Date: 2010-10-04
From: Hurd Brook Leanto

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

Got up and going for an early start today, which was easy easy easy! I woke up excited! Late yesterday evening Prometheus, ZeeZue, and Evergreen arrived at the shelter so I assumed we would see them along the way today and we did. I enjoy being around them. I can't imagine how they managed to ford Hurd Brook in the dark but they just laughed when I asked them. Youth! I confess I envy their youth, LOL!Three and a half miles later we were at Abol Campstore. Time for breakfast number 2! Time to do a tiny little resupply, for one day only. I cannot believe, weather permitting, that my hike will end tomorrow. Time for Belle to leave us, her hike is over because no dogs are allowed in Baxter State Park. Hiking around with Belle has been so much fun. Dogs do make me smile. Stickwalker did an amazing job of caring for her and training her for the trail; their relationship is really something to see. Example, climbing down a rock wall, maybe Belle is standing on a 10 foot ledge, he could point with his trekking pole THE WAY and she would follow it, then take the leap based on her trust of him. Same for fording streams too. I never saw such a thing before and it shows how hard he worked to make her hike be every bit as successful as his. Belle is no skinny wore out old hiker dog for sure. He'll have just as big a training job with her when he gets home, when her every day doesn't consist of a long walk in the woods. Its gonna be quite a change for Belle. Anyway, the kennel folk came to Abol Store and Belle rode away, sitting up on the front seat, surveying the scene, no doubt wondering what was going on. I finished eating, resupplying, etc, and set off for Baxter State Park, home of Mt Katahdin and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. With me were Stickwalker and Richard and Carol, the Canadian Geese. At the store we saw Watermelon, Spoon, and a third guy who's name I cannot remember, so they were just ahead of us. As we walked today Buck went past, also Fresh with Bella The Mountain Dog and his hiking partner, and I knew Prometheus, ZeeZue and Evergreen were coming in behind us. These folks will all summit tomorrow, like me, weather permitting. The reality of that was beginning to hit me hard.Stickwalker and I walked the last 10 miles together on again off again with the Geese. I was thinking of so many faces that were parts of my hike, so many moments along the way, friends I made in addition to those I was with today, the various hiking partners I've had, especially Mrs. Joy, Little Aspen & Toothpick, and Beans. All the wonderful support I've had, from my family, from former thru hikers Judo (nobo 07) and Felix (sobo 98), at hostels and trail establishments, and from those wonderful trail angels I've met along the way. The people of the Appalachian Trail are a truly special bunch and I am so lucky I got to be a part of it. Then there is our Mother, the Earth. My goodness, the forest, the water, the mountains I've seen! The ferns alone boggle my brain, LOL! And the fungus, the lichen, the moss and the mushrooms, the grasses, the poison ivy & stinging nettles, the towering oaks and poplars and the tough little krumholtz spruce and fir. Oh my, the rocks! All sizes, all colors, underfoot, as walls, in streams, smooth and rough and gravelly and jagged. The birds and their early morning tuneup, the critters all along the way, bears and moose and rattlesnakes and loons. Even the mice. Brown and gray winter in Georgia, the long green in the middle, and the brilliance of autumn in Maine. Indeed, I am a very lucky girl, but there is more to this than luck. I worked hard to be here today. I walked in the rain, I walked in the cold, I walked with feet that hurt so bad, I walked with bloody toes, I walked with an aching back, and I walked when I thought I could not walk one more step. Many steps I took I was alone. Dirt is part of life on the AT and somedays I thought I could stand it no more. By the time I got to Vermont my favorite luxury was to wash my hands in warm water with lots and lots of soap. What decadence! For me my life on the AT has been about accepting my life where I am at this moment, at the most basic level. More than that is just the clutter of modern life. Simple.Stick and I talked about all of this as we made our way towards Katahdin. We had lunch with the Geese along a really high stream. There was a well used high water blue blaze trail which we took. We seriously considered attempting the ford, but it would be dumb to die now, LOL! We hiked on in glorious fall sunshine and found ourselves THERE, checking in at KSC Ranger Station. I am nobo hiker 467 to arrive. Whoa. I cannot believe I am here. Got set up at a little campsite and went about doing camp chores, just like every day that came before. Stickwalker, the Geese and I had dinner and a campfire and sure enough, Prometheus, ZeeZue and Evergreen arrived so we visited with them a bit. The weather outlook for tomorrow is fantastic. I am a very lucky girl.