I have always wanted to hike Katahdin (meaning The Greatest Mountain), which is the second tallest and most majestic looking mountain in New England. I vowed not to see it until I am really ready to hike it lest I might lose the motivation.
The more I read about Katahdin and its hiking trails, the more I wanted to do the Knife Edge trail and nothing less. Knife Edge is got to be the most spectacular and toughest ridge hiking in New England. But all that reading of hiker's trip reports and notes made me very nervous and unsure about the hike.
The promise to myself had to be broken because 1. I grew tired of hiking Green and White Mountains in VT and NH 2. I wanted to see Katahdin for REAL.
So, I picked Doubletop Mountain which provides less popular west-side views of Katahdin. The hike on the northern trail was 3.1 miles one-way with an easy 1.2 mile hike until the trail descended to a brook that we had to pass. The knee deep water was biting ice-cold and had to be crossed quickly.
After we crossed the brook, the ascent was quite steep for about half a mile followed by a short respite from gaining the altitude. All along we were treated to the sweeping views of distant mountains, lakes and ponds to the west while slapping ourselves furiously to avoid black flies ;-)
The last leg of the hike involved a fair amount of rock scrambling and a few steps on iron rung ladder to the exposed rock to the summit - north peak of the mountain.
A clear, sunny, warm weather after a day of 90°F and a night of thunderstorms helped make this hike a successful one. Some of the pictures I took from the summit starting with South peak of Doubletop:
North Brother, South Brother, Coe/O-J-I Mountains and West Peak in the foreground:
Katahdin itself with still some snow left:
Have a great memorial weekend ahead. Hope the weather will turn out to be great for you to enjoy the outdoors.
The more I read about Katahdin and its hiking trails, the more I wanted to do the Knife Edge trail and nothing less. Knife Edge is got to be the most spectacular and toughest ridge hiking in New England. But all that reading of hiker's trip reports and notes made me very nervous and unsure about the hike.
The promise to myself had to be broken because 1. I grew tired of hiking Green and White Mountains in VT and NH 2. I wanted to see Katahdin for REAL.
So, I picked Doubletop Mountain which provides less popular west-side views of Katahdin. The hike on the northern trail was 3.1 miles one-way with an easy 1.2 mile hike until the trail descended to a brook that we had to pass. The knee deep water was biting ice-cold and had to be crossed quickly.
After we crossed the brook, the ascent was quite steep for about half a mile followed by a short respite from gaining the altitude. All along we were treated to the sweeping views of distant mountains, lakes and ponds to the west while slapping ourselves furiously to avoid black flies ;-)
The last leg of the hike involved a fair amount of rock scrambling and a few steps on iron rung ladder to the exposed rock to the summit - north peak of the mountain. 
A clear, sunny, warm weather after a day of 90°F and a night of thunderstorms helped make this hike a successful one. Some of the pictures I took from the summit starting with South peak of Doubletop:
North Brother, South Brother, Coe/O-J-I Mountains and West Peak in the foreground:
Katahdin itself with still some snow left:
Have a great memorial weekend ahead. Hope the weather will turn out to be great for you to enjoy the outdoors.
7 comments:
I absolutely love mountains. Even if I never get to hike them I love just seeing them and visiting them. Sadly Ohio is flat. I do miss the mountains.
Nice post and images. Went to Katahdin last year, definitely worth every moment.
Happy Trails
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OMG .. sooo beautiful!! So serene and a perfect way to start off the summer season. (Unofficially :))
Breathtakingly beautiful. What a great goal. Good for you. You'd enjoy where I live close to the mountains if you like hiking. There are local trails and then if you travel south to somewhere like Moab, you could bike some of the trails and hike. Mountains are beautiful. I'm sure these stay green, while ours get dry later in the summer.
What beautiful vistas! Oh my, how glorious that hike must have been! Will you show us more from your next walk in the woods? I hope so!
What gorgeous photos, Pratima. They remind me of when I was young when Gordon and I used to hike in our Cascade and the Olympic mountains. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure.
That must have been a combination of thrill and exhaustion. Lovely pictures Kalyan... Can only imagine what a great hike you must have had !
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