Date: 2006-10-13
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Mt. Katahdin Baxter Peak
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Well, I made it! We made it! Go Team Bionic! Getting up this morning, I still felt like warmed over dog shit. Later on DZ would tell me that even at that point he wasn't sure I'd be hiking anywhere on Friday the 13th. I forced myself to eat a bit of breakfast bar, but it wasn't settling very good. I figured I was almost empty, considering all the privy trips I made yesterday. So, better to go on an empty stomach/gastric system, than load my insides up with stuff that might blast out. The adrenaline was taking over as we began hiking out of the campgrounds. Hitech blasted into the lead, with Porkchop not far behind. About half way up, we all stopped and took a little break. (PC, DZ, Hitech, Mallard, Mash & me) I'd heard some much about the climb up Katahdin, I was expecting the worse. But, like so many things, the fear was greater than the reality. Of course there were some hairy places, but overall, it wasn't any worse than anything we'd seen anywhere else, maybe just a bit more concentrated. It was beyond words to climb up the Hunt Trail ridge, and then turn around to see the view behind me. Incredible. We stopped again for pictures at Thoreau Spring. The water was amazingly clear. We pressed on to cover the last north-bound mile. I could see hikers up on the summit already. All last night it has rained and flurried. When we got up this morning at 6:30 it was only 38 degrees. As we climbed, the skies cleared and the sun came out. It was simply amazing. I was so sure we'd be socked in by clouds in our summit photos. Team Bionic summitted as a group. The four of us along with a picture of Jackson to represent. It was an emotional moment. When I got to the top, there were a bunch of thruhikers, all in various stages of celebration. I sat down on a rock and began to cry. Tonka looked over and gave me a sweet smile. All that I've been through. Everything I've done. Everyone I've met. All the positives of the trip came flowing through me at that moment. It felt so good, such a sweet release. I couldn't really believe I was there, standing with my friends among the cloud tops. We posed for a group picture (17 thru-hikers!), then did Team Bionic pics, and individual pics. I just had to crawl up and kneel on the Katahdin sign. The feeling of joy kept washing over me while I was up there. I grabbed Hitech's cell phone and left a voice mail for my sister Cari. I thanked her for helping to get me there. Like all good things, this too had to come to an end. It was a four hour trip up, most likely a four hour trip back down, and it was getting late. Hiking down the mountain was tougher than hiking up. Almost to the bottom, and who do we run into? The Pro from Dover. He was out on a day hike. We all continued back to Katahdin Stream Campground. As we approached the ranger station, cheers were heard. Pockets and Tonkas moms had come out, and along with all the other hikers were cheering everyone who came into camp. That was a special way to end a very special day. We had some sandwiches, picked up our gear at the ranger station and figured out rides to Millinocket. I was still feeling shitty, but the elation was over-riding my physical discomfort. We headed out of the park around dusk and got to our motel in Millinocket. It's too soon to be able to articulate just how good today felt. PEACE and GODSPEED