Date: 2003-09-17
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: clear sky

I don¢t know how but I did manage a few hours of sleep during the night. I got up about 1:00 and went outside the lean-to and was happy to see a clear sky, full of moon and stars. By 5:30 I was up again and wandering the campground, talking to other hikers who, just like me, were anxious and excited to get started as soon as possible. Back at the lean-to I wolfed down my final trail breakfast, two little Miss Debbie oatmeal cream pies, and prepared my pack for the day¢s adventure. At 7:00 Ma Finch, Finch, Dreamwalker, and I took off up the trail. We caught up with 2x4, Just Bill, Tater, and Cobra and Splash at the sign in register. The trail had us spread out, Cobra leading the way and soon Splash and she had disappeared. The trail to treeline was fairly easy, the usual amount of rocks and boulders and roots we have become accustomed to when climbing any mountain this far North. When I hit treeline the world became dramatically different. It was hand over hand climbing, forget hiking. I caught up to Dreamwalker and 2x4 who had also slowed down with the effort. 2x4 was carrying his full pack which had to weigh over 40 pounds. Added to the difficulty of the climb was a fierce wind which had to be gusting at over 30mph, enough to blow you sideways at times. Metal rungs had been embedded in several boulders to help you get over them. I guess it made the climb easier but they were difficult to negotiate also. We reached a small plateau and saw in front of us a straight up rock climb of jumbled rocks and boulders. This part of the summit took a long time as Dreamwalker and I picked each step carefully. 2x4 with his full pack got way ahead of us and became a small speck a long climb above us. Relief came when we finally climbed over the last pile of rocks and reached the Tableland, a fairly level stretch of land, about a mile long, leading to the final climb to the summit. The only difficulty experienced here was the wind, which was blowing even harder and kept pushing me off the trail. But by now only one thing was on my mind and that was getting to the sign on top. Cobra was coming down from the summit at one point and I hugged her neck. She has really suffered with knee problems just about the whole hike and to finish was really an amazing feat for her. Splash went to the Knife Edge to look it over and would be coming down later. I finally reached the last little rock scramble up and saw my goal. I stopped and gazed at it for a few moments wondering how my emotions would react when I finally touched the weathered wood sign. Not to worry. When I finally got to it there were about 20 people standing around and with the wind constantly trying to push me all my efforts went toward just staying on my feet and not stumbling into someone else. Finch and Ma Finch soon joined the crowd on top and our small group had finally made it to the end. We took about a million pictures and just looked around at the surrounding countryside, enjoying the beauty that only a crystal clear day and Katahdin could provide. But it was still very windy and cold, especially when you¢re not moving, so staying on top for long was not to be, so after about 45 minutes it was time to start back down the mountain. I said goodbye to 2x4 who was going down another trail, the famous Knife Edge, and then hiking out of the park by a different way. He was anxious to get to town and pick up Tai-you, the wonder dog. I hope his or my travels bring us in contact with each other again. I had dreaded the thoughts of going down the mountain a lot worse than going up but once we crossed the Tableland and started down the rocks and boulders fear took a back seat. After all, I had accomplished my goal and down the mountain was the way home. After I reached treeline I made good time and by 3:00 I was back in the campground.What a wonderful day!   I¢m going home now.