Date: 2004-10-02
From: Abol Bridge

To: Birches and Katahdin Baby !!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

10/02/2004Slimer:Get decent sleep overnight. Either Rally or Sundown (girls) let out a big RIPPER overnight. Wake up at 5:AM, cook pack up, it is an awkward time. It¢s our last day on the trail. Everyone is quite. Short quite walk down to the Ranger Station, leave some gear there to lighten up my pack This is going to be the toughest single climb on the trail. Get plenty of water and begin walking.Soon begin to encounter the hard stuff. Boulder scrambling, hand over hand climbing. I¢ts a good thing that my pack is light. This bouldering seems to go on for forever.Shivers is in front scrambling up the rocks. Pacemaker and 9-Monkeys are well ahead. The motivation and adrenalin are pushing me forward.Some os this climbing is just flat dangerous. I finally get to the top of a ridge, another big climb awaits. This goes on, and on, It¢s getting cold up here. The views are outstanding. Finally I see a few people way up ahead, it is then I see them waving their hiking poles around in the air! Then I see the SIGN!!I get closer, the guys begin to take pictures of me as I climb towards them. I¢m getting closer, CLOSER,¢¦¢¦.. CLOSER.I¢m finally there at the SIGN! I immediately have to TOUCH it!!! So many emotions are running through my head. I honestly don¢t know what to think. The other guys are WHOOPING and hollering. They snap my picture. Then I rest and try to soak in what just what really happened.We all set around and wait for the others to show up. Puck-Finn soon walks up, he is crying. A very well deserved cry I should say. Rally comes up next, then Sundown.This is what it all comes down to, 2,174. miles of BLOOD sweat and TEARS!!!It is very cold up here, thank goodness Rally and 9-Monkeys brought their sleeping bag up with them, we all bundled up and enjoyed the victory!!More thru-hikers soon showed up, ¢Southern Man, ¢Raven¢, Alaskan Man¢, I haven¢t met them before now. They take a few pictures, then head down, they don¢t stay long at all.Everyone has snot dangling from their noses, it¢s a sight! After the pictures are taken, we just set back and soak it in. Some joker has lugged a large bottle of Champagne up the mountain, It¢s quickly slurped down!! Personally I think Gatorade is much better!! Day hikers begin to crowd the mountain, I think we got here at just the right time. We had the summit all to ourselves for a good while. The day hikers are taking such dramatic pictures of themselves in front of the sign. They don¢t have a &^%$% clue as to what that sign symbolizes to a thru-hiker.There is a famous picture of a thru-hiker bowing before the sign in a state of emotion that only someone who has walked 2,174 miles could only know.A day hiker wants someone to take his picture as he imitates the famous bowing. 9-Monkeys and I are disgruntled by his actions. We consider throwing his butt off the mountain, but he will probably do that himself, plus we don¢t want to litter. Oh well that¢s not going to ruin our day.Please don't take this the wrong way, I have met many wonderful day, and section hikers on the trail, this guy was just taking it too far, just goes to prove there are &^%$#$ in every group.The clouds are moving like a jelly fish would, sort of a pulsating type of maneuver, one could almost be hypnotized by watching this.We¢ve come so far. I¢ve often wondered who I would summit with. And I am proud to have summated with Rally, Puck-Finn, Sundown, 9-Monkeys, Shivers and Pacemaker.It¢s getting time to head back down, the descent is much worse than the climb. It is very slow going.The thru-hike is over. It hasn¢t sunk in yet, and I dread when it does. I¢ve been worried of depression and withdrawal type symptoms.Long time getting down the mountain, am hurrying because I want to catch up with the crew before they hitch into Millinocket. My knees are feeling it big time. Oh, well it¢s over, no more hiking tomorrow.Get to campground, the crew is setting on the grass resting as I¢m coming down the trail.Dad pulls into the parking lot! I can¢t believe it!! We both arrive at exactly the same time, bug hugs are in order!!I missed him in a way words can¢t explain. Everyone is introduced to each other. Dad offers to take the crew into Millinocket. He has brought along a bag of hamburgers and candy, everyone is so thankful for this, this is some of the finest trail magic ever!!The ride out of Millinocket is beautiful, yet surreal! As I said it hasn¢t yet registered that it¢s over, and when it does hit, it¢s gonna hit hard!!The crew wants to be dropped off at the Blue Ox bar!! They are staying at the same hotel we are. My guess is that there are going to be some serious hangovers in the morning.Dad and I head out to eat, now it¢s Gathers turn ....."I went to the wood because I wanted to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life; living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness out of it and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience."Henry David Thoreau.