Day 3

I was on the summit trail by 8 a.m., although even during this relatively early hour I was drenched with sweat within 10 minutes. It was going to be a scorcher. "Mount Katahdin" actually refers to the aggregate of 3 mountains all connected by a common ridgeline: Pamola Peak, Baxter Peak (the highest of the peaks and therefore designated as the summit at 5, 268 ft), and Hamlin Peak. I had decided to take the Knife's Edge route to the top, which meant that I would be summiting Pamola first and then traversing the aptly named Knife's Edge Ridge to Baxter Peak, the summit. Similar to Mt. Washington, Mt. Katahdin is home to an alpine environment and with its sheer rock faces looks like it would be more at home in Yosemite, CA rather than in Maine. The trail to Pamola Peak was fairly standard. Yet I think Mt. Katahdin is more about the experience surrounding the climb than the climb itself. That is, its remoteness and location in the vast expanse of the Maine wilderness makes arriving at the mountain an experience in and of itself. The climb, in my opinion, is simply icing on the cake.

After arriving at Pomola Peak and finally putting away my camera, I'm ready to begin the final 1.1 miles to the summit via the Knife's Edge. If the ascent of the mountain is the icing on the cake during the entire Katahdin experience, then the Knife's Edge is the cherry on top. It is incredible: rocky, exposed, and 1,000 foot drops on either edge should you fall. I can't think of a more fitting name for a mountain feature, although perhaps they should consider Death Ridge: apparently the ridge has claimed 19 lives since 1963. Determined not to make it an even 20, I literally crawl like a baby for portions of the route. It pays off, as I reach the summit alive, although I'm pretty sure my heart rate was well over 200 for most of the traverse.

I descend along a different ridge, the Hamlin ridge, which is much more forgiving in terms of survival rates should your feet slip. After arriving back at the trailhead, I'm still feeling surprisingly good, and decide to climb South Turner Peak as well, since it apparently offers some excellent views of Katahdin. I'm rewarded for my decision with a moose sighting a mere half mile down the trail. The moose, who I've since took the liberty of naming Millikan, was feeding on some pond weeds in a small lake along the trail. After Millikan pushes my total picture count to above 200 for the weekend, I decide it is time to move on. The South Turner Peak summit does indeed offer some great views of Katahdin, and I sit for a good 30 minutes at the top, just looking around. Needless to say, after the decision to bag an extra "bonus peak", my quivering legs nearly commit mutiny, but they hold up until the car.

I decide to stay an extra night in Baxter State Park rather than beginning the trip home since I have the next day (Monday) off on account of the 4th of July weekend.