To the top of Mt. Katahdin

FROM: Linda

Hey everyone,

David called yesterday (from the top of a privy), safe and sound, but with very limited cell phone service, so we talked only for a moment.  He said the hike to the top of Mt. Katahdin on Thursday was A-MAZ-ING! The weather was perfect, and the climb took 7 hours up and back.  Not bad, since the rangers say to plan on 10 hours!

Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine at 5,268 feet.  Pronounced – CAT –AHH’ – DIN (thanks Floater! We miss you.)  “The translation of the (Penobscot) Indian word Katahdin is “greatest mountain.” Maine Indians considered the mountain a holy place and believed in Pamola, the diety of Katahdin, who purportedly would destroy any man who ventured too close to the mountain.  The first recorded ascent of Katahdin by Euro-Americans came on Aug. 13, 1804, when a party led by Charles Turner Jr. Reached the summit by the same rocks-and-roots route used by the A.T. – the Hunt Trail (named after the Hunt family that had a homestead below.)   Since then, the mountain has captured the imagination of many, including Henry David Thoreau, who explored the area in 1846.  Thoreau Springs bears his name.”  (from the Thru-Hikers companion.)

Here is a photo from Google of Mt. Katahdin.  The trail follows that spiny ridge up 4,000 plus feet plus to the summit.