A common item on many Mainers’ “Bucket Lists” is to hike Katahdin. Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine, and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. It is located in Baxter State Park in Millinocket, Maine, on the land of the Penobscot Nation. I recently hiked Katahdin with my husband, sister, and brother-in-law, and have since found myself reflecting on lessons learned about mindfulness.
In the days leading up to the hike, I felt myself become increasingly nervous, anticipating the challenge ahead. Although I’ve had prior hiking experience, I’d been told, nay, warned, that Katahdin was a very difficult hike that would take all day to complete. As I worried that my IT band would bother me on the hike, my leg started to hurt. As I stressed that my new hiking boots would give me blisters, my feet ached. These were clear signs to me that my mind was having an impact on the way I was feeling and perceiving my experience, which was preventing me from fully enjoying the beautiful views and the time with my family. I realized I was not practicing mindfulness, the technique I have found so helpful and even teach to others. So, I tried some strategies, like deep breathing overlooking the stream by our campsite, and noticing and observing how I was feeling without judgement. Although I was unable to completely relax and enjoy the moment, I realized two things: 1) at least I had the awareness that my thoughts were affecting how I felt mentally and physically, and 2) some days, mindfulness is just harder to practice than others.
On the morning of the hike, we looked up at Katahdin and noticed that the top half of the mountain was obscured by a large grey cloud. This meant that, after the first couple of miles, we were totally enveloped in a fine mist and fog that prevented us from seeing more than a few yards around us. Although this dashed our hopes of a view from the summit, they say every cloud has a silver lining, and this one was that it helped me be more mindful and stay in the moment. Because I literally couldn’t see what was ahead of me or behind me, I found myself more easily able to focus on what I was doing in the moment and began enjoying myself more.
And you know what? I didn’t get any blisters, and although my IT band bothered me at the end of the hike, I took it slow and made it down. Instead, I had this incredible opportunity to push myself physically and mentally, to spend some quality time with my family, and a reminder that mindfulness is an ongoing practice.
One other unexpected benefit of hiking Katahdin was talking to and hearing about other inspirational folks on the trail. As Mount Katahdin is the terminus of the Appalachian Trail, we met a number of people who were just finishing the over 2000-mile hike from Georgia to Maine. This included a five year old boy named Harvey Sutton who is one of the youngest people ever to hike the Trail (you can read an NPR article or watch a CNN video clip about his story).
There’s another inspirational person who has been in the local news lately for his story of resilience as he hikes the Appalachian Trail. Guy Pilote, from Lewiston, Maine, suffered a stroke in 2014 when he was just 49 years old. He had physical impairments as well as aphasia, and participated in intensive neurorehab. Now, seven years later, he is hiking the Appalachian Trail and raising awareness for brain injury. A March 2021 article from the Brain Injury Association of America says: “He appreciates every day he has been given, and wants everyone to know that there is life after brain injury. There is always hope.” You can donate to the Maine Chapter of the Brain Injury Association of America through Guy’s campaign here: http://www.biausa.org/guypilote, and can learn more about him through this News Center Maine video and article.
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