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Katahdin Trip Outing
Pictures - June, 2004
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Background:
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trip to climb Katahdin had been planned by Sierra Club women for months in
advance. However, when the day to depart came along, weather was not
on the side of campers! The group split and 3 of us drove up and
stayed 2 nights at Katahdin Stream Campground (we had to leave before
actually hiking to the top of Katahdin). The other group,
arrived Saturday evening, and hiked up Katahdin on Sunday. On
Friday Carrie, Martha and Leanne arrive in Baxter. |
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Here is our story: |
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The camp-sites are located right next to the stream,
and each have their own fire-pit and picnic table. They were the best
pick of the place! |
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We cook dinner before the sun goes down. We use
Martha's camp stove and she shows us how to make her special camp chili. |
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| We pitch our tents in the lean-tos.
Rain started around 3am Saturday morning, and continued for most of the next
day. We spent a lazy Saturday morning trying to keep dry. |
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In the afternoon, we decided to brave
the intermittent rain. We set out to hike the Hunt trail for a few hours.
Carrie registers us (above). The trails are class 3 - most closed. |
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| The Hunt Trail follows Katahdin Stream
up to Katahdin Falls. There are many scenic areas along the way, such
as this pine glen. |
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We make it as far as the bridge - the
rain doesn't hold off, and we decide to turn around and hike up Owl
Mountain. |
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| We make it most
of the way up Owl, when we begin to hear thunder. (Above) View of
Katahdin from Owl Mountain as the storm comes down. |
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Back at the
camp ground, a surprise! The rest of the original crew has come to
visit. This picture is of us all together. Left to right:
Martha, Maureen, Carrie, Kate, Lauralee, Leanne and Nancy (in the hat).
These 4 late
arrivals (Maureen, Kate, Lauralee and Nancy) came up Saturday evening, and
hiked Katahdin on Sunday. They began their hike on Sunday at 6:30 am
-- 1/2 hour before the rangers posted the trail classifications. It
turned out they hiked to the top of Katahdin in class 3 conditions!
This means, that most trails were considered dangerous due to weather.
As Martha,
Carrie and I (Leanne) left the site, we heard the wind whoosh in the trees
and hoped that they were ok up on the mountain.
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Here is
Kate's story:
Here is my story of
Katahdin. Yes, I am glad I climbed this mountain and visited Baxter for the
first time ever. But I will not make this an annual event. For me it was a
once-in-a-lifetime event. The trail was extreme and hard. I was not prepared
for its difficulty. No trail descriptions I read, and I read many,
adequately described the trail. It is unique!
We went up Abol and down Hunt. The up part took 5 hours and the down part
took 7 hours. Once I was partway up Abol, I looked down and thought "there's
no way I'm climbing down that rock slide".
Little did I know that the
rocky portion of Hunt was just as steep and treacherous. The wind was
howling and it was 40 degrees. Just standing upright took much energy.
Gloves and a hat were necessary. The rocky portions involved climbing,
scrambling and going above, under and around huge boulders. Figuring out how
to negotiate all those boulders took brains. Mine felt like mush by 5pm that
night when I saw we had yet another freakin' mile to hike. My knees are
bruised from going on all fours. My shoulders are sore from hoisting myself
up. It was not the traditional walk in the woods I am used to.
Yes, I did it and am proud. But I wish I had conquered 3,000 or 4,000 peaks
and gradually worked up to it. But, perhaps nothing can prepare you for
Katahdin. -Kate
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While our friends struggled up the side of Katahdin on
Sunday, we made our way home oblivious of their fight with the elements.
We even stopped to "smell the flowers". This was a field of dwarf
dandelions and devil's paintbrush. Luckily, we all made it
safely home in the end! |
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