Mount Katahdin named one of 10 best summit hikes in the world by National Geographic

Maine has an abundance of mountains and peaks to conquer, some of which are globally recognized as the best in the business.

National Geographic recently featured the best summit hikes in the world, and coming in at No. 2 was Maine’s own Mount Katahdin.

BDN photo by Aislinn Sarnacki  Mount Katahdin reflects in a pond by the Abol Stream Trail in Baxter State Park on June 20, 2013.
Mount Katahdin reflects in a pond by the Abol Stream Trail in Baxter State Park on June 20, 2013. (Aislinn Sarnacki | BDN)

Because there are a large number of marvelous mountaintops throughout the world, National Geographic explained that to choose the top 10 required both an aesthetic aspect, as well as an historical one.

The Appalachian Trail and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau have both played a role in crafting Mount Katahdin’s lore.

National Geographic described it as potentially being “the most inspiring peak in all of eastern North America.” It recounted how Henry David Thoreau helped immortalize Mount Katahdin when, after scaling it in 1846, he wrote, “This was the Earth of which we have heard, made out of Chaos and Old Night.”

The peak of the mountain — 5,270 feet above sea level — marks the northern terminus of the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, where grizzled AT thru-hikers and men like Scott Jurek mix with tourists and native Mainers.

World-class ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek finishes his 2,180-mile run of the Appalachian Trail atop Mount Katahdin on Sunday, July 12, 2015.  Luis Escobar | Reflections Photography Studio

World-class ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek finishes his 2,180-mile run of the Appalachian Trail atop Mount Katahdin on Sunday, July 12, 2015. (Luis Escobar | Reflections Photography Studio)

National Geographic, when describing the top 10, wrote, “beyond the thrill of making it to the top, each of these summit hikes offers a deeper connection to the surrounding landscape and people.”

BDN photo by Aislinn Sarnacki A sign marks Pamola Peak on Mount Katahdin and one end of Knife Edge - a narrow ridge that spans between Pamola Peak and Baxter Peak, the summit of the mountain at 5,267 feet above sea level - on July 13, 2013. Pamola is the name of a monstrous thunder god of Penobscot legends. Pamola was described as having the head of a moose, the body of a man and the wings and feet of an eagle, and could change the weather on the mountain.

A sign marks Pamola Peak on Mount Katahdin and one end of Knife Edge – a narrow ridge that spans between Pamola Peak and Baxter Peak, on July  13, 2013 . (Aislinn Sarnacki | BDN)

From the thrill of Knife’s Edge, to its rich Maine history, Percival B. Baxter, (think Baxter State Park), the governor of Maine from 1921-1924, summed up that connection when he wrote the following lines:

But Katahdin in all its glory,
Forever shall remain
The Mountain of
The People of Maine