Injured hiker recounts her treacherous night atop Katahdin

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff

Battered by the wind and soaked by the rain, she thought the end had come for her atop Katahdin.

But Beata Kosc, 47, of New York survived a miserable night on the Knife Edge with her hiking partner, 32-year-old Courtney Doyon of Maine, and a man and boy turned back from the summit by Pamola’s fury.

“The spirit of Pamola humbles the hikers by the extreme weather changes. … I’m feeling there is a great chance I will die,” Kosc told the Boston Globe. “In that time of desperation, I was really trying to surrender to God’s will, and I did.”

Her ordeal atop Maine’s highest peak came just weeks after Tim Keiderling, 58, and his daughter, 28-year-old Esther Keiderling, both of Ulster Park, New York, died during a May 31 trek up the mountain.

Katahdin, the crown jewel of Baxter State Park and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, attracts hikers from all over to test their mettle in Maine’s largest wilderness. The nearly mile-high peak is famous for its variable weather, which even at the height of summer can create life-threatening conditions for the ill-prepared.

Kosc and Doyon set out for Baxter Peak about 7 a.m. on July 24. They packed windbreakers, rain jackets, space blankets, water and more for the journey, according to the Globe, though Kosc at the last minute decided against bringing a thermal base layer.

But as the pair crossed the Knife Edge on their descent about 4 p.m., the wind picked up and an old knee injury came back to haunt Kosc, who found herself in too much pain to go on, she told the Globe.

So they decided to hunker down and wait it out.

Kosc and Doyon were eventually joined that night by a man and his 13-year-old son who were attempting the summit. They continued on despite the women’s pleas, only to get turned back by the fierce weather and shelter with Kosc and Doyon, according to the Globe.

They called park rangers for help. One ranger advised the group to make it for the treeline, but Kosc’s left leg wracked with pain.

They spent the night fighting strong winds and chilly rain, holding onto the rocks to avoid falling.

Finally, after daybreak on July 25, rescuers reached the group, bringing food, warm fluids and clothes, as well as a tent for Kosc to shelter in. But the ordeal was not quite over because clouds prevented a helicopter from reaching them and lifting Kosc to safety.

Rangers escort Doyon, the man and his son down the mountain, and just before 6 p.m., a Maine Army National Guard helicopter reached Kosc and brought her down off the mountain to a waiting ambulance that brought her to a Millinocket hospital.

Despite the humbling experience, Kosc told the Globe she is determined to hike Katahdin again.

“This mountain taught me to be prepared for the unknown,” Kosc told the newspaper “It reminded me how strong I am.”