Mt. Katahdin Baxter State Park Maine

Here is the first of my back blips of our Maine trip!  It's going to take me quite awhile to get them all up on site here, so hang with me:)  I've got to clean up disc space first which I'm awful at.  Also I took quite a bad fall--well  actually while doing some hiking in the park and I'm taking time to recoop now that we are back in Seattle.  

Mt. Katahdin is a very very special place to myself for so many reasons and also to Big R.  I was a camp counselor in training at a girl scout camp right outside the park located on lower togue pond in 1965 nd 1966.  This view here is taken from that camp that we revistied--Camp Natarswi..  Then in the early seventies Big R returned there with me as nature guide and I was the back pack unit leader. Each experience there I cherished.  While a counselor in training and then as back pack leader I hiked all over Baxter State Park and climbed to the top of Katahdin numerous times--probably close to ten and with a couple friends from camp I crossed the infamous knife edge see here  from Pamola peak to Baxter peak.  It was quite a feat for me as I am so afraid of heights---my friends convinced me to do it---I crawled across the mile long knife edge---literally.  R climbed to the top several times to when he was at the camp. Never the knife edge , but he did many differing climbs up.  
   My favorite place ever there is Chimney Pond which is at the base of the "chimney" that you can hike up to and then begin climbs up the face of the mountain.  Chimney Pond is a cobalt blue color most of the time and crystal clear.  I'd never, at that time, seen anything as beautiful as that.  So this return to Katahdin was an opportunity to revisit the pond and take photographs which I'd never before done.  It was a dream that will have to remain unfulfilled as 3/4ths of the hike up to the pond we decided it best to turn back.  Even though I looked online and checked out the trail beforehand it proved far more difficult than ole memories remembered.  And there wasn't mention of the amount and length of boulders we would have to climb.  I did way more that day than I should have ....on the return I suffered a very bad fall face first onto a huge boulder---cracked my cheek bone and eyesocket, sprained my right wrist and then two more falls later got hip and leg bruises and bumps.See blip of Skip here and or extra shot.   But I dodged a huge bullet in that NO breaks resulted...ER scans showed no breaks and we continued our trip with me doing lots of icing and minimal walking to keep limber.  
   We got up very early hat morning to reach the gate of the state park by 6am as they let you in on a limited basis.  We began the hike at 7 and didn't get down until 7pm...We turned around after four hours and it took all that time to get back because of the falls and weakness of my jelly legs and feet!  Many kind folks gave us extra liquids to drink and snacks as we hadn't planned on being out that long  One woman offered toilet paper too , and I jumped at the chance for that:)  To add insult to injury I did have to take to the woods like a bear shortly after her present:)  .  We had  some of them tell the ranger about my fall and so the last leg of the hike he was up with us seeing us down.  Once we finally reached our car---me a hobbling mess, R drove us over the bumpy dirt roads to the ER in the town of Millinocket Maine where I was well cared for and sent back to the Big Moose Inn with ice , a writst splint and a huge swollen face which eventually turned all lovely shades and colors.    Home now I am taking time to re coop and heal more and regain my lovely skin tones:)
   So not possible to do what was done 44plus years ago on my part....but I don't regret I gave it a good try and am very very  fortunate I was no worse hurt...very lucky indeed.  I bought a photograph looking down on Chimney Pond from a local artist as well as a water color done by a local painter I met.  Also bought a few postcards of Chimney Pond as they will have to be my memory now ha ha!