Mount Katahdin

Made this climb to mark my 40th birthday. My first climb of this sort. Had planned to park at Roaring Brook, but my 6:15am gate arrival was too late. We were routed to Abol camp ground. My goal was to climb this mountain as fast as I could and return to my camp to fish in the afternoon. My 14 year old nephew joined me for the climb. We took the Abol trail to Baxter peak and returned the same way. Total time from signing in and out at the Abol Camp Ranger Station was 6 hours and 38 minutes. We stayed at the top for about 45 minutes. The climb was much tougher that I had anticipated, and I consider myself in decent shape. The descent on Abol was tricky. If I climb again, I'll take my time to enjoy more, on a less aggressive trail(if such a thing exsists). The weather was perfect and the scenery unbelievable. Driving away and looking back at Katahdin, leaves a novice mountain climber like me with a true sense of accomplishment. My 14 year old nephew wants me to join him for a climb on his 40th. That would make me 66...I better start working out.