First of all, we need to mention that we’ve been getting up between 3:30 and 4:00 am every day but one this week. The twilight from the sun starts around 3:15 and the birds start chirping and, once we’re up, we’re up!!
So, now on to the fun. Today was Baxter State Park. WOW!! We planned on hiking up Mt. Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine and the end of the Appalachian Trail. We came, we saw, it kicked our behinds. Boy, so naïve we were…. We planned on hiking up the “knife edge”, but after reading how the trail was only 3’ wide in places with dropoffs on both sides (approx 2000’), we chickened out, so discussed an alternate route with a friendly ranger. Well, nice guy that he was, did not warn us about what we were about to endeavor. This WAS NOT a “hike” up the mountain, but a climb up a sheer boulder field. OH MY. This was a “trail” that once you start, there’s no turning around…. We had to look for hand holds and hoist ourselves up in most places. Now, this was not just a few hundred feet, this was over a mile up, up, up. We should have known – the steep part of the trail was only 1.75 miles, but the brochures said it would take 2hrs and 50 min. We were terrified, but didn’t discuss that aspect until we were on solid ground, so as not to freak each other out. There was snow in several areas below us as we reached higher (2 years in a row- snow in June!!). It took 9 hours to cover about 8 miles. About 3 miles from our car, a heavy rain came down. We were so thankful that it didn’t happen when we were hiking the boulder fields, that we were almost enjoying it. That and it kept the mosquitoes at bay. Well, we survived with bug bites, sore feet, knees, arms, legs, etc. We’re glad we did it, but neither one of us would ever do it again!!!!! By the way, we never did make it to the summit – it was still another .5 miles, but by the time we got to the cut off trail, we were DONE. As a special bonus, just as we were leaving the park exhausted and hungry, a big moose ran across the road in front of us. Too fast for a picture, but it was as if the Mt. was saying “nice try, I know you’re tired, but here’s a treat for you before you go”.
So, now on to the fun. Today was Baxter State Park. WOW!! We planned on hiking up Mt. Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine and the end of the Appalachian Trail. We came, we saw, it kicked our behinds. Boy, so naïve we were…. We planned on hiking up the “knife edge”, but after reading how the trail was only 3’ wide in places with dropoffs on both sides (approx 2000’), we chickened out, so discussed an alternate route with a friendly ranger. Well, nice guy that he was, did not warn us about what we were about to endeavor. This WAS NOT a “hike” up the mountain, but a climb up a sheer boulder field. OH MY. This was a “trail” that once you start, there’s no turning around…. We had to look for hand holds and hoist ourselves up in most places. Now, this was not just a few hundred feet, this was over a mile up, up, up. We should have known – the steep part of the trail was only 1.75 miles, but the brochures said it would take 2hrs and 50 min. We were terrified, but didn’t discuss that aspect until we were on solid ground, so as not to freak each other out. There was snow in several areas below us as we reached higher (2 years in a row- snow in June!!). It took 9 hours to cover about 8 miles. About 3 miles from our car, a heavy rain came down. We were so thankful that it didn’t happen when we were hiking the boulder fields, that we were almost enjoying it. That and it kept the mosquitoes at bay. Well, we survived with bug bites, sore feet, knees, arms, legs, etc. We’re glad we did it, but neither one of us would ever do it again!!!!! By the way, we never did make it to the summit – it was still another .5 miles, but by the time we got to the cut off trail, we were DONE. As a special bonus, just as we were leaving the park exhausted and hungry, a big moose ran across the road in front of us. Too fast for a picture, but it was as if the Mt. was saying “nice try, I know you’re tired, but here’s a treat for you before you go”.
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