Date: 2005-10-12
From: The base camp at E. Lodge

To: THE SIGN ON THE SUMMIT OF KATAHDIN
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It was very hard to sleep last night due to puking and pre-Katahdin jitters. Mileage was also doing some major tossing and turning, it was no surprise when the alarm clock went off at 5am and I felt like sleep never came. We got ready the night before so all we had to do was eat some breakfast and find a ride to the mountain. Millinocket is roughly 50minutes from Katahdin stream and it costs 40$ to take a cab. We were releaved when Bonfire (a thru hiker we never met before) told us she could squeeze us in to her car. Blaze and Dready scored a ride from Sweeps (another hiker) family. They had rented a huge expedition suv type deal and filled it to capasity and then some with hikers. The hotel must have had thirty hikers staying. It became basecamp for many at this rough flooded time of the year. After going over 44 miles in two days this hotel was paradise to us.       6:15 and Bonfire, Mileage and I were on our way. A small caravan of vehicles formed as Trail-Dog brought another group of hikers in his mini-van. For the first time in a long time blue skies were overhead and the promise of a bright sunny day had everyone excited. We drove slower as we entered Baxter and approached the base of the mountain. A crisp breeze was blowing around the red, orange, and yellow leaves. Basically it was the perfect day we had always dreamed of having. The car pulled into the Katahdin stream campground and that was it. We were finially here. I saw the Southern Nation crew and some other hikers over by a lean-to and they all looked frozen. Come to think of it, I was pretty cold myself. Mileage and I talked to Jeweler about the irony in us all finishing together. We met our first night up on springer and hiked together for a week, the next time we were reunited was in Maine. The same goes for our traveling companions Blaze and Dready Bear, we all started March 20th but didn't bond until New Hampshire. These guys sure would have had alot of fun with the Bruces and the rest of the GH3-Posse. I won't forget to mention Moon-Pie. We had great times with her, Mother, and Vogue in Georgia. Unfortunatly we couldn't catch up with Mother and Vogue because were slackers, but we were thinking of them.      Blaze, Dready, Mileage, and I took a picture and were off. The first mile to Kahtahdin stream is flat, dry, and easy. It was great to warm up on nice terrain but I still felt like crap. We crossed a bridge over the stream and then I climbed down to fill my Nalgene with the cold mountain water. The accent started from there and I immediatally began to fall behind the others. Mileage stayed behind with me and tried to be encouraging. At one point early on I truly believed that I had to turn back, i didn't though. Soon we came upon a large group of our thru hiking buddies. To name a few we saw Sweep, Zip-lock, Trail-Dog, Moss, Linus, and Timshell. They were having fun going slow and taking a lot of pictures. We hung back and chilled with them for a while. I knew we couldn't catch Blaze and Dready in my weakened state so we didn't even try. Slowly but surly it was becoming a boulder scramble and any sign of a dirt trail was dissapearing. The trees were shirnking and a gigantic tower of rock was looming in front of us.      Just as I broke tree line I saw blaze up about 100 feet. He was sitting on a rock outcrop yelling down to make sure we were ok. We caught up to them and we all sat in a cirle on a boulder and took in the views. Up until then I felt very sick and unsure I could make it. Some kind of crazy Mountain energy overtook me at that exact point and time and all of the sudden I felt better then I had in days. With new found energy we all headed upward and onward. At this point we are climbing stait up. Rebar hand holds have been drilled into the boulders but you still need both hands and feet. Mileage and I collapsed our poles for the first time in months and the climb became much more fun and easy. As we were climbing up McKay and I decided that Katahdin was already far and away the best mountain on this trip. After many more mini breaks and breathtaking views we finially arived at the table lands.      The moment I set my eyes on these tripped out tablelands I thought of Spruce and Moose and wished they could be seeing this. This is what they suffered summer heat and poison ivy for and I just wished they could see it. We could vagely see the peak of Katahdin but we still had 1.1 miles to go. The table lands are amazing because after climbing 3000 feet or however much it is, the terrain goes completely flat. The boulders thin out and you walk upon a gravely and martian landscape. This section was of course very enjoyable just as any flat section will be. As we moved closer to the final climb we noticed that there was ice all over the rocks. The crew stopped and added layers of clothing to protect us from the harder winds.      One more climb seperated us from the sign. We were all more than ready to see that baby after 2164 miles of dedication to the trail. As we pulled ourselves up the last of the boulders we could hear ghost-like whistles and screams. There was a summit party going on but we couldn't see it yet. Blaze was in front and I saw him when he saw the top. He got super exited and started jumping around. He encouraged us by yelling,"I CAN SEE IT"! That was all the proof we needed. Mileage and I rushed up the last hundred feet and saw it for ourselves. After everything we have been through it became emotional for everyone up there. We approached the large group on the summit, mostly our buddies anyway, and waited for our turn to touch the sign and take the traditional Katahdin photos. When my turn came around I climbed up the sign and felt energy and emotion buzzing thru my body. The wind almost took me out but I hung in long enough to get a dozen of so shots. Mileage and Dready both climbed the sign at the same time with a little assistance. As each successful thru hiker climbs up everyone cheers and the cameras are going off poparazzi style. We counted over thirty people up there and almost everyone was taking pictures and drinking. Blaze climbed up last and stood tall upon the summit. After a while everyone mellowed out. The views were the best to date but the wind was picking up. It became time to go. You begin to realize that the trip was never about the summit of Mt. Katahdin, but in the adventure getting there. Nothing will ever be able to touch this journey, change it, or take it away. We will never be the same again after living this way. Now is when the physical adventure ends and the reflecting begins.This will not be our last entry by any means, please continue to check in with us. Now we can finially start to respond to guest book entreys. Thank you everyone for the support that made our adventure achievable. Thanks to all our friends on the trail.                                     PIKER