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George Steffanos

🧵1/9
October 3, 1983: The beginning was remarkably easy. The path was wide, relatively rock-free, and climbed at a very gentle grade. It followed a bank of Katahdin Stream up to the base of a set of cascades, where it crossed over to the other bank. At this point, the trail became a bit steeper. Short side trails brought me to several overlooks of Katahdin Falls.

We are standing at the bottom of a steeply sloping narrow ridge running up into the clear blue sky. The ridge is covered with light gray rocks and boulders - it almost looks like a pile of rocks. There are swaths of ground-hugging green plants and shrubs - less near the top, more of them near us at the bottom. There are some patches of red and gold among the green swaths.
#backpacking#hiking#hikingadventures
Feb 05, 2025, 03:07 PM·Public·Web
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George Steffanos

🧵2/9
Then, the Appalachian Trail left the stream and began ascending Hunt Spur. I had come 1.2 miles. There were four to go.

The trail climbed more steeply for a short while, then leveled off. It crossed several open areas with great views of the surrounding mountains — particularly of an extensive range stretching out to the west.

A soft blue sky with fluffy white clouds. We are high up a mountainside, standing on gray rock ledges covered with dark and light green lichen. A scrubby dwarf spruce is growing through a break in the rocks. Across a valley rises a lofty mountain range with 4 prominent peaks. The forest covering its flanks is a mix of dusky green evergreens and hardwoods with blazing yellow and gold foliage. Beyond, more of this range runs across the horizon.
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George Steffanos

🧵3/9
A rather routine hike took a more bizarre turn as I neared the small stream crossing which would put me 3.1 miles from journey’s end. A chorus of shouts and whistles erupted from the treetops just ahead.

A young couple who had stayed in the lean-to adjacent to mine last night were perched high up in two tall trees, hanging on for their lives.

“Don’t go up the trail,” the lady warned me. “There’s a very surly bull moose out there!”

We are high up a mountainside, standing on gray rock ledges covered with dark and light green lichen. Across a valley, another lofty peak rises. Its flanks are wooded, but the side facing us has extensive naked rock cliffs. Below the cliffs is a mixed forest of evergreens and hardwoods sporting gold or red leaves. Two other mountains rise in the distance behind and to the right and left of this peak. They are extensively forested with some open rock cliffs. The sky is a hazy pale blue with a few clouds.
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George Steffanos

🧵4/9
Apparently, they had interrupted a couple of moose sharing an intimate moment, and the bull had charged them. Hey, I’d be just a little ticked off myself, were I in his hooves.

It was no laughing matter. After months of giddy recklessness, the time had finally arrived for me to embrace sanity. In the autumn mating season, males become rather crazed (of course, we human men have thoroughly evolved from that nonsense), and moose are plenty big enough to back up their anger.

We are standing on a massive light gray rock outcrop covered with light and dark green lichen high up a mountain. Across a mostly unseen valley, another lofty peak rises. Its flanks are wooded, but the side facing us has extensive naked rock cliffs. Below the cliffs are trees sporting gold or red leaves. Two other mountains rise in the distance behind and to the right and left of this peak. They are extensively forested with some open rock cliffs. The sky is a hazy pale blue with a few clouds.
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George Steffanos

🧵5/9
I paused to contemplate a sensible alternative. It would be stupid to take any crazy risks when I was so close to my goal. Images of some of the adversities I endured to get this far flashed through my mind. I got pissed off.

“The hell with it,” I heard a voice which sounded suspiciously like my own say. “I’m not turning back now because of one horny moose.” Perhaps you would have to backpack 2135.4 miles to understand how I felt about stopping or turning back.

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George Steffanos

🧵6/9
I strode forward, mean and macho (and kind of stupid), into a large clearing.

The moose (#8 on this trip) was standing at the far edge of the meadow, glaring and snorting at me, but I flashed him an even darker scowl and snarled a few choice phrases. I think I caught him by surprise.

He gave me a startled look which seemed to say, “But I’m a big, bad moose,” and stopped dead in his tracks. He continued to favor me with some nasty muttering but stayed put. Sticks and stones.

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George Steffanos

🧵7/9
I called back to the tree people that he had let me pass, and I kept going.

As I ascended, the grade began to stiffen and the rocks over which the trail climbed grew into boulders. I was sailing along, still soaring on a massive Pop-Tart sugar high, encountering few real problem areas. The trail was steep, but walkable. I passed several slab caves along the way.

Looking down a very steep slope covered with giant gray boulders. Light and dark green lichen are growing on the boulders, which are otherwise naked rock. Some scrubby alpine shrubs are growing in a few crevasses between boulders. Several hundred feet down the slope the forest begins, predominantly hardwoods in our line of sight, with swaths of teal evergreen forest. Many of the hardwoods have shed most of their leaves. Those that haven't sport bright reds, golds and oranges. You are looking down and cannot see the sky, but everything is bathed in bright sunlight.
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George Steffanos

🧵8/9
The breakout above tree line was breathtakingly sudden. One moment I was moving along, scaling huge boulders beneath a solid canopy of trees. The next, I was climbing a short, exceptionally steep pitch and popping out into the open sky. I was 2.4 miles from Baxter Peak.

We are standing on a massive light gray rock outcrop covered with light and dark green lichen high up a mountain. Across a valley, another lofty ridge rises. Its flanks are wooded, but the side facing us has several naked rock cliffs. Two other mountains rise in the distance to our left, one behind and one in front of this ridge. The one in front has extensive open rock cliffs. The sky is a hazy pale blue with a few clouds.
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George Steffanos

🧵9/9
The ensuing mile covered most of the elevation gain of the entire hike. I had to human-fly straight up enormous boulders.

From my book Then the Hail Came (A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike). Available in paperback, audiobook and eBook: amazon.com/dp/B09QFG4ZR6

www.amazon.comAmazon.com
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George Steffanos

You can read or listen to my book for free if you are a Kindle Unlimited eBook or an Audible Plus audiobook subscriber. Both options are available from Amazon, where the paperback, eBook or audiobook can also be purchased.

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