MILLINOCKET (AP) – There’s something about Maine’s highest mountain that keeps calling Nelson Daigle back. The 69-year-old retired paper worker from Millinocket has climbed Mount Katahdin 352 times, and he’s not finished yet.

“When I come up here, it’s worth it,” Daigle said just below Katahdin’s mile-high peak during a recent, blustery afternoon. “When I get back and I’ve been down for a couple of days, I say, ‘I’ve got to get back up.”‘

The Aroostook County native said he first climbed Katahdin with some of his buddies when he was in high school in Millinocket.

But his passion for the mountain moved to a higher level when he retired 13 years ago from a paper mill in town.

A lifelong skier, Daigle said his frequent climbs keep him in shape. At first, he set a goal of 100 climbs, but found out it didn’t take long to reach that level.

“After that, I just kept going,” he said.

During his hikes, Daigle picks up trash, removes loose rocks that can twist other hikers’ ankles, and cuts downed tree limbs from paths with a saw he brings along. Daigle is one of the most active volunteers in Baxter State Park, where Katahdin is located.

Even after more than 350 climbs, Daigle said he never knows what’s around the next bend in the trail. During one hike, he came eye-to-eye with a bear well above the tree line. The bear, just as surprised as Daigle, stood up on two legs before scampering down the mountain.

He’s been trailed by a lonely and confused young moose, caught in sudden snowstorms, drenched by downpours and seen rainbows arched between distant mountain peaks.

“You never know. The weather changes fast,” said Daigle. “It makes its own weather, really. It all depends on the mood of the mountain.”

To be safe, he always brings along plenty of water, rain gear, an extra fleece, a medical kit, a hat and gloves.

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