Date: 2016-09-04
From: Katahdin Springs Campground

To: Katahdin Baxter Peak
Miles today: 5.2

The hostel shuttle would be taking Yvonne and I to the trailhead in Katahdin Springs at 6:30am. We woke at 5am, went to a cafe for breakfast and took off on the shuttle with two other section hikers. Blastoise will summit tomorrow with his mom and dad who are coming in tonight. The drive is normally 45 minutes but there was a line to get into the park so it took us a while. If you don't have a parking pass you don't get in. With it being a holiday weekend, Labor Day, the line was longer than normal.   It took a little over an hour for the total trip. Once we arrived, I signed in with the ranger and got ready to hike. When I started on my adventure on Springer Mtn in Georgia, my number was around 600...the 600th hiker starting to thru hike, at Harper's Ferry I was number 389, at Katahdin I was 559. They say 80% of thru hikers who start drop out. I feel really good about being in that small percentage of hikers who finish. I did not sleep well last night but I'm feeling good about summiting. Yvonne joined me for the first 1.1 miles to a waterfall and then she sent me off! The first mile was not too bad. It was a nice trail and the terrain coursed steadily uphill to the waterfall. We were above the waterfall and we could hear it very well. Yvonne found a spot to sit down and I continued on. It got steeper and rockier as I hiked. I thought I would have more feelings as I am coming to the end of the hike. I felt like this is a normal day hike and I finished the AT when I came out on Abol Bridge 2 days ago. It is kind of weird to feel that way. I decided to play a little game and count how many hikers I passed going to the summit and how many passed me. I saw quite a few hikers start at the campground before me this morning. I came up on Jethro and his family who drove up to hike the last day with him. It was his mom, dad, sister and brother in-law, that was pretty adventurous for them to do that. As I continued on and got above the treeline, the big rocks became more prevalent. I had my poles in my backpack just in case I needed them but, I knew that using my hands would be the best way to go! It was a beautiful day but more importantly it was sunny and dry. That is a very important factor when you are scrambling on the rocks. Now this was fun. The rocks were marked well with white blazes but sometimes making your own way works out better. I started passing many hikers as they were taking breaks. The higher I climbed the faster I seemed to go. When I would stop to take in what was around me I have to say that the views were incredible, just beautiful. I was pretty high up which gave me a great vantage point for almost the rest of the way up. I could see some hikers in the distance above and ahead of me. My short term goal...catch them! I eventually did. Being a through hiker has given me the stamina to continue hiking even on steep hills without breaks especially with a light backpack.   Finally I saw the top!! There seemed to be many people up there. I had forgotten that there are other trails that take you to the summit, easier trails, which most day hikers take. I definitely don't blame them. As I approached the summit I still was not feeling the jubilation of the end, not that I didn't want it to end because I did but it just seemed like another day. When I was almost there I noted that I passed 38 hikers, none of them through hikers, and nobody passed me! Now that made me feel good. When I reached the top there were probably 50 people scattered about and I was the only through hiker. There was a group of college kids taking a picture with the Katahdin sign, about 15 of them, I waited for them to finish so I could take a picture. As I was waiting someone asked what trail I hiked, then asked how many days, miles, and other questions which I answered. They were amazed at what I had done. He shouted out for everyone to hear that I had just finished hiking the whole AT and the whole mountain erupted with clapping and cheering. They made way for me to take pictures and suddenly I felt like a Rock Star! I sat down to eat lunch and people would come up and congratulate me and ask questions. It was a pretty cool feeling. I just finished hiking 2190 miles! That is pretty awesome if I may say so myself!I stayed on top for about 45 minutes taking in the beauty of the surrounding views and talking to people. My AT through hike has come to an end but not my hiking. I still have to go back down! It was time to leave the summit. I was happy and felt like I was walking home which I have been wanting to do for quite a while. I started passing more day hikers and through hikers. It was great that I new them all and had hiked with them at one time or another. They congratulated me and I them. I was feeling great! The hike down was faster than I thought. I had great views almost all of the way. The last mile was pretty flat and I felt light on my feet and couldn't wait to see Yvonne. It took me 2:50 hrs to go up and 3:10 hrs to come down. As I made it to the campground I saw Yvonne sitting at the first picnic table. Another table had a family sitting around it and they started clapping for me. A big hug from Yvonne made my day. I'm home...not quite but it sure felt like it. We walked over to the ranger station and waited for a couple of hours for the shuttle back to town and by then more through hikers had made it down the mountain. They rode with us back to town. It is good to have nice company because it makes the drive shorter than it actually is.Stay tuned...More to come.