Date: 2018-09-09
From: Stealth Campsite at North End of Rainbow Lake

To: The Birches Lean-to & Campsite
Miles today: 17.9

DAY 187The wind died down last night, but it was certainly cold last night and this morning. Oatmeal and hot tea in the tent before picking up and getting ready for the day.As we headed down the trail we saw someone was camped just a short ways up the trail from us. Our plan was to make it to Abol Bridge Campground for lunch and a final small resupply for tonight and tomorrow. Then we would make our way through Baxter and into the Birches to make our final preparations for Katahdin tomorrow.We crossed Rainbow Ledges first thing this morning and had another view of Katahdin. This would be another wonderful day to summit as it is a clear cool morning. Hopefully the weather will hold for us tomorrow.As we hiked along we could hear banging and clanging in the distance. As we approached Hurd Brook Lean-to, we realized they were building a new privy. We knew we were getting close now as this is the last shelter in the 100-mile wilderness. It wasn't long and we were at Abol Bridge and were afforded a stunning view of Katahdin against a brilliant blue sky. We lingered on the bridge for a while just enjoying the view and thinking about how far we had come and how soon our journey would be over.Our hopes for lunch at the restaurant at Abol Bridge were dashed when we were told it didn't open until 11:00. It was only 10:00 when we arrived, and we were afraid the Birches may fill up so we decided we better just do our resupply and head into Baxter. We had some snacks to eat, grabbed a mashed potato for dinner tonight, and some pumpkin whoopie pies for breakfast. We would have liked to get more food, but the prices were quite high here, so we just grabbed the "essentials".As we entered the park we encountered a Baxter Ranger who inquired what our plans were. We told him we were planning to summit tomorrow and we were hoping to camp at the Birches tonight. He told us we should be all set, and called ahead to let the ranger at Katahdin Streams Campground know that Earl Grey & Purple Haze were heading that way. He was very helpful and answered some more of our questions regarding our stay in the park.We made our way to the kiosk and signed in, there were only two others signed up so far for the Birches. So, we relaxed and were able to leisurely hike the remaining 9 miles. We managed to get cell phone service soon after and got a message out to family that we had made it to Baxter and we were all set to summit tomorrow.Pine Point seemed like the perfect spot for a lunch break, and we sat out on the rocks in Nesowadnehunk Stream as we ate. The trail follows the stream and we had to ford a branch of the stream a couple different times. After the second ford we stopped to soak our feet before making our way to Big Niagara Falls. There were quite a few day hikers at the falls and on the trail today fishing and enjoying the nice weather. We also met a couple of flip floppers who had summited yesterday and commented that it was like Disneyland on the summit with more than 30 hikers milling about.A couple more views of Katahdin and then we made our way past Daicey and Grassy Pond. Before we knew it, we were walking into Katahdin Stream Campground. We saw Carpenter, Ball Flap, and a couple other hikers waiting for a shuttle. They had summited today, and told us we had just missed Calves and Chaco who also summited today.The ranger wasn't in, so we grabbed some water at the stream and made our way to the Birches to set up camp. When we arrived there were only two other hikers there. I forget their names, but one had already thru-hiked the AT once and was now doing it again in sections with his friend. Going to be another cold night, we chatted for some time over dinner with the other two gentlemen about our journey coming to an end tomorrow before we finally decided we better head to our tent as we plan on getting up and going early tomorrow.It is dark now, and we are the only four hikers here at the birches. Hopefully the rain will hold off and we will have a clear day to enjoy our day on Katahdin.