It’s always an honor to be in the presence of Katahdin and this trip was no exception.

It was my second time taking this route and just as much of a beautiful slog as I remembered. 

We drove a few hours and started at Roaring Brook campground.  
After about a mile of walking in the forest and a rather sketch stream crossing we were fortunate enough to catch a beautiful view of the mountain from Whidden ponds.  
After 7.5+miles mostly flat we finally arrived at Russell Pond to spend the night.  
We ate dinner on a boulder on the edge of the pond and managed to see a few stars after sunset, before clouds rolled in.

Breakfast and coffee were thoroughly enjoyed and we then headed out back to the car. It was a rainy morning and afternoon, but most of our hike was in the trees and we stayed relatively dry from the legs up.  
The rain made for a barely knee-high water crossing at Wassataquiok Stream. We sent it with our shoes on and kept on back towards Roaring Brook.  
Plenty of mushrooms of all types and sizes on the trail with some of them being huge.  
Lots of moose scat/tracks but no sightings this time.  
Misty and moody views at Whidden Ponds on the return.  
My girlfriend had found a great and heavy walking stick early in the trip, we both used it many times to cross the streams on the way back including an even sketchier final crossing due to the higher flow. We both trusted the stick and the stick performed thank you, stick.  
We made it back to the car with an hour or so of daylight to spare and drove the 3+ hrs back home.

Overnight at Russell Pond in Baxter State Park