It was like sitting in a chimney and waiting for the smoke to blow away. It was, in fact, a cloud-factory,– these were the cloud-works, and the wind turned them off done from the cool, bare rocks. [Thoreau]

Washington Irving described the Kaatskill Mountains as “a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family…swelling up to a noble height and lording it over the surrounding country.” Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory. *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine at 5,267 feet above sea level. It deserves being “a branch of the great Appalachian family.” The Native American name means “great mountain” or “large mountain.” See photos of Katahdin in winter.

The centerpiece of Baxter State Park in Mount Katahdin Township, Baxter Peak is its highest followed by South Peak at 5,240 feet and Pamola Peak at 4,902 feet. Among its various peaks is North Peak, the official name of which is Howe Peaks, after Burton Howe, who organized a trip for Percival Baxter in 1920.

Trails above the tree line are often marked by cairns, piles of rocks placed to signify locations or boundaries.

In 1764, Joseph Chadwick, a surveyor, recorded first non-native sighting of Mount Katahdin in a report of his explorations. Charles Turner, Jr. and a party of eleven made the first recorded climb of Mount Katahdin in 1804.

The second and third (1819, 1820) were surveyors for the Maine Boundary Commission seeking to clarify the border with Canada. During a geological survey of Maine, State Geologist Charles T. Jackson made his ascent in 1837.

Henry David Thoreau, and his party climbed the mountain in September of 1846. Young Theodore Roosevelt did the same in 1878, with his guide Bill Sewall. The Appalachian Mountain Club established its first camp there in 1877, its second at Chimney Pond in 1916, and its third at Kidney Pond in 1925.

The first of several governors, or would be governors, who made the trek, was Percival P. Baxter in 1920, followed by Ralph O. Brewster in 1925.

Turner, Jackson, Thoreau, among others, found the West Branch of the Penobscot River the best approach, leading to Abol Stream and the treeless Abol Slide which now hosts the Abol Trail. That trail, while steep, is a relatively short direct route to the Tableland, a plain in the shadow of Baxter Peak. Thoreau Spring is nearby at the end of the trail.

Much of the Mountain, below the treeline, as well as the surrounding land now in Baxter Park, was heavily logged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Thanks to Maine native Myron Avery, in 1938 the Appalachian Trail was completed across Maine, ending on Baxter Peak.

[“A ‘Lake’ of Fog under Katahdin” photo by Rebecca A. Williams, from Scudder Road, Sherman]

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Additional resources

An Annotated bibliography of Katahdin. Compiled by Edward S. C. Smith and Myron H. Avery. Washington, D.C. Appalachian Trail Conference. 1936.

Appalachian Mountain Club. How to Climb Katahdin. 2013.

Avery, Myron H. Mount Katahdin in Maine. Augusta, Me. Development Commission. 1935.

Clark, Stephen. Katahdin: A Guide to Baxter Park and Katahdin. Shapleigh, Me. Clark Books. 2009.

Hamlin, Charles Edward. “Routes to Ktaadn.” [Boston] Appalachia. 1881? URSUS NOTE: “Reprinted from the Appalachia, vol. II., no. 4.”

Neff, John W. Katahdin, an Historic Journey: Legends, Explorations, and Preservation of Maine’s Highest Peak. Boston, Mass. Appalachian Mountain Club Books. c2006.

* Irving, Washington. The Sketch Book. 1820. New American Library of World Literature Inc. 1961.

Sewall, George T., 1844-1909. To Katahdin: the 1876 adventures of four young men and a boat. Gardiner, Me. Tilbury House. Augusta, Me. Friends of the Maine State Museum. c2000.

Thoreau, Henry David, 1817-1862. The Maine Woods. [Many editions, editors, and publishers]