Date: 2009-10-01
From: The Birches Campsite, ME

To: Katahdin Summit- Baxter Peak!, ME
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Before I start this entry let me first say that both Berry and I will be summing up our trip by each individually writing about the trail- the experience as a whole. We know this will take at the very least a few days- we need to let things sink in, to reflect, to think about what it meant to do this and try to put into words. But for now I thought it necessary, before I miss any detail, to write about the absolutely crazy, scary and wonderful last day we had on the Appalachian Trail...I was wide eyed at 4:45 am, itching to wake Berry and Blackbird up. I waited till 4:53am and could stand it no more. Headlights on! Lets go! We all packed up and dropped off our packs at the ranger station. We had smaller packs with all the necessities we needed for our summit. Blackbird elected to hike with his full pack, Berry and I knew better! We signed in at the information board at the trailhead. 6:20am.It had rained all night.... it was cold, dark and drizzling from the start. Because we started so early the weather class had not been posted. Later in the day we learned that it was class III- not good! The beginning of our hike was pleasant... we warmed up and started shedding layers pretty early actually. After the 1st mile, near the Falls we started climbing, but nothing serious. The trail turned into a small stream and things began to get a little hairy. We were doing some bouldering and tricky footwork near the treeline section. Once we got to the point where the trees were only waist high we were in the midst of full blown rock scrambles. The wind had picked up with heavy mist. Blackbird, Berry and I helped each other through the tough spots, the sketchy areas with huge rocks and easy spots to fall. There was rebar and bolts in a few places... Berry had the most diffuculty because she is much shorter- but she's a champion!We were fully above treeline and out of site and the trail got steep for about a mile of hand-over-hand rock scaling and slow moving. The weather continued to worsen. I was leading the pack, following the blazes and helping Berry along the way with hand pulls. Occasionally we would throw Blackbird's pack ahead as he would maneuver through tight spaces. As I was climbing over a rock I noticed some ice accumulating in the alpine grass. "We've got ice," I said. Berry immediately got worried, but both Blackbird and I felt very confident about moving on...it was only a little bit. Before long all the shrubs and grass were heavily coated with ice and it started sleeting with high winds. Berry yelled out that the rock she was standing on was coated with ice. We were still climbing up and had a long way to go. I thought about it for a while, calmed down and started to reason with myself. I looked at Berry and said "if you want to go down, we will go." I could see that she was scared and uncertain. "I've had firm footing and the rocks haven't given me any reason to worry yet," I said. Blackbird was on the fence at that moment as well and said he would go along with us no matter what we decide. Berry felt confident in my decision and we moved on with caution. We only had about 200 more feet to climb and the steep rock scramble was over- we were on the Tablelands portion of the mountain- what a relief!The weather continued but we were getting warmer and moving faster. We started our last steady ascent and we were motivated. Through the sleet and snow we could barely make it out- in the distance- the Katahdin sign! We made it!!!The three of us were up there for 30 minutes taking various pictures and celebrating- and slowly getting colder. The sun started to shine through the thick cloud cover and brightened things up a bit. After reaching the summit it began to snow harder. We could only take a few pictures on account of the weather. During the moment we didn't really feel any grand emotion- it just seemed like another day- perhaps thats because the journey meant more to us than touching the sign at the end. Still, it was very exciting to be there!It was so cold and we decided to get moving fast and off that mountain, so down we went. Within two minutes of leaving the summit we saw in the distance a lone figure- a hiker coming north. Eventually we noticed a very familiar hiking stick. It was Stickman!! This was crazy! He came all the way up to catch us on Katahdin. What a freind! Since we were so close to the summit we decided to turn around and go back to the sign. We saw Patches coming up and he said that Crazy Lady was right behind him. So we had celebration #2 on the summit! It was great- but now we were officially too long being up there and it was time to go.... Crazy Lady and Patches wasted no time- they literally ran up, touched the sign, took a group photo and one individual photo and then took off... 5 thru-hikers and one crazy Stickman would be the only people making it up Katahdin today! The trail took a turn for the worse with heavy ice and wind. The conditions were such that we would have certainly turned around if it would have been this way coming up. My right eyelid began to freeze shut and my beard was solid ice. I've always wanted this picture. Well, I finally got it. I have to say, shamefully, that I always wanted this day and this summit like today. The only real view I wanted of Katahdin was from the bottom. Secretly I wished for weather a little more extreme- and today we got it!Long story short- Berry, Blackbird, Stickman and I made a pact to stay together and get through it. We folded our poles and used our hands with 3-4 points of contact at all times and scooted ourselves off that mountain. We have never been so glad to see treeline!!! It was crazy. Just before hitting treeline we saw 4 climbers from Scotland heading north and we urged them not to go. They ended up turning around shortly after we saw them. After we were in treeline we were safe and the smell of victory was sweet. We laughed our way down the mountain- what a day! We neared the information board where we would be signing out and saw two happy, relieved faces- Chip and Martha, Berry's parents. It was a very happy reunion! We quickly changed into dry clothes and grabbed our gear and said our goodbyes- taking pictures, giving hugs, and drinking celebratory rootbeer and blueberry soda that Stickman and Mrs. Stickman picked up for us. Then, it was off to Millinocket, to a hot shower and real clothing. We met Mr. and Mrs. Stickman for a celebration dinner. Steak and Lobster (Berry's 1st lobster) and great company.. What a way to end it!