i did this hike from the same campground when i was 19 years old. i hate to say it, it was a long long time ago. it is a great hike and the next day we did the same summit from the north side, which i think is called the "knife's edge" trail. i am glad to see you and others enjoying the same exhillariation i felt back then, and still resides with me. kudos to the State of Maine in protecting this and to you for including this in your youtube web site.
Thank you so much Randy, for another spectacular hiking video. The scenery on the trail was so beautiful, especially near the water falls. The views at the top were absolutely breathtaking. God Bless you always... Robin 🙏🙏
Incredible video. Thanks for posting. Not only the fact you climbed Katahdin, but filmed the experience for us all to enjoy. Baxter State Park is our first stop on our ‘retirement trip’ for my wife and I this Fall. We are in Eastern Canada, and plan to visit as many US State parks as we can over 10 months.
Your videos are what inspired me to start hiking with my own daughter!! She's not always on board, but when she is it's a blessing!! Thanks for inspiration!!🙏
Inspiring as always Randy. Thanks for taking us along. Congrats on making it to the top of Katahdin. Such a huge accomplishment. One of those hikes to add to the bucket list before I get to old or out of shape to complete!
Love this RU-vid channel! Another great video, thank you again Randy for sharing your adventures with us! Had to be a great feeling to reach the top of Mount Katahdin. And those views look amazingly beautiful.
Thank you! I'm prepping to do this in 4 months and after a lot of dead end research on the official AT and Baxter sites, this is the first useful directly applicable info I've found. Also, kudos on your choice of footwear. So many people are married to the tradition of huge clunky high top monster boots that they over look the practicality of comfort shoes good for bouldering.
Congrats on getting to the top of Maine! A spectacular mountain! I’ve been up all the trail variations to the summit and none of them disappoint. This is a mountain you really have to work for, but the views are so worth it!
Great words and congratulations on your many summits! This one is up there with my top 5 favorite hikes. Glad I finally had the opportunity to complete it.
Very happy to see this. What a glorious hike. This is definitely one of the hardest hikes we've done and one of the best. I love the feeling of being in the clouds. "Affectionately called the Knife's Edge" - SAID NO ONE EVER.
haha! Thanks for the kind words and motivation to attempt this hike. As mentioned before, your video was very helpful in my preparations! Enjoy your weekend!
This looks like a really beautiful, varied and epic hike…congratulations on completing it!! Thank you for sharing your experience with us all. Take care always 😊
An amazing journey, Randy! Pretty rugged way to hike to the top of that mountain. The 360 video shots really add to the visual story. You are a source of inspiration and encouragement through your videos! Thank you, God bless!
Hello America's Parks, I just watched an AMAZING footage of Randy scaling the ABSOLUTELY AWESOME hike to Katahdin or Baxter Peak...I just can't believe what I'm seeing Randy! AMAZING!
We have done the Georgia start. But to see the finish it awe inspiring. I don't know if I'd prefer to start in georiga or finish, the terrain where you finished is rough. I imagine after 6 months of hiking this would be a huge test. But the views vastly rewarding.
Great job! And by the way, I hope the current court ruling gets overturned regarding average Joe's filming and posting national park videos on RU-vid and Tik-Tok. It's really a shame that they have lumped RU-vid creators in with Hollywood productions. It's lazy and shortsighted of the law makers who pushed this.
Wow!!! Amazing video footage!! Such a beautiful hike…congratulations on taking on this challenging trail…I hope to hike it someday before I’m too old❤Thanks as always for sharing your incredible adventures!!
Just awesome :) I am also from NJ, but lived in ME for 3 years during and after the pandemic. In July 2022 while living up there I submitted Katahdin. Was a LONG day, but so worth it.
That was definitely one for the big screen, Fantastic! your route sure did look tough enough, practically a knife edge anyway. I went with my Mom in 2013, she made it to that waterfall i went only a little farther to about 2500ft elevation myself / just enough to see some views and experience that dense forest, Mom wanted to see the end of the AT... Awesome you made it to the top no problem. We've seen this and the knife edge route in AT hiker videos but not usually with this kind of detail and quality, thanks for all the effort it took to bring us this video
I was waiting for this to release. I passed by you towards the start of the video when you were talking to that group and i heard you mention the channel name. Awesome video. Though i will say, the rock scrambling was alot steeper than it seems in the video. xD
Great comment! Thanks for checking out the video and hope you had a wonderful hike! Yeah, usually the camera makes the rock climbing look more intense... agree, this time it was the opposite. Since I was solo, I also did not film the more challenging sections. Take care!
Epic hike Randy, absolutely beautiful. That last mile looks like a real grind. Also a shout out to those guys that were wrapping up their 5.5 month hike from Springer Mt, GA. Good going on their part. Have you ever done rim to rim in the Grand Canyon?
Great job, Randy! Come to Georgia anytime and see us. We will take you to the beginning of the AT on top of Springer Mountain, Georgia. Where the guys you met here started. They had to sign in on a notebook that's housed in a rock!
What a beautiful time of year to do it! I like how you start down in the forest but then it opens up to amazing views at the top! Congrats to the guys completing the Appalachian Trail! Is doing a thru hike something you ever wanted to do?
A thru hike would be amazing - just something with family/job I'll never find the time to accomplish. Have considered to a portion of the hike - maybe a few days through NJ.
@@AmericasParks I hear ya! You could definitely tackle a long trail a section at a time as much as you travel. Well if you ever do it I'll be here to watch it!
I love your videos Randy. Keep em coming! Have you considered crossing the border and exploring some of Canadas parks? Yes I know its "Americas Parks" but trust me you would love them too. :) Put Killarny on your list in Ontario...its beautiful. All the best!
I bet you were feeling it after that hike, especially with all the scrambling you had to do. Made a 5 mile seem like 10 I bet. Another really great one to watch and the scenery was epic!
@@AmericasParks I bet that hurt...I can see a decline like that doing a number on the knees as well. Question...does the software you edit 360 only for the insta? can it be purchased for download? Thanks.
Were nearby in summer 2022. Did not manage to reserve parking as everything was already booked 2 weeks ahead when booking becomes available for out of state travelers. Then spoke with a ranger in Millinocket and she said it is difficult even for Maine residents to get there as there is very few spaces available and reservations fill up quickly and far ahead (for ME residents). Love Maine anyway.
I won’t be doing that anytime soon! It was nice to follow your trip and see the sights. This must be an earlier trip as I can’t imagine there isn’t snow up there right now.
I summited on June 12th 2021 via the Abol Trail. One of the shortest, ways up, but I also understand it is the steepest way up. I'd like to do this hike again.
4:17 just had flashbacks of Great Smoky Mountains Mt. LeConte trail path. That wasn't fun. 😅 Beautiful hike to take. It's mainly you on the trail which can be intimidating for solo hikers. Also, hopefully the no filming in parks get overturned. It's really ashame how they are handling it. I say we gotta keep fighting it.
WoW ! 😳 That was quite a hike going up that mountain . Congratulations Randy 👏 👍 Great video and editing once again … it’s been a while since I haven’t came and check your videos …glad I did on this one 😉 Your channel has never stop growing 😮 I stopped counting…Lol!🤪Glad for you my friend 🥰😉👍 I am wondering what you think about the rules in the National Parks about RU-vidrs filming with a permit ? Hope you are doing fine and wishing you a wonderful day with your lovely family Serge H&S 👩❤️👨🌈🇨🇦
Thanks, my friend! So nice to hear from you! Yes, aware of the decision. Personally I believe it's a total governmental overreach and infringement on on Constitutional rights. Let's hope it gets overturned once again. Take care and be safe out there!
Thanks! I went down a different trail... believe it was the Abol Trail. It was steep with a lot of large rock to climb down. Fewer larger drops than the trail going up. Not bad for novice hikers. Hope this message gets to before your hike!
A suggestion for your hiking videos: add a quick 30-60 second blurb after you have finished the complete hike. Some times the hike back down could be just as tough. I think adding your thoughts on the entire hike at the very end would be beneficial. Just a suggestion!
Appreciate the suggestion! Like ending with the destination/climax of the hike, but you make a good point. Actually did what you recommended on my last (Precipice) video. Take care!
Good job! That looks like a great hike. I have noticed your shoes and wonder why you do not wear a heavier boot for some of these more rocky hikes. Makes me consider wearing trail shoes more often.
Thanks much, Peter! Took the Abol trail down which was very steep with a tremendous amount of boulders. Slow moving, but relatively safe/not too crazy.
@AmericasParks thought it was the Insta360. I use one as well. I have the X3 model. Awesome camera and worth the extra work in post to put a video together.
Haha, that's funny... all the drone flying in the video was outside the park (where it is permitted). Normally I add a subtitle, but I thought it wasn't necessary when one saw the clips I used in the introduction. As for the other aerials (perhaps you are referring to them), they were obtained with a 360 camera, fisheye on a 10-feet "disappearing" selfie stick. I'll include some links below.
WHEN I GET RILED UP AND NERVY LIKE THIS I WANT TO BE IN THE COCKPIT OF M14 LT1 FIGHTER JET IN COMBAT WITH AN ENEMY MIG IN MY SIGHTS AND ANOTHER ON MY TAIL! ALL THE WHILE SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS, "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE!!!!! HOW DID I GET HERE?!?! i CAN'T FLY THIS THING! OH DEAR LORD HELP ME. I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!"
Just complete this exact same hike today 🥳 not an experienced hiker, but we got from base to summit, back to base in just under 9 and a half hours. Highly reccomend
Well, that looks like a pretty intense hike, especially toward the end of it! It's pretty impressive that people have the energy to complete the Appalachian trail. It's not only crazy that people have the energy to do that hike but the fact that they can afford to be off work for 6 months. You had a pretty semi clear day, and the views at the top were pretty amazing. Congratulations on your hike, my friend.
Wow, Randy! This video was awesome! It was so cinematic, just a great edit. That is one imposing mountain and the views were incredible. Congrats on the summit. I have yet to really explore Maine besides Acadia. I need and want to but seem to keep heading west. Just need to make it happen I guess.
Kind of how I attempted this one. Had the time, packed the car and went. And then hit the mountain and said I wasn't coming off until I completed the hike. :)
I did this hike around 1990 with my teenage son. The wife went along but baled at the start of the metal rungs. I would have been about 42 at the time, an avid climber, hiker and skier, but this one was the hardest days hiking that I ever did, and without my son along I would never had made the summit. It should be mentioned that Baxter has a difficult reservation system for camping, and you need to make them as far ahead as you can manage, and hope that the weather cooperates. Because of the remoteness of Katahdin, staying outside the park and doing this hike is not advisable. This route will take most people almost all of the available daylight hours during the summer, so you have to start early. Very nice video- good camera work and tasteful editing and music. It gives a good feel for the real thing, including the enticing false summit at the gateway. When you get there, the realization that you still have to cross the tableland and climb a bit more to reach the summit is a real letdown.
