Highpoint #26: Maine

The Highest Point in Maine!!

With Vermont and New Hampshire under wraps, I continued to upstate Maine to try my hand at Mt. Katahdin.  I could not have had a more beautiful afternoon for the driving.  I worked my way across New Hampshire on Route 2, aka “the Presidential Highway”, and the views were simply magnificent with the ever-present White Mountains bedecked by an extensive national forest.  I really had no idea that New Hampshire was so beautiful.  That’s definitely one of the advantages of highpointing, seeing some of the more beautiful parts of the U.S. states that might otherwise be overlooked in one’s travels.  Similarly, passing through Maine was quite beautiful as well with its numerous lakes and plentiful trees. 

Not Exactly Close to Millinocket...

I eventually made my way to Millinocket, and I was still a good ways away from Baxter State Park.  If Mt. Katahdin is anything, it IS remote.  Seriously, even after entering the park, there was still a good bit of driving on narrow paved roads and unpaved roads before I reached the campground.  Despite the remoteness though, the park is quite popular.  In fact, I reserved my camping spot a couple of months in advance online to make sure I had a spot, and it was not cheap:  $30 for the campsite + $14 in fees for being out of state and wanting to park my car, making the grand total come out to $44 for one night. 

I checked in before the 8:30pm cut-off, but the rangers at the ranger station were definitely preoccupied.  Apparently a paraplegic Wounded Warrior tried his hand at climbing the mountain with his military buddies and ran into a serious issue of dehydration.  There was a lot of radio traffic, and finally one of the rangers went out to assist and rescue the party if needed.  Yikes!  Eventually I was able to check in though and was given a pretty good rundown on the mountain.  I was told though that I would have to park my car in the morning at the visitor’s parking lot just below the station, since I would likely be back after 11am.  Fair enough.

I went up to my camping spot and dug in for the night with the sound of rustling leaves lulling me to sleep.  The first thing the next morning, I decamped, re-parked my car, and made my way over to the ranger station to log in.  It was just about 5:45 am at this point.  

Early Start...

My plan:  ascend by the Abol trail, connecting with the Appalachian Trail to the summit, and then descend either by the same route or by the Appalachian Trail entirely and making my way back to the campground along the main road.  I was just going to leave it up to how I feel once I summited. 

Very Useful Sign at the Trailhead

The trailhead for the Abol Trail was pretty good about laying out what was in store.  In only 3.8 miles, there would be 3,970 feet of elevation gain.  Half of that distance would be above the treeline, and the total round-trip time was estimated at a healthy 8 hours.  That comes out to a 1mph average pace.  Fair enough. 

Enjoy the Flat Stretch While it Lasts...

The trail started off pretty easily with a wide, tree-lined approach that was distinctly flat.  That changed pretty quickly to a moderately upward sloping trail that was a bit narrower and noticeably rocky.  

Getting Rockier

I brought along my hiking poles, which were fine for this section, but they didn’t see much use once I reached the slide. 

Beginning of the Slide

“The Slide” is just that, an incredible rockslide extending from the ridgeline below the summit all the way down to the valley below.  The drop-off is steep and filled with rocks, more rocks, and excessively large boulders.  All of these have to be scrambled over in succession in order to reach the top.  Because of the steepness, elevation is gained quickly.  Also, because half to the trail is above the tree line, these elevation gains quickly open up the view making it grander and grander with each rock that is climbed. 

Note the Low Cloud Cover

The demand of the scrambling is not to be underestimated.   There is never really any exposure, but the steepness of the terrain can have you breathing pretty hard if you don’t scale back the pace a bit.  Some rocks look precariously placed too, but I never saw any rock fall on my approach. 

More of the Slide

Leaving so early in the morning, there was pretty low cloud cover and fog.  So, as I kept gaining elevation, it was never clear how far away I was from the ridgeline to the summit.  

Much More Fog Now

My progress was slow and steady, and just when it seemed interminable; I saw the distinct line where I would not have to climb any higher.  Relief!

The End of the Slide, I Think...

From here, the approach was considerably gentler and mostly flat.  Now I was following rock cairns hoping that they would lead somewhere.  The fog was pretty thick, so I had limited visibility.  

Couldn't See Very Far Ahead at this Point

After several hundred yards, I arrived at the major intersection of the Abol trail with the Appalachian Trail.  I still had a mile to go to the true summit.  Being an alpine zone, I was encouraged, as always, to stay on the rocks and keep to the trail as much as possible.  

Intersection of the Abol Trail with the Appalachian Trail

Take Heed!

The flat rocky path with the white blazes, turned into a path filled with boulders.  So there was more jumping from rock to rock rather than walking among rocks.  

Getting Close to the Summit!

The View Opened up for a Moment

Finally, one last hill of rock presented itself, which was where the true summit lied.  I anxiously made my way up to the top of it.  Quick on my heels though was a young hiker trying to catch up to me.  I managed to get to the summit first, but only barely, by a footstep really.  He had good reason to be in such a hurry though.  Turns out he was starting the Appalachian Trail right then and there as a southbound thru-hiker.  In reality, this was a monumental step for him, beginning an extensive journey all the way to Springer Mountain in Georgia, more than 2000 miles away!

I Opted to Not Thru-Hike... This Time.

He graciously agreed to take a photo of me at the summit, and I returned the favor.  We both poked around a bit to see what else the summit had to offer.  In terms of view, there was not much to behold; simply lots of fog.  The knife-edge trail was pretty obscured too.  

Knife-Edge Trail, Almost Fully Obscured

I saw a large plaque nearby, but there was no sign of any USGS markers that I could see.  

Official Plaque at the Summit

I made my way over to a pretty large rock cairn and added a rock.  There really wasn’t much more to see under these conditions, and other hikers were starting for the summit in the distance, so I decided, after some reflection, to start making my way downward. 

It took no time at all to rejoin the Abol trail, and I decided to simply return the way I came and made my way over to the edge of the cliff.  The cloud cover lifted somewhat by this point, and the view was pretty dramatic.  I could really see the drop-off to the valley, which seemed so distant below.  

Note the Drop-off!

I pulled out a Slim Jim to snack on as I jumped down from one rock after the other.  I was encountering some pretty exhausted hikers who were looking up at me in wonderment.  Yeah, all my hard work was done at this point, so I could relax considerably; but they were still trying to make their way through the toughest portion of the approach.  So it goes. 

Spotted this Guy on the Way Down

I continued farther down the slide and encountered a few more hikers.  Some were just off to a later start, but some were a little worrisome.  I encountered one guy just baking in the sun who apparently was also starting his thru-hike south on the Appalachian Trail.  He wanted to do something different by starting up the Abol before starting on the Appalachian Trail.  He mentioned that the entire campground the night before was packed with would-be thru-hikers, having traveled by bus up to Maine with several himself.   While I encouraged his efforts, I was a little skeptical.  He didn’t have the right disposition for a southbound thru-hiker.  He was pretty low on the mountain, and it was almost noon.  With the sun getting pretty hot (mid-80s) and most of the trail above the tree line, he was very likely going to dehydrate.  He should have gotten an earlier move on the slide.  I offered him some water, but he refused.  After all, there was a ranger rescue just the night before for this same issue.  Oh, well; I did my part.  

Check out this View!

I continued downward and soon found myself at the trailhead once again.  I signed out from the register and proceeded back to my car.  All in, it took less than 7 hours, including my downtime at the summit.  Not too bad. 

Sky Cleared a Bit towards the End of my Hike

I debated about continuing onward to New Brunswick for a try at Mt. Carleton, which is a much, much easier hike by comparison.  Ultimately though, I decided to just head back home to D.C.  It had been a long, packed weekend up to this point.  I could save Carleton for another day.  It was better to head home and rest up for a few weeks since my next highpointing trip was going to be MUCH more demanding.  Stay tuned…