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By Robert Rosen
Hometown Weekly Staff
While most students at Dover-Sherborn High spent February vacation either going away to someplace nice and sunny or simply hanging out at home, freshman Will Sampson was busy braving the elements in sub-zero temperatures up in Maine at Baxter State Park as he hiked the state’s highest mountain, Mt. Katahdin with his father, Jon, and former fifth grade teacher, Ken Wadness.
“I wanted to do a fun winter trip,” Sampson said. “No one had done it so it was a cool experience, very icy, cold, rocky steep climb. If you slipped you were falling down a long way until you stop yourself or a rock does it for you.”
Wadness had hiked Baxter State Park in the summer, but never in the winter, when the conditions are much more difficult. He invited the Sampsons to come along, not knowing it would be the coldest part of the year. In fact, their water bottles even froze at one point.
Because vehicles are not allowed in the park during the winter, they had to hike five miles to get to the mountain before beginning their climb. They ultimately climbed the 4,000-foot elevation during the morning and began their descent after only a short time.
The guide, Pat, helped rope Will down and they had to hike five miles back in darkness using headlamps.
This is not the first adventure these three have gone on together. Since getting to know each other through parent-teacher conferences, they have been on several hiking and climbing trips together, and Wadness and Jon have become good friends.
“Will’s stamina for climbing has become stronger every year and being out in the cold doesn’t seem to bother him at all,” Wadness said, adding that “Will and his family look forward to these hiking excursions every year.
“This has been our greatest adventure so far and we are already looking to plan a longer journey into Baxter State Park in the winter to hike Katahdin from Chimney Pond, which would be a five-day trip. We will also hike Mt. Washington in winter too. Our love for the outdoors and winter solitude can draw anyone to find peace and God’s presence in the wilderness.”
Will, who is working on completing his Eagle Scout project, already has some lofty goals in mind for the longterm that he hopes to accomplish.
“I want to hike through the whole Appalachian Trail and do some of the highest world peaks like Kilimanjaro and Danali.”
Robert Rosen is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @roberterosen.
