8/06/06 Sunday: AT...Mount Katahdin: The Final Ascent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(5.2mi UP)

PICTURES:
1. Taking a moment to look back during the ascent up Mount Katahdin on the AT
2. Thats Brian on what we hoped was the push passed the Gateway onto the Table Land...
3. Brian and I taking a break at The Gateway, a transition point from the steep 3000' climb the walk levels off for a mile before a final ascent to the Baxter Peak...
4. Thats Brian, alias "Speedy Gonzalez" at the summit a bit ahead of me.... He was #2 atop the Mountain... I was #3...
5. Our Portugese friend snapped this shot of Brian and I at the summit...
6. Brian with Baxter Peak in the background while I'm standing on South Peak...
7. Chiminey Pond from South Peak
8. Thats me with Knife Edge and Pamola and the background taken from South Peak...
9. Thats me again with the Table Land in the background... Thoreau Spring was producing quite a bit of spring water there...pretty amazing at that altitude...
10. Thats me again standing on a 13' cairn which makes Baxter Peak a full 1 mile high...
11. Mac and his boys at Baxter Peak
12. More than 200 hikers would summit this day... This is one of the groups... I was up there for about 4 hours and witnessed many hikers passing through...
13. Mac, Brian, Shawn, Me, and Kevin at the famous sign atop Mt Katahdin
14. The gang heading down the Saddle trail back to Chimney Pond Campground and then out to the car at Roaring Brook Campground...
15. Taking a break before heading down the steepest part of the Saddle Trail.
16. Descending on the Saddle trail... Tricky footing and kinda steep too..
17. Picture taken at Chimney Pond Campground with Katahdin in the Background

The big day was finally here... Brian and I were up at dawn and had a snack for breakfast before heading to the Ranger Station to drop off our packs and pick up some lighter day packs for the ascent... We started at 0630 and walked at a brisk pace up the 1 mile high mountain... This would be an initial 3000' sustained climb for 3 miles with a one mile walk across the table land before the final 1000' climb in the last mile... In all the highest sustained climb along the AT with bonuses... You get to do some "bouldering" that having to climb up and over large boulders sometimes on rebarb... Lots of fun... Brian and I made it up to the top by 0900 and were the 2nd and 3rd people atop the mountain on this day... We met the first gentleman, from Porgtugal who now lived in Quebec... After pictures were taken we all chatted a bit and watched the throngs of day hikers aproaching from 5 different trails... Within an hour 40 hikers were up there in the clear blue of the morning sky, all admiring the excellent views, possibly out to the Atlantic some 100 miles to the SE... Brian and I decided to tackle South Peak which leads to the knife edge and Pamola... We were thinking of walking out there too but I had planned to meet my brother in law at Baxter Peak at 1100... We arrived at South Peak about 1030 and decided to leave knife edge for another day. We returned to Baxter Peak and witnessed a different and larger group of up to 60 hikers milling about admiring the views and taking pictures... By 1200, Brian and I decided to head back down since Mac had not yet arrived. We took different trails, Brian went back the way he came and I decided to head down a side trail that passed the Cathedral Trail, the one Mac was suppose to take with his 3 boys. I caught a hiker just coming to the top of the Cathedral Trail and ask if she had seen an adult and 3 kids hiking... She said they were about 30min behind and listed the boys by name... I decided to stay at the head of the trail there at that point and wait for them... I waited an hour and returned to the summit to chat with some of the other hikers before heading down to the bottom. As I reached the summit I came across Mac and the boys having lunch... According to Mac, they had all taken a short cut to the summit... Anyway they had some extra snacks that they shared with me and we took some pictures before heading back down the saddle trail and back to Macs van around 1400... Kevin, Brian, and Shawn, had never hiked Katahdin before and were feeling the effects of the 4000'ascent and the subsequent 4000' descent... We all reached the car at about 2000 and drove over to get my pack and gear at the other Ranger Station, finally leaving BSP around 0845... We stopped for burgers in Millinocket before getting on the I95 for home...