Marc- Lucy III has been on a mooring in French Bay, Clayton, N.Y. for several weeks. We've decided not to restep the masts this season and to winter over at Clayton. We will use this as a base to continue to explore the 1000 Islands region.Our first exploration involved a drive east to Baxter State Park in Maine to visit with our friends, the Lewis family, and to climb Mount Katahdin (5280 feet). Sara had been reading some of Henry David Thoreau's books and we picked up the audio version of Walden from the library in Watertown for the long drive. At other times we took turns reading Thoreau's “The Maine Woods” that documents Thoreau's travels in Maine and his climb up Mount Katahdin in 1846. Thoreau traveled by rail to Bangor and then by boat up the Penobscot River. He took a guide and went by batteaux, elongated Quebecois lakeboats more pointed and angular than a canoe and much more useful in fur and the logging trades. Thoreau was a pragmatist who appreciated the commerce of the wild lands as much as its romance. Today we traveled by car by the giant paper mills and the private logging roads. People live in these woods and make their livelihood here.
The Lewis' have two beautiful cottages on Togue Pond in Baxter State Park in the shadow of Maine's highest mountain. Baxter is Maine in its almost natural state. There are no paved roads or paths. I had made an online reservation for this climb (the wilderness has become high tech) and we were assured of parking at the trail head. Sara and I were at the gate at 6 a.m. ready to go. Sue and Stephanie stayed at camp to enjoy the pond and visit with Fred, Bill, Emily, Marykate, Erika, Mary-Helen, John-Paul, Paul and Cathy. We drove to the trail head at Katahdin Stream campground, loaded our backpacks with water and sandwiches, and started up. The first few miles of trail rose gradually and followed the stream to some impressive falls. Blueberries were available for snacks along the way before we rose above the tree line. The views at any point were magnificent. We hit on a category #1 climbing day, clear and warm. The spruces and pines were ever fragrant. As we continued the views emerged. Other mountains were visible in the Appalachian chain as well as numerous lakes and ponds spreading out to the Canadian border. The East branch of the Penobscot River carved a serpentine path through the valley to our West. To the North the Allegash flowed to join the St. John's River.
The trail became more of a climb over and around large granite boulders and broken rocks left by the receding glaciers than a path. White paint markings on these bolder and slabs of granite guided us upward. It was at this point that 15 hikers who were doing the Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine passed us. These hikers were in great shape and seemed in a hurry to complete their journey. In fact they passed us again on their way back down the mountain before we reached the summit. Other climbers included boy scout groups (who somehow believed they could get ice cream at the top), families with children as young as 9, and college students. We passed Thoreau's Spring in the tablelands. This harsh area is covered by green map lichen and treeless. Once at the summit, we stopped for lunch and photos. This was the spot where the sun shines first at dawn in the United States. It is the highest point on the eastern edge of America. We contemplated crossing the Knife Edge (a narrow rocky ridge line that connects with another Peak). Our water supply was insufficient for that climb today. The descent was easier but still involved careful climbing over giant rocks. We went astray at one point and needed to back track up. Once at the trail head we cooled our feet in the icy stream and enjoyed drinks we had left in the car. We were ready for a swim in Togue Pond once we returned to Camp. The camp group did some hiking in the lower elevations in hopes of seeing perhaps a moose or a bear. Kenny Barnett was visiting and he helped me launch a wooden rowboat that I had built some 36 years ago. Sue rowed around the pond with Kenny. A fantastic breakfast was served the next morning by Cathy at the old Lewis camp. This is a beautiful wilderness untamed by man where there is time to contemplate and touch the earth. We ascended both a mountain here and something else inside of us as well.
The trail became more of a climb over and around large granite boulders and broken rocks left by the receding glaciers than a path. White paint markings on these bolder and slabs of granite guided us upward. It was at this point that 15 hikers who were doing the Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine passed us. These hikers were in great shape and seemed in a hurry to complete their journey. In fact they passed us again on their way back down the mountain before we reached the summit. Other climbers included boy scout groups (who somehow believed they could get ice cream at the top), families with children as young as 9, and college students. We passed Thoreau's Spring in the tablelands. This harsh area is covered by green map lichen and treeless. Once at the summit, we stopped for lunch and photos. This was the spot where the sun shines first at dawn in the United States. It is the highest point on the eastern edge of America. We contemplated crossing the Knife Edge (a narrow rocky ridge line that connects with another Peak). Our water supply was insufficient for that climb today. The descent was easier but still involved careful climbing over giant rocks. We went astray at one point and needed to back track up. Once at the trail head we cooled our feet in the icy stream and enjoyed drinks we had left in the car. We were ready for a swim in Togue Pond once we returned to Camp. The camp group did some hiking in the lower elevations in hopes of seeing perhaps a moose or a bear. Kenny Barnett was visiting and he helped me launch a wooden rowboat that I had built some 36 years ago. Sue rowed around the pond with Kenny. A fantastic breakfast was served the next morning by Cathy at the old Lewis camp. This is a beautiful wilderness untamed by man where there is time to contemplate and touch the earth. We ascended both a mountain here and something else inside of us as well.
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