Date: 2009-08-31
From: Kathhdin Steam Campground

To: Mount Katahdin - Baxter Peak
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: broken clouds

SUMMIT DAY!Today in Hiking and Haiti is Jeff Jones Day. Jeff is my Trainer and he trained me for this hike. I walked the last five plus miles in his honor. Thanks, Jeff, for your efforts in getting me ready for your contribution!I awoke at 5:35 AM. I did not sleep well last night. I guess due to the excitement of hiking up Mt. Katahdin and finishing the hike. I prepared coffee and breakfast and left the campground about 7:00 AM. I checked with Luna Moth to see if he was ready to go, but he wasn't. I hiked down to the Ranger Station with my pack, and checked in with the Ranger. It was overcast and windy, but the Ranger said that it was supposed to clear off, at least partially, in the afternoon.I left about 7:20 AM and started up the mountain, with the daypack provided by the Rangers, holding my lunch, water, first aid kit and warm hat and raincoat.The first mile was very mild, then the Trail started going up, up, up, Mt. Katahdin. For about 2.5 miles it was just steady uphill. Then, I got to a section that was above tree line, that consisted only of boulders. For about 3/4 of a mile I was climbing up boulders, including some places that had iron rebar handholds to pull yourself up. I had my hiking poles with me, but left them in a large crevasse, because they were no use to me. At one point, I saw a marker painted on a rock that said, '2m', which I took to mean two miles to the top, which was discouraging. The boulders went up as far as the eye could see and I wasn't sure that I could climb up boulders for two more miles. It was windy and blustery and the climb was tough. I thought about quitting, but realized that I had come too far to turn back at that point.At any rate, after about 3/4 miles, the Trail got to a moderately flat, albeit very rocky area, for about a mile, called The Tablelands. At about a mile, I came to Thoreau Spring (named after Henry David Thoreau, who climbed Mt. Katahdin in 1846). After that, the Trail was a steady uphill (all rock) to Baxter Peak, the Summit. I got to the Summit and felt a sends of immense satisfaction. I was finally here!!I stayed at the summit about 45 minutes and had lunch and talked to other hikers (there are some 4 or 5 trails that reach the Summit of Mt. Katahdin. The Trail the AT is on, the Hunt Trail, is one of the toughest. It had taken me 4 hours to get to the Summit.Going down was a bit easier, as I knew what to expect, and I was going dowhnill. The boulders were still tough going down, but I knew they didn't last forever. I got more and more tired as I went down, and I was moving very slowly when I got to the bottom at the Ranger's station. I picked up my hiking poles on the way down. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to get down.I,along with another hiker, Luna Moth (a Flip-Flopper, who was NOBO to Mt. Katahdin and then going to hike south from Harper's Ferry), waited a few minutes, then Paul from the Appalachian Trail Inn/Hostel in Millinocket picked us up. We went to the Hostel, and relaxed, me glad and humbled that I had finished the entire AT.My hiking friend, John, was at the Hostel. After a long walk on the logging road in the 100 Mile Wilderness, he had gotten a ride - from the first vehicle that came along in his direction. The person that picked him up gave him a ride about 15 miles to a camp, where he was able to call Paul at the Hostel in Millinocket. Paul had picked him up the next morning and taken him to the hospital in Millinocket. The doctors there treated him (with antibiotics) and he was at the Hostel recovering. It looks like his hike, at least for this year, is over. I was a bit saddened, that, after we had hiked together for a couple of weeks, that we were not able to summit together.I am so glad to finish the entire AT. I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment as I have accomplished one of my Life Goals. I would like to have done it as a throughhike. However, life happens, and sometimes we have to modify our plans. It changes the way it was done, but does not diminish the fact that I hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, some 2176.3 miles, through 14 states. It was one of the best adventures of my life and will be part of me forever!