(NEWS CENTER) — The hiker that died hiking Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park on Saturday has been identified as Hampden man, John Stetson.
He was an avid outdoorsman, and had hiked Mt. Katahdin several times before. The day he died, he was with his childhood friend of 50 years, Bangor real estate agent, Barry Porter, and Porter's son Adam. According to Porter, the purpose of that day's hike was to have his son Adam summit Katahdin.
Porter said that because of an operation prior to the hike, he didn't go as far as his son and Stetson. He said that according to his son, there was an icy part of the hike that was the reason for Stetson's fall. Although Porter wasn't present at the time of Stetson's fall, he did recover the body when medical personnel arrived.
Porter said that he and Stetson were closer than brothers, and that he doesn't know what it will be like without him around - "If there were more people like Stetson, the world would be a better place."