Date: 2012-08-18
From: The Birches Lean-Tos and Campsite

To: Summit, Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I summited Katahdin.Wow, just wow. I woke up just as the sky was hinting at changing from night to day. Looking at my watch I can see that it is 5:00am and I shot up like a flash as energized as a kid on Christmas morning. I stuffed everything into my pack all willy nilly, not concerned so much with packing right, and took off for the ranger station. Good timing all around as the Finns just pulled up as I came to the parking lot. There were lots of smiles and hugs all around. I filled up my water bottle, unloaded all the unnecessary gear from my pack, gave final hugs to them and said I¢d see them at the top, then shot up the trail. I was on the trail by 6 am, before the son, and long before all the car campers and other hikers were up and moving. And then right at the beginning, Wiffle Ball, All Smiles, and his wife came up behind me. Back in the Whites I has come to the decision that I wanted to do this finishing climb alone which is why the Finns were heading up a different side of the mountain to meet me at the top. But when I say the boys and felt their energy I just felt drawn to speed up my pace and kee up with them. We ended up hiking most of the climb together reminiscing about the trail, telling stories about the weather, a particular section, the different hikers floating around that we knew. It was such a joy to share this with people who understood. We didn¢t have to say much, just a few words or a shared look and you could tell that the person in front or behind you absolutely understood everything you were trying to say. We¢ve all done it together and what grand grand times they were. And oh what a climb! A tough, tough climb, showing me just how strong I am now as we used only our arms to haul ourselves up boulders, giant rocks, navigating crevices with one hand down and near horizontal feet walks along the other side. I was bloodied and joyful, ecstatic and reveling in everything. God I love this trail! The views were amazing as we went up, Katahdin is the perfect climax, and as we climbed the views opened up becoming more and more vast. The trail was so steep and rocky, exposed and knife edge. And still the sun was hidden behind the massive mountain ahead of us.Up, up, up and then we hit the plateau, flat and rocky with the summit still two miles away. Closer and closer, the cairn and the sign, the long awaited sign becoming visible as a dark spec against the now bright morning sun. In between me and it, two mobile specs of humans moving were just barely visible and I just knew it was the Finns coming up Abol trail. When we hit the flat spot, all us thruhikers naturally fell into our own rhythms, setting out own paces and taking our time thinking our own thoughts. I think we were all taking some time to soak it in in this last mile of the trail. I caught up to Wiffle Ball who had shot ahead as he stood still staring at the now close sign only a quarter mile away. I cannot express adequately all the emotions that were playing across his face and I won¢t try to. He told me he didn¢t know if he was ready for this to end. All Smiles showed up just then and I looked at both of them, looked at the sign and said, ¢well I don¢t know about you, but I¢m ready¢ and started heading up the last little climb of the entire trail. Laughter followed me and like a spell was broken, they were right behind me. And there was Doug, there was Michelle waiting at the top to smile and take pictures as I took my last few steps and touched the sign. Finishing. Michelle was crying and I was unexpectedly dry eyed. I was simply so overwhelmed with joy and satisfaction I don¢t think my body knew what to do. Besides one other person, we were the only ones at the top and had so much time to enjoy ourselves, to take pictures, to look around and watch the hordes descending. There were so many pictures, champagne, suit jackets, and a special treat of chocolate wine courtesy of my friends who know and love me. There was celebration, stories, smiles, hugs, more wine and sitting there just basking in it all. Amazing and all too soon, more and more people started to show and threatening cloud built up, and there simply was nothing more to do. I knew it was time to leave, but more than half of me wanted to stay here for a long, long time. Bu it was time. We all went down, parting ways with my fellow hikers at the Abol trail split off where I would descend down the loose skree trail. Hugged my thruhiking friends goodbye not knowing if or when I might see them again. The hike up was so quick, seriously fast and the hike down seemed to take forever. My Aunt Teresa was there right at the bottom to greet me and it was such a wonderful full circle moment from when she dropped me off in Georgia 6 months ago. More hugs, I was really starting to feel the emotion of it all now. Heading out in the car and way down, I just had the sudden realizations of what this all meant. Back at the Finns, it continued hitting me like waves and I would rejoice in small things like clean ears, using as much tp as I wanted but still sitting there looking at all the hiking pictures I just uploaded to the computer. . .I want more.I¢m not done. I get my lingering goodbye to the trail with the miles I still have left to do. I don¢t know if I¢ll get to them this year but I know now, the sure sudden knowledge, that I am going to do them and it was going to happen. And even when they are all done, will it ever be enough? Will I always long for the mountains and feel incomplete without them. Already there is a slight ache somewhere inside me telling me that something is missing.But I will go home and go to my brother¢s wedding in a few days. And then drive up immediately after to start Grad school all the while waiting to be back on the trail. So I guess this is not the end, never the end, just the start of something new and grand in its own right. I¢m at peace, elated, so happy and proud. Finishing up this trail journal, lying in bed, unable to sleep, processing, still just processing but I feel calm, content, full, right. I feel momentous, and teary, and ready. I feel relief, I feel regret, I feel too much.Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the things, the coincidences, the weather, the will power and most of all the people for this gift. I couldn¢t have asked for more