It rained overnight and the wind was fierce, but we were comfy and cozy in our tent within the lean-to. Our sleeping mats and bags were surprisingly comfortable, and being completely pooped is great sleeping aid.
After breakfast, we broke camp and loaded our backpacks for the trek down. With the consumption of the bulk of our food, our packs were probably now a little under 30 pounds each for the hike out. Every little bit helps!
Watery Chimney Pond Trail
We preferred this part!
Hiking downhill is a lot more difficult than going up, especially with heavy packs. Oh, my aching knees! Tom had brought a hiking pole, and I picked up a helpful stick along the way. There's more chance of injury going downhill as well, but we took the 3.3 miles slow – of course – and made it out safely. Since it was raining on our ascent, we'd missed some scenic viewpoints, so we made sure to stop for them today.
Taking a trailside break
Cloudy Katahdin
We picked up the pace for the last mile or so of the hike. The final section of trail is comparatively tame, and it was about to rain. Luckily, the rain didn't begin in earnest until we reached our car at Roaring Brook Campground. With our safe return to the parking lot, our three-day summit of Mount Katahdin was finally complete!
Back alive from our hardest highest point to date!
After taking a few minutes at the car to regroup, we then made our way out of the park, through Millinocket, and over to I-95. We didn't have a hotel reservation for tonight because we didn't know how far we'd get, so we just drove south until we were ready to stop. We made it as far as Auburn, Maine, about 45 minutes north of Portland, before calling it quits.
Lodging: Quality Inn, Auburn, Maine. We got a suite adjacent to an exterior door of the building. Perfect for unpacking the car and re-sorting our gear.
Dinner: Cans of chili in our room. Perfect.