I’m going to tell you a story about a mountain hike that turned out to be a life changing experience for me. It sounds ridiculous, I know. But this story is one that serves as a perfect example for why training for a long hike on any of the biggest mountain peaks across the country is critical to a successful hike.
Train Your Body, But Don’t Forget Your Mind
Of course, it’s critical that you get your body prepared for what’s coming. Mountain climbing is an activity unlike any other. It’s a strenuous undertaking that puts demands on your body which you can never completely prepare it for. When you’re barely a sixteenth of the way up the mountain, you’ll be ready to give up. Around the next bend, you glance up over a giant boulder and realize how much further there is to go. These moments are those that separate day hikers from die-hard mountain climbers.
You simply haven’t trained for a long hike properly unless you’ve walked the Katahdin trail. Katahdin is the highest mountain in the State of Maine, at almost exactly a mile high vertically. With that said - let me explain exactly what happened on this particular hike.
Dudley Trail and the Busted Ankle
Let’s just say, I put off training for this hike because I thought it would be a piece of cake. Seriously, a mountain that’s over 5,000 feet high is some serious altitude - but there are bigger mountains out there. Just look at the Presidential range right next door, with Mount Washington at over 6,200 feet. But that’s the allure and the trap that Katahdin presents it’s visitors with. You have no idea what you’re in for until you’re on your way. It’s an innocent enough looking mountain.
On the way up Dudley Trail, we decided to take a detour to check out the Pamola caves, a very cool cave system that you can crawl into and take pictures. Well, on the way back to the main trail, I made the unfortunate mistake of misplacing my foot and landing wrong on the side of my foot. I knew, the moment it happened, that I was in for a long day. Immediately after, I rubbed it and it seemed okay. My brother-in-law had a very concerned look on his face, but I grimaced and said it was alright - no big deal. I could handle it. We forged ahead.
Halfway up Dudley, I really started to think I wouldn’t make it. I glanced up and saw the path ahead, impossibly steep and guarded by monstrous boulders. It looked impossible. In fact, I was convinced that it was impossible. But we forged ahead - head down, mind focused on the task at hand. It was like this for what felt like hours, until we reached Pamola Peak to a welcoming clear blue sky. The trip had only started.
Knife’s Edge and The Trail to Baxter Peak
If you’re going to hike Katahdin, you really have to do it this way. After climbing one of the hardest trails in the Park (Dudley), you look onward from Pamola Peak and across “knife’s edge,” the only way to Baxter Peak, and you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into, and there’s no turning back.
I mean seriously, how cool is that? Add to that a throbbing, rapidly swelling ankle, and you’ve got the recipe for a grand time. But you can’t give up. That’s the lesson that the mountain teaches you. As you stare out over the vastness and the sheer size of this monster, you realize that you can’t conquer it. You have to walk lightly and pray to the mountain and to the sky above to allow you safe passage. A single storm can turn a beautiful trip into a life-threatening endeavor. Carefully crossing Knife’s edge, and then down and up the terrifying “notch,” we began the final ascent toward Baxter Peak. The final climb. My ankle was numb by this point.
Victory Never Smelled So Sweet
By the time we made it to the peak, I was ready to lay down and pass out. As we stumbled through the final minefield of smaller boulders and stones (the mountain is a nightmare for weak ankles), we made it to the summit around noon.
At Baxter Peak, you’ll find this small pile of stones that the folks who maintain the place built up in order to make the mountain exactly 5,280 feet. How’s that for being anal?
We rested at this pile of stones and ate our rations of canned meat and dried fruit. I was ready for a four hour nap. Unfortunately we still had the long, slow trek down Saddleback Trail and down to the campsite at Chimney Pond. What kept me going was the thought of laying in our shelter, drenching myself in fresh water, and sleeping.
Training For Long Hike
Once we made it back to camp, and I slowly peeled off the socks from my swollen ankle, I realized that my ankle had swelled to at least twice it’s normal size. I had no idea if it was broken, but it was clear there was a great deal of internal bleeding, with enough bruising to make the ankle look like raw meat. It was absolutely disgusting - so I was sure to take photos to share with all my friends. But what that moment taught me was that training for long hike excursions up the biggest mountain peaks involves far more than just rigorous exercise. It involves mental training in focus and balance, and shoes that support your ankles.
The Aftermath and the Lessons
When we got back home, my wife and my sister demanded that I get my ankle checked out at the local hospital. I joked about it. “It’s not that bad,” I grinned, as they all stared down at my grotesquely deformed ankle. I had no choice but to cave in and go get some x-rays.
Turned out it wasn’t broken. Only sprained and abused…a busted ankle, walked on for 15 hours after the injury, without ice or heat applied. I’m sure I could have caused far more damage to my body, but I was lucky. Lesson learned - properly train your body, and adapt your mind so that you can focus on placing your feet well when you walk these odd trails with those landmine rocks just waiting to take you out.
In the end, all it takes is a single small pebble to destroy your entire trip. That is, unless you’re the sort of silly die-hard that doesn’t let something like a sprained ankle put a stop to one of the best mountain hiking opportunities in the entire Northeast.
Have you ever experienced your own injury while hiking in the wilderness? Share your own experiences in the comments section below!
Tags: biggest mountain peaks, katahdin, maine, Mountain Climbing, training for long hike
