• Zeroing nearby Hanover, NH (1756.1)
• 0 feet ascent, 0 feet descent 

On Tuedsay, the 11th day of November, 1975, I stood at the Baxter State Park boundary, near Abol Bridge and gazed into mist knowing Katahdin was close. It was exactly 6 months to the day I had started hiking the Appalachian Trail. This was my ending point. It was an intensely emotional moment. I placed my hand on my breast and vowed never to climb the that mountain until I had completed the rest of the Appalachian Trail. Part of me knew it was a vow based on process. Don’t finish until you are ready. The emotional part of my younger self felt I did not deserve to climb Katahdin because I had failed at hiking all of the Appalachian Trail. 

I kept that vow, even when I lived close enough to have ascended Katahdin. Now, just miles from completing all but Katahdin, I am afraid I cannot do it. I am afraid I am too old. I am afraid it will be too hard. I failed at my original thru hike. I am afraid I am not worthy. 

Am I Worthy?

I was quite young when I did my original thru hike attempt. In my freshman year of college, I struck a deal with my mother than I would finish my Associate of Arts degree before I left. I guess that gave her one year to hold on to me before I bolted. I worked and waited and finished my AA. I was mature for my age, but still pretty innocent to the world having lived most of my life either in a tent, looking after the family, or studying. 

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is hard now. Hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1975 was harder. There were no shuttles, no hostels, no trail angels, and most of all, for me, almost no other people around. 1975 was the first year that the total number of thru hikers exceeded 100, in part because of Warren Doyle’s group of 19 thru hikers. 

I mostly hiked alone. Sometimes for days. I did hike with Warren’s group for a few days. They had a support van and I was lugging my stuff. After several 20+ mile days, I did a 34.6 mile day to keep up with them. I was painfully lonely.

That night, I arrived in camp after dusk. Everyone else had eaten and was in bed. I was so exhausted I could not even get my tent up. I knew it was going to rain so I rolled out my foot print and put my tent rain-fly over it and crawled in. A few hours later I woke up and felt around my sleeping bag. My tent footprint had a binding around it causing it to curl up. I was sleeping in a bathtub of water. I was so tired I just put my hands back on my bag and went back to sleep. Everyone was gone when I got up.

In my mind, I was not worthy. I could not keep up with the other hikers. 

Worthiness is Not Really the Question

My current self looks back at my teenage self and feels compassion. Being alone for so long would make anyone a little batty. My feet never healed from continuous blisters caused by heavy, ill-fitting hiking boots. I hiked 6 months on the trail with less than $400 so my food supplies were scant even with the occasional package The Historian and my mom sent. I never told them I was hungry, I was too embarrassed because I thought my money should have gone farther. Sometimes I wonder how I got as far as I did. Worthiness was not the question. Exhaustion, pain, loneliness, and malnourishment were.

I have spent time in psychotherapy over the years and never pulled this belief out to examine it. Now, edging closer and closer to Katahdin, I have been thinking about it. I have also talked about it.

Although I felt shame in not finishing, I have lived beyond that. Every thru hiker who falls short of expectations must do that. It is not a simple thing because it is you who failed you. Your feet, your aerobic condition, your judgement that brought you to the trail, and it is you that pulls you off. 

I love that The Trek includes stories from those of us who “fall short” of a full thru hike. Although we set a full thru hike as the “normal goal” it really is not normal at all. Even doing part of a major hike is an amazing accomplishment. 

Last year, during a stay at the Looking Glass Hostel, we visited with a number of Continental Divide thru hikers at the end of their journey. Most were Triple Crowners. I confessed my unease with having “failed” at my thru hike and to a person they said I was selling myself short. They pointed out what I did was a remarkable achievement.

I knew that it was remarkable and hearing it affirmed my accomplishment. Nonetheless, that young self who stood at the base of Katahdin still has a place in my older self. I view her with kindness and understanding, but she is still there. 

Katahdin Stream Campground Reservations

One of my fears both for my younger self and for my current self is that I won’t be able to get the proper permits to ascend Katahdin. Those are realistic fears!

After speaking with the helpful people at the Appalachian Trail Hostel and Outfitters, I had renewed hope that getting the permit would be possible. They explained that if I could not find a reservation, they could almost always help people get on another person’s permit. 

The permitting system is pretty straightforward. Only a few people are allowed to climb on any one day. You can only stay overnight in Baxter park with a permit and then only at designated places. You get a permit by having the appropriate camping reservation, or by walking in from the 100 Mile Wilderness (presumably as a thru hiker) and being one of the first 12 people to sign up for the selected day. 

We originally planned to walk in from the 100 Mile Wilderness. I had done it but wanted to share it with The Historian so was going to hike it again. About a month ago, with all the heat, we decided that we just did not have it in us to do that.

Consequently, we would have to either have Katahdin Stream campground reservations or we would have to stay in Millinocket, arise very early, take a 45 minute shuttle, climb, and get down by 4 pm to get the shuttle back to Millinocket. I knew we could not finish by 4 pm. 

The Miracle Occurs

On this Sunday morning, I checked one more time to see if there were any camp sites open at Katahdin Stream Campground. Two consecutive nights were open, although at different sites. It was sooner than we planned to be there, but a quick calculation said we could make it if we hurried. The people at Baxter Park reservations office helped link the two nights together. The kind lady said she could not believe there were open sites. 

Not fully understanding how we were “arriving” to climb Katahdin, she admonished me that Katahdin was hard. I told her I understood that. We had a long discussion about my journey from 1975 to today, which included many challenges. By the end of our conversation, she was encouraging me and both of us were misty-eyed. I promised I would stop by after finishing to have a cup of tea with her. 

The Die is Cast

We have reservations to climb Katahdin. It is only a week away. I must hurry along to get there because I want to keep the reasonable part of my vow. I still do not want to climb Katahdin before having completed the rest of the trail. I do not question my worthiness. The Mountain has invited me and I will answer. 

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If you’re thinking about ordering the 2026 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak edition, be prepared to be overwhelmed. 

As the ‘SRT Hellcat’ name suggests, this special-edition Durango will carry on with the iconic HEMI V-8 under the hood. While Dodge and its siblings at Stellantis, Jeep and Ram, pulled and/or were pulling the plug on the Hemi, it lives on as EPA rules are relaxed and new management takes the reins at the car maker.

That, in itself, will likely draw plenty of attention from midsize SUV buyers. But the Jailbreak package has more to offer. A lot more.

Jailbreak = Endless Choices

Have your eye on a particular shade of red, but don’t like the wheels or, perhaps, the interior trim it normally comes with? No problem. That’s what the Jailbreak package is all about.

“We’ve always been a brand about doing things our way,” Dodge CEO Matt McAlear said during a backgrounder briefing on the brand’s newest offering. “So, why shouldn’t customers have the same opportunity?”

To start with, you can order the 2026 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak in a 5-, 6- or even 7-seat layout. And you can opt for a standard or upgraded sound system, a power sunroof, perhaps, or a trailer tow option. Not enough? How about a rainbow of colors.

Add to the list of options:

• Six exterior colors – plus a Gloss Black hood
• Six different wheels
• Four Brembo brake caliper colors
• Six exterior badge choices
• Five dual stripe designs
• Five interior seat colors

If that isn’t enough, you even can choose from five different seatbelt colors.

The HEMI Lives Another Year

Dodge likes to call itself the “Brotherhood of Muscle,” but it alienated a lot of long-time loyalists with some of the moves its made lately. It not only ended production of the classic Charger and Challenger muscle cars — replacing them with the all-electric Charger Daytona — but also ended the run of the HEMI in many of its vehicles.

Dodge wasn’t alone, sibling brand Ram also pulled the iconic V-8 from production. Now, the Stellantis is bringing the HEMI back in a wide variety of vehicles, with more likely to be announced soon. 

The specs haven’t changed on the Hellcat HEMI. The supercharged 6.2L engine will punch out 710 horsepower, 645 pound-feet of torque, and one deafening roar when you put the pedal to the metal.

Based on 2025 numbers, the monster motor should launch the 2026 Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak edition from 0-60 in about 3.5 seconds.

We’ll have to wait for final pricing, and that could vary widely depending on what options each buyer chooses.

Look for the SUV to reach U.S. showrooms this coming fall. But, if you want one, you can order one as soon as August 13th at your local Dodge dealer.

Leaving Kenndey Meadows, we felt refreshed and excited to start getting into the meat and potatoes of the Sierra. We planned for some low mileage days getting us to Cottonwood Pass area over 4 days of hiking to be picked up for the 4th of July. Every year we spend the 4th in Bridgeport with my partner’s dad, being just a few hours down highway 395, it felt too good to pass up. Plus our sweet pup, Bonnie, was getting dropped off, so we wanted to be there for her of course too. 

Kennedy Meadows to Cottonwood Pass

Every mile was bringing us closer to the true ‘high sierra’, the views becoming more fantastic and the elevation climbing. We rolled into the camping area at Horseshoe Meadows at the bottom of Cottonwood Pass just in time to set our tent up before a thunderstorm rolled in. Cue the meltdown for me. I DO NOT like thunder and lightning. Thunderstorms are one of the few things in the backcountry that absolutely freak me out. Our hometown boy scout troop had a fatal lighting accident 20 years ago in the Crabtree Meadows area new Mt. Whitney, one of the victims being our dear friend’s brother, so this is always in the back of my mind when thunder and lightning show up. You can’t control the lightning! The storm was pretty much directly overhead, but luckily moved through quickly, and thus my tears were short lived. 

The next morning, my partner’s dad arrived to take us to Bridgeport for a 3 day zero. When we arrived back to the trailhead 3 days later, our plan was to make it to Kearsarge pass, and hike Mt. Whitney in 4 days. Then be resupplied in Onion Valley. 

Cottonwood Pass to Kearsarge Pass

The first day back on trail started sluggish for me. Even though we spent the night at almost 10,000 feet, I was still feeling the altitude hiking back up Cottonwood Pass. My period was also making an appearance, and I definitely feel lower energy at this time of the month. Regardless we still managed to make it to Crabtree meadows area for camp, after dark though. The next morning started a little slower for us, and we moved our camp up near the ranger station where our PCT permit allowed us to camp. We set up our base camp and headed out to hike Mt. Whitney. The forecast was clear so we felt confident about our ascent going safely, even with a later start.  

Mt. Whitney 

Let me just say, Mt. Whitney kicked my arse. I thought with a lighter pack it would be no problem, but going up took 2 hours longer than we projected. The plus side, we enjoyed the summit totally to ourselves. We had crystal clear views and bright blue skies. We also learned that we are not ‘mountaineer’ type people. Neither one of us really likes heights very much, and there are a few vertigo inducing moments along the Whitney ascent. Of course going down, though it didn’t take as long as going up, still took quite a long time. We arrived at camp close to 9, and still needed to make dinner. Oops! A successful day though. We made it up and down safely, and did not shit ourselves doing so. That’s a win. 

Bighorn Plateau

After 2 grueling, long days, we let ourselves sleep in late and didn’t leave camp until close to 11 am. We were bagged. Ian had a headache from the elevation of Whitney, so we took it slow. The highlight of this day though was Bighorn Plateau. The sweeping views all around of the high sierra, was simply stunning. We both found ourselves a bit choked up, just in awe. We decided to call it at Tyndall Creek area. This was the last really good camping before Forester pass, and we weren’t keen to sleep ay higher than 10,000 feet elevation. It would mean a longer day tomorrow, but we also had a little back up food just in case. 

Forester Pass

We had an early start to give us the time we needed getting over Forester and hopefully over Kearsarge in the same day. That morning we were the first people heading northbound to reach the base of the pass, we stopped for bagels and cream cheese before our ascent. I had been feeling really nervous about this pass. I had just seen and heard so much about it! The day before on Bighorn we thought we were looking directly at Forester (what seemed to be a reasonable saddle to cross over), but of course we were corrected as we turned right up the valley and looked straight up a wall of granite. Oh! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I had to laugh because it just seemed like the most ridiculous route to take over a mountain. Laughs aside, the trail building of this pass is, incredible. Being the second week of July, we were blessed with no snow on the south face, the side that typically has a nasty cornice. But wowza you are high up!

On our way down we stopped at chatted with a hiker who went over while we ate our bagels. Once we got to talking we realized we went to the same college and nursing school in Oregon, and she had just finished a travel job where she worked with someone else we know, and had just spend fourth of July with. A lovely small world connection!

Kearsarge Pass

We hiked the rest of the day with our new friend Meghan, who was out for a week long solo trip. The miles flew by, and it came time fore us to part at the Kearsarge junction. We were determined to make it over the pass. The mileage to the Onion Valley campground was deceptive, as every source said something different. We knew it was between 6 and 9 miles basically. I think officially it is 7.5 miles. The miles up to the pass are stunning. Lakes and granite mountains towering over. I wanted to just stay, but knew there were good things waiting over the pass for us. Once we hit the pass and started our descent, we ran into some hikers who confirmed Ian’s dad was down in the parking lot with the dogs and cold beer. We gathered our waning energy and tried to hustle. It was becoming apparent that we wouldn’t get there until well after dark. But we made it, 20 something miles and 2 high passes later. Yee haw. 

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