Harley Guenther- Outside Reading #1

Starchild, from Taghkanic, NY, writes many blogs on whiteblaze.net. She is consistently writing about her experiences on the Appalachian Trail. In her most recent blog, she talks about her journey and emotions as she hiked the last few steps on her ascend up the side the Mount Katahdin. She says, “For the year I was # 277 who summited Katahdin as a thru hiker as recorded by the state park. My summit date was very significant in multiple ways. As mentioned above, the date I summited is a day of a pilgrimage for the Native American tribe Penobscot. Members of this tribe make at least a 100 mile trek to a sub-peak of Katahdin, called Pomola (home of the storm god). Pomola lies across the knife's edge, a rough trail/rock scramble from the peak of Katahdin. Normally there is no reason for a AT thru-hiker to traverse here as they typically need to return to their gear left at the base of Katahdin and Pomola brings one down to a different side of the mountain. Was I also to journey to this peak, to also partake of the Penobscot’s pilgrimage?” She must be a history buff (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/entry.php?7998-Starchild-Summits-Katahdin-9-1-13). It is amazing to see how people think about things.