Appalachian Trail - Day 147 - Abol Bridge to Mt Katahdin

Day: 147

Date: Monday, 18 September 2023

Start:  Abol Bridge (AT Mile 2193.4)

Finish:  Mt Katahdin (AT Mile 2198.4) plus 4.0 back down to the Abol Ranger Station.

Daily Kilometres:  21.9

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3565.6

Weather:  Mild and mostly overcast, with spitting rain in the afternoon and cold winds at altitude.

Accommodation:  Hostel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Mars Bar/Turkey Italian roll 

  Lunch:  Trail mix/Ham Italian roll

  Dinner:  Bacon double cheeseburger & fries, ice-cream.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - possible/likely broken toe after her foot slipped on a rock and slammed into another one.

Highlight:  Reaching the summit of Mt Katahdin and the end of our 2200 mile journey along the Appalachian Trail.

Lowlight:  Julie possibly breaking a toe on the descent from Mt Katahdin

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke early and were hiking by 6:00am in the pre-dawn light following the Blueberry Ledges trail to the base of Mt Katahdin. The official AT route was four miles longer, but we needed to get to the ranger station at the mountain base to register to climb before the 10:00am cut-off.

We reached the ranger station shortly before 9:00am where we removed everything we would not need for the climb from our packs and left it in a shelter, and then went through the registration formalities before beginning our climb up the Hunt Trail to the summit, five miles away.

Initially, the trail rose relatively gently beside the cascading Katahdin Stream but, the further we went, the more challenging it became and we found ourselves boulder-scrambling and using iron rungs fixed into vertical rock or squeezing along narrow ledges.  It was scary in parts and very difficult in others and we began to wonder what it would be like descending along the same route, as we planned to do, in the rain forecast for the afternoon.  Offsetting that, were spectacular views over the Maine wilderness.  Even after the most difficult parts, the climb was still strenuous until we reached the plateau-like upper part of the mountain.

From there we had about 1.5 miles of steady climbing over the bare rock-strewn alpine terrain to reach the summit marker on Baxter Peak (5267') on Mt Katahdin and the official finish of the Appalachian Trail.  There were a few people about, including a thru-hiker we knew and other day hikers, who congratulated us on our feat.  It felt surreal to finally be there.  It was also cold, and after some photos and a short break sheltered behind some rocks enjoying more spectacular views, we headed back down the mountain.  

Instead of returning via the Hunt Trail, we decided to follow the Abol Trail down.  It was supposed to be less demanding, though brought us out at a different trailhead, two miles by road from where we had left our gear at the ranger station.  It was not an easy descent, but less scary than the alternative.

Originally, our plan was to hitch-hike from the ranger station to Millinocket, an hour away and the nearest town, but with the rain gradually becoming more persistent and time passing quickly, we realized we may not be down in time to catch a lift with day-hikers leaving the park.  At 4:00pm, while we still had phone reception, Dave called a hostel that offered shuttles from the park and we were lucky that, on short notice, they agreed to pick us up at 5:00pm from the Abol Trailhead and said they had a private room at the hostel we could have.

The last mile of the trail into the trailhead was perhaps the nicest trail of the day, autumn-leaf-littered and rock/mud-free and a lovely end to our journey.

The hostel-owner drove us to the ranger station to collect our stored gear and then back to the hostel in steady rain.  After checking in, and making arrangements for a shuttle to our long-distance bus stop tomorrow morning, we showered and ordered dinner for delivery from a local store.  It was a low-key ending to our trek, but fine by us.

Dave is fond of saying "never say never" but is adamant that he will never thru-hike the Appalachian Trail again.  It was just too physically and mentally demanding at age 72 carrying a heavy pack (long hikes with a lighter load are definitely a possibility).  Leaving that aside, it was a very special and memorable experience and not one he regrets.  He and Julie made a good team, despite their current physical capability differences, and rarely had disagreements on trail.

Julie loved the trail life, though was quite exasperated by Maine's roots, rocks and bogs towards the end.  She was one of the few people on the trail not using trekking poles, frequently attracting comment, and made it all look easy.  She enjoyed the social interactions with the other hikers and learning their personal stories.  She would definitely do another thru-hike, but it wouldn't be the Appalachian Trail again.

From Millinocket, where we are staying tonight, we will get a ride to nearby Medway tomorrow morning where we will catch a bus south for 90 minutes to the city of Bangor to pick up a hire car and do some touring in the US north-east until our flight out of Newark (near New York) on 2 October back to Sydney via Vancouver.  Home on 4 October.