Date: 2007-09-22
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Baxter Peak, Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

In the middle of the night I had to get up to go to the bathroom. I had a hard time falling back to sleep as my mind raced with thoughts about my thru hike in general and the coming summiting of Katahdin. Eventually I was able to fall back to sleep. Everyone was up around 6am and we had a quick breakfast, and packed up everything we were not taking for the hike, storing it all in Barry's car. When we removed some of the food from the car this morning we noticed that some rodent, had somehow entered the car and had nibbled on some candy and trail mix. These animals are unbelievable!There is a prediction for possible rain today and already there was a heavy fog hanging in the air. I don't mind fog at the summit today but rain would be a problem climbing and descending the mountain and up on the summit. By 7:30 we were on our way. The AT leading up to the summit of Katahdin is called the Hunt Trail here in the park and is just one of a number of routes that will take you to the summit of Katahdin. The hike up and down Katahdin today would be 10.4 miles (5.2 miles each way). I was amazed that Mark and Barry were doing this again today, since they had climbed Katahdin yesterday on another trail.The first few miles were basically flat and easy as the trail followed and eventually crossed Katahdin Stream. After that we hit some rough trail scattered with varying sized boulders and the climb had begun. Little by little the trail eventually transitioned to the above tree line zone. There was a wind swept fog moving up the mountain on either side, which partially obscured the views, but every once in a while a view of the surrounding landscape could be seen. We were moving at a good pace, resting every once in a while and closing the gap between each other. Eventually the trail reached an area where we needed to engage in some challenging climbing and had to pay close attention to where the trail went over and around some very large boulders. This area was the steep climb up what initially appears to be the summit, but is actually a false summit. Once we were over this false summit we were moving along the Table Lands, about a mile long flat area which leads up to the final short climb to the summit. As we hiked this section, without much warning I saw Big Brother and Decadad hiking past us down the mountain. As we saw each other, I congratulated Big Brother on his successful thru hike and we all gave each other a big bear hug. It was foggy along this stretch as we continued on and as a result we had limited visibility of the approching summit.At the end of the Table Lands, we started our final climb to the summit, which entailed the same challenging climb over assorted boulders that we had done before reaching the Table Lands. The fog still obscured the summit, but I could feel we were getting close, and the excitement within me was building up. What surprised me was how quick the summit appeared before us. Before I was aware of it, we were there and the summit sign was slowly coming into view as we were now able to see beyond the fog. As we approached the summit, Scott, who was ahead of me announced to the 25-30 day hikers already at the summit that "Easy Strider just finished his thru hike and is coming through". This took me by surprise and I was amazed at how this large crowd suddenly stepped away from the sign to let me through and allow me a moment alone next to it. Little by little I could here a round of applause and wishes of congratulations, coming from this large crowd which started to send shivers down my spine. It all seemed to be happening so fast and I didn't even notice if any other thru hikers were present. As I stood there in a semi state of shock, Church Mouse stepped out of the crowd and approached me with his hand extended, congratulating me on my thru hike. I was real happy to see him since I felt a strong need to not only share this moment with friends and family, but with another thru hiker who really knew and could relate to how I was feeling right now. We hugged each other and now the crowd was applauding and congratulating both of us.I had carried up a bottle of champagne and reached into my pack and pulled it out. I popped the cork and took a good swig, as it bubbled up over the top. I then passed it to Church Mouse and on to Dave, Scott, Mark, and Barry. Reaching into my pocket for the pebble that I had picked up from Springer Mountain at the start of my hike and carried here, I carefully placed it at the base of the summit sign and picked up another small stone from Katahdin which I will take home. Dave and I hugged each other and I thanked him for joining me here to share this moment. It was an honor to start this hike with my oldest son Jesse and then be able to finish it with my younger son Dave. I then shook hands with Scott, Mark, and Barry, thanking them as well and passing around the champagne. The wind was really howling now, blowing the fog around and at times it was difficult keeping my balance (which was not helped much my the champagne either), so eventually we started our trek back down the mountain. Scott, Mark, and Barry started out first and got about a 10 minute lead on Dave and I. On the way down we ran into Byte Code and his wife, who were hiking up to the summit to join Church Mouse.When Dave and I were near the end and almost at the campsite, we were greeted by Kathy and Kerrie who were coming down the trail. I was tired but quite happy to see them. In between hugs I related to them the days events. Kerrie had taken the time to make a poster with the words written "You Did It" which was quite nice and I really appreciated that gesture. When we got back to the campsite we had a few beers and talked for a while. Mark and Barry eventually hit the road for the long ride back to CT. The rest of us drove back to the hotel in Millinocket to spend the night and we had a quiet celebration dinner at the Appalachian Cafe. While we were there I was fortunate and honored to meet Bill Irwin, who is blind and amazingly enough hiked the entire Appalachian Trail with his guide dog Orient in the 90's. He wrote a book about his experience and was there selling autographed copies of his book.I tried to savor and hold on to the events that happened today, but knew that this was the start of my transition back to the life I had prior to the beginning of my thru hike, which is a good thing. I can say without a doubt that I am quite happy and most grateful that I had the opportunity to fullfill the dream to attempt this thru hike. I had many great experiences along the way and have been able to take away some good lessons learned. One thing which I never anticipated was the outpouring of kindness, concern, and encouragement so many people directed towards me during the course of this hike. I am extremely grateful for all of the emails, letters, guest book entries, packages, phone calls, trail magic, and visits along the trail by many caring individuals. You don't know how much this contact helped motivate me and helped me get over some of the physical and emotional rough spots. Above all I want to thank my wife Kathy, who provided so much loving support, not just during the hike but by listening to me over many years as I talked to her about this dream. Thanks Kath, I do appreciate it!One other surprise along the way, was the contact I received by some folks who told me that my story inspired and motivated them to now pursue their own dream. I strongly encourage all of you to pursue your dream! You may or may not fullfill it, but I guarantee you will have fun and will be fullfilled just by your attempts to pursue it. It has often been said that a thru hike, as life in general, is more about the journey along the way and not so much the destination. How true! I'd like to leave all with the following to ponder, which was written by W.H. Murray, from The Scottish Himalayan Expedition, and sent to me by a friend during my hike:"Until one is committed There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."