How, exactly, does one have a 'different' hike in Gulf Hagas, you ask? By stretching the boundaries. By going where few have gone before. By daring to trod where the masses could never go.
When I tell folks that I've done Gulf Hagas, I have to be specific: that I wasn't ON the trail-rather, I was IN the very bowels of the gorge. Like, up to my neck in water.
"Oh, yeah," they'll respond. "We did that last summer."
They just don't get it.
So, let's forget them for a second. I'm more worried about YOU. I can see a lot of YOU getting the idea that YOU can hike/wade up the gorge.
YOU need to think again. I mean, the regular trails on Gulf Hagas are dangerous enough; now pour in slick rocks, massive boulders, unsteady footing, water that wants to quite literally sweep YOU off your feet...it can get deadly astonishingly fast. The Maine Wardens are on record for nicknaming Gulf Hagas "the lemming zone" for good reason.
It can turn to hell oh so quick.
Bitch of it is, every inch of it is heavenly. I don't know how else to say it. The viddy kinda speaks for itself. The Gulf is a Deadly Beauty, indeed.
In 2017, I made it all the way to the Jaws, only to have to turn around the moment I got there. 7 years later, I returned, meaning to get back to the Jaws. Obviously, I didn't reach that goal. But I was taking every step as though it might be my last. Caution was the watchword of the day.
To put a bow on all this, I'd say bring an InReach. I didn't, and having gone through the teeth of the Gulf, I'll never go there without one again. Just because I'd told friends & such where I was going wasn't good enough. Lots of folks have been rescued-and recovered-in the Gulf; I didn't want to be another ominous headline.
At the end of the day, I'll say this: I've done it. Now you don't have to.
Please stay safe.
Kineo Kid
1 окт 2024
