To celebrate my 45th birthday I wanted to celebrate this milestone at the Summit of Katahdin Mountain. We left our home at 4am, and arrived at the park at 7am. Unfortunately we made it within 1.5 miles of the Summit, and could not go any further due to exhaustion, and time constraints…due to the trail being grueling going up, there was no way that we could go down in the dark without one of us getting injured.

As grueling as the trail was, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous, and serene…

Here’s a peek at a couple of the pieces of the trail. Each section was so different. There was a reprieve of flat land for 100 feet or so, here and there, but not nearly enough of it.

Making our way off the Chimney Pond Trail, and heading towards the Saddle Trail, and exhaustion is setting in…

Looking up at the summit (using my basic lens on my Canon Rebel, not my zoom lens)… If you look close enough you can see some black ‘spots’ those are hikers climbing the rocks.

Here we are. 1.5 miles from reaching the Summit, and both of us come to the conclusion that we are not going to be able to make it to the Summit in the time necessary due to exhaustion.  A wonderful couple stopped and spoke to us for a few minutes and took our picture with the Summit behind us. And of course, Keith and I had to take our self-portrait.

From start to finish we hiked for 9.5 hours. Today we are both still pretty exhausted, and suffering from body pains. I am anticipating feeling better in a few days, and thinking apple picking this weekend will be a much safer outing for us.

Until next time…

-Jenny