23 July 2005 Doubletop, Baxter State Park, Maine
This sign almost destroyed me
I drove from my lean-to at Katahdin Stream north to Nesowadnehunk Field Campground, which I'd never seen before. It was quite open and beautiful. There was no ranger on hand to check in with so I followed a short road through the woods, past lean-tos, and found the trailhead. It had rained the day before but the trail wasn't too wet. I started out in leafy, pleasant woods and soon came to a minor stream crossing. I made way up higher going over some small ledges here and there. After a while I came out onto a high shoulder with some views toward my destination. The trail soon took me back into the woods where I skirted a nice mossy ledge and climbed over another ledge. I had climbed a fair bit since the view of the summit and I was sure it would be just around the next turn when I saw this sign. Beneath it sat a hiker who looked as dejected as I felt. He, too, thought he was almost to the top.
A memorial plaque on the ridge
Eventually I made it to the summit of North Peak which offered an outstanding view of Katahdin and its subsidiary summits to the east. The view along the knife-edged ridge to South Peak was also impressive. After a short break I set out along the ridge which ran first along a ledge and then out in the open. I reached South Peak and looked back along the ridge to North Peak. From here there were excellent views south over many ponds, including Kidney Pond. On my return back to North Peak I noticed a memorial on a ledge just below the summit. I spent a little more time soaking in the view and then headed down. Before I knew it I was back at the stream crossing, and not long after I came to the trailhead where I saw some bright red berries I'd somehow missed in the morning.
