Date: 2003-09-10
From: Abol Bridge

To: The Birches at Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

I didn't sleep well last night. My stomach was unsettled and kept waking me up, or at least kept me up when I woke up. I was awake from 1:45am until 3:45am, and after being awake for about an hour, got out my headlamp and book and read until I thought I could sleep again. I wasn't too concerned, as I knew I had only about 10 miles to hike, so there was no hurry getting out of the campground. I also thought, by being up for a few hours in the middle of the night, I'd sleep in easier. It didn't happen. At 5:45 I woke up, walked to the restroom, and on the way back to the tentsites detoured next to the river and some boggy areas to look for moose. No luck. Back at out tentsites, I stood looking at Katahdin and watching the colors on it change as the sun came up. I thought sunrise would light up Katahdin with bright orange and yellow light, but it was just a pale orange. No matter the lighting, Katahdin is quite majestic-looking. And I knew that tomorrow, I'd be on to! p of it. I had no strong feeling about that. No sadness, no joy. It was just matter-of-fact.The others started waking up, and packing up. At 6:30, I went back to my sleeping bag to try to catch a few more z's. I still didn't feel that great and was hoping a quick nap would help out. I dozed for about 45min, then started getting ready and packing up. I met Hotdog at the campstore, bought some goodies for breakfast, then we headed out. Onward to Katahdin.It seemed almost like a dayhike today, since there weren't a lot of miles to cover and we took our time, enjoying the next-to-last day on the AT. We stopped for a break and walked out on some flat rocks near small falls on a stream. It was still cool, but the sun felt wonderful! Another beautiful day!We took a blue-blaze trail to Daicy Pond, as we'd heard the best view of Katahdin was from there. It was an outstanding view, but I don't know that it is better than some I'd already seen. All views have been outstanding. We had lunch there, but I didn't feel like eating much. I didn't have any indigestion, but my stomach just hurt, making me not want to eat. So I didn't.We hiked into Katahdin Stream Campground in early afternoon, not sure where we were supposed to go. The Ranger saw us, asked if we were thruhikers, and when we told him we were, he did all the paperwork and money-taking right there and told us to head over to the ranger station to get some more information, including our AT 2000-Miler applications. By the time we got over there, the Ranger was talking to 2 other guys just starting their southbound thruhikes, and one other person was waiting to talk to him. Sitting out front were Duff and Neil, who had summitted today. It was cool talking to them. Neil looked a bit tired and when I asked him how he felt, he said he felt physically exhausted, which isn't necessarily new, but, after finishing his hike, he felt that he could let himself be exhausted. I can understand that. When hiking, it didn't matter how tired, cold, sore, or sick I was. I knew I would be hiking the next day anyway, so I didn't allow those things to make me crash.I had two spells during the day when I got tunnel-vision really bad and thought I might pass out. Strangely, in both instances, I wasn't hiking. I was sitting on a rock one time, and standing still the other time. By the time we got to Katahdin Stream Campground, all I wanted to do was lie down. We finally talked to the Ranger again, and walked to The Birches, shelters for thruhikers. We set up in a shelter with Super Dave, and I sat at a picnic table with my head down, resting or napping. I'm not sure which. When I heard a vehicle go by, I'd look up to see if it was Ma and Pa, but I never saw them. About 2hrs after arriving there (maybe sooner), Thirstyboots walked into The Birches and told me that Ma and Pa were back at the campground giving out Trail Magic. Hotdog, TB, and I headed back there.Ma and Pa stayed there for just a bit longer, but were worn out and headed back to Millinocket fairly early. They took Caddis with them, as he'd summitted Katahdin earlier today and needed a ride. Caddis started March 1st also, and yet we'd never met. Until today. If I hadn't been a day ahead of schedule, I would never have met him. He was heading to Vermont to do the Long Trail. Now THAT'S a hiker!Coffee, Old Corpus, and Aloha were renting a lean-to, so I went there to hang with the gang. Coffee's son, Matthew had come to Baxter State Park and had brought all kinds of food and drinks. I wish I could've enjoyed it more, but I still wasn't feeling too good and wasn't sure I wanted to give my stomach a chance to refuse whatever I put in it, so I only drank water. Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with all of my hiker friends, laughing with them, and just being around them. I could not have asked for a better group to be around at the end. I made one trip back to The Birches to hang my food bag and get everything ready for bed, then went back to the party at the lean-to. I wished I could've stayed up later and stayed there longer, but I was getting very sleepy, so around 10pm, Thirstyboots, Tom and I went to our homes for the night, at The Birches.One day left. One mountain left. I still don't have any strong feelings about tomorrow's hike, or what tomorrow's hike means. I keep telling myself that it is the end of the journey, but it just seems like another day on the trail. The only difference is that tomorrow, I am allowed to hike about 5mi north, then 5mi south. Like a dayhiker would do. I don't want the experience to end. I don't want my new friends to leave. I don't want to leave. But it has to happen. That's just the way it is. I'm not emotional about it, and that surprises me, but tomorrow might be a different story... I just hope I get feeling better.