Photos are organized by date, with a bit of narrative for each day.
Spent the night at Abol Campground, then got up early and climbed the Abol Trail (my that was steep!)
to the summit. Then we came down the Hunt Trail (a.k.a. the A.T.) and hitch-hiked
back to the car from Katahdin Stream Campground.
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8:25 AM. It hurts to keep my eyes open this early, but the sights along the trail are almost worth it.
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More leaf-peeping along the lower part of the trail.
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The lower part of Abol Trail follows a stream, or is it vice versa?
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9:20 AM. First long-range view.
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Also, first view of where we're going. Alas, that's not quite the summit.
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This shot is intended to show how steep the trail is, as well as showing some fall color in the background.
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This one shows a bit more of the background colors.
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This shot may make it easier to tell how steep the trail is. Notice how I'm practically standing on Michal's head.
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It's a tiring trail (did I mention it's steep?); Michal takes a break in the shade.
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I promise: this is the last of the "look how steep the Abol Trail is" shots.
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11:00 AM. We reach ridgeline. View northwest along the A.T. (aka Hunt Trail). Doubletop Mountain in
the background.
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A pause on the tableland near Thoreau Spring.
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View northeast to the summit.
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Noon. As we approach Baxter Peak, the narrow ridge to South Peak becomes visible. Is that the famous "knife edge"?
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No, that's the Knife Edge (to the right of Pamola and Chimney Peaks). Seen from Baxter peak.
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From Baxter Peak, view across the Saddle to Hamlin and Howe Peaks. (Great Basin starts on the right.) You can see a bit of snow here; the rangers
had been threatening to close all the trails due to snow.
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From Baxter Peak, view across the Great Basin to Russell Pond and Turner Mountain.
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More of that infamous snow. View southwest.
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Me on Baxter Peak, in front of the Knife Edge.
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Michal on Baxter Peak, surrounded by very relieved AT-ers who've walked for months to reach this point.
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From the ridge to South Peak, view into the Great Basin. Chimney Pond in foreground.
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Another shot of Pamola Peak and the Knife Edge.
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View of South Peak from the ridge.
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Some lakes through the haze, from South Peak.
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A brave and very weary soul climbs up from the Knife Edge.
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One more shot of Pamola Peak before turning for home.
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Another shot across the Great Basin as we head back.
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View west across the tableland. Mount Coe on the right in middle distance, Doubletop behind it.
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Similar shot, improved foreground.
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View west before we descend the Hunt Trail. Lower right: The Owl. Behind it: Barren Mountain, Mt OJI, Mt Coe, South Brother (to the right),
and Doubletop (in the distance on the left).
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Another view toward Doubletop.
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View to the north, over the Klondike. The Owl, lower left. North Brother, center horizon. Northwest Plateau of Katahdin, on the right.
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Farewell to the summit plateau.
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And to the Saddle and Hamlin Peak.
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View southeast to Millinocket Lake as we head down the ridge.
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We chose the Hunt Trail because it looked less steep on the map than the Abol Trail. Unfortunately, it still
had a steep spot or two.
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Or three or four.
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If you look closely, you can see the trail markers heading straight up the middle of this mess.
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Being on the ridge means we get to see late-afternoon sun on the leaves below.
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One way to mark the trail.
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Katahdin Stream Falls, from above.
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Close-up on the falls.
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The falls from below.
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View back up to the ridge from Katahdin Stream campground.
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We spent the night at Nesowadnehunk Field, then hopped in the car to the Marston trailhead at Slide Dam. (For maximum daylight hiking, we developed
a time-saving technique of rolling up our tents with everything in them and dumping them into the back seat.) Then we hiked a loop over three
mountains.
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Morning sun, fall foliage, reflective lake... nice place to pause before we have to climb that ridge.
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More leaves in the sunshine.
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Getting a good view of the water requires a bit of bushwhacking, as Justyna demonstrates here.
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View west to Doubletop.
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Northern shoulder of Doubletop, and Mt Veto.
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From North Brother, view of Katahdin.
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The Northwest Basin, from North Brother.
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North Turner Mountain from North Brother.
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Another summit view from North Brother.
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1:30 PM: Picnic lunch on North Brother consists of crackers... yum.
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4:00 PM: The Brothers, from Mt Coe.
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View across the Klondike to Katahdin, from Mt Coe.
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The summit of Mt Coe.
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The sun starts veering toward Doubletop, seen here from Mt Coe's summit.
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Michal takes a photo of Katahdin before leaving Mt Coe's summit.
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Ten minutes later: you mean we have to descend that?
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Michal wishes for skis.
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6:00 PM: We make it back to the trailhead, as somewhere behind Doubletop the sun is setting.
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We spent the night at Trout Brook Farm, then went for a quick stroll in the morning before heading home.