Date: 2003-08-01
To: Boston
Miles today: 0.0

As promised, here is a full account of S-Day (Summit Day).There was a lot of worrying going on among the 13 hikers with whom I was traveling in the Un-Wilderness: we were told that The Birches was the only place hikers could stay, that there were only 12 spaces, and we would be deported to camp at Abol Bridge if there were more than 12 of us, which is 10 miles away and the thru-hiker equivalent of Timbuktu. We all woke up at the ludicrous hour of 5am to make a mad dash for the campstore and The Birches sign-in sheet, and then KoolAid Luke, Sticky Fingers and I spent the afternoon leisurely strolling the 10 miles to camp, swimming and snacking along the way. I also got to meet Poptart of '02! When we arrived at the Katahdin Stream campground we learned that the park was breaking all of its own rules about who could camp where, that there would be room for all of us at The Birches and the campground, and that the young and bored ranger could care less about whether or not we paid the requisite $8 fee. This is perhaps too bad, because I learned later that Baxter State Park is doing the ATC a big favor by allowing and maintaining The Birches long-distance hiker site and needs the funding badly.The nighttime scene was typical: fire, guitar, general merriment. Dean showed up, who I hadn't seen since North Carolina, and told us that he and Pathfinder and Crumbsnatcher were going to night-hike past us and surprise us on the summit but decided against it. This is good, because finishing the AT turned out to be a pretty personal thing and not a time for pranks. Crumbsnatcher apparently headed back from Abol Bridge with Bear while the other two hiked Katahdin at a normal hour. The rest of us, on the other hand, elected to get up at 2am and be on our way up the mountain by 3! While waking up at such an ungodly hour for the longest sustained elevation gain on the trail was a little mentally challenging, I could not have asked for a more magical summit experience.We all signed in at the trailhead, and then I let everyone else hike ahead of me so I wouldn't feel rushed. A headlamp was definitely necessary for the first hour and a half, but the terrain was the normal rockiness. I stopped after about a mile at a stone clearing past Katahdin Stream falls and lay back on my pack to stargaze: I saw a shooting star and wished that my ascent of Katahdin would be a highlight of this 5-month adventure. Just around 4:30 when I was able to put away my zipka and hike by the lightening sky, I hit the harder part of the trail which involved a lot of rock scrambles, some of which reminded me of Mahoosuc Notch! It was a fun way to climb 4000 vertical feet, and I even spied a ferret-like animal hunting in the predawn hours. The trail leveled off at the Table Lands, a flat exposed section of less than a mile that leads across to the final ascent to Baxter Peak and the Southern Terminus of the AT. As I started up that climb, I could hear the others hooting and hollering for each other: suddenly my legs felt like rubber but I was hiking faster than I ever had. About 20 yards from the summit, I was overcome by emotion: throughout the hike I had been thinking about all the people I have met and all the wonderful and awful times I have had, but mainly about all the personal fortitude it took to make it all the way. As I faced south towards Springer and had a good cry, I heard Mountain Jam shout, "Hey Poptart, get your ass up here!" Then A-Train said, "Hey man, she's probably crying" and Jam responded, "Oh, shit!" That's when the tears turned into giggles and I was able to compose myself enough to turn around and hike up to the summit to cheers from Jam, Chicken, Spork, A-Train, Train, Ben and Witt. I kissed the Katahdin sign and we all took many, many pictures in the sunrise light, many involving alcoholic beverages and nudity. I definitely had to sit for a half hour to digest the shot of whiskey that Meredith sent me for the summit before I tried climbing down all of those rocks! The day was perfectly and unusually clear and there was little wind: someone either did a lot of good deeds or sold their soul to the devil for that kind of beautiful day.I took my time hiking down, and saw a lot of dayhikers on the way. The second pair I met asked, "Are you thru-hiking?" and for the first time I could really say, "Yeah, I am through hiking!" At the bottom, Mountain Man (owner of the Sidetrack Cafe, who had hiked the 100 miles with us) was waiting with his pickup to take us all to Millinocket's selection of inns with pools and hot tubs. Chinese food and drinks was a great way to celebrate our finish, though the 2am start took its toll and we were mostly in bed by 10:30. Half of the crew is currently listening to Phish in Limestone in various states of altered consciousness, while I enjoy being inside on these rainy Boston days. It is really nice to be home, though none of my clothes fit and the days of shakes and fries are definitely over!I won't miss:packing up my life every morningtorrential downpoursmosquitoes (die! die! die!)wearing DEETchafingpowdered milkblistersBut I will miss:sunrises and sunsetsswimming all the timewearing my gaitersreal spring waterhiking every daysleeping in my hammocksitting around a fire at nightall the wonderful thru- and section-hikers I have had the pleasure to meet. Y'all know who you are.Thanks to everyone who's been reading this journal and keeping tabs on me. I'll keep reading the guestbook and will probably post a couple more times once I am in Michigan. Oh yes, and if there are any other local thru-hikers missing the trail, I will probably go on a trail magic/chilling out trip to Upper Goose Pond sometime this month. Peace out.