Autumn Katahdin Sunrise (and Sentinel later on)

For those impatient: yes, I finally got a sunrise viewing from the summit of Katahdin.  Something I've wanted ever since working there on trail crew in 2014.  I tried earlier this year with my buddy Eliot, but unfortunately, we got covered in clouds along the Knife edge headed to Baxter Peak.

With sunrise scheduled for 6:46am, I estimated about 3 hours to get to the top.  I chose to ascend along the Hunt Trail from Katahdin Stream, which is the final 5.3 miles of the Appalachian Trail.  As 3:30am got closer, I saw the Moon starting to rise to the south of Katahdin's silhouette.  A cool arrangement of planets was to take place as the night progressed.  First the crescent moon, the Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, all in line behind the Moon.  I was excited to break tree line to be able to view this.

Having adopted a new addition for solo night hiking, the good old music player and headphones, I got all my gear together and started up the trail.  It was quite windy, even at low elevation, so it was anticipated that stronger winds would be present on the exposed tablelands.

The question of which trail is the easiest way up Katahdin is really quite silly, since they are all hard.  The Hunt Trail is no exception, and I found myself quite warm within the first mile up to Katahdin Stream Falls. Soon, the boulders got larger, and the wind howled through the trees, creaking and making me nervous of them perhaps falling over top of me.

As I approached the Gateway, about 3 miles in or so, the boulders get massive and tree line was broken.  It was here that the fleeces, wind shell, glove liners, and mittens all came out.  The winds out here were ferocious.  At several points, I was concerned that I ought not to be up on the ridge in this weather, since I was having trouble standing. Instead, I slowly pushed on, making sure to hold on the rocks with my hands as well.  I found a few spots between rocks where the wind was calm and I could eat some snacks and add layers.

From the Gateway to the entrance to the Tablelands was a spine a rocks, ideally hiked during the day, but also an interesting challenge at night.  I had the moonlight nearly in front of me as well, and that was very beautiful, especially with Venus rising below it.

On the Tablelands, the sky was just starting to lighten.  I was able to get a shot of the planetary arrangement (though Mars doesn't come through because it is too dim).

Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon from Katahdin Tablelands

The sky changes incredibly fast around this time.  The colors indicating sunrise were beginning to appear.  This gave me some anxiety as I was hoping very much that I could make the summit before the sun rose.  I was tired from a fast climb already, and the cold winds were not helping my situation.  Hands were best kept in pockets because more than a few seconds in the air even with mittens, and I was getting pretty cold.

Looking between the sky, the summit, and my watch, and thinking about my legs.  That was the last mile or so as I pushed up along the rock steps to the top.  I rounded a crest and saw the unmistakable cairn and A-frame sign that marks the summit.  I had beat the sun!  Just about 5 minutes early.

What I love about Katahdin is that it's a lone mountain in a nearly flat landscape.  You feel on top of the world.

Rime ice on the summit sign

There was a fair amount of rime up all surfaces up in the tablelands.  By Thoreau Spring, there was more ice than water, and rock hopping was brought to a new level of difficulty.

Knife Edge

I had rested my pack on a rock, only to notice that both water bottles had a nice layer of ice inside them.  I quickly banged them against a rock and went to take a drink before it all froze, and what did I see but a glint of sunlight reflected in my bottle.  As quickly as possible, I got the camera out.  The sun had come early...perhaps because I was a mile high, lending me a sneak peek of the sun.

Now for the most exciting part for me.  I turned around to see the mountain shadow cast into the air opposite the sun.  I just learned how mountain shadows like these actually work.  I had seen pictures of them from Mt. Fuji or other large mountains, but what I didn't realize is that they are triangular not because of the mountain shape, but because the sun is a disk of light rather than a point source.  This causes the mountain shadow to taper off after a few hundred miles.  So this dark triangular shadow is actually a 3-dimensional tunnel-shaped void of unlit atmosphere.  The shape of the mountain would be cast at the end of the tunnel, but it is so small by then that it's rarely distinguishable.

Mountain shadow

Below is the mountain shadow from further back.

Fire and ice.

Mountain shadow sinking onto the Earth's surface

Morning light cast into the North and South Basins

After snacking on some food as fast as possible due to cold and wind, I decided to get one last look at the sun before heading down along the tablelands.  I was scheduled to meet my mom and her sister Becky at Daicey Pond for breakfast,  They had come up the day before and had spent the night in a cabin, and I  came in to join them for a day of hiking around the park.

Tablelands, laced with rime ice and sunlight.

It looks calm and peaceful.  No.  It was fierce winds that had me wrapped up in every layer I had with me: three fleeces, long underwear, wind shell jacket and pants, a hat, hood, and a balaclava.  I'm sure I looked quite silly, but that's okay since I was the only one up there. :)

Heading down to Thoreau Spring, I was able to photograph the ice that took my by surprise on the way up.  (Luckily no falls!)

At the edge of the tablelands, the Hunt trail descends sharply into the valley along the spine.

After descending the spine, this is the view back up.  It is stunning from every angle if you ask me.

The hike down was a breeze (no pun intended, despite the strong winds still beating at my hood and flapping about).  It was well below tree line when the layer came off again.  I saw over 20 people on their way up, and I hope for their sake that it warmed up a bit with the sun up on the top.

One mile from the trailhead, I stopped to visit Katahdin Stream Falls for a minute.  The roar of the crystal clear water was soothing.

Katahdin Stream Falls

Hike Data
Miles hiked: 10.6
Time elapsed: 5.7 hours
Total ascent: 4200'


Sentinel Hike

I joined my mom and my aunt Becky for breakfast at their cabin over at Daciey Pond.  (You may be shocked to realize that this was my first ever visit to Daicey Pond, even having worked in the park for 3 months.)  I had surprised them with the news that I had done a sunrise hike of K. But sometimes things are best done without prior knowledge (at least for some people).

We took a short drive over to Kidney Pond, where the Sentinel Mountain trail takes off.

This was a trail I had worked on for two weeks during my time on trail crew.  Below, I was showing my mom some of the steps we built.  The one she's standing on was a massive 400+ pounder that took four of us to move up the trail into place.  I have such an appreciation for rock steps on trails after having built some.

Heading up the steep section at the end, I ran ahead to take the picture. Inadvertently, it looks like my mom is picking up a huge yellow leaf.  (It's actually a normal yellow leaf, if you would believe it.)

From the scattered bald patches on top, we had a fantastic view of the mountains around, from Doubletop (seen below), and across the Nesowadnehunk Stream to OJI, Coe, Barren Mountain, and finally Katahdin to the far right.

Doubletop Mountain.  One of my favorite viewpoints in the park.
(I can't say the same about the trail itself though.)

Gazing out over the valley

Posing with the beloved K in the background

From Jackson's Landing along Kidney Pond, this was a familiar shot of K.  Every day was a little bit different, either with the fall colors changing or with the weather and the clouds doing their own thing every day.

Back at Daicey, the view from the cabins is much better than those at Kidney.  As the sun set behind Sentinel, we saw some alpenglow on K (which I was very much hoping to see and point out to my mom and Becky).  Alpenglow is just the pinkish or purple color that mountains will take on given certain conditions at sunset.  Very pretty phenomenon.  I have seen it a few time on K before, and once out in Moab, UT whilst tripping around with my pal Noah (Count Noah I should say).

Alpenglow

Hike Data
Miles Hiked: 6.0
Time elapsed: 5 hours
Total ascent: 760'

In closing, I have very happy that my aunt Becky got to spend such a nice time for her first visit to Baxter.  I am happy that I got to visit the park at the same time as my family, since that has never happened before.  My parents went up long before I was born, but never with me. It is a special place to me, since I worked hard for 3 months to keep the trail system alive and maintained.  I will forever respect it for its grandeur, beauty, and wildness.  "Forever wild." as Gov. Baxter would have said.