Date: 2007-09-09
From: White House Landing Camp

To: Summit of Mt Katahdin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Lady Green, Sir Wounded Knee, Taken and I meet at the appointed hour (4:15am)and have to wake Sleeper and DaBear. They are ready in minutes and we drive into Baxter Park then up to the parking area by the Katahdin Stream Campground. We start our hike at 6:15am. The trail is through the forest, over Katahdin Stream, past Katahdin Falls and then up steeply. Eventually we reach parts of the trail that I find personally challenging to the limits of my abilities and skills. I am afraid of heights and of falling from them and there are parts where I could easily see myself falling to my end. If I didn't have to reach the summit to complete the thru hike I would have turned around. I am very glad I have Sleeper and DaBear and Taken with me. They keep it fun and encourage me when I need it most. The trail goes up over big exposed boulders with incredible views. At first we are in clouds, then we break out and are above them. Then the clouds disappear. It is a perfect day. I am blessed and very lucky. The conditions are exactly how I hoped they would be. The trail climbs along the spine of the mountain, then another steep spine, then I get to a high alpine area which is open and vast. I can see the summit up another climb. There are rock steps to the final summit. As I get closer I can see and then hear other hikers cheering and calling out my trail name. I slow to wipe the tears of joy from my eyes then pick my pace back up arriving at the Katahdin summit sign. I walk slowly to the sign. It is dream like, surreal even, I feel a sense of deja vu, probably from reading other accounts and seeing so many summit photographs or maybe from dreaming about this moment. I put my hand on the sign to make sure it is real and I am overwhelmed with emotions. Everyone is cheering. I feel embarrassed to be given so much attention for such a personal moment. Everyone there has worked hard to reach this place, even the day hikers have worked hard and should feel proud. The other thru-hikers here at journey's end are probably feeling the same. Taken, Sleeper, Da Bear and a multitude of other successful thru hikers welcome me and we celebrate the end of our journey, the end of our thru hike. I walk around and congratulate them one by one, shaking their hands and giving hugs. Cocoa, Monkey, Hemlock, Rio, April Showers, Montreal, Alpine Strider, Lucky, Pack Rat, Lady Green, Sir Wounded Knee, Buttercup and Moses are all up here. We celebrate and take personal and group photos by the Katahdin sign. From the summit the views are awesome and long range. It is all perfect. I have my good friends from last year, Da Bear and Sleeper. I have Taken, who was there for the first month and gave me a good start and came with me up this final exam of a hike to the summit. I am proud she was so strong and made it to the top with me to be here for the journey's end. It is warm and a gorgeous day. We celebrate long and savour this dream ending. I pop open champagne and we toast each other, the bottle is passed around everyone partakes. I don't want the celebration to end. Eventually the others start down, some choosing other trails down. It is time to go but I am reluctant to go. I don't want the magical wonderful dream to end but I must face the hard hike back down the mountain. I feel like the hike down is more than climbing back down, it is much more. I am dreading the climb down. The challenges of the ascent seem less than the fear of the descent. Before leaving the summit I walk to the large cairn and place the stone I carried in my pack all the way from Springer Mountain on top of the cairn. I also place the stone Lynne collected at Springer in 06 on top of the cairn. This closes my hike and I need to get back down. I am very happy to be with friends and Taken as we make our way cautiously down Katahdin. I drag myself away from the summit, dropping back by myself. I am used to hiking by myself. It is my way. I am best by myself when walking. But I gather myself and rejoin my friends and am glad they are here. I don't think I could have made it without them. The climb back down turns out to be better and more fun than the climb up. The views are even more open as I look out at the huge vista with my back to the mountain. We reach the Katahdin campground and are welcomed by Lynne, grandson Zane, Lady Green and Sir Wounded Knee patiently waiting for our arrival. It is done. I am beyond words to explain what the hike means to me. It is larger then I can say. I am overwhelmed. We drive to a cabin Lynne has rented and celebrate some more. I am not able to understand the feelings I feel. I don't know why but I feel confused by all the events. I guess it's too much to handle. The end came so fast. I feel like it will probably take me a while to sort it all out, to deal with it, to face the reality of returning to the real world a changed man. I have lived in the forest, in Trail World, for six and a half months this year and four months last year. I am not ready to leave. I am a different person than when I started this journey. The journey that has taken me to many new places. I will have to try hard to fit back in a place I left along time ago. I will try to explain how I feel when I understand it better. Not now, later. The next day we relax at the cabin. We run into Caveman of Ohio and bring him back with us. Taken, Zane, Lynne, Sleeper, Da Bear, Caveman and I canoe, row a boat, barbecue and relax. The next day Lynne and I drive Taken and Zane to the airport in Manchester, NH. Then Lynne and I drive down south to our place at the Jersey shore, arriving late. It was a long drive through some busy interstate sections. I am again challenged driving among aggressive commuters in large metropolitan areas. I am now at our summer place and want to take some time to understand my feelings and try to finalize them on this journal. I have many photos and will soon download them. I will try to express my feelings and explain how I think the hike has affected me. Please check back as I will also fill in my final days from Stratton to Katahdin. I welcome comments and hope you can help me with my transition back to the land of many homes. Please drop me a line on the guestbook along with your email address so I can contact you and, if you want, I'll supply my cell phone. Someday I will hike again. Some day I will live in the forest again. Some day I will be able to deal with my transition. Not now but hopefully soon. I am happy, proud, strong, perhaps as strong or stronger than I have ever been but I am not sure what is going on to make me feel so mixed up. I have mixed emotions and feel crazy right now. But I did it! I conquered my fears, used all my skills and abilities to successfully complete my Thru-hike. I am a 2007 Thru Hiker. I am in the best shape of my life. I am strong. I can do this and it will hopefully help me do what ever I want or need to do in the future. Oh how I miss the forest, Trail World and my many special trail friends. I am very lucky. I will take my time re-entering society. I have much time and I will do it right.