For reasons that historians will debate for decades, in August 2006 Brian, Meredith, Melanie and Paul headed to Baxter State Park to climb Mt. Katahdin. At 5,268 feet, it is the tallest peak in Maine. It is also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and described as the most difficult non-technical climb in the east. We took the Abol Trail up, which is about 4,000 vertical feet in about 3 miles. Since it is steep, and the gravelly terrain can be unstable, the ranger suggested that we take the longer Hunt Trail back down. While it was undoubtedly better, it was by no means an easy descent. For those of you thinking of hiking Katahdin, you should know that it is a CLIMB. Getting up (and back down) huge boulders, finding footholds, and the like for miles on end. All of the trails are very steep and take you on the brink of potentially fatal drops. Our round trip 9 miles took us about 13 hours.  I would have taken more pictures of the trail, but most of the time my camera was in my bag and both of my hands were digging into the surface of whatever granite looked like it was going to stay put for a while.

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On our first stop above the treetops, Paul consults his map. The correct direction to go is up.	A view of the area as we start to head up the Abol Trail.	You can see the Abol Slide on the mountain above us. It begins to dawn on us that that is our trail.	Melanie and Paul with a beautiful view/ precipitous drop behind them.
Meredith on the Abol Slide. The trail is only getting steeper.	This is about the point where Melanie realizes that going back down isn't any more promising than continuing up.	The trick to a trail like this is not looking behind you.	The Abol Slide with a great view of the lakes in the distance.
We reach the top of the Abol trail and arrive at the relatively flat Tableland. That's the Appalachian Trail (Hunt Trail) going off in the distance.	We take a much-needed rest at the Tableland.	Meredith on her final ascent to the peak.	Success! A view of the infamous Knife Edge trail from the summit. The trail goes out to that smaller peak and then follows the ridge to the left.
Paul steps out onto the beginning (and widest part) of the Knife Edge.	Brian is very happy that this is as far as he needed to go in this direction.	A sense of the drop below.	Group photo at the summit!
Brian and Meredith at the end of the Appalachian Trail. We're glad we didn't have to do the whole 2,000 miles to get here!	The summit is exciting not just for the views, but for the groups of hikers who are all very happy to be at the top!	Speaking of the views…..	Starting down the Hunt Trail, we can see the steepness of the Abol Trail behind us.
So the bad news is…. We still have to get down. The Hunt Trail follows the top of this ridge.	After a grueling (and photo-free) descent down this slope, Brian and Melanie try to remember why they ever thought this was a good idea.	When you have a frightening drop on three sides, the views tend to be pretty impressive.	At last! Something flat! We reach the bottom and spend the next day relaxing by a pond and overdosing on pain relievers.

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