Last week, a man died on Katahdin. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Gut wrenching, especially since he successfully hiked the 2,196 miles of the trail from Springer Mountain to Baxter Peak on Katahdin. He died on the way down, not too far from the summit of Mama K.
His name was Bert Goris. He was a 64-year-old thru-hiker from California, and on September 14, 2026 he reached the summit. Think about that for a minute. He climbed the last mountain on the Appalachian Trail and stood at the sign that so many of us dream about. At some point during his summit, the weather turned worse. There was rain, wind gusting over 35 mph, and wind chills near 20 degrees. Other hikers found him on the Hunt Trail, not far from Thoreau Spring. He was hurt, soaking wet, and struggling to talk. They wrapped him in sleeping bags and a tarp and called for help, but the weather forced them to keep going down. By the time the rescue helicopter got him to Millinocket, he was gone. My heart breaks for his family.
Marty and I stood in that area in July. It feels so surreal to read the news and know EXACTLY where he was. We went up and down the Abol Trail. (You can read all about our summit day here.) The Abol Trail meets the Hunt Trail (the AT) right at Thoreau Spring, just about where they found Bert. We have pictures there, before we followed the Hunt trail to the Baxter Peak.
The rangers rate the weather every day on a scale of 1 to 4, and our summit day was a 2. It was very windy and around 50 degrees, 40-45 degrees with the windchill. By early afternoon we could see the rain coming, and we hurried to get below treeline. We did NOT want to scramble down those rocks in the rain. We made it with just a few miles left to go, and then it POURED. It took us 6 hours to go up and 5 1/2 to come down. Because we knew the rain was coming, we only took about 30 minutes at the summit.
We knew before we ever started that people have died on this mountain. A father and daughter died up there in June 2025. It’s one reason we took preparing so seriously. The 100 Mile Wilderness taught us a lot. So on summit day, even though we lightened our packs, we carried:
- Trekking poles
- Enough food and water for the whole day (water is scarce up there)
- Water filter
- Rain jackets
- Puffy jackets
- Wool leggings
- A first aid kit
Some of that felt like overkill when we left the parking lot in July. It didn’t feel like overkill up top with the wind howling. Sighs. I never had to put my wool leggings on, but we did eat lunch with our puffy jackets on.
I’m not writing this to judge anyone. I don’t know what happened to Bert that day, and nobody will until the medical examiner finishes. Things can go wrong for even the most experienced hikers. I’m writing it because I want everyone who dreams of standing on that sign to hear this. Katahdin is beautiful, and it is no joke. Conditions can change FAST. What starts out as a nice day in the parking lot can be winter on the Tableland a few hours later.
So please, be prepared. Pack the warm layers even when it’s July. Check the ranger’s rating. Turn around if you need to. The mountain will still be there.
Rest in peace, Bert. You made it to Katahdin. Please keep his family in your prayers. 🙏
