Date: 2008-09-08
From: The Birches Lean-tos, ME

To: KATAHDIN!!!
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Reached the summit at 9:55AM, September 8, 2008. . .GAME over."I now have new respect for the term 'within walking distance.' - Welches (AT '00)."It's something unpredictable,but in the end is right,I hope you had the time of your life"- Green DayIt was my final day on the trail. I got up at 5:30AM, but really I was awake from 3AM. I was just too excited and pumped up to really sleep. Katahdin has an almost legendary and mythical quality about it when hikers speak of it out here and it has been something in the distance that I had been hiking to for so long that the fact that I was finally going to climb up it seemed almost surreal.I packed up for the last time and prepared my day pack that I would take up Katahdin with me. I had breakfast and then walked to the ranger station with Creek Diver, Shelter Monkey and Snake Whisperer, where we left our regular packs. We walked over to the trailhead and signed a register and began hiking at 6:50AM. It was cool out but clear and sunny.I literally flew up the first mile along Katahdin Stream and crossed it just below Katahdin Stream Falls. I could tell that this part of the trail was very well traveled. From here the trail became more rocky and steep as I went up higher. I stopped about another mile and a half later just below the treeline to take a break and have a snack before going any higher. It took me about an hour and ten minutes to reach this point.Just past the treeline the weather became much colder and windier. It was clear the summit was clouded in and everything above treeline was hiking through a cloud. Fortunately it was not raining. I put on my fleece and rain jacket and gloves. After the wind almost blew my Moosehead Lake hat off the mountain I too packed that away and put on my winter hat. I kept hoping the sun would break through the cloud and the summit would clear up. It never did, but in the end it did not really matter to me because I was just too excited and happy to finally be finishing.The first mile or so above treeline was a steep boulder scramble upwards. My trekking poles were practically useless and I mainly just used my hands to pull myself up, over and around the rocks. The entire time the wind was gusting and a few times it felt as though it moved me. It was the windiest part of my entire thru-hike. However, everything seemed much easier than I expected. Maybe I had just built up the difficulty of this climb in my head, but in reality I think my excitement and adrenaline were so great that I was fueled upwards with ease.After the boulder climb, which included a few rebar hand and footholds, the trail leveled out somewhat in a section called the tableland. It was an alpine like environment but still fairly rocky. I passed Thoreau Spring and was able to get cell phone reception where I made a quick call to my mom to let her know I was within about a mile of the summit.There was one final upward climb, not very steep, and then about fifty yards ahead through the mist I saw the famous wooden sign marking the northern end of the AT and the Baxter Peak, the summit of Katahdin. I made a beeline for the sign and literally collapsed against it. It was 9:55AM. I could not believe I was finally there at the end and that the hike was over. I did not want to let go of sign and my face was pressed against it. The journey was over. I was cold and wet, but there were no more white blazes and I felt much more happiness, excitement and relief to be done than sadness. However, even as I write this I still do not feel as though I am really finished, merely that I am going to take a zero day and then I should be getting back on the trail. I suppose that feeling will fade in a few days.I spent a little over an hour at the summit. Creek Diver had gotten there just ahead of me and shortly after me Shelter Monkey showed up and then about half an hour later Snake Whisperer reached the summit. It was the end for Creek Diver as well, but only halfway for Shelter Monkey and Snake Whisperer. They will be traveling to Harpers Ferry and then heading south to Springer to finish their flip flop thru-hike.I took a bunch of pictures of the sign on the summit. It was so fogged in though that there was not much else to see. Finally my fingers were so cold even through my gloves that it was time to begin the 5 mile descent. I took my time coming back down and about a mile and a half down and still a mile above treeline, the clouds gave way ahead of me and I got some pretty good views below. Behind me the summit remained clouded in. I reached the base of the mountain at 1:50PM. Back at the base it was sunny and clear again, in the low 70's. The summit still remained clouded in for another hour or so until late in the afternoon the clouds finally moved out.We lounged around at the ranger station until about 4PM when my dad arrived and took us to Millinocket, a town about 20 miles south of Katahdin. There we had dinner at the AT Cafe and then celebrated being done and said our goodbyes at a local tavern across the street.I started this hike saying that I was not looking to find anything or learn anything about myself. I still cannot say with any certainty what I learned from this trip, although I am sure there are numerous things, or why I undertook it in the first place. It was just simply something I wanted to do and felt that I had to do. I certainly had things and qualities about myself, good and bad, that I already knew, magnified on the trail. I am glad that I had the dedication and motivation to stick with the trail and complete it, even though there were times I did not want to be out here. I am also glad that it is something I did not put off in life. I think it will take some time for things to settle down before I can look back in retrospect I see changes, differences, and things learned that occurred along the way.What I can say is that I had many more good days on the trail than bad days. I can also say that it was one of the best experiences of my life and I met many great people along the way. In the end the people I met along the way stand out in my mind the most. Most of the views and mountains blend together in my memory, but the people I met along the way stand out distinctly. Although the Green Day lyrics above may be somewhat cheesy, they perfectly encapsulate how I felt about my trail experience, and I had them in my head often, especially towards the end of my hike. To anyone else thinking of hiking the trail, whether it is a thru-hike or just going out for the day, all I can recommend is: DO IT. Whether you regret it or not, you will undoubtedly get something out of it.Happy Trails