Date: 2012-09-04
From: The Birches Lean To, Baxter State Park 2179.0

To: Top of Mt. Katahdin, Baxter Peak 2184.2
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow! This was the day I had been dreaming of for almost six months! (And, in a way, for 52 years!) We got up at 4:30 am and looked over to the nearby tents, where lights were already on. We quickly packed up our sleeping bags and air mattresses and put them into our pack liners, to be left at the ranger station, then ate breakfast. We packed rain jackets, rain pants, down jackets, fleece jackets, a minimal first aid kit, snacks for the day, and water into our packs for the hike. We carried our almost empty packs on our backs and carried our heavy pack liners in our hands to the ranger station, and left them on the screened in porch. (Random note: the rangers strongly suggest to hikers not to carry their full backpacks up Mt. Katahdin. They even have day packs that people could borrow. We chose to bring our own packs rather than a day pack since they're lighter and more comfortable, and, besides, we had carried them for 179 days already!) Once Duffer, Chicken Feathers, and Russell arrived, we started hiking up the mountain. The first 1.1 mile was easy, the next several miles steeper, occasionally requiring that we used our hands to help us climb up. Then it got really steep, with high reaches, and a few steel rod handholds...too few in our opinion...but we managed it. Once up the really steep part, the trail flattened out in an area called the table lands. That part was filled with boulders, but was at least fairly flat. Then we hiked the final uphill push to the summit. Cutman and Grunt, who had been at the Birches Campground with us, were with us most of the way up the mountain. Four hours and fifteen minutes after we left the ranger station, we arrived at the long awaited sign: Katahdin Baxter Peak, Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. By then Rocket and Skinny Rambo, Workman, and some others were at the top. Rocket, who is earning a Master of Fine Arts in media art, and is a professional photographer, took our finisher pictures, with all of our various cameras. Then I sent out some texts and emails to let people know we finished successfully. Gary ate a snack but I was too nervous about the hike back down the mountain to eat. As we were getting ready to start back down, Russell, Duffer, and Chicken Feathers came in. Chicken Feathers was so moved by the experience that he wept. He had hiked most of the way from Springer to Katahdin in 2010 before contracting lymes disease, forcing him off the trail. In 2011 he continued but contracted MERSA, and again was forced to leave the trail. This year he NOTHING was going to stop him! Congrats to all of us but especially to Chicken Feathers! We started down the mountain and were amazed that it seemed easier going down than it had climbing up. We climbed, scooted on our bums, hung on, and dropped off of high reaches, making it down the mountain in just over four hours...surprisingly fast, as we'd thought we'd be slower climbing DOWN than UP! On the way down, we caught up with Jonathan, a new southbounder, who had climbed Katahdin today as well. What a way to start your thru hike! When we arrived at the picnic area near the ranger station at the bottom, Hot Shot, Caveman, McGuyver, Trips Alot, and Not Yet were there eating lunch. They were northbounders who planned to summit Katahdin tomorrow, or, more likely, Thursday, since the weather prediction for tomorrow was rain. (Random note: After climbing Mount Katahdin in dry weather, we would NOT recommend doing it in the rain. In addition to it not being fun, we felt it would be dangerous.) Soon Workman and Stumpy came by. They had started together at Springer April 11. Stumpy, unfortunately, had to get off the trail just before Harpers Ferry with Salmonella, but had driven north to Baxter State Park to hike Katahdin with his friend, and to give him a ride home. It must have been hard for him, emotionally as well as physically. At any rate, by then a day hiker who we had met near the bottom of the trail came by with trail magic: organic apples and cookies! Soon Russell and Chicken Feathers appeared, as did MaMaw B. MaMaw planned be climbing Katahdin tomorrow or Thursday. She told us that Rainbow had fallen again and had reluctantly gotten off the trail at White House Landing, some 44 miles from the end. Heartbreaking. She had gotten injured before Monson and had limped along the Hundred Mile Wilderness until she fell again and made the decision that she just couldn't continue. Hopefully her doctor at home in Tampa would be able to help her and she would be able to finish her hike before Katahdin closed in mid October. MaMaw had stuck with her the whole way, and had continued from White House Landing by herself. Once back at the ranger station, we got Appalachian Trail 2000 mile completion paperwork, and caught the shuttle to the Appalachian Trail Lodge in Millinocket, Maine, where we were staying tonight. So...life is great on the Appalachian Trail at the completion of your thru hike, and the celebration of the fulfillment of a lifelong dream!