Mount Katahdin holds a special place in many long distance hikers’ hearts. Perhaps one reason is because it’s synonymous with the end of their Appalachian Trail thru-hike. It’s the revered finish line for 4 to 6 months of marathon hiking. Some hikers might even say summiting Katahdin is more special to them than any of the other peaks along the Appalachian Trail.
Despite this, I decided to jump in and hike that last part of the Appalachian Trail now. Why? Because my outdoor adventure is about living in the moment. You never know what tomorrow brings…
Confessions of a frustrated distance hiker
I haven’t thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (yet!). But it’s been on my bucket list forever.
There are very few things that make me as happy as hiking. I’ve added vacation days to my work trips just so I could hike in new and exciting places. I’ve read so many hiking blogs and memoirs, that I can’t even count them. And you can bet I’ve watched innumerable hikers’ YouTube videos to keep me motivated when I couldn’t get outdoors. I definitely have the long distance hiking bug.
But taking months off to thru-hike a 2,000 or 3,000 mile trail isn’t feasible for many people. There’s the work commitments, the family commitments, the financial commitments, etc.
In my case, there was another one I had to consider too – my military obligation. While I was on active duty, I couldn’t just take off on a 6-month sabbatical to go hiking. The Army doesn’t work that way.
My passion for hiking was a very large part of the reason I chose to leave the Army when I did. It might sound silly to some, but hiking America’s great long distance trails while I’m still healthy and fit was something I thought about all the time!
Each year as I got older, my body seemed to develop new aches and pains. Things I could do so easily in my 20s and 30s are considerably harder in my 40s. Who know what my health will bring in my 50s or 60s?
So I choose to leave the Army at the pinnacle of my career to go off and hike (crazy scary, I know).
Destination: Baxter State Park
This fervor for hiking is also part of the reason I opted to live nomadically for the first few years after the Army. Getting to explore trails I’d previously only read about in magazines or online was just what my soul needed.
I’ve had the opportunity to hike some miles on a number of national scenic trails during my first few weeks on the road – including the Superior Hiking Trail, North Country Trail, and Trans Canada Trail. These were all great conditioning for my 550-mile trek on the Camino de Santiago in September 2018. And while I enjoyed them all, the best was yet to come.
My summer travels put us on a drive from Quebec City to coastal Maine in August. There may be several ways to get from point A to point B. But there was only one route between these two destinations in my mind. I had to detour through Baxter State Park.
Baxter is home of Maine’s tallest peak – Mt. Katahdin – and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. I had Katadhin on my mind and wanted to hike it ASAP!
My husband, Keith, was pretty skeptical on whether I should hike Mt. Katahdin now. Didn’t I want to save it for the end of my future AT thru-hike? Wouldn’t it be anti-climactic to get to the very last leg of the Appalachian Trail and summit Baxter Peak, after I’d already done Katahdin as a day hike? Would it be like spoiling the book by reading the last chapter first?
My answer to these questions were simple.
My future thru-hike experience probably won’t be a family affair. Hiking Katahdin now with Keith and Finn would make it just as worthy of an adventure — because I’d get to share with my two favorite people. It would be doubly sweet to hike it at the end of a thru-hike someday. But why not seize the day and do it at least once now?
Hiking Katahdin
So with that decision made, we opted to hike up Katahdin using the Hunt Trail. This route coincides with the last 5.2 miles of the AT and summits Baxter Peak.
Folks, let me tell you, this hike is no joke! With an elevation gain of 4,188 feet in just over five miles, the Hunt Trail takes most hikers between 8-12 hours to complete the roundtrip journey of 10.4 miles! And if you don’t sign up for a parking pass in advance, you may as well forget about hiking it in the summer (Note: go online and reserve parking in Baxter State Park HERE).
While the slope up Mt. Katahdin is steep, the real challenge is the vast amount of bouldering you have to do once you get above tree line. We climbed on an incredibly cloudy day. This was probably a good thing because Keith isn’t a huge fan of heights. Being socked in with clouds let us focus on the white blazes on the rocks in front of us. It was like climbing with blinders on, and we couldn’t see the peril that lay more than 10-15 feet in front of us.
Dozens of day hikers turned back when we got to some of the harder sections. There were some brief places where you needed to use strategically placed iron bars to hoist yourself up to the next rock. And there are a few places where you feel pretty exposed on narrow rocks without a lot of room to maneuver. But, it was still manageable. Even if we had to work together to progress upward.
Once we got to the tableland about 4 miles in, the route leveled out considerably. After all that bouldering, this easy alpine walk was a refreshing break.
Past the tableland, it’s just a small push to summit Baxter Peak. Then there’s long wait while everyone patiently takes turns getting a photo with the sign at the top to celebrate their achievement.
Finishing it off
After a picnic lunch on the summit (with a celebratory Snickers bar, of course), we started back down the Hunt Trail. It was slow going making our way down to Katahdin Springs on the return trip. The boulders are always a little more scary when you’re descending. But, at least it was dry (unlike our future hike to the summit of Mt. Washington). So, small victories…
During our return we were also treated to a few brief breaks in the clouds. It kind of made me wish we could have had those views the entire way. But, then again, this won’t be my ONLY visit to Katahdin.
Looking for ways to celebrate conquering Katahdin?
Once we reached the bottom, it was time to celebrate in true hiker fashion. We found some good warm food, and a few refreshing microbrews!
If you’re heading to Katahdin in the near future, do yourself a favor and try the local beer. Mainers know a thing or two about craft beer. Here’s some of our favorite local beers:
- Stowaway IPA (Baxter Brewing Co.)
- Blueberry Ale (Atlantic Brewing Co.)
- 04609 Double IPA (Atlantic Brewing Co.)
- Frye’s Leap IPA (Sebago Brewing Co.)
- Island Time Session IPA (Shipyard Brewing Co.)
- Monkey Fist IPA (Shipyard Brewing Co.)
