day. I was not happy to have just climbed this smallish mountain and was looking to do miles! But then as I turned a corner, I heard a crashing in the brush about 10 feet off the trail. I look to see a medium-sized moose looking around to see where my noise was coming from. It then walked about 10 more feet away, hid behind a very thin tree, and just stared in my direction. I returned the favor and stared back for a minute or two. No pictures as it was raining and my phone was secured away. But I suddenly was no longer so upset with having to climb this little mountain!
Maine may now be my favorite state on the AT so far. The backdrops are stunning. The green is as green as can be. The trails are generally well-maintained, despite lots of rocks, roots, and mud. The shelters are in good shape. But I need to give my biggest praise for their privies. They seem to have been on a major construction push of brand-new, large, and well-designed privies. There are a few shelters I have come across that do not have these new ones yet – but they are in the distinct minority. And, since they are building them to ADA code (that is another story) they are large and very accessible! And, come complete with bales of wood shavings to help keep down smells and to aid in composting! I stayed at one shelter – Chairback Gap Lean To at which the privy had just been completed the day before and I was honored to be one of the first to use it!
Cooper Falls Lean To overlooks a beautiful waterfall and great swimming pools at the base of the falls!
The falls were roaring the day I was there!
Thi
This was just a lunch stop for me and I did not swim, but these pools at the base of the falls sure looked inviting!
Even the mushrooms were perfect in Maine!
There were gorgeous ponds, lakes, streams, and beaches throughout the 1oo Mile Wilderness.
One of the many luxurious privies along the AT in Maine!
It appears from this sign that Maine is a smart state – they are using federal highway funds to improve the hiking form of transportation. The work is impressive and it has been a joy to hike the AT in Maine.
One way to manage food and supplies in the 100 Mile wilderness is to get a ‘food drop.’ This is a service offered by Shaw’s and a hostel at the northern end of the 100 Mile Wilderness. I used Shaw’s so I’ll talk about that one. The cost is $90. They give you a 5-gallon plastic bucket and lid. You fill it with whatever you want/need. You select a day and time between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM for them to meet you at Jo Mary Rd, 60 miles into the 100 Miles Wilderness. They meet you with your food, bring cold drinks and pizza, and take your trash! This was well worth it for me and made managing this part of the journey so much easier. Truth be told, since I was not feeling well and had not eaten much the first couple of days on this stretch, I ended up giving away and sending back food, but I didn’t see this coming when I planned the food drop!
There were six of us that had food drops scheduled for the afternoon. A few other lucky hikers stumbled upon this gala and got their trash taken and some timely and unsuspected food and drinks!
Fortunately, I had recovered enough to enjoy pizza, cold drinks, and snacks. In addition to our food drop, Shaw’s also sent along very large pieces of brownies and a bag of candy for each hiker! Shaw’s rules!
A big topic for me heading into Maine were the river crossings. As I wrote, it was a concern and fear of mine, Particularly because of stories from last year when long-term torrential rains made many rivers uncrossable. Well, I am happy to say that this was not the case for me this year. Aside from my fording of the Carrabaset River a couple of weeks ago, all my river crossings were relatively calm and drama-free. There were quite a few crossing which required me to take off my hiking shoes, put on my crocs, get wet, and then repeat the process. But, there were also several that were shallow enough or calm enough that I could cross by walking or jumping across rocks. I am sorry for the people who had to deal with such a difficult reality last year – this year was a very different story I am happy to report!
Hikers fording a not-too-bad river. This fording was very considerate – there were benches on either side to sit down on to take off and put on your shoes!
I was very ‘Lucky’ as most of my river fordings were of the tame and safe variety!
A report of a very interesting evening on the AT. It was day 63. I was still not feeling great. I had done just 9.2 miles the day before and I needed to push to do 17 miles on day 63 the keep up my mileage towards Katadhin and these miles included crossing the Chairback Mountain peaks. There are 4 of them and they were in the 2,000 foot range, Not big, but big enough for how I was feeling. I told myself to just keep moving all day and do miles. My plan was to do whatever it took to get to the Chairback Gap Lean To then take a nap to reward myself. I would deal with camp chores after I woke up – which I never do, chores come first! I got to the shelter around 4:30 and slept for almost 2 hours. I forced myself up to find water and the privy. (I knew from FarOut comments that water was sketchy at this shelter – about .1 miles up the AT from an unreliable spring.) It was just starting to get dark from the spreading dusk. I got dressed, put on my hiking shoes to search for water, and got out of the shelter. My mouth almost fell to the ground as I thought I was in a dream. Right around the corner of the shelter was a brand new bear box flanked by 3, five-gallon blue jugs!!! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and approached the jugs cautiously in case they floated away as part of a dream. I touched the jugs, they were real, and full. I poured one out into my hand to see what it was, it was clear, didn’t smell bad, tasted a few drops, and realized I had stumbled upon three jugs of tap water!!! It turned out this was a Sunday night and there was a work crew at the shelter this past weekend installing a brand new privy and bear box, and they left their leftover water for hikers! And, from the land of you cannot make this up, they had also left a can of beer in the shelter too! But my stomach was not up for that and I left that treat for another hiker. But wait, the night does not end there, Not long after a really nice young hiker showed up to spend the night. He was lamenting that his right hiking sole had come three-quarters detached during the day, He had tried duct tape that he had but that kept falling off. He was not sure how he was going to continue and was thinking he might need to hike in one shoe and one croc! I went through my pack to see how I might help and remembered that I had been carrying zip ties. These were a perfect remedy and I understand that got him successfully to the top of Katahdin!
I have hiked 700-plus miles. I have never seen water jugs at a shelter. And, this was the first bear box I had seen in more than 3 weeks! I am indeed Lucky!
Community continued to be a big part of this last week. As I wrote above, emotions were running high and there were a lot of good and positive vibes shared by all. I was very happy to have been with largely the same group of 10 – 15 hikers this and the previous week. I also ran into a few people I have not seen in almost a month. The camaraderie and community added to an already special time and place and helped to put it over the top!
As in all good stories, ‘alls well that ends well!’ I am sitting here at home. Clean, dry, warm, and fed. I look forward to some downtime with Laura, then some fun times with our kids over Labor Day Weekend, and then back to the trail, just heading South this time!
This is a pretty special entry for me, so please allow me an ‘outro’ as well. I turn it over to the great band, Deer Tick, from Rhode Island to send me off in celebration!
Let’s All Go To The Bar
