We left the Blue Donkey refreshingly fed and got to driving east. It took a little over an hour and a half to get into New Hampshire and another hour or so to get to Maine. By this point, the sun was setting and we had to figure out where we would be staying the night. The Wilton Comfort Inn and Suites in Wilton, Maine fit the bill (and also it was there when we were getting tired) so we stopped. The parking lot of this hotel is where the first real tragedy of the trip occurred. After making it up and down two mountains in less than ideal conditions, my camera fell out of my lap as I got out of the car and slammed into the asphalt. The camera itself wasn’t damaged but the lens that was on it got dinged pretty bad and was stuck in a mid zoom position. Thank goodness for back up lenses! Don’t get me wrong, I cussed my way all the way to the hotel room about that thing, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

The next morning we took our time getting up, getting ready, and grabbing some breakfast from the lack-luster buffet. Let’s be honest, after the breakfast buffet in Stowe, every buffet is a little lacking… Then it was back on the road for another five hours as we wound our way north and east through the Maine countryside. We headed through the one-horse town of Millinocket and on into Baxter State Park. We had booked a campsite at the Roaring Brook Campsite for the night so we got started unloading and setting up our tents and prepping our gear for the next day. The campsite was amazing: spacious, clean, and right next to a… you guessed it… river! We started a fire in the fire pit and threw a couple of cans and some sausages on the grate for dinner. Literally: two can of beans, a can of clam chowder, and a package of sausages. Bam – dinner! Then it was straight to bed to get ready for an early start.

We got up and were on the trail before the sun was up. From the campground, we headed east on the trail along Roaring Brook and up to Chimney Pond. Halfway up I had the sensation that there was a rock in my shoe poking me in the arch of my foot so I stopped and took off my boot to retrieve the stone. As soon as I took the boot off and found no rock I realized exactly what I was feeling. All through my college athletic career, I had suffered from severe plantar fasciitis. Once I stopped jumping around on my feet I stopped getting the sensation. Years later I didn’t even recognize it at first but as soon as I did I knew exactly what I needed to do. Ten minutes and a roll of athletic tape and I was ready to go.

As we approached Chimney Pond we came upon a scattering of lean-to structures and started discussing how awesome it would be to come back up here with a group of friends and just hang out for a week to do all the hikes in the area. As we neared the pond, the trees opened up and we got our first views of Mount Katahdin and it was impressive! The way the clouds were rolling up the backside of the cirque and slowly flowing down into the valley was absolutely enchanting.

Next, we turned onto the Cathedral Rocks Trail which is basically hopping/climbing up a giant boulder field most of the way up. By the time we reached the top of the boulders, the entire mountain had been encompassed by the clouds. We pushed up across a rock field that looked like a scene from another planet. It didn’t take long to get to the peak where we found a huge sign marking the top of Katahdin and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. We even met a guy who had just completed his through-hike (from Georgia)!!

Our plan was to hike across the Knife’s Edge and then back down to Chimney Pond along the other side of the cirque, but that was not in the cards. There was a ranger stationed at the top of the mountain blocking anyone from going out onto Knife’s edge because of the whiteout conditions – and for good reason. The Knife Edge Trail is about a mile long and connects Katahdin to Pamola Peak, but even in good conditions, it can take nearly two hours to traverse. Some spots are as narrow as four feet, with 2,000-foot drops on either side. It also includes areas of almost technical rock climbing. Disappointed (but alive) we turned back and hiked (slid) back down Cathedral Rocks Trail. As we went the skies slowly cleared and when we reached Chimney Pond the summit was clear again. We chalked it up to poor timing. I mentioned that I’d like to check out Pamola Caves. Just 1.1 miles and 485 ft in gain from the pond, I figured it would be fun since the weather had clear up. Big Bird opted out and decided to take a nap on the shore of the pond while Dash and I ventured back up the other side of the mountain.

We made it up to the caves without issue and quickly realized these weren’t normal “caves.” Instead, they were cave-like structures<span class=”aCOpRe”> created as slabs had fallen down the slopes of Katahdin. They were still really cool so we hung out exploring them for a while before heading back down to Chimney Pond. On our way down we spotted a moose making its way across the pond… right to where Big Bird was taking his nap. We started running down the hill hoping to get there before the moose but we had no luck. By the time we reached him, the moose was gone and he was freaking out. He explained how he had woken up to the moose mere feet away from him and panicking slightly. Trying to remain calm, he inched himself away, and eventually, the moose just turned and retreated on his own. </span>

While Big Bird recounted his encounter, the three of us had a snack and then started on the trail back to the campground. It was a peaceful hike with perfect weather and went by quickly. Before we knew it we were breaking camp and piling everything back into Big Bird’s Subaru. As we headed south I was sad to know that this round of our adventure was over, but excited at the progress we had made. Katahdin marked 10 highpoints done for me – 20% of the way… and I was just getting started!

The options are minimal: there were a million choices of ice cream, milkshakes, and hotdogs. Since we didn’t know when or where we would have another chance to get food we loaded up on hotdogs and headed back to the car. Despite not wanting to drive at night catching the last ferry across Lake Champlain in the summer had its benefits. As we rode across we watch the sunset and turned not just the sky but the link itself shades of purple, pink, and fiery orange.

The ferry took us over to Charlotte Vermont where we had to then jump on the Ethan Allen highway north toward Burlington. Just south of Burlington we intersected with I-89 and headed east again. We wanted to get as close to Mount Mansfield as possible so we started looking for hotels near the Green Mountains. The ski town of Stowe had a bunch of hotels that were deeply discounted because it was the off-season so we looked for one that came with free breakfast. We also are looking for a large room because all of our gear was still soaking wet from the night before and we need to dry it overnight.

The Commodore Inn right on the main drag just before Stowe fit the bill: price was good, it had free breakfast, and the room looked pretty big. We pulled in after-hours and our key was waiting for us taped to the front door. We unloaded all of our gear and carried it up to the second floor and into our room.

It took all the energy we had in us to set up each of our tents across the floor of the hotel room before we climbed into bed and passed out. In the morning we woke up and headed downstairs for breakfast and man were we in for a surprise! It had to have been the best breakfast buffet ever. Not just the best breakfast buffet at a hotel. The best breakfast buffet. Ever. There were eggs and there were sausages and bacon and hash browns and fruit and grits and not the stuff that you find in the pans at most breakfast buffets. Fresh cooked waffles and pancakes with real Vermont maple syrup. We had hit the jackpot.

After we had stuffed ourselves with way more food than any of us needed to eat we headed back up to the room to “break camp”. Then it was off to Mount Mansfield. That meant heading north on Route 108 up to where the Longs Trail intersects the highway in Smugglers Notch State Sark. We pulled off to the side of the road and we had to have a discussion. Big Bird was still having trouble with his knee from the hike the day before in New York and wasn’t sure how it was going to react to getting back on the trail so soon. We decided that we would all hike together from the start and if his knee started bothering him he would hike back to the car and meet us at the top.

Mount Mansfield is unique in that it has a road to the top ridge-line where you can then walk about a mile to the highest point on a relatively flat trail. This seemed like the best kind of compromise. So into the woods we went. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Big Bird decided he needed to turn around and it was just Dash and I making our way up the trail. The hike was mostly below the tree line. But when we did finally emerge we are greeted with a fun little climb up to the top ridge and then an easy walk to the summit. As we approached the summit we recognized a friendly face. Big Bird was already sitting up there eating a sandwich waiting for us to arrive.

We spent a while up there snacking looking at the views and as I listened to Big Bird &amp; Dash discuss whether or not the valley we were looking at was glaciated. Then we walked around along the ridge-line to where a Big Bird had parked the car and rode back down with him. Not far from the trailhead back down in Stowe is the Blue Donkey. It’s a quaint little place where you can grab a burger and some craft beer. I wasn’t really into craft beer. I wasn’t really into beer at all. I think maybe in my entire life I had had five beers before this point so the craft beer part was more for the guys and for me. But I compromised and got a craft seltzer to go with the massive guacamole burger that I ordered. We talked about the hike and we talked about what was next…