Date: 2010-09-12
From: Birches Campground

To: Mt Katahdin
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: overcast clouds

When I crawled into my sleeping bag last night the sky was dark and full of stars. Another bluebird day was expected for tomorrow. When I woke the skies were still dark but without stars. Clouds had moved in. Nesta and Squash left just after 5:00am for an early summit. Out There and myself waited until we could see before we left the Birches and headed over to the ranger station to trade our full backpacks for a much lighter day pack. We both took only the essentials. Still heavy clouds required rain gear and the top being over 5000ft we brought some warm clothes to throw on if needed. Packed some snacks, water and my camera. The beginning mile was a nice slight uphill and the trail was easy hiking. The next mile began after a small set of waterfalls. This section of trail turned away from Katahdin Stream and headed a little more uphill. From there the trail became a series of large boulders and a much more difficult climb. The sky was still grey and the lack of a breeze would not be pushing the clouds and fog off of the mountain today. We passed a couple of people on our way up and had a short conversation with a young couple who attended Dartmouth College. He was on the xcountry ski team and visited Faurbanks for a meet 2 years ago. They passed us when we stopped for a break and a little later we passed them. After a good mile of boulder climbing the hike leveled out some and the summit could be seen off in the distance. Both Out There and myself hiked together to the top and had some good discussions as we went. He was fun to hike with and we seemed to have a lot in common. Once up near the summit the wind began to blow. The fog and clouds began to roll, move and lift. There are many trails from the bottom of the mountain that led to the top. Numerous people came and went as we made our way to the sign that is mounted on the peak. We made it. After all this time and all these miles an incredable adventure has come to an end. We took our photos and made phone calls to let others know that we reached the top. The wind opened up some views and then closed them back up just as quick. I got a couple pictures of the limited scenery and my picture standing in front of the sign. Pony arrived and we enjoyed a celebratory moment before heading back down. On the way down we ran into Fig and then Moss who were on their way up. At the bottom we traded our daypacks for our backpacks and started heading out to the road. It was early afternoon and we both needed to catch a ride to either Millinocket or Bangor. Before we ever got out of the parking lot a SUV headed our way. I threw out a thumb and the vehicle slowed and rolled down the window. It was the young couple we met from Dartmouth. Sweet. I got dropped off in Millinockett and Out There continued on to Bangor. By now the overcast had burned off and it was a nice sunny day. I ran into Squash, Wizard and Moss that night. I was very glad to be done and 1 step closer to going home. My last bit of business will be getting back to the Smokies to finish the 68 miles I missed back in March. It's been a great run and I feel so gratified to have accomplished such a tall order. This has been the adventure I sought and so much more. Thank all of you for traveling the trail with me. Stay tuned for the final word. Still striding Strider.