The trail then led us up another hill to a spot called Rainbow Ledges. There was a large area of bare rock here, exposed by a forest fire early in the 20th century. The open area provided the first in a number of beautiful views of Mt. Katahdin we would see today.
Other mountains were also viewable from here, but we were only focused on one, the one we would be climbing tomorrow.
Stick and Tengo hiked on from here, but I stayed behind to call my wife Kim. I needed to confirm for her what I previously said might happen: we were going to summit Mt. Katahdin a day earlier than planned.
I hated to change plans because Kim and our sons were on their way to meet me at Baxter State Park. Our sons were planning to summit with me on Thursday, and now it was too late for them to change their plans.
She was already on the road, driving from our home in Tennessee when I called her. I knew she would be understanding, and she was, but I still felt badly.
What was important, though, was my family would be there to meet me when I came down from the summit, then we would go together to finish my hike in New Hampshire.