Date: 2007-09-25
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Baxter Peak - Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: few clouds

I really didn¢t sleep very well last night as my mind was racing with a mixture of emotions over what was to be the last night of my journey. I have dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail for many years, and now, I was both very excited and very sad to see the realization of my dream coming to an end. So I laid in my sleeping bag for much of the night just waiting for morning to arrive. After eating and packing up, Spock, Backfire, and I stopped at the ranger station to drop off the non-essential things in our packs. With the uncertainty over how much I would be able to use my left hand for maneuvering through the boulders, I decided it would be better if I could travel as lightly as possible. My hand was still swollen and had little if any strength for gripping anything. We started our last day on this trip shortly before 7:00, and there was a very light fog hanging in the air. The first mile went by very quickly as the trail was wide and climbed uphill very gradually. We stopped at the Katahdin Stream Falls to take some photographs and from that point forward the trail began to climb in earnest. We paused for a break before breaking tree line, and it began to rain very lightly. My heart sank at the thought of climbing, with the use of only one hand, through the wet slippery boulders ahead of us. Fortunately, the rain lasted only about twenty minutes and had quit entirely by the time reached the steep and exposed ridgeline leading to the Table Land. Now we had only the strong wind to contend with, and slowly we made our way through what seemed like a maze climbing around, up, and over the gigantic boulders. There was even some iron bars fastened into the boulders at three locations to help make the giant steps up that not even my long legs could manage. Eventually, we crossed the Gateway to the Table Land and caught our first glimpse of our final destination, Baxter Peak. The rest of the trail was uphill but nothing like that we had just crossed, and slowly Backfire, Spock and I walked the final steps of this 2,174 mile journey. It¢s very difficult to convey the range of emotions involved in completing something you have struggled for, for such a long time. Obviously, I felt a sense of excitement about completing that which had been a dream of mine for a very long time. But the excitement was somewhat subdued for me knowing that I still had to climb back down through the boulders with very limited use of my left hand. I cannot think of a better place on the entire AT to end my trip, but this trip was about much more than reaching Katahdin. It really is about the entire journey. We stayed on the summit only long enough to enjoy the moment, because even though the skies were beginning to clear, it was still cold in the stiff wind. Slowly we began to make our way back down to reality, and it was interesting to see the mixture of tiredness and excitement in those who were on their way to finish. Of those we passed I was especially happy to see Riggy and his father, who had cleared the Gateway and made it to the Table Land when we passed them. When we got back to the Katahdin Stream Campground we took a shuttle to the Appalachian Trail Lodge here in Millinocket for the night, and tomorrow I begin my trip back home.Total Ascent:        5,270'Total Descent:        1,160'Finally I get to sign off as:   gforce, GA >ME ¢07