Our first trip is scheduled for February 15th to 21st of 2009. We will be traveling to Heavenly ski resort in Lake Tahoe!
Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe
Hiking Mt. Katahdin October 5, 2008
Hiking Mt. Katahdin’s Knife’s Edge
Whenever my hiking spirit nudges me, I usually end up on some passage of the Appalachian Trail. There is something about its rugged beauty that continues to draw me 
back. I’ve never had the luxury of being able to travel the whole length of the Trail at once, but over the years have climbed different stretches. Mt. Katahdin, the end of the trail and the highest mountain in the East, was a challenging thrill.
back. I’ve never had the luxury of being able to travel the whole length of the Trail at once, but over the years have climbed different stretches. Mt. Katahdin, the end of the trail and the highest mountain in the East, was a challenging thrill.
The hike up began gradually and was moderately strenuous for intermittent climbers like me. The higher up I went, the rockier the path became and the more frequent the access to well-earned views. Three miles later, I arrived at Chimney Pond where I had made reservations to stay in the bunkhouse. The pond lies at the basin of Katahdin and looking up you can see its monstrous summit. I was awestruck at the beautiful alpine pond stretched out before me. I threw my stuff in the bunkhouse and went to stick my feet in its crystal clear water. I sat for hours enjoying the remoteness, the quiet, the freshness and beauty that can only be found in such a setting.
The next morning I checked in at the weather station for a wind up-date as I wanted to take the summit trail that included Knife’s Edge. Hikers have been blown off the Edge in exceedingly high winds. The winds were blowing gently, so off I went upwards toward the Summit. The higher I climbed, the more difficult my steps became. The trail became rockier with passages lined with huge boulders requiring close attention to cross. Moving ahead the trail began to narrow and the real challenge of the climb appeared—Knife’s Edge. The name says it all: the trail shrunk to 2-3 feet wide with huge drops on either side. No place to be for someone like myself who has a fear of heights… what in the world was I thinking. Determined to be able to say I climbed the Knife’s Edge, I refused to look down and slowly began small steps over the rocks that looked like they had been brought in by a dump truck and left where they hit the ground. At last, I made it back to the full-size trail and began to have a little anxiety attack about the thought of climbing down the Edge. Deep breath and on to the summit. The summit offered spectacular views and of course that adrenaline rush of having made it to the top. I took in the beauty, trying not to dread the thought of the Knife’s Edge and my climb back down.
Hours later, I was back at Chimney Pond. I stopped for a while to catch my breath and congratulate myself on my climb before heading back down the trail, already planning to return to Maine one day and climb Katahdin again.
Hope to meet all of you on our trip to Tahoe. Sue Savage, Chicago
