My nephew and I made the long trek north to Baxter State Park to hike the final steps of the Appalachian Trail with the goal of reaching the summit of Baxter Peak on Mount Katahdin, the most iconic mountain top on the East Coast. We started out early in the morning on what would be a hot, humid and sun drenched day. We climbed (literally) the rocks and boulders of the Hunt Trail over one false summit after another slowly inching closer to that magical sign. The higher up the mountain we got the bigger the boulders became. We hoisted ourselves up the rebar and across the boulder fields eventually reaching the Katahdin Tableland.

With the summit sign now within eyesight we made our final approach to that pinnacle moment – grasping the sign and basking in the wonder of being on top of Katahdin; conquering (or maybe just surviving) one of the most remote mountains the eastern U.S. has to offer. Couldn't have asked for a better day with views as far as the eye could see.

Climbing down proved to be equally as difficult with some drops off the rocks exceeding eight or nine feet. All told we hiked 11.5 miles from the Katahdin Stream Campground to the summit of Baxter Peak and back, climbing 4,990 vertical feet and fording one river due to a collapsed bridge.

An excellent day filled with memories for life.