Date: 2006-08-13
From: The Birches

To: Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: broken clouds

The only feelings I¢ve had that were similar to how I felt this morning was how I felt the day I graduated high school. But then you have to multiply that times about 10. There was excitement and pride for reaching my goal, sadness for leaving my friends and adventure, and anxiety about what the future will bring. My fellow thru-hikers knew how I felt and we were all a little more subdued than usual. Unfortunately, as I was to find out, Robert didn¢t and wasn¢t. But were was Robert? I had left instructions to be at the Baxter State Park gate at 5 and to meet me at the ranger station. At 6 I was turning into a popsicle from sitting outside and I started to become a little alarmed. The ranger radioed the gate and I was assured that my husband was in the park somewhere. We ended up circling each other for another half hour before crossing paths. Our reunion consisted more of sorting the mess out than of hugs. It¢s nice to see that we haven¢t forgotten the status quo. By the time we got back to the shelter Doogie, Snake and Longhaul were starting to pack up, so I joined in with Robert¢s help. None of us were bringing our packs up Big K so we headed over to the ranger station for some loaner day packs. And then we started our last climb. Robert, it seemed, was in his element, racing up ahead of me and chattering away. He wasn¢t even the slightest bit phased when he got stung by a bee, twice. About halfway up the mountain the climb started to get tricky and the wind tried to blow me off my course. Frustrated that this last climb was not going how I wanted it to I started debating the importance of reaching that infamous sign at the top. But not for long. We caught up to Snake shortly after hitting the rebar hand-holds. He was taking a break from the chilly wind by crouching down in a little cave. I was really glad to see him because he unknowingly brought some normalcy to my hike. If ever there was a thru-hiker test climbing Katahdin would certainly be it. Appropriately, it seemed to sum up the trials and tribulations of my journey in one single ascent. Finally, finally, I could see the sign in front of me, and I was nearly moved to tears when Snake, my hiking partner, reached it. Oddly, when I reached the sign myself the only emotions I felt were frustration and emptiness. I had dreamed of the moment for so long, but never like this, Robert was still chattering and snapping pictures and day-hikers, oblivious to our achievement, were crowding the summit with their picnic lunches. It was windy and cold, but I sat in silence for a moment trying to settle down and absorb my surroundings. Once I calmed myself I was able to celebrate with my friends and my husband. We even passed around a bottle of bubbly. After getting our all-important pictures the cold seemed a lot colder and, lacking a helicopter, I realized I had to climb back down this beast. I suffered my last fall, my last rain, and even my last snow on the descent. It seemed like a fitting end to this crazy adventure. (Stay tuned ¢ I will be filling in the empty spaces, posting pictures and writing and epilogue in the next week or so)