Date: 2005-09-18
From: The Birches, Baxter State Park

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I was hoping it wouldn't rain today. When I wake up however it's still coming down. Pirate decides to let me get a head start so I leave the shelter alone. No other hikers showed up at the Birches yesterday and I'm wondering if anyone will show up at the mountain today. On my way to the ranger station I miss the cut off and end up walking through Katahdin stream campground again. Oh no! Extra miles! (Well, half a mile at least).At the campground I meet Wildcat and his girlfriend. They are summiting today too. Cool! Noodle, Newhart and entourage are in the parking lot. It seems like we are going to have some company after all. The rain has slowed down to a very fine drizzle and sometimes it seems like it's not raining at all.I ditch most of my gear at the ranger station, sign in at the trailhead and start going up. The last part of the trail. Very weird.Hiking by myself in this depressing weather isn't the best thing for me to do right now. I'm feeling pretty down. My hormones aren't helping either. Yes, my body has impeccable timing. I wish I were a man sometimes...Pirate joining me makes me feel a little better but when the trail gets really rough I break down again. I hate crying! Buttah, Many Names and Paul show up unexpectedly. Cool! I hope they stay at the top long enough for me to meet them there. Circuit Rider catches up to me when I have another emotional break down. There goes my tough girl image...This rock scramble is really a lot easier for tall people. Short legs just don't reach that far. I'm glad I have strong arms. Hoisting myself up isn't easy. Sometime I think I'm not able to do it. I won't take help though. I need to do this myself. If I can't I might as well turn around and go back down. A couple of times I'm very tempted to do just that. After taking a few seconds to compose myself however I continue on.I'm happy to have Pirate here. He's been such a good friend to me. He doesn't put pressure on me when I have my little break downs. He just patiently waits until they are over.Circuit Rider tries to cheer me up by telling me it's not far anymore. Only a few more rock scrambles.We meet Noodle & Newhart and Wilcat and girlfriend on their way down. We're getting close now. When we're almost there Buttah, Many Names and Paul come down too. I was too slow. Didn't make it there in time to meet them. Bummer! I tell them it's not going to be much of a party without them on the top. They decide to turn around and climb back up! Awesome!!! I don't think they know how much that means to me. I don't even know why that means so much to me. I'm an emotional mess. Five minutes later Buttah, Pirate, Many Names, Circuit Rider, Sherlock and miss Apple Pie are on the top of Mt Katahdin together. Yippee!!! We take group pictures and then the boys leave Pirate and me up there. We have a lot of fun taking different pictures. After Pirate climbs on top of the sign I decide I want to do that too. It takes me a while to figure out how to get up there. Several 'Apple Pie struggling to climb sign' pictures later I'm ready for my 'cool' poses. I'm actually having fun on top of Katahdin. Who needs views when you can pretend to be a smoking drunk (juice and a nougat bar) on top of a mountain? One of the best shots is me passed out underneath the sign. Too bad I don't have a supermodel body because I love the camera and the camera loves me ; ).Finally we realize we should be heading down. Bandicoot is going to pick us up in an hour and it will take me probably three to get back down. I hope he doesn't get bored. Going down the rocks ain't too much fun either. Mostly I just butt slide. It's so slippery. I'm very relieved to make it down safely. I sign out at 4:30pm. Nine and a half hours after I started going up. Wow! That was slow. But who cares? Thankfully Bandicoot isn't upset at all. He was happy to listen to his football game on the radio. It's good to see him again. Anyway, I'M DONE!!! I survived the AT!!!My last register entry:Next year at Traildays: I SURVIVED THE AT t-shirtsavailable in the colors Blood red, Dirt brown, Mud black, and Bruise (blue and yellow). Sign up at applepiepct03@yahoo.com for a 10% hiker trash discount.Off to Nepal I go!!!