Mt Katahdin… the toughest mountain I have ever attempted to conquer or should I says Katahdin conquered me. Ten plus miles of raw awesomeness, beauty and frightening climbs. We decided to trek up and down the Hunt trail (Appalachian Trail) which we had to register weeks in advance to hike (there’s a fee). The day ended up being on a somewhat hot day with minimal breeze. I would advise to get there as early as possible due to the incredible amount of people trying to enter the park; you’ll be waiting for a while to get through the line. Anyhow the trail was extremely fun to hike. At first you hike alongside Katahdin stream before feasting your eyes on a gorgeous waterfall. We spent some time there just basking in the tranquility of the falls. From there the trail started to climb with some large steps that make it somewhat difficult for someone who’s short but fun nonetheless. That’s when you enter the “bolder park”; 1100 feet of elevation gain a little over a half a mile. This area is not for the faint of heart, has really difficult bouldering climbs but was extremely enjoyable (not to mention the views!). Once you finish climbing the boulders you reach a very long, drawn out flat alpine area that seems like it never ends to reach the Baxter summit (Katahdins highest peak). Though this area has fantastic views the trek on this plateau can get boring. The summit of Katahdin had A LOT of people (50 plus), had to wait in line to get a photo op with the summit sign. However let me tell you, that the views are simply breathtaking. We sat on the edge of the summit looking at the knifes edge’s razor sharp ridge pondering on life itself. What an intimidating ridge, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I will one day muster the courage to trek it but for now it just stands as a daunting goal. The trek down was challenging in itself. We were low on water, our legs were tight and our bodies were all around tired. However like all of us, this is what we live for, the “death march”. The bouldering down was at times eventful; had to strategically maze through and down large rocks with butt slides, controlled falls and body twists. We just kept laughing to ourselves “we climbed this?” Once we finished this incredibly long day (took us the better part of the entire day to finish) and looked back upon the trek; I will say that this hike will go down as one of my favorites. Highly recommend to hike this at least once. Just simply amazing.