Most thru hikers camp in Baxter State Park the night before they summit Mt. Katahdin. However, that was still 10 miles away from me. If I made it to Katahdin Stream Campground by noon, I would be allowed to continue on up the mountain. I set my alarm for 4:00 AM with the plan to start hiking at 5:00. When the alarm went off, I was still so sleepy that I reset it for 5:00 and went back to sleep for an hour. When I woke up again, I was still tired and was starting to question my sanity or at least my plan to reach Katahdin in 5 days from the start of the 100 Mile Wilderness.

I decided to get up and start hiking. If I didn’t feel good after 10 miles, I would camp at Katahdin Stream Campground and summit the next day. Although I was 15 miles away from the summit, I had to allow time and energy for the 5.2 miles back down the mountain. As I walked I started feeling better.

I reached the ranger’s station at 10:15 and signed in to climb Katahdin. Most thru hikers slack pack (day pack) the climb and leave their big packs at the ranger’s station. I left my tent, sleeping bag, extra clothes, etc. but used my pack since it can be made very small. I started the climb up Katahdin at 10:35.

The first mile was pretty easy with a lot of waterfalls along the way. The second mile was a little more challenging with some rock climbing but still no harder than climbs I had done earlier in New Hampshire. However, mile 3 was very challenging. Maybe the most challenging mile yet. Thank you to my mom for asking God to place angels at my ankles, knees, and neck during my hike. Those angels worked overtime today.

The next 2.2 miles had a lot of rocks but no rock climbing. Arriving at the sign in Baxter Peak was an awesome feeling. I arrived at 2:30. There was a family there that had hiked up on another trail. They took pictures of me with the sign. They were discussing which trail to take back to the campground. Their young adult kids wanted to take Knife’s Edge. I decided to hike down the “easier” trail with the parents, Laura and Peter. There is no easy trail on Katahdin. It was easier than the AT (Hunt Trail) but still a lot of rock climbing.

It wasn’t until I was 2 miles down the mountain that I realized how big Baxter State Park is and that I had made a mistake choosing the “easier” trail. The ranger explained that I was going to be ~20 miles away from my stuff at Katahdin Stream Campground once I finished the next 3.3 miles on the trail to the parking lot. 1/2 a mile from the parking lot, I passed two men finishing up a 3 day backpacking trip. I decided to get up my courage and ask them for a ride to the entrance gate. Then I could hitch to the other campground in the park.

Gary and Mike were very nice and agreed to take me to the gate. By the time we reached the gate, they had offered to drive me all the way to Katahdin Stream Campground AND them to drive me to the hotel at the airport in Bangor. In a matter of minutes, I went from not knowing how I would get back to my stuff to having a ride to my stuff and the airport! It is truly amazing how often things work out on the trail. Oh, and they bought me dinner too. I have a 7AM flight tomorrow morning.

Time to be a SOBO! 🙂

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I woke to beautiful hiking weather this morning. The birds on top of West Peak don’t seem to be scared of people. Two of them stayed on a tree branch a few feet from my tent as I ate breakfast and packed up camp.

I started the hiking at 5:30 with two climbs. The second one was over White Cap mountain. This is the last 3000+ climb until Katahdin. From the north face of White Cap, hikers can get their first glimpse of Katahdin. It was a bit hazy so I couldn’t see it.

I had lunch on the beach at Crawford Pond. I swam and cleaned up a bit while my lunch was rehydrating. Today was in the mid 80s so the water was very refreshing. It was hard to leave that spot. I love mountain lakes. I’m feeling lucky that it has not rained in a few days.

The 100 Mile Wilderness has a lot of water crossings, mud holes, and flying insects. All of these could have been much worse if it had rained. That being said, my feet (shoes, socks) have been wet for 13 days. I’m really looking forward to drier feet when I start heading south.

I’ve set up my tent on an abandoned forest service road. It is somewhat warm and muggy (relatively) so I’m sleeping with my tent door rolled up. I can see the stars. 🙂

Mr. Frog posed for his picture

Cooking lunch on the beach at Crawford Pond

View from White Cap Mountain. … Katahdin is hiding

Swimming in Crawford Pond

Last night was the first night I didn’t sleep well in my tent…..a combination of things on my mind and things moving around outside my tent. I’m pretty sure I was set up on a moose path. I could hear them walking around a good part of the night.

I was sleepy but I got up early as planned and was hiking by 5:20. I hiked 7.5 miles fast to get to Harrison’s Pierce Pond Fish Camp at 8:00 for breakfast. Tim, the owner, told me they only served hikers at 7:00. I explained how far I had hiked. He had pity on me and cooked me up a plate of 13 pancakes. They had blueberries, strawberries, and apples in them for the 4th. I cleaned my plate. smile emoticon

I left there at 9:00 with 2 hours to hike 3 miles to meet the canoe shuttle guy and get across the river. It is too dangerous to ford the Kennebec River so hikers have to use the canoe shuttle. If I didn’t make it, I would be stuck on the wrong side of the river for a day. I made it with time to spare.

Once on the other side, I cooked lunch and used the river water to clean up a bit. Around 3:00, I got so sleepy that I set up my tent and took a 45 minute power nap. This is the second time I’ve done this. It felt so good. I hiked on 7 more miles and set up camp near some powerlines. The locals were partying and setting off fireworks. I rolled up my tent door so I could be in my sleeping bag and watch the fireworks. Fun!

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