#67. Traveler Loop: 15 August 2026

I was still suffering an oversized case of personal defeat that I had not summited Mount Katahdin with the rest of the group on July 31. Worse yet, there was no chance for a second try, given that there were no trailhead passes (required for entering Baxter State Park) available through mid September. Then it occurred to me that another mountain 10 miles north of Katahdin would be a worthy substitute: Traveler Loop; no trailhead pass required. I'd done it once in 2021 with Barb McEvoy Sepe Bentley and Beth McEvoy Ruksznis, and once in 2022 with Julie Hernandez, and I remembered how much I’d enjoyed that trail both times. Now all I needed was a hiking partner.

I contacted two contemporaries here in Maine who enjoy hiking, but both turned me down because of the degree of difficulty of Traveler Loop. I then thought to ask neighbors here at Holbrook Pond who come up for a month each summer and do a lot of day hiking trips. True, they were a good 15 years younger than I, and their far younger brother who liked to hike might also join. No problem with degree of difficulty there. When I mentioned the logistics (a two hour 40 minute drive both ways and an 8-10 hour hike), they didn't exactly jump at the chance but didn't say no. Before they had a chance to turn me down, I realized the folly of my even asking them and wrote them back. They were strong hikers, and I didn't want to saddle them with the burden of someone who couldn't keep up.

The very same day, I got a text from Katy, who had left Maine for New York City four days earlier. “Mom, Peanut and I are sad in New York City. Can we come back to the camp?” spoken by the lucky employee with a remote job. I assured her that she was welcome anytime, and we went on to discuss other matters. Somewhere in passing, I mentioned inviting then uninviting my neighbors to hike Traveler Loop with me. Katy countered, “Oh, I’ll go.” She had successfully summited Katahdin 10 days before and had done Traveler Loop with a friend in the past, so she knew what she was getting into.

I couldn’t believe my good luck that Katy had volunteered to accompany me. Moreover, the forecast showed perfect conditions for the day we planned to hike: sunny skies with no threat of rain. I was less encouraged by the lodging prospects near (though still one hour away from) the trailhead. No vacancies at Mount Chase Lodge or Shin Pond Village. But when I found an Airbnb apartment near Shin Pond, I grabbed it. Larry, our neighbor, agreed to look after our dogs, Roux and Peanut, so we had our bases covered.

With the colossal mistakes on the Katahdin hike still fresh in memory, I downloaded the map on AllTrails and did some online research on Traveler Loop. It is described as a challenging, scenic 10-mile loop hike in Baxter State Park that traverses three of the region's tallest volcanic peaks. Elevation gain: 3,665 (only ~400 feet less than Katahdin). Difficulty: strenuous - exposed ridges, loose rhyolite rock, and steep sections requiring strong hiking skills. Best direction: counterclockwise to avoid descending the steep, loose-rock Center Ridge trail. Wild, remote landscapes with mossy fir valleys, rocky ridges, and alpine meadows. Estimated time: 6-10 hours. A second source put the estimated time at 8-12 hours. Several mentioned its being as hard to climb as Katahdin, but it certainly doesn't have the same name recognition or cachet.

Our Airbnb was designed more for hunters and fishermen than hikers but had all the necessary amenities. We were glad to have arrived while it was still daylight. Making our way to our quarters through a gallery of stuffed bears and mounted deer heads in the dark would have been unsettling.

Fortunately, Katy and I both wanted to get off to an early start. We left our Airbnb at 6 am to a chorus of howling hunting dogs at our lodge and in the vicinity, anxious to get out into the woods to run (practice for bear hunting later in the season).

We arrived at the trailhead by 7 AM. As forecast, the weather conditions were perfect: high 60s, bluebird sky. Again, given the mistakes on Katahdin two weeks earlier, we checked the AllTrails map frequently and read every trail sign twice to make sure we were on the right route. We also double-checked the map and signage to make sure we were doing the loop counterclockwise.

As shown on the AllTrails site, we soon experienced the very steep portion of the Center Ridge trail. On fresh legs, we bounded up this particularly challenging portion fairly easily. There was one point at which I had to push myself up awkwardly from a crouch position. The light bulb went off; this is why they stress squats so much in fitness training.

Soon we were in God's country, viewing the stunning panorama of the northern Maine woods, surrounding peaks, and nearby lakes including South Branch Pond and Lower South Branch Pond. From this vantage point, there is no vestige of civilization: no towns or roads as far as the eye can see. This, I reminded myself, is why people are so drawn to hiking in Baxter State Park.

By 10 AM we’d reached Peak of the Ridges, the first of the three. AllTrails showed that we done 3.2 miles in three hours. At that rate, it would be a 10 hour day, but I was optimistic that we would pick up the pace during the rest of the hike.

By definition, hiking between three peaks meant descending and ascending between each of them. The route presented very different trail conditions: rocky exposed trails, a vast field of small boulders, segments through the forest with a soft bed of pine needles, and sections of scree, small rocks that make it easy to slip. Between the first and second peak, we encountered a section of narrow, rocky ridge with steep drops on either side, appropriately known as the Little Knife Edge (named after its iconic big brother on Katahdin). It gave us a chance to be challenged but not terrified.

I was better at keeping up with Katy on the uphill portions than the downhill, though she was unquestionably faster in both directions. Wishing to protect my bum knee, I cautiously inched my way down any trail where the footing was not 100% certain. The kind of rock hopping that makes hiking so much fun in one’s youth was now longer an option. But Katy was very patient, never getting too far ahead of me and constantly checking that I was OK. I lost count of the number of times I told myself how glad I was to be with Katy and not the strong hiking friends for whom I would have become a burden within the first hour, had they accepted my invitation.

Rather than celebrating each peak with a portion of our lunch, we instead consumed a half peanut butter sandwich and our electrolyte-laced water on the final stretch before each ascent. It proved to be a great strategy, having the extra energy boost. On two of the three peaks, we found fellow hikers willing to snap our photos.

When we reached the second peak, Traveler Mountain, I was a bit deflated to learn that it had taken us five hours total to complete 4.6 miles. We were not yet halfway through the hike, and at this rate, it would take us more than 10 hours to finish it.

Was it that data point that triggered my self-doubt? Despite the thrill of being "on top of the world" with mountains and forest on all sides, I couldn't stop those inner voices asking, "Why are you here, trying to hike a trail that is arguably beyond your ability?" These voices were unrelenting. "Are you here because you enjoy it?" (not exactly my state of mind at that moment) "or are you trying to prove a point?" And if so, "to prove what point to whom?" They would not stop. "But if you give up 'big mountains," what will be the motivation for going to fitness training the rest of the year, which you love?"I was clearly feeling out of my comfort zone. Were my days of enjoying Baxter State Park at an end? Was it just too challenging? I was thrilled that Katy had agreed to do this hike, yet I was struggling.

Fortunately, turning back was not an option, since we were at the halfway point on a loop. I pushed on, hoping we could make up some time. It would be bad enough to be at the outer limit of predicted hiking time (10 hours), but I certainly wanted to avoid the dreaded ultra-outer limit of 12.

We reached the third peak by 5 pm. According to AllTrails, we'd completed 6.7 of the 9.6 miles. Fortunately, all body parts were cooperating. My metric of physical discomfort when hiking is a quick jab of pain in my upper right calf, which bothers me far more as a sign of potential damage to my knee than actual discomfort. So far on the hike, I was up to five jabs. But no knee pain, no rubbery legs, no back strain.

Katy mentioned that her new boots were causing some discomfort and wondered out loud if insoles would solve the problem. The appearance of a "hot guy from Europe" on the trail provided her with some welcome distraction from her aching feet. It was a relief to perch on the rocks surrounding the summit marker, but we didn't want to get too comfortable sitting down.

The rest would be downhill. Despite the figurative meaning of the word, for me that was going to be the most difficult. The diagram from AllTrails confirmed the steep descent en route to the Trailhead three miles away. By this time, we were both ready for the hike to be over. "This seems harder than climbing Katahdin," Katy opined more than once.

Why then as we departed the final peak for the trailhead did I experience the greatest enjoyment and satisfaction of the entire day? In retrospect, it was the tremendous relief I felt from anticipating that we'd complete the hike "successfully" - no injuries, no mishaps unless I did something really dumb. I reminded myself that injuries often happen at the end of the day, the result of fatigue and inattention. "PAY ATTENTION!" my inner voice cautioned. The afternoon sun shone through the leaves as we descended through the forest. The trail returned to a flat platform of rock, and the sun glistened across South Branch Pond below. The temperature was heavenly. I was filled with a sense of bliss and wellbeing that had escaped me earlier in the day.

We returned to the trailhead 11 hours and 10 minutes after we had started. Katy and I agreed that we'd call it 11 hours for the record. We hugged and congratulated ourselves for an amazing hike. We'd done it!

I suggested we could stop by at the Shin Pond Village restaurant for a quick bite to eat, since we didn’t have much for dinner at home and wouldn’t get there before 10 PM. Katy asked if we could instead drive straight back (she'd drive), since she had plans to meet up with her friends in the Bangor area.  She had gotten up at 5:30 AM, hiked 11 hours, and driven almost 3 hours home, and now she planned to go out for the evening with friends??? Ah, the resilience of youth.

In fact, in the end, those plans fell through. Katy admitted that she was relieved to be celebrating with a beer and crashing at the camp for the evening. Roux and Peanut were ecstatic to have their Moms home. I found my stash of Aleve, fell into bed, and slept for nine hours.

It was truly a gift that Katy volunteered to climb Traveler Loop with me and that she remained so attentive and caring throughout a very long hike. It was already clear on a previous hike in Acadia National Park (excursion #40) that she now hiked faster than I did. But Traveler Loop showed a whole new level of her looking out for mom, and not vice versa. After a good night's sleep, my self-doubt about challenging hikes faded somewhat to the background. But the clear take-away from this experience was that I needed to tailor my future hiking more realistically. If I wanted to take on an ambitious hike, I would need to line up support in advance and discard any notions of finishing in the "expected time." Or I could exchange elevation gain (over dicey trails) for longer, gentler trails. These two back-to-back excursions (Katahdin and Traveler Loop) marked a point of reckoning in my hiking career, but I wasn't willing to call it quits yet.

The hike up Traveler Loop will remain one of the highlights of the 80 excursions. Yet I don't feel the need to take it on again. It would be hard for the stars to align as well as they had this time.

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