[at-l] Climbing K

[jeanpaulmiller at gmail.com (Jean-Paul Miller)]

in response to Greg Browns email on another thread 
> to see close-ups of the climb up Katahdin.  I'm not sure if I am better
> off having seen that or not!  I suppose sometimes there can be "too

>  From the folks who have summited Katahdin how long did the hike up
> take?  I imagine that the vast majority, once on top of the mountain,

it took me pretty long and I came down pretty late in the day. it was
a long time ago now so i don't remember exactly. but i was south bound
and out of shape and it was 100% perfect on top and i stayed up there
a long time.  i want to say 10 hours.

if i remember correctly if you take too long a ranger comes a looking
for you (meaning it is dark and they dont want you to get hurt)

i would not worry much about seeing stuff before you get there. it
will look different when you see it in real life. it always does.

after a few hundred summits in just over a month and having seen the
top of many a mountain already on a wet, cold and dreary day. the view
may make it a wonderful vista only to adjust your pack and move on..
then a few days later a partially open summit on a sunny, warm, "dry"
day after a long time of rain may seem like the best thing you have
ever seen.

an example, going south bound the last time you leave tree line before
you enter the low states on the way down the hill there is a cow
pasture or something. and it just opens up on you like a huge field of
amazing green grass!!  it stuck me as odd but i was as amazed at the
big grass field as i was the view from the top of Katahdin. it just
stuck me perfect right there the flat openness i was thinking of
leaving the mountains all day and POW the field just hammered it into
my mind. it was great!

You can never know to much and you will always be suprised!

Wisperlight