Climbing Mt Katahdin, 5,270 ft (1,610 m) located in Baxter State Park in Maine is otherworldly, remote, and demanding, and that’s in the spring, summer, and fall. In the winter these attributes are even more pronounced. Even getting there is a trial unto itself. Moreover, being that it’s in Maine some will tell you that “you can’t get there from here, ayuh.” But we know better and gladly accepted this mission to guide.
When our guest reached out he was only 17 years old. He asked us a million questions, which we gladly answered, and he signed up ready to try after he turned 18. We had months to prepare and together we created a layaway plan of sorts. He was to work hard, make money, and pay with monthly installments, chipping away at the cost of the adventure. This, for those who haven’t already realized, is atypical of how most teens operate. We were impressed!
He made good on it, too, through dedication and hard work we was able to fund his desire with several months to go before setting out. We thought, this young man is impressively mature for his age. We admired his tenacity and drive. He was fit and ready to roll as the months turned to weeks, then to days and hours. This was an exciting time.
Leading him in the park was Redline Guide Glenn Van Neil. They drove up in Glenn’s vehicle, made it to the park, pulled pulks (sleds) using snowshoes and skis, the latter being Glenn’s preference, and made it to their reserved lean-to shelter at Abol Campground. This positioned them for a long but reasonable approach to the mountain.
The first night was brutally cold and windy. Glenn’s sleeping bag was rated to -20F but was still cold. The shelter helped block the wind, but its back wall was missing its chinking so they still felt the chilling breezes. They made it through the night, however, and were ready to hike on their first full day on location. Plans change though. Our guest decided not to take on a warm-up mountain but rather did some hiking closer to camp.
Further into the trip they were finally ready to take on Mt Katahdin itself. Getting there and climbing to the alpine was going to be challenging thanks to deep, unbroken snow. But with a monumental effort, they made it. Unfortunately it took so long thanks to all that snow they weren’t able to summit but they did get to experience the largest patch of alpine zone in the state.
All-in-all it was a rewarding experience, one Glenn and our guest won’t soon forget. To our guest, even though he seemed to enjoy himself, this was probably type 2 fun, but hopefully by now he is savoring the memories. Since they weren’t able to summit, we are hoping our guest will try again next year. Older, stronger, and now more experienced. In the mean time, here are some (probably unordered) photos of their epic.
