Date: 2007-10-05
From: The Birches

To: KATAHDIN!
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: clear sky

October 5, Summit DaySomeone got up at 4:35 a.m. and I woke up. I got up at 4:45 a.m. and Snakecharmer woke up. He got up around 4:50 a.m. and I don't think any of us can get back to sleep now - today's the day. It's 5:11 a.m. now and I can officially start getting ready in 19 minutes. I feel like a little kid the day they get to go to the amusement park. Cedar Point, here I come!...I laid in my tent for the next 16 minutes staring up at the stars, thinking about the first night out in my tent and the day ahead.I started getting ready in the dark, the last time I'd put my smelly clothes on, the last time I'd pack in such a fasion, the last time I'd put my tent away for a while. Others started getting up one-by-one as the sun came up. Melk, Ronin and I headed out around 7 a.m. and made our way to the ranger station to leave the contents of our packs. We got to the trail register at 7:54 a.m. and signed in. Then the hike up Katahdin officially began.I had a perma-grin for the first mile. The trail was flat and nice as we walked by Katahdin Stream and falls. A trail crew asked us if this was our last hike and when we said yes they congratulated us. It all felt surreal - we were climbing Katahdin! Finally here.The second mile got a little steeper as we climbed rock steps. More rocks lined the trail and things kept getting more interesting. We had some great views.Wait, let me take a minute to talk about the weather... During my whole hike, I feel like I paid my dues at all of the places where we should have had views. Clingmans Dome? Fog. Big Bald? Fog. Mt. Washington? All socked in with fog. Franconia Ridge? Fog. So I'd always hoped that would cash in for a clear day on Katahdin. Boy, did I hit the jackpot. It was a Class I day. The forecast called for temperatures in the 70s, winds 15-25 MPH and clear skies. It was an absolutely amazing day. You couldn't find a better day - especially in the fall. I felt so lucky. I knew I'd be able to enjoy the summit without freezing and even have views.So...as I was saying, things kept getting more interesting. By the time we made it to the third mile, we were officially rock climbing. I feel like I'd never been told about this part of the climb. It was almost like Mahoosuc Notch suspended in air. We pulled ourselves up on rebar, squeezed through narrow rocks and somehow managed to not get hurt. This continued on to the fourth mile. There were two different spots where I was totally scared. You could have slid off of the rock all the way down the mountain if you took one wrong step. It was pretty sketchy. I was dreading the climb down. Somewhere along the way we made it above treeline. The fifth mile was a bit easier as we made our way over the Tablelands. The trail flattened out and the only rocks in our way could be stepped on. It looked like we were climbing on the moon. We could see everyone else up at the summit and we just wanted to be there. We were all starving but didn't want to stop until we got to that darned sign.We got to Baxter Peak at 1 p.m. and walked up to applause. Everyone we'd stayed with last night was there clapping for us - Mate, Genesis, Coach, Boognish, Tenacious Turtle, Snakecharmer, Chaco, Candyman. There were also several dayhikers out. We touched the sign like we were passing a baton in a relay race. We made it. Anyway, the applause brough tears to my eyes. This is the moment we'd all been thinking about for somewhere between six months and decades. Coach, Genesis, and Mate were singing and playing the guitar and harmonica. We snapped photos and talked about going to Millinocket that night. Then they played their sign-off song, the song they played every time they were done playing for the night on the trail. I wasn't ready to hear it. But we all stood still and watched and listened. Melk and I cried and you could tell we were all thinking something along the same lines - wow, what an adventure. Wow, what great people. Wow, it was so hard and went so fast. Wow. Wow, we have to climb back down this mountain. Wow, this is Katahdin. Wow, I've seen these people for over six months and what will I do tomorrow in a world painted without their faces?We couldn't spend too much time up there because we had to beat the sun on the way down so we finished up taking pictures and left the summit at 2 p.m. I wasn't ready. Melk and Ronin started hiking and I just took a once-over of the peak one last time. It was completely empty now except for the sign. And that sign. Ah, the sign. It was so smooth - the hands of all the thru-hikers before me wearing it down. The weather keeping it company in the interim.I wanted to sit there for hours to let it all sink in. My adventure was over. I no longer had to worry about being cold and wet, being woken up by a black bear. I didn't have to think about whether I'd be sleeping on rocks or with mice. Or where to put my food each night. And I wanted to sit there and appreciate it all. But, alas, the great tragedy of the trail continued - there was always somewhere else I had to go. I thought about the folks I hiked with along the way that I wished were there - Young Eagle, TalkerMan, Bibgy, Mayo and Cobweb, Sweetwater and Fuzzy Monkey, Sunshine and Google, Yellow Snowman, JB, Tuna Bag, Scribe and Gadget, Sailor. I thought about how Certain would have loved this moment.It didn't really sink in that I'd never live this life again.We hiked down a little faster, Melk and I hiking together for the last time. The climb down wan't quite as scary as I expected. The sun started getting lower and the sky grew more orange. I could feel the mountain empty out the way they do on a day-hike without familiar faces. I could feel my cheeks rosy from the perfect day in the sun we had. It was warm on the way down. What a great day. We had a good time and even started singing during the last mile. "We Are The Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" lyrics belted out louder the closer we came to the end. I noted the smell of the pine trees one last time. The cleanliness of the Maine woods, the beauty. One thing I hope to remember are the smells - jasmine in the south, pine in the north, campfires, the smell of the cows we passed.Melk and I stopped and talked to Little Bug Shoe and Scuffles and then stopped and gave each other a big hug. We were done. More tears. We then signed out on the register and that's when I saw my parents. I ran over to them and gave them big hugs. It was so nice to have them there to celebrate with.I got one last liter of water from Katahdin Stream, a little sad that I wouldn't have water from a mountain spring anytime soon.We drove back to Millinocket and had dinner and just sort of hung out. We were all exhausted from the hike and the sun. What a perfect day. - Don't recall the sounds.