(At least I tried)

Alex (Pilgrim), Maryanne (Easy Doss It) and I (Puffin) left the hostel shortly after 6 am and set off on the Hunt Trail just before 8 am for the 5 1/4 mile up to the summit of Baxter Peak.

The weather was superb but the trail became increasingly steep and treacherous throughout the ascent. By the time I reached the treeline scaling boulders the size of school buses was the norm. We had a turn around time of 2 pm, at 12:15 it became apparent that reaching the summit in time wasn’t possible. I hiked back down the Hunt trail, returning to camp around 5 pm. The other two managed to summit shortly after 2 pm and returned to camp just before sunset.

No matter what anyone tells you about climbing Mount Katahdin, it’s way worse!

We spent the night at the campground and are all back at the hostel now for a day’s rest. I’ve decided that Maine and New Hampshire are probably too much for me now. I’ll be returning home for the time being..,

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Thomas A. Edison

Today I’m at the hostel, meeting other hikers and doing a shake down with the staff. I’ve never done one. It will be interesting.

I ran into a hiker that I was with in Tennessee this April. “Old Bug” flipped up to Maine after getting to Daleville, VA and climbed Katahdin yesterday.

I also promised myself that I would take more pictures of other hikers. Brad, formerly known as “Mississippi” is looking for a new trail name. He’s heading out SOBO one day ahead of me.

The pack shakedown and seminar was great. Pilgrim ended up dropping almost 15 lbs from his very heavy pack. And while we were meeting, in walks Wanderer who summitted Katahdin this morning to complete his NOBO thru-hike today. He started in Georgia in early February!

Tomorrow is Katahdin day…

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the hell she is. ― Ellen DeGeneres

I’m on my way! As usual it’s a convoluted trip. Here are the details:

• Ride to airport ✔️
• Fly STL to BWI ✔️
• Fly BWI to PWM (Portland, ME) 🙏🏻
• Uber to bus station ✔️
• Concord Bus to Bangor, ME🕺🏻
• Cyr Bus Bangor to Medway, ME✔️
• Shuttle Medway to AT Hostel in Millinocket, ME ✅

Whew 😰

I’ll update more as the day goes on…

The plane with the duct tape was fine but not the one from BWI to Portland. We got a new plane and now it’s about 2 hours behind schedule. I won’t make the bus from Portland at 2:15 but there’s another an hour later that will be hard but not impossible to make. 😱

Plane got into Portland over 2 hours late, but thanks to a quick Uber driver I am at the bus station with 10 minutes to spare for the 3:15 bus to Bangor! 😉

On the first bus…

And I made it onto the last bus to Medway. Looks like I’m going to make it just fine.

I am beginning to lose my faith in Southwest after flying with them today…

And yes I did finally make it! There are lots of other hikers here too. Tomorrow is a shake down and rest day. Thursday is Baxter Peak; I hope 🤞

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

Tomorrow is travel day. I’ll be flying from St Louis to Portland, ME and then going by bus onto Millinocket in north central Maine. My pack is ready along with supplies to go through the 100 Mile Wilderness. The weather looks like it will be okay but whether or not I’ll be able to actually summit Baxter Peak remains to be seen. It’s questionable whether or not I’ll be able to get into the park early enough on the 9th to climb the mountain; I need to hike out of the park on the 10th, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed…

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis

It’s time to finalize preparations to hike Maine and New Hampshire in July-August. I fly east on July 7th and plan to summit Katahdin on July 9th. The ladies at the AT Hostel in Millinocket have been an amazing resource to plan the hike. I’ll be staying there before I start and also getting a food drop from them in the 100 mile wilderness. I’ve got a couple of blue blazes (i.e. short cuts) planned; follow along to see where.

My hikes this spring made me reflect on why I hike. To be honest, there isn’t a burning issue now that drives me to go on trail. What I did realize is that I’m a person who finishes what he starts. When I came home from Tennessee in early May I felt an undeniable need to go back and hike more. So now I realize why I hike. To finish and complete the trail is in fact a compelling reason to hike!

So here’s what is still left:

• Katahdin to Hanover – 442.2 mi
• Great Barrington to Port Clinton – 307.8 mi
• Standing Bear to Uncle Johnny’s – 103.3 mi

So that’s 853.3 miles to complete the trail. If all goes as planned I’ll have 411.1 miles to go at the end of the summer. That’s a big “if” but it is doable. Let the challenge begin.