BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 9, 2025
The onset of fatigue came quickly and decisively. Barely two hours into our hike up Hunt Trail, my thighs burned. Even with temperatures in the 50s, I was already tired and soaked in sweat. How could I possibly make the 10.4-mile, round-trip hike to Baxter Peak from Katahdin Stream Campground? Finally, in the distance, the silhouettes of a dozen or so hikers at the summit were visible against a gray backdrop. And after the last uphill section, we arrived. The grueling ascent had taken 6 1/2 hours. The mountain was almost completely shrouded in thin, gray clouds. Down Hunt Spur, parts of the trail felt completely unfamiliar to me, barely recognizable from our ascent. We stumbled up to the hiker log at the trailhead and recorded our arrival time of 6:11 p.m. We spent 10 hours and 34 minutes on the trail.