Day 69. Baxter

Mile 2179 – Abol Pines To Mile 2186 – Millinocket

Baxter requires hikers climbing Katahdin to start before 9:00 am this time of year. The distance from the park entrance where we started today to the base of the mountain is about ten miles, so our plan was to hike into the park today to cover those ten miles and then stay in town before starting our climb tomorrow morning.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy Baxter! We could catch glimpses of Katahdin from time to time and talked excitedly as we hiked about climbing tomorrow.

View of Katahdin from the AT

Baxter State Park

There were two rivers to ford, but the water was low enough that we could stay mostly dry. We stopped for a while to check out a few waterfalls and chat with the crowds of day hikers in the park for the holiday weekend. The combination of Canadian Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, and the amazing fall colors means the park is extremely busy.

River crossing

River

Waterfall

Red carpet

As we reached the ranger station at the base of Katahdin, we found a hiker that we had met just a few days ago (Astro). She was just returning from Katahdin having completed her thru hike. It was fun to talk with her about the experience and her plans for the future (starting grad school in Astrophysics). Her mom was there to pick her up and kindly gave us a ride into town. Before leaving, we checked the weather report for tomorrow which was posted at the ranger station. Looks like tomorrow will be a good day!