Date: 2010-09-15
From: Monson, ME

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 108.5
Weather: light rain

Into the wilderness Powder, Russell and I went. We had a teary goodbye to TC somewhere underneath his massive mustache and beard. Powder and I set a goal to finish on my thirtieth birthday. This had been the plan all along but somewhere along the way I began to think it was an impossibility and had given up on that dream. Thankfully, TC reminded me that I could do it and Powder was kind enough to humor me on this mission.Powder and I were lucky enough to hike with Skink for the entire wilderness. All of us had the goal of making it on the sixteenth. Skink and I basically hiked New Hampshire and Maine together. Skink is a North Carolinian by way of Belgium. He is an avid reader, camping food wiz and conversation extraordinaire. Clearly having him around was beneficial for everyone. Getting to make new friends so late on the AT was lovely. I had thought I reached the hiker threshold where I knew everyone. I met new hikers everyday in the wilderness and as usual the hikers were very interesting and engaging people. The wilderness was not as wild as I had originally thought it would be. There were planes, cars and lots of cell phone service. I would not allow the external noise was to take away from my experience on the trail. For the first time in Maine I was able to hear songbirds while I hiked. I had missed that. I was so obsessed with getting in miles that I had listened to music throughout Maine. I thought hip hop hits and pop music would make me go faster and take away the aches and pains in my body. I was wrong. The sounds of the forest were so refreshing. Gushing water, buzzing bugs, braying Moose and croaking frogs moved me forward. That being said when I had to night hike the coyotes howling was not very comforting. I just tried to take it all in. I am not sure if I was wholly successful but I sure tried. Our mileage for the wilderness is as follows: 19, 24, 23, 22, and 21. Now that may not sound like a lot for five days to the average person. But it is. Hiking over 100 miles in 5 days is pretty tough. Thankfully the 24 mile day was at the beginning and was the most difficult. I saw Daytripper and Thunder on the 24 miler and they asked me if I was on a death march. I laughed it off and tried to explain that I had to get to Mama K (Katahdin) by my birthday. They understood but were most definitely not jealous of the rigorous schedule Powder and I had set for ourselves. I don't think Powder's dog Russell was amused by our big days either. Russell was dragging a bit until he finally sensed that we were near the end. Then Russell began to be a complete and utter spaz on the trail. He had more energy than I had ever seen in him and hopped along until he got to Abol Bridge - the entrance to Baxter State Park home of Mount Katahdin.At Abol Bridge I had a delicious microwaved cheeseburger and waited for my oldest brother, Jonathan, to arrive. Jonathan's trail name is Awesome-oh. Awesome-oh came with trail magic in the form of Wonder and Wake-up Wonder Cookies. He even had the Nutless Wonder for Powder. I gobbled up his cookies, gave him hugs and said goodbye as he was a bit under the weather and could not hike. While I was disappointed, I knew having him be at the end would be enough for me. I even told him my dirty little trail secret. I thought about quitting once everyday. I am not kidding. Everyday at least once I thought that I could just get off if I wanted. The causes ranged from a tough climb to body aches to rude hikers. I can't say that I ever seriously thought about it. It would be more of a passing thought than anything else but it was there everyday. The day I left Rangeley was the hardest day for me to stay on the trail. I did stay and now I was about to be at the base of Katahdin. It surprised me. It honestly did. Once Skink, Powder and I arrived at Katahdin Stream Campground we booked a lean-to with the park ranger. She also gave us a list to see what other hikers were there with us. My eyes ran down the list where I saw the names of City Squirl, Paul Bunyan, No Longer Chef, Casper, El Flaco, Deja Vu, Wallflower and Red Bear. I hadn't hiked with Squirl and Paul and was so happy that I was going to finish with them. It was nice to have familiar faces at the end. I was especially grateful to have Powder with me at the summit as he was with me at start. Finishing with the random guy I met at the MARTA station in Atlanta felt like a great accomplishment in friendship to me. We all went to bed with the sun - as usual - for our last night on the trail. What a strange feeling that was. My final night in the woods with all of these people who had been on this pilgrimage with me. Some of my friends had already finished, others were behind and these were the few that I would finish with. I was sad for the friends I would never get a chance to say goodbye to and happy that I had the chance to hike with them during my thru-hike. Tomorrow Katahdin.