Date: 2014-09-28
From: Abol Pine Campgrounds

To: The Birches
Miles today: 9.9

The river was gliding by and the trees shaking away when we awoke this morning. The sky was overcast and a chance of rain was in the mix,the beautiful weather that hung around for six days was gone and the chill was back in the air.The campsite was empty besides another thru hiker who stayed there and he was packed up and left rather early. We were in no rush as today was an easy ten miles to the campsite we would stay at before summiting tomorrow. Today we wouldn't be hiking but rather taking a leisurely walk in the woods to soak in the last day of hiking the trail. We weren't worried about time nor distance, even in the woods you have to slow down and look around. We're usually so busy in getting from point A to point B that we miss what's in between but not today. We left the campground and went to the camp store and got a cup of coffee and lounged out front for a bit. It was pretty desolate and quiet with only a few thru hikers trickling in, this has been the norm for the last few days.So we were off to finish up the last ten miles which are a beautiful ten miles,it has if the trail has rolled out the red carpet for us leading us to the main event. The woods themselves were all dolled up showing off their fall colors in full force and the music off the winds and birds carried us down the trail. It's hard to fathom that these are the final miles, for almost six months I've been hiking the trail and staring down at it and now the trail is running out. I put away the headphones for today and reminisced with Atlas about the past four months of hiking together. It's crazy to think that we were around each other 24/7 and never killed each other,she's a saint for putting up with my antics.We took our time and we finally made it to Katahdin Springs Campground. The way it works is you stay at the campground for the night (conveniently there's a fee), get your summiting number and then in the morning hike up and back down the mountain. There's multiple routes you could take down but most end up on the other side of the mountain which doesn't help us out as we need to get back to the campground. The campground has special shelters for the hikers in an area known at the Birches which for some reason is on the other side of the campground and furthest away from the trail us the water is about a quarter mile away,logistically it's a nightmare. We went to the rangers office and they weren't there so we took a few loaner daypacks to summit the mountain with and read the hikers log and it was bittersweet to read everyone's farewell messages and words of encouragement. You meet so many of these people on the trail or read their messages in the shelter logs and you feel like you know these people like old friends and all they are now are words on paper. We left the ranger station and went to the Birches and there was only one other hiker here,it might be a quiet summit tomorrow is to cloudy skies and chance of rain. We sat there for a bit and went down to the main area of the campground and hung out, it was too depressing at the Birches sitting there with no one around. The ranger was there when we went back down and we paid the fee and got our summiting numbers. I'm the 708th person to thru hike the Appalachain Trail northbound this year and the ranger said it was around the same number as last year which was a record year. After that we went to the self registration form next to the trail right before you start the hike and you sign in with your name and what time you started and came back. There were a lot of familiar names on the board which made me happy to see that they made it and James summited today and took a another trail down, hope to see the kid in Millinocket. We went back to the Birches and hung out there,there were only two other hikers here so we had one of the shelters to ourselves. The emotions are staring to kick in and the full realization of this trip being over is coming in loud and clear. I stared out at the woods while laying in the shelter and smiled as I was proud to call the woods my home for all these months. I'm happy for it to be coming to an end but also sad as this experience is quite unique and I see why people who thru hiked try to come back and revisit the trail annually. It's somewhat of a magical place where you can step away from the world and all the chaos it possesses and enter a place where life comes down to the basics and that's all you need. So tonight is the last night in the shelter,the last night I ate a ramen,last time I hung a bear bag. Tomorrow we summit Katahdin and put the exclamation point on an amazing journey. I'm nervous,happy,sad,scared but I will wake up in morning,put my boots on,tie them tight and hike the trail to the top one last time.