Date: 2004-10-08
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to 

To: Kathadin Stream Campground
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

Trail Sign at KSCStart: Hurd Brook Lean-to @ 0831 Finish: Kathadin Stream Campground, Shelter 11 @ 1330Miles: 13.4Weather: Sunny and warm (70¢s), Indian SummerBreakfast: Mountain House Potatoes & Cheese w/ BroccoliLunch: 2 SnickersDinner: Chicken Sandwiches, Fudgeround, StarcrunchTrail Conditions: Flat & EasyAnimals: Squirrels, Chipmunks, Birds, GrousePeople: London Len, Chicago Rob, Mom & Dad!, Officer Taco.Well, today was my last full day on the Appalachian Trail. It was definitely a day of mixed emotion, but the excitement of seeing my parents and Ben greatly outweighed the fact that following today only 5.2 miles stood between me and the end.It was a surprisingly warm night (in the 50¢s) compared to the chill air of the past week. I had my sleeping bag fully unzipped and only used it as a blanket. Despite the shelter floor of poles, I slept quite comfortably and didn¢t have any aches or creaks in my muscles come morning. I hopped out of the sack around 0630 to use a tree and then sat around not thinking of much. Finally I prepared breakfast and fired up my alcohol stove. Today was the first and only hot breakfast I have cooked on this trip and it consisted of Mountain House Freeze Dried Mashed Potatoes.After eating I slowly began packing up. It really dawned on me how much of a daily routine I had fallen into. Packing my pack: food bag down the center, tarp tent and Gore-Tex pants/jacket on the right, fuel bottle and bivy on the left. My sleeping bag laid flat over them with my cook set stacked on the bag. Fold over my trash bag liner, rain cover stuffed down on the side of my pack (left) and TP on the right.The methodical routine to which I have grown so accustomed to ended today as I pulled the draw string taut and clipped shut the top of my pack. It is something I have done for the past 167 days and it fell strangely foreign today. I said my good byes to Patrick and John, they wished me well, and I began my final saunter to the apex of the trail.All I really thought about yesterday and today was seeing my parents and Ben. As I walked all I knew is that they were somewhere between Michigan and here. It suddenly seemed like this whole hike was a huge game of chess and that the phases of my hike were nothing more than pieces on a board advancing a relentless attack. And now the final pieces were in movement to claim victory. I knew they had to be close and all day as I hiked I hoped that the voices I heard around the bend, coming south toward me, were them.Once again the weather was absolutely spectacular. It was a total Indian Summer and temps made their way into the low 70¢s, a rare occurrence in Maine this time of year. The walking was so easy and I coasted along. I tried early on to force myself to hike slowly. After all, this was my second to last day on the trail why not enjoy it? But I couldn¢t go slow, I was too damned excited to get to Katahdin, see my parents, and reach the end.I covered the first 3.5 miles to Abol Bridge in under an hour, and that was the most difficult stretch of trail all day. I crossed Abol Bridge with a huge smile on my face, proud to have reached this milestone. I stopped at the camp store and bought some Oreos and Snicker bars for the hike thru BSP. As I was getting ready to leave two hikers piled out of a car in the parking lot. They looked really familiar, and it turns out that I stayed the night with them at Fingerboard Shelter in New York. They¢re SOBO hikers, and are presently as far south as Damascus but came back up to Maine to make up an 80-mile stretch they missed due to injury. Music Man was the name of one of the kids, I cannot recall the other¢s name. It is something that has really amazed me on this trip, not seeing someone for long periods, and then coincidentally meeting up with them when you least expect it.I think back to the beginning of the trip when this first happened. I was waiting for Nancy to pick me up in Hiawassee, so I stopped in the RiteAid in town. Tater, a local trail angel who had helped me out earlier that week, just happened to be at the grocery store next door, saw me in the parking lot, and offered me a ride. More recently, it was seeing Shaggy Sticks on the backside of Mt. Eisenhower in the Whites after having not seen him since the first week of the trip.Well, anyways, after chatting with the SOBO¢s I tore into my Oreos dusting half the package and set off to enter the park accompanied by one of the Rangers. I shot the breeze with the Park Ranger as we walked and he was full of all kinds of good info about Katahdin and the park. I paused and snapped several nice pictures of Katahdin at Abol Stream, and ventured forth and signed in at the registration board. Katahdin from Abol BridgeI stood at the sign for a few minutes staring at the flat trail ahead. I took several slow swaggered steps, my face lit up with a grin of satisfaction, I raised my poles in the air in a triumphant pose, and began the final stage of my hike to the base of Katahdin. Excited is an understatement. There was nothing I could do to make myself go slow. The trail was so flat, weather so nice, and I knew my parents were near. I cruised through the park putting down 3.5mph. I stopped for several minutes to pound the rest of my Oreos, and continued moving once again. Tree Growing on a RockI¢m not sure what happened next, maybe my sinuses cleared or the wind shifted, but I caught a whiff of myself and I stunk. For the first time all trip I felt self-conscious about my ¢hiker¢ appearance. I think it had to do with the fact that the end was drawing near. A harbinger to the transitioning process back to reality that lay ahead. A reminder that what is acceptable (and far more relaxed and enjoyable outdoors) is far from the status quo back in the real world. It was an awkward feeling. But, considering that I wanted to hug my parents when I saw them, not keep them at a ten-foot distance I stopped to cleanup.There was a nice rocky section in the river a bit before Big Niagara Falls so I pulled off the trail, hopped out on some rocks into the river and washed my shirt. It had been about 14 days since it was last cleaned. I rinsed off my upper body and just dried out in the sun. The stink factor went down a few points. After thirty minutes I began walking once more. Up to this point I had only seen one other person on the trail and BSP, and I was increasingly anxious to see my parents and Ben round the turns that continually lay ahead. Almost There!!!I kept getting closer and closer to Katahdin Stream Campgroumd (KSC) and still no family coming south. I would hear voices up ahead and see figures moving towards me through the growth, but each time¢¦.no familiar faces. I got to the gravel road and began the 12 mile road walk to KSC. I kept my fingers crossed that they would be waiting at the campground.I strolled into the campground. I immediately scanned the commons area with all the picnic tables, no family. I checked the parking area, no Honda Odyssey. They hadn¢t arrived yet. It was a serious mental blow for me, I almost broke down. I dejectedly carried myself to the Rangers Station, signed in and went thru the registration process. I was the 451st AT hiker to arrive at BSP.I walked over to an open picnic table and set down my pack. I took off my boots, doned my waldies and waited. The time kept going by and still no family. I was just a huge bundle of emotion ready to explode. It was a mixture of impatience/excitement/worry/anticipation all at once. Suddenly, after nearly an hour of waiting I heard the sound of a car making it¢s way up the gravel road. It rounded into KSC coming up the drive in front of where I was set up.It was mom, dad and Ben!!!! Reunion!!!I jumped from the picnic table and ran to the van. I could see everyone¢s smiling faces. Dad stopped the car in the middle of the road, the doors flew open, and out everyone came. We all exchanged hugs. It was so wonderful to see them. We stood around the van and talked and laughed. It was awesome.After about 20 minutes, we decided the van should be moved out of the roadway. Dad moved the mini, and we initiated operation lunchtime at one of the covered picnic tables. I was starving hungry and it felt great to eat some good food and Momma Reuschel¢s caramel bars.The afternoon began winding down so we headed over to the ¢Birches¢ campground for thru-hikers and Ben and I began readying ourselves for the big day. Preparing for the K-StoneI love prepping my gear. Seeing everything laid out, selecting what you need, planning and preparing for what lies ahead. For me it¢s a methodical and meticulous process of check and recheck. I equate it to the movies when the Special Ops men are gearing up for battle, or more realistically when our PD¢s SET Team is suiting up in a focused hurry to get to a call. For me it is just a cool feeling getting ready, especially knowing that it was Katahdin I was getting ready for.Ben and I finished packing and the parents fixed up dinner for us. We all ate and walked back to KSC to get approval for my sunrise summit from the Park Ranger. I got the go ahead for the early summit, but the Ranger wouldn¢t let Ben stay at the Birches as he wasn¢t a thru-hiker (even though he had already hiked the trail). We were a bit pissed off until he advised us that he had reserved us a lean-to right off the AT, very cool. We relocated to our new lean-to and setup for the night. I said farewell to my parents, and they headed back to Millinocket, and will pick us up tomorrow at Roaring Brook Campground. Heading to the ShelterChillin' in the shelter, Ben and I plain and simple redefined banter. It was hilarious. It was great seeing the kid again, and on such an important occasion. We were so hyped we couldn¢t sleep, so we decided to stay up until our departure for the summit. I don¢t know what it is, but when ever Ben and I are on a trip there is always at least a 40 hour long stretch where we don¢t get sleep.Dang, we talked about everything. I caught up on the happenings at HPD, we chatted more about our plans for world domination, made fun of hippies, yellow-blazers, and other things. Then made more fun of yellow-blazers. And so this went on through the night¢¦..