Date: 2007-09-05
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Baxter Peak, Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: few clouds

(Willie)Ah, the excitement of being 5.2 miles from the end of the Appalachian Trail, the excitement of tackling one of the hardest mountains on the trail, the excitement of climbing to the highest point in Maine, the excitement of going up one of the most scenic mountain with out a cloud in the sky. You¢d think, with all of the excitement we would have been bouncing off the walls and ready to go the second the sun came out this morning wouldn¢t you? Somehow, as excited as we were, we still managed to oversleep. Maybe it was 5 months of wear and tear on our bodies, maybe it was getting up before the sun every day for the past week, maybe it was pushing our bodies to their limits through the 100 mile wilderness, maybe it was the finger numbing cold that waited for us outside of our tent, maybe it was that after 5 fun months on the trail we didn¢t really want to go back to the real world, or maybe it was the fact that this was going to be our last day on the trail and we didn¢t actually have to get up at the butt crack of dawn in order to finish it before dark. Whatever the reason was, we had no problem laying comfortably in our bags long after our alarm went off and we were no where near ready to roll when our parents got there from their hotel in Millinocket. Since it was pretty chilly we let our parental escorts start up the mountain while we finished stuffing our packs for the last time. It definitely isn¢t the most popular decision, but we decided that we had carried all of our gear this far, so we were going to carry everything we had the rest of the way, despite the 4000+¢ climb and descent we had in front of us.By 8:30 we had finally gotten to the trailhead and saw just how lazy we really were. I couldn¢t believe the number of people who had already signed in ahead of us. I guess we wouldn¢t have to battle the crowds getting up the mountain, because they were already a long way ahead of us. The first mile of the trail was a cake walk. The smooth gently climbing trail was just about the best warm up you could ask for. You could almost get lulled into thinking that Katahdin was going to be an easy mountain. But then, you realize that you are hiking in Maine, and nothing stays easy for long in Maine. After passing the Katahdin Stream Falls, we started heading up in hurry. By the time we caught up to our parents the steep rocky terrain had all of us breathing hard, sweating up a storm, and moving at a much slower pace. How steep does Mt. Katahdin get? Well I¢m glad you asked. The trail the AT follows climbs 4177¢ in 5.2 miles. That in it¢s self is a pretty steep trail. But then you consider that you only gain 440¢ in the first 1.1 miles and you only gain 800¢ in the last 1.1 miles to the top, which leaves 3000¢ for the middle 3 miles. In that 3 mile stretch the majority of the climbing comes in the last 1.5 miles. It was no wonder why when we nearly got blown off the mountain just above the tree line about 3 miles in and we could see what we were up against, the 4 people in our hiking party that didn¢t have the advantage of 5 months of preparation, motivation, and stupidity to push them higher decided it would be safer to turn around. It was great to have them with us this far, but we were on our own for the last 2 miles to the finish line.You¢d think that after traveling 2,170 miles there wouldn¢t be anything in the world that could make you think about not going the last couple of miles to what you¢ve been striving for, for so long. Battling the strong winds and the straight up rock climbs that come with helpful metal bolts, (no not ladders, just bolts) is enough to make even thru hikers question their sanity. That next mile might not have been the hardest mile on the trail, but it has to be pretty close to the top of the list. It took us a little over an hour to pull ourselves (literally pulled, that¢s how steep and rocky it was) through the next mile, but eventually we made it to the beginning of The Tablelands. From there, only a much easier mile stood in our way, and we could see the finish line ahead of us the whole time. As the group of people on the summit and the big brown ¢Northern Terminus¢ sign got closer and closer, nothing was going to get in our way now. And then ¢¦ just a hair after 1:00, we were standing at 5,267¢ on top of Mt. Katahdin, on top of the state of Maine, and on top of the Appalachian Trail!2,174 miles. Talk about a surreal feeling. At that moment, you have so many feelings going through you that you really don¢t know how to feel. Glad to be done, but also sad that it¢s coming to an end. You¢re full of energy and excitement, but also worn out after months for pushing your body. A sense of completion comes over you, but yet you know that you still have to get down. If you¢re lucky enough to be on Katahdin on a clear day, you¢re in awe of the views, but you¢re also wondering for the first time in months, when you¢ll get to see something like that again. You¢ve been looking forward to being back with friends and family for weeks or months, but now you¢re realizing that chances are you won¢t see most of your ¢trail family¢ ever again, heck you don¢t even know what a lot of their real names are. It¢s one of those times that the only thing you can really do is sit back and just take it all in, hoping, but knowing that you probably won¢t be able to put what you¢re feeling into words. We were the only thru hikers finishing the trail up there today, so people gave us all the time we needed to take as many pictures as our cold battery deprived camera would let us before we sat down for lunch just feet from the summit, somehow sheltered from the wind. What does one eat for their last meal on the trail? Anything people are nice enough to give you and everything left in your pack, except for a candy bar to eat on the way back down. Let the feast begin.After more then an hour on the summit, it was time to come to the realization that your journey had come to an end. I had told Trail Dancer that she had to carry all of her stuff to the end of the trail, but that didn¢t mean she had to carry it all back down. So we crammed mostly all of her stuff into my pack, so that she would only be carrying some cloths and water on the way down. In my opinion, she deserved it, so I didn¢t mind doing it. And with more then a few sad looks back over our shoulder we started our long descent back to the Katahdin Stream Campground. In the parking lot we took some pictures and then took off our packs and shoes/sandals for the last time as AT thru hikers. We could no longer say that we were hiking the Appalachian Trail. We can however, now officially say that we thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2007.