Date: 2014-09-29
From: Abol Bridge, Mile 2170.2

To: Katahdin Stream Campground, Mile 2180.1
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Since I went to bed about 7:15 last night, I was rested and ready to get up well before sunrise. I was in no hurry today, so I just lay there resting and dozing until about 5:30, enjoying my last night in my tent on this adventure. :-)I deflated my mattress and packed up my sleeping bag and tent one last time. After a lazy breakfast - I still had plenty of food - I started hiking about 6:40. Since this section of trail mostly follows along the side of streams, I was expecting lots of roots and rocks, like yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised. Certainly it had its sections of them, but was an easy hiking trail for the most part. The weather was cool and mostly cloudy. (On my last view of Katahdin, the top was in the clouds.) There were plenty of colorful sections with the deciduous trees at or near their peak fall colors. Most of the way I had the sound of a gushing stream on my left, and a cow moose even made a guest appearance for me. (Actually, I suppose I was the guest, not the moose...) It was a wonderful way to finish off the trail prior to climbing Katahdin!Other than a ranger at the Daicey Pond parking area, my moose friend, some squirrels and some ducks and other small birds, I didnt see anyone else until I got to the Katahdin Stream Campground about 10:30. There were several car campers there, but I didn't interact with any of them other than to wave. I hiked on through the campground to the trailhead where hikers going up Katahdin must register. Hungry Hiker and Nora V had started up earlier that morning along with about a dozen others whose names I didn't recognize, some of them dayhikers I suspect.I stopped by the ranger station, but no one was there so I went back out to the road to see if I could hitch a ride to Millinocket this early. I knew there'd be plenty of opportunities later on when hikers came down from the mountain. Within a minute or two a pickup truck came by and gave me a lift. Gary was staying in a cabin further into the park and was going into town for ice.He dropped me on the north side of town, and I decided to just walk the three quarter mile through town to my hostel on the south side, the Appalachian Trail Lodge. As I walked along, another pickup truck passed me with three hikers in the back who hollered at me - Senator, Tumbles and Yeti Legs! I saw Yeti later at the hostel, and they had hitched in from Abol Bridge.I showered, did laundry, relaxed, showered again, shaved and started working on my journal while waiting for Linda and Sarah to get here. They drove up from VA and finally arrived about 7:45. It's so good to finally be with them! :-)We unloaded the car, then walked over to the restaurant down the street for dinner. As I entered the restaurant, I noticed four hikers in the first booth and recognized Gary and Sparkle Feet. There was a young woman by herself in the second booth, and my mind immediately assumed she was a hiker, too. In a fraction of a second my mind went from trying to remember the trail name of this familiar looking hiker to realizing she was our other daughter, Jennifer! What a great surprise!Unbeknownst to me, our son-in-law Scott had encouraged her to fly out when he heard that Sarah was going to climb Katahdin with Linda and me, too. So she flew into BWI on the redeye from CA this morning, and Linda and Sarah picked her up on their way north. They had dropped her off at the restaurant before coming to the hostel. They got me! :-) Daughter Surprise!Tomorrow Katahdin! Woo Hoo!