June 27 Hedy and I leave for Portland, Maine, and should arrive there before noon. Our daughter Vivian will be accompanying us on the flight and the plans are, for now, that she will be hiking this final stretch of the AT with me. That’s a bonus for me. Vivian hiked the Escalante Route with me in the Grand Canyon this past March and is a solid companion for this sort of thing. In the early morning, Sunday, June 28th we will leave the Caratunk trailhead and head for Monson.
This final section hike will take 3 parts. The first part is Caratunk to Monson = 36.7 miles. We will have two nights out and Hedy will pick us up at Maine 15.
The second section will be Monson to Abol Bridge = 99.4 miles. This is called the 100 mile wilderness. We will be out for 7 nights and Hedy will pick us up at Abol Bridge and take us into Millinocket for the night.
The final section will be Abol Bridge to Katahdin (Baxter Peak) = 14.5 miles. We will be out for one final night and make the assent in the early morning from the Birches facilities. We’ll return that afternoon and Hedy will take us back to Millinocket. It is possible that Hedy might join us for the final assent which would be pretty cool.
Of course, this is all conjecture. We don’t really know what is going to happen. I have a few days “wiggle room” built in and Hedy and I plan to stop by Lincoln, Nebraska to celebrate with my mother and sister.
I call this the Biggest Hike Ever because it has been very challenging to prepare myself for each section hike the last 11 years. It has been wonderful to have the challenge though, as each summer I have had to prove to myself that I can do this. Eleven years in a row. Imagine that. Now is my chance to finish…hence my biggest hike ever.
