Date: 2010-08-14
From: Abol Bridge Campground

To: Mt Katahdin
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The ground was incredibly hard in the campground last night, but despite this and despite the excitement expected today, I got a good night's sleep. I got up at 500am since I had to do the extra miles prior to getting to the base of Katahdin (by the way it is pronounced: Cat-ar-din - kinda!). I hadn't been worried about these extra 5 miles yesterday but hiking them today was slightly tiresome given that I had the hard climb up Katahdin to do. I said to myself. "The miles will be worth it if I see a moose". Then I heard a loud noise of an animal fleeing my approach. I tried to be quiet to spot it but it moved again. Later when I went to the visitor centre, I told the ranger about it and she said it was either a bear or a moose. When I got to the base of Katahdin, I signed in with the ranger. I dumped my sleeping bag, tent and all unnecessary items at the ranger's station and left just with enough gear for the day. It was 730am when I left. I passed many day hikers on the way up. I flew past them. After 1600 miles your legs are very strong and even a mountain like Katahdin seems easy with a day pack. I also passed a thru hiker called "Lightning". I'd seen before starting my hike that she was hiking with a brother and sister. They caused a big uproar on an online forum with their announcement that they were making a documentary about their hike. Most people said they'd never finish and took bets on who would drop out first. Turns out 10 days before Katahdin, they had a falling out (or maybe the hike led to this) so the brother and sister finished a few days before Lightning. They all finished though so it's pretty impressive. She was hiking up with her dad. I wish Fat Finger was with me! On Mt Katahdin, you need to pull yourself up rocks and through tight spots. If you have vertigo, I don't think it's the best place to be, but I just found it great. As I looked up, I saw a little brown sign. I didn't think it was THE sign (the final marker) because I knew from my map that I had to hike across the ridge. I started to get rather tired across the ridge but I saw people crowded on the top. It spurred me on. I thought about all the good times I've had and all I've been through over the last 3.5 months. I got to the sign at 10.20am after 3 hours of climbing. I didn't do much. I didn't kiss it or touch it. I just looked. There were lots of thru hikers, maybe 15. They were all celebrating. I felt out of place as they all knew each other. So I sat slightly apart and ate my lunch while looking at the incredible views of Maine. You could see lakes all over the place. The weather was beautiful. Sun everywhere. Despite this perfect situation, I felt like crying. I think it was all the emotion of the last months overwhelming me. I just couldn't believe that I was finished and all that I had accomplished. I got another hiker to take the obligatory photos of me on the summit. I headed down after 45 mins of sitting there. I heard a day hiker bitching about us "hurrying up then going straight back down". Well, personally that was the longest I've sat on a mountain and try hiking that far, you'll find you just want to be down in the parking lot, ready to go home! Going down took me 5 mins longer than going up, as you need to watch your step more. After picking up my gear, I got a hitch to the Baxter state Park visitor centre with a search and rescue person. We had a talk about the idiots who get stranded on the mountain from lack of preparation. He said his hardest task was the removal of a 250 pound lady (he said she was at least that heavy) from up top. It took 40 men. Then I got an immediate hitch with 2 guys who weren't even going to Millinocket, the town I was headed to. I think they liked the adventure. One was French, from Toulouse. They were very impressed with my hike and they had a lot of questions for me. Girls never find it hard to get a hitch on the trailm but I'll be glad to not need to hitch any more. Once in town, I went to Riteaid and bought an enormous amount of shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body lotion... and some new clothes. I just wanted to be clean. My brother even said on the phone. "You might want to think about a hair cut, it's been a long time!" When I get to Paris! I'll update a few more entries including:Thank yousGear list and recommendationsConclusions and highlightsFuture plans