Date: 2018-08-28
From: The Birches thru-hikers Campsite 

To: Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: light rain

I was awake at 1:15 AM and heard Maverick packing and Kilo moving. I got up and packed. I ate a packaged pastry and chugged a drink of carnation breakfast essentials with two instant coffee sleeves mixed in. A barred owl squawked st us loudly as we were getting our packs on. The moon was 2 days past full and it was clear!  We left camp at 2:03. I dropped my main pack at the ranger station and went with a day pack borrowed from the ranger. I only carried water, snack, my SPOT device and my rain jacket. I wore my headlamp. I was light and amped on adrenaline.Our little parade of 3 went up the rocky trail, which progressed to a stream bed, then boulder climbs and finally a mile long boulder scramble complete with rebar handholds and treacherous climbs to reach The Tablelands. I could only see what my headlamp illuminated, so wasn¢t encumbered by my fear of heights; I guess not knowing was better than being able to see and imagine what might happen. The tablelands was a long boulder strewn path.I could see ¢the sign¢ from pretty far away in the mist.  My heart jumped and I got a catch in my throat. This was it. I had walked 2190.9 miles over the last 179 days and the objective was within sight.  I don¢t remember walking the rest of the way- and then I was at the sign.  This was the largest elevation climb in quite a long time-4200 feet, but the time flew by. I put my forehead on the sign for a few seconds in a brief contemplative moment and then kissed it, as is tradition, before climbing up for pictures of triumph!A faint red glow was on the horizon; Only 3 of us there in a mist.  After pictures with the sign, a couple of other NOBO Thru hikers showed up and the wind blew stronger. The sun broke through the clouds and we got an amazing sunrise with shafts of sun flowing down and behind the Knife¢s Edge. Sick.I put a rock that I had taken from Springer Mountain in March, 2017 on a giant cairn of similar deposits from other locations. I carried that rock from Springer to Fontana last year and then from Route 89 to the Canadian border in Vermont last July and then the entire AT this year. It will stay on Katahdin now.  It got really cold in the steady wind that came after sunrise, so I got my jacket on. We hiked back down after about an hour on the summit. We took The Abol Trail down; it¢s steeper, but the boulder scramble is shorter. It started raining and the rocks got slippery, so I slowed way down. Eventually I hit a dirt track section that had lots of switchbacks , and I put music on an cruised the last hour and a half to the bottom. I regrouped with Maverick and Kilo and we walked the 2 miles back to the ranger station. The price of the easier trail was the 2 mile road walk.  Nick the park ranger radioed for a shuttle for us. Unbelievably, the driver turned out to be Josh Saint, the former owner of The Hiker Hostel in Dahlonegha GA. I reminded him that had given him a Got Wood T shirt last year and we chatted on the ride to Millinocket.  Typical of all town stops, after getting checked in at The AT lodge, I exploded my pack, found the cleanest clothes I had, showered and went immediately to find food. I had not eaten much since waking up at 1:15 AM, so was hungry and destroyed a burger and fries at The Appalachian Trail Cafe. Laundry and a beer followed lunch, then dinner later and a typically early night as I was finally coming down from the excitement of the day.  I did it!! I¢m a thru-Hiker!¢From the top of the mountain you can see far and wide, still can¢t see that other mountain¢s other side¢