Hunt Trail-Mt. Katahdin 2

AT the trailhead, there is a book where hikers are required to register their names, the number of the group, the start time and the destination, which helps the rangers get to know the whole picture in the case of an emergency. Everyday it also updates the weather on the top of the mountain, and warns hikers adverse weathers such as thunderstorms/lightning since hikers are totally exposed above the tree line in that 3-mile stretch. 

The Hunt Trail starts gradually uphill. During the whole first mile we were accompanied by a roaring stream due to the heavy rainfall that night. At about 1 mile, right cross a foot bridge, we met the splendid 50-foot Katahdin Stream Falls.  The 2nd mile of the Hunt trail actually follows a steep creek with rocks/slabs, straight up and down, no switchbacks, with water rushing down along or over rocks that made every step slippery and difficult.

A couple of groups passed us. Each group holds a flag. One group of 5 said they were hiking to complete “100 miles for Wounded Warriors” , and proudly announced that this was their last leg. The other of 8 looked like boy scouts. Not like us, they seemed very energetic and determined. Another couple we met were similiar to our age. It was obvious that the wife was in a much better condition than the husband, who seemed exhusted. The husband wore a pair of jeans, and later on we found out that the jeans turned into a bohemian-style shorts. He confessed he cut his jeans’ two legs off because he got too hot, and the tight jeans made him unable to hike up. That two jeans’ legs were hung off from his backpack in a very funny way that we couldn't help but amusing ourselves the entire hike. 

At the end of the tree line, we met those boy scouts again, who were taking a break. From this point on, what we saw above were all huge boulders, no visible trail at all. The scrambling indeed starts here. The boy scouts told us they had decided to turn around due to the bad weather. They were informed there would be thunderstorms later on, and it considered too dangerous to be exposed on those boulders.

The Weather was in fact no good. All the morning we had very thick fog. However, my husband and I didn’t want to give up. It was only about 0800, too early to turn around. My husband thought towards noon, the sun might burn the fog off. It approved later on he was right. 

I almost got discouraged in the first 5 minutes. First of all, there are no apparent steps but the white blazes we could follow, and most of the section the boulders were very steep, about 60-90 degrees. Second, sometimes the boulders were too big or too high for me to be able to get a hold. My husband had to lend me a hand to lift me up, and I had to use the ancient single bar skills learned in the elementary school to pull myself up, which was not easy with a heavy backpack. Third, when I looked left, right, up and down, the only things I could see were the cliffs on my both side and the steep slope ahead and behind. Sometimes I had to overcome my fear to pull me up and walk on those very narrow surfaces, where I felt if I extended my arm I could immediately touch the void of the cliff. I felt dizzy and couldn't help but thinking I would fall to death. I started to wonder if we made a mistake not to buy a travel insurance. However, we headed on. 

 

It lasted about one and half miles. After a few challenges, I quickly got used to it and become good at it. I started to have fun and enjoy it. My husband was very impressed, and said I had a potential to become a really good climber(he used to do mountaineering and climbing when young). God knows It was not so easy to get a praise from him. I was thrilled.