Summitting Katahdin - Maine is finished 8/4/09

Sam and Dustin have summitted 5267-foot Mt. Katahdin in Maine. This is the northern terminus for the Appalachian Trail and the end of the journey for Dustin, who started his journey of five million steps on February 15th from Springer Mountain, Georgia. For Sam, it's the half-way point. Graduating from MSU in early May, Sam met up with Dustin in Duncannon, Pa on May 15th and since then he has walked 1041 trail miles. Uncounted, however are the miles hiked off the trail as he sought Post Office package drops and re-supply markets. Now Sam and Sallie will double back to Pennsylvania and pick up the trail south. From Duncannon to Springer Mountain the trail measures 1135-miles. Sam expects to finish around the third week of October.

Unfortunately for Sallie, Baxter State Park where Mt. Katahdin is located does not permit dogs, even good ones like Sal. She stayed behind in a kennel near Monson, Maine, Sam and Dustin's last stop before the 100-mile Wilderness. She and Sam have now re-united for their trip south. I'm sure she had plenty of kisses and hugs for her master.

Monson, Maine is the jumping off point for thru-hikers. Here begins the 100-mile Wilderness, a vast area of lakes, forests, and mountains that is uninhabited. All of the land is privately owned, mostly by timber and paper companies. This stretch of trail is cut by only one road - a private gravel logging road with sparse traffic. This if you get into trouble, you are pretty much on your own for self-rescue. Lakes and streams abound in the Wilderness and many sections of the trail have been raised out of the swamps and bogs onto board walks and log bridges constructed by the Appalachian Mountain Club to prevent damage by hikers to the sensitive areas of the eco-system. The rocky areas of the trail are black slate and become extremely slick when wet. Elevations for the Wilderness range from a few hundred feet above sea level to almost 4000-feet. Cutting above surrounding terrain like the blade of an axe, the long ridge of 3,230-foot Big Spencer Mountain once hosted an actively-manned fire tower on its eastern prow. Abandoned for more than a decade, the lookout today rattles with lingering panes of glass and is accessible for those brave enough to clamber up the rusting ladder. Views stretch from Katahdin to Moosehead Lake and encompass virtually the entire 100-Mile Wilderness region. Halfway up the trail, the derelict fire warden's cabin sits open, strewn with old paper records and furniture. The flora of the area includes massive maple trees that are centuries old and beautiful moss and fern covered boulders. There are bears in the Wilderness, but the animal most seen is the moose. You have to be careful around moose as they are extremely territorial and have been known to attack hikers resulting in serious injury.

The northern end of the Wilderness is denoted by the border of Baxter State Park. A very remote wilderness park in itself, Baxter sees many more visitors than the AT south of here. Sam and Dustin made Baxter on Sunday the 2nd and camped prior to taking on Mt. Katahdin on Monday. Weekdays are best for climbing Katahdin as there are fewer people around to spoil the experience. After hundreds of miles and days on the trail in the company of just a few, to end the journey surrounded by a crowd would not be so much fun. Our guys started out on Monday morning with perfect weather. During the last Ice Age, glaciers buried the summits of every mountain in New England - except Katahdin. Here the ice scoured only the mountain slopes, eating away the sides to create a precipitous, razor-sharp ridge: the Knife Edge. A hike across this 1.1-mile arete is an adrenaline-pumping adventure unlike any other in New England, and one that should be on everybody's life list. From Chimney Pond, the very strenuous route ascends the Saddle Trail to Baxter Peak - the terminus of the AT.

All of the gear is holding up well considering the wear and tear it has endured. You last read about Sam's shoe failures. Two pair of Keen long distance trail shoes gave their all but failed after less than a month each on the trail. We talked with Keen numerous times about warranties and finally were able to contact their main guy in Portland, Oregon. He wasn't interested in photos of the failed shoes or sales slips. He took our word for it and not only replaced Sam's two pair of shoes, but also sent him a third pair, just for good measure. Now that's a great American company doing business the old fashioned way and gaining customers by doing it. Our thanks to Keen Footwear of Portland, OR. Check them out - buy their shoes.

According to Sam, the journey so far has been hard, but so worth every moment. The gorgeous vistas, the heights, the thousands and thousands of plants and creatures have stimulated the mind and the shutter finger. He has filled up five memory cards with over 15-thousand photos. We'll be getting our hands on them soon and will be sharing them with you.

From here, Dustin will head back to Mississippi and his family in Indianola. Sam and Sallie will make their way to Millinocket, Maine and rent a car for the journey to Pennsylvania to pick up on their southbound trek. Sam continues to enjoy your emails. While, at the moment he doesn't have the capability to respond. Send Sam and Sallie a note of encouragement to mclemoresam@yahoo.com. So long for now from the Appalachian Trail in Maine.