Date: 2004-09-24
From: The Birches Campsite

To: Katahdin, The Big K, "Greatest Mountain in Abenaki
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: few clouds

The Four Horsemen (Medicine Man, Party Girl, The Lorax, and Joker) were up by 1 am and were on the trail by 2. They had obtained official permission from a park ranger to be on the mountain before dawn. Their goal was to be on the summit and watch the sun rise. I wanted to try, but I just couldn't see myself getting up at 1. I was up by 5, and on the trail by 6, however. Good enough. I hit the trail with just the essentials: some food, water, map, Polar Pure to treat water, and a little extra clothing. No tent or sleeping bag or other unnecessary gear to slow me down. I even left the trekking poles behind, for they would be a hindrance on the scrambling sections of the trail. It was nice to practically glide down the trail, unencumbered by more than 30 pounds on my back, briskly walking instead of slogging.Forded Katahdin Stream carefully. Didn't need to. As I was clambering up the rocky bank, I looked left and saw the bridge I could have taken. Stupid. I had gotten so used to fording every stream in Maine, I automatically took the difficult route without looking for the standard route. Soon I came to Katahdin Stream Falls off to the left. It was pretty but shrouded by trees. The trail started getting steep at this point.For the next mile or so, the trees gradually thinned out, and I caught glimpses of surrounding peaks. The sky was a clear blue, with just a few wispy clouds in the distance. What a fantastic day to climb a mountain. Eventually, I left the trees behind me, and I had nothing but the rocky mountain in front above me, and miles of forest below me to see. The hard, steep walk-up became a fun hand over hand scramble, never very difficult or treachorous, but enough to feel like I was really doing something. Iron rebar in places made the cliffs easier to climb, but wasn't necessary. After a short while, the simple climbing gave way to an easier incline one could walk, which in turn became another stretch of scrambling, a little longer than the first, and on a narrow ridge with more exposure than before. Not a scary climb, but loads of fun and exhilerating. I suppose a vertigo-stricken hiker would not have enjoyed it at all. Eventually I topped out on this rocky spine and entered the Tableland, a surprisingly flat and large surface of the mountain just below the summit. This lasted almost a mile and was a nice easy break before the final push to the summit. Not long after the generously seeping Thoreau Spring was the final climb of the trail, a moderate climb to the summit that was not bad at all without a full pack. The summit came sooner than I expected, for I was looking down part of the Knife Edge, a mile long stretch of fiercely rugged ridge-line, and thinking it to be part of the AT. Seeing the Four Horsemen, and then the famous sign marking not only the summit, but the northern terminus of the AT, I knew I was at my destination.The only thing that took away from the moment was the sort of anti-climactic feeling that this was actually not the end of my journey, for I still had 261 miles in New Jersey and New York to complete the trail. However, it was gratifying nonetheless to be on the summit, the culmination of months of dreaming, planning, sweating, and aching. I had my obligatory picture on the summit sign, on top of and hanging from. Yesterday Hawk summited, and afterward he stopped at the Birches to visit, and gave me a mini-bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne to celebrate with. I took it out of my daypack, drank from it, and passed it around. The weather could not have been more perfect for a summit day. I was perfectly comfortable in shorts and short sleeves and a hat, at least until I cooled down a half hour later, then I put on a light jacket. The view was stupendous, just mountain peaks and dense green forest all the way to the horizon nearly a mile below. A nearly crystal-clear sky capped a perfect vista, and the icing on the cake was that it was just us thru-hikers on top to share it all (although the tourons did arrive some time after).I hung out on the summit for nearly an hour, exploring side paths, including the infamous Knife Edge. My original intent was hike all of the Knife Edge out to Pamola Peak, and either return the same way, or climb down the Helon Taylor Trail to another campground below. I decided that that was something for another day, for that's a whole hike in and of itself. It is a mile long stretch that is reported to take anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on the person.The Four Horsemen told me they had reached the peak around 5 am (I made it around 10), and did indeed see the sun rise. They were pretty stoked about it. We went down the mountain more or less together, running into several other thru-hikers, including Catdog, Quest with his two daughters, Krispy Kritter with his lovely wife, and a few day-climbers, including one nervous young lady having some trouble with the heights on some of the more tricky parts. Eventually I left the 4 Horsemen behind, excited at having completed one of the biggest accomplishments of my life, and was running by the time I hit level ground.I was the first thru-hiker down for the day. Unfortuneately, I got down so fast there was no one there to congratulate me, which was kind of disappointing. Eventually, lots of people showed up: my parents, Maja Guez's daughter, the families of Poppins and the Donts, Beagle, and Moo Juice. Everybody had lots of snacks and cookies and things, so we pooled them all together and had a celebration picnic, shouting and clapping and cheering whenever a newly victorious thru-hiker emerged from the woods. It finally became time to go, and I said goodbye to today's summiters, and to those camped at the Birches.