#18. Traveler Loop, Baxter State Park, ME: July 13, 2021

When I knew my three-week window for Maine in summer 2021, I immediately contacted Barb McEvoy Sepe Bentley to ask her availability to climb Katahdin. She was game but asked if I’d consider the Travelers Loop rather than Baxter Peak, the summit of Katahdin and Maine's highpoint. Katy had done it the previous summer, and I figured it would be plenty challenging as the run-up to the scheduled climb of Granite Peak in Montana in August.

I went into the hike with two health concerns. First, for the past two years I’ve had a dull ache in my left hip, which I assumed was arthritis. It was only a 2-out-of-10 on the pain scale, but how would it stand up under 10 hours of hiking? Second and more concerning, I lived with a niggling fear of a recurrence of a very painful back spasm that had occurred regularly every eight months for the previous three years (in four continents and always in the presence of Julie Hernandez, though she doesn’t get the blame). Since the most recent bout, I did a couple of months of physical therapy and then transitioned into my first-ever experience of going to a gym and having a trainer. Theoretically, I’d been “strengthening my core,” but lingering at the back of my mind was the knowledge that from the Traveler Loop, the only way out is to finish the 10-mile circuit.

When Barb asked whether I preferred staying at a lean-to at South Branch Pond or a lodge an hour from the trailhead, I indicated my preference for daytime hikes that end with Sauvignon Blanc and a comfy bed. Thanks to Barb’s in-depth knowledge of Baxter State Park and the surrounding region, she booked us into the Mount Chase Lodge, “rustic with Wi-Fi.“ A few days before the climb, I was happy to learn that Barb’s sister Beth Ruksznis would be joining us. Beth had been able to get away from her pony training club/veterinarian duties by telling her coworkers that she had a moral duty to accompany these two senior ladies up this mountain, and frankly it was reassuring to have her along.  On a 10-hour hike with almost no one else on the trail, it was comforting to have an extra person to send for help if anything went wrong.

Having gotten up at 3:50 AM and driven over from Dover Foxcroft, Beth arrived at 6:00 am, and we headed to the trailhead. By 7:30 AM, we were there and signed in at the Ranger Station as “Bentley – 3” for the Traveler Loop.

Mercifully, the steepest and most treacherous part of the hike occurred at the beginning. But the weather was good, and the trails were dry, so we made it quite easily up that stretch. From there, we hiked below the treeline and through fields of medium-sized rocks. The scariest moment of the day was when Beth tried to accelerate and pass Barb to take the lead, only to lose your balance and slam down flat on her back over an uneven pile of rocks. Miraculously, her pack served as a cushion for what could have been a very nasty fall. She picked yourself up, applied a Band-Aid to the one bloody spot on her wrist, and assured us she was ready to keep going.

The Traveler Loop consists of three separate but connected mountains: Peak of the Ridges, Traveler, and North Traveler. Thus, completing the loop required multiple ascents, followed by corresponding descents. Any downward stretches would be matched with an equal distance upward.

We reached Peak of the Ridges by 11:15 AM. Barb vacillated between thinking we were doing well and worrying about finishing in time. Twice she mentioned that we should pick up the pace, and the second time I reminded her of my conversation with Julie Hernandez, climbing Mount Elbert five years earlier.  On that occasion, Julie encouraged me to pick up the pace.  On the second refrain, I informed her that, “Julie, I only have one pace, and this is it.“

I hadn’t realized the hike would include a mini Knife Edge experience, though shorter and less treacherous than Katahdin's Knife Edge. Still, there was a thrill in hugging the crevices of boulders to avoid careening downward. At no point did I feel in any real danger, and the manageable challenge was welcome.

After the mini Knife Edge, we encountered a massive field of small rocks/boulders, possibly the most disagreeable part of the hike because of the unstable footing over that stretch.

En route to Traveler Mountain, the highest point of elevation for the hike, we enjoyed a bit of level trail on a soft bed of pine needles. Once at this second summit, we stopped for another round of snacks and water, took photos, and put our feet up for a few minutes. During the 10+ hours, we never took more than a 15-minute break.

Descending from the summit of Traveler Mountain, we were at least halfway through the hike and over the worst part. My left hip was holding up well, but I still didn’t trust it 100% to boost me up over the next large rock.

Throughout the hike, we kept ourselves entertained with an ongoing conversation about events in our own lives, previous boyfriends, family gossip, health problems, and anything else that would keep our minds engaged as we slogged through each additional mile of this 10-mile hike. I would frequently finish my contributions with "blah, blah, blah,” which Barb and Beth interpreted as my leaving out the good parts. A rule developed that it was unacceptable to end any sentence with “blah blah blah.”

We had a panoramic view of northern Maine. Barb and Beth exchanged opinions on which mountain could be seen along the different ridges. A key landmark below us was the East Branch of the Penobscot River, which Henry Thoreau had navigated in 1857 as part of his wilderness journey and documented in his book The Maine Woods.

Around 5 PM we had reached a spectacular outlook over the full length of Branch Pond, which shimmered with pristine beauty. However, at this point we could no longer find any of the blue blazes that had guided us along the correct trail throughout the day. The only descent seemed to be across a steep and rocky cliff, fairly daunting given our level of fatigue by then. Beth took off in search of the blue blazes that were eluding us, while Barb and I retraced my steps hoping to find where we had detoured off the trail. Fortunately, we found a blaze that led us to a relatively gentle trail, a very welcome alternative to the treacherous drop-off that Beth had gone to explore.

With the South Branch Pond campground within our sights and less than an hour to go, we were breathing easier and let our guard down. Barb and I had been using our trekking poles for the second half of the trip. She got one caught between rocks, which caused an unpleasant fall, twisting one of her wrists. Within a few minutes, I too slipped on a rock and found myself sitting flat on the ground, but with no injury or discomfort. My fall rounded out the scorecard: all three of us had taken a tumble.

We arrived back at the campground at 6:15 PM, proud of our achievements and relieved that we hadn't experienced any major setbacks, broken bones, or sprained ankles. It was fun to see young parents with their kids cooking dinner by the lean-tos and enjoying the wilderness setting, hopefully producing a future generation of hikers that would love Baxter State Park as much as we did. We then hot-footed it back to the Shin Pond Campground restaurant, where we learned the night before that to get a hamburger and beer, one had to arrive before 8 PM. We were the last customers of the day, but no one else enjoyed the drinks as much as I did that Modelo beer.

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