Date: 2004-09-20
To: Day 141: Baxter Peak on Mt Katahdin, ME
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

On AT Day 141 I got up as usual at 4:00 a.m., ate breakfast in my tent and then repacked my backpack before trudging down to the park ranger¢s headquarter building around 6:15 a.m. to unload all of the unnecessary gear into the large garbage bag I use to line my pack. I had hoped that my wife, Hot Chocolate would show up soon so I could put this un-needed gear into our truck in time for me to verify with the park rangers that it was safe to summit (they post a 1-4 rating each day at 7:00 a.m.) and then leave with the other AT through hikers. Well Hot Chocolate misjudged how slow it would be to travel down the park¢s dirt roads and she didn¢t show up until 7:35 a.m. On the upside, with the sparkling clear and cold skies I was relieved that the park rangers gave us an optimal ¢1¢ rating for the day ¢ despite the Hurricane Ivan boosted wind. The Katahdin Stream Campground is at about 1,000-feet and the morning temperatures were in the low 40¢s with the wind at about 20 mph, clearly it would be a lot colder and windier at the 5,268-foot summit!As I was waiting to leave on my climb, I met one of the only two successful people to summit Mount Katahdin on the day before. These two brothers from ME, Wigwam and Ocho admitted that what they did was a little foolish, as they had to endure sleet as well as heavy winds ¢ so what was I complaining about! In any event when my wife did arrive I had the unpleasant task of explaining that I thought it was not a good idea for her to try for the summit because of the wind, cold and the difficulty of the 4,200-foot climb over 5.2-miles. To be honest, I was worried enough about my own ability to make the climb successfully, without also having to help and worry about my lovely, determined, and talented, but very tiny wife making the climb. Naturally she was very disappointed, but eventually she agreed and decided to work on our www-trail journal pictures and text while she waited for me.When I finally left the trailhead at 7:50 a.m. the temperature was only 45-degrees and the wind was a steady 10-20 mph, but with the near empty pack I felt as though I could jog up the mountain. Not surprisingly, since the first half of the 5.2-mile climb is fairly typical mountain hiking with a moderate to steep grade and a steady diet of climbing over boulders and big steps, it was really not all that hard for me. When I reached the tree line at around 3,500-feet the real fun rock climbing began as the grade increased and you needed to follow a well-marked route over and around huge boulders, sometimes with rebar hand/foot holds, that often placed you in rather exposed positions. However, despite the heavier and heavier wind (the gusts easily hit 30-40 mph), and compared to what we had to endure in the Whites, I didn¢t think this was particularly dangerous climbing. This positive assessment in no way negated my earlier opinion that it still would have been extremely difficult for my diminutive wife to make the climb (or for me if I was carrying her or my usual 52-lbs pack¢¦).About a mile later, just above the 4,500-foot point, I reached a rocky plateau known as The Gateway where I found ice in a few of the springs. I then proceeded to climb a relatively gentle grade of small boulders and reached the 5,267-foot summit at 11:09 a.m., 3 hrs and 19 min after I began the climb. At the summit I met up with Papa Bear, Speak-Up!, Ponderer and two other NOBO AT through hikers, Tyson and Megabyte, as well as surprising number of day-hikers. Clearly making it to the summit of Mount Katahdin is a goal in itself, but for us AT through hikers it marks the culmination of a multi-month journey with numerous hardships and joys, clearly something to celebrate!After taking the requisite ¢summit photos,¢ I started back down with Speak-Up! and Ponderer so we could help each other should the need arise. As we descended across The Gateway we met lots of other hikers on their way up. As they passed we all gave each other mutual congratulations and words of encouragement. As we began the much more serious and steep descent below The Gateway and over the boulders, we were passed by the speedy Papa Bear. Watching him gave me the idea to attach my hiking poles to my pack so that I too would have both hands free to help with the down climb. After making this adjustment, and once again because of the extremely light pack, I had absolutely no difficulty in the descent. It was actually lots of fun using my arms and legs to bound over and down the boulders and sheer rock faces and it even reminded me of my routines, 4-5 decades ago, when I was a gymnast ¢ except for the marked reduction in my upper body strength and flexibility, that is ¢¦ I never did catch up with Papa Bear, but I had no difficulty in staying way ahead of Speak-Up! and Ponderer and I covered the last 2-3 miles with the long-legged, mid-20¢s, Tyson. The truth is that we were both so excited by the time we got to the bottom that we were literally shouting for joy and wondering what we would do next.I finally reached the Katahdin Stream Campground at 2:17 p.m., after a total day¢s hike of 10.4-miles, and immediately ran into Papa Bear who was downing a beer provided by the same women who fed us the night before. Her husband was with her today and in addition to providing all of us with drinks (I had a Dr Pepper), they offered to drive Papa Bear and Tyson to Millinocket. Shortly thereafter, Speak-Up! arrived to meet up with his girl friend who promptly offered all of us a beer ¢ this time I accepted. Boy were we pumped up as we basked in joyous camaraderie and the beautiful view of a sun soaked Mount Katahdin.After about a half hour of celebration I departed for the road leading into the campground to wait for my wife, whom I assumed would be arriving very soon. I didn¢t think she was late since I told her in the morning that I didn¢t expect to finish until perhaps 4:00 p.m., so I picked out a nice boulder on the roadside, put on my coat and gloves and drank my beer and waited. As I sat there enjoying the congratulations of all those who were departing from the campsite, I also got to offer words of encouragement to the NOBO AT through hikers who were just arriving to camp at The Birches for a summit attempt tomorrow. What fun! What a feeling of shared joy!One of the through hikers who arrived just before my wife drove up, was a ME resident and he told me that she and I should certainly take advantage of our being here and visit the gorgeous Acadia National Park. He even told me about a wonderful lobster restaurant near the park, and you know, my wife and I could use a celebration and besides we have never had ME lobster! After my wife arrived we drove into Millinocket for dinner and as we were leaving the bartender from the pub across the street came out to personally congratulate me and offer us free drinks to celebrate our visit to Millinocket and the completion of OUR through hike of the AT.I can hardly believe its over, but I like to think that this only represents the first step in a long series of wonderful adventures my wife and I will enjoy during our retirement years. Next year, step two in the US Triple Crown of Backpacking, the Pacific Crest Trail. Stay tuned!