Date: 2006-09-27
From: Rainbow Spring Campsite

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: few clouds

This morning we carried our stove to the edge of Rainbow Lake and sat there cooking our breakfast as the sun came up and the loons called. Two ducks came swimming out of the fog covering the lake. The were like synchronized swimmers; the one would dive under and the other was soon to follow, then up they popped like two red and tan bobbers. We wanted to savor our last morning with just the three of us; tonight we¢ll be with Ally and Mom.   We were the last people to leave the campsite. We hiked with Model T and Ranger Dog and said our good-byes at the last shelter on the AT before the Birches, their stop for the night.    From Rainbow Ledges, a bald, open, rock hill, we had a great view of Katahdin. It¢s clear as a bell today. As we watched the summit of Katahdin, clouds began to form over top of it. They materialized out of nowhere.    We made it through the 100-mile wilderness safe and sound. Only at this end do they have a warning sign. We made sure to take a picture of it. There were a few dirt roads through the wilderness. Not quite the complete wilderness that we thought it was.    The road over Abol bridge was busy with tractor-trailers hauling stacks of logs. Where are they all coming from?   We had our best view of Katahdin yet from the pedestrian walkway across Abol bridge. Some tourists asked if we had just hiked through the 100-mile wilderness. We said yes, but that we had started in Georgia. They were stunned.   We stopped at the campground store for some delicious microwave cheeseburgers and a couple pocketfuls of candy to get us the rest of the way in. We¢ll be meeting Ally and Mom at the Katahdin Stream Campground, so our food only needs to last until we get there.    The ten miles of trail in Baxter State Park from Abol bridge to the Katahdin Stream Campground have got to be the easiest trail in Maine. The trail followed a river as it branched off and got smaller and smaller. We passed many waterfalls. We crossed a long footbridge on top of a beaver dam. The bridge was sinking into the pond at more then a few places and we all got wet feet. Gear found a huge log that beavers had chewed and shaped. The beavers had gnawed off all of the bark.    We¢re so close to the end, we can hardly believe it. The last .1 mile to the campground was along a smooth dirt road. The three of us walking along there through the tunnel of colored trees, it felt like we had done it, that we had made it. We had completed this crazy AT thing. Summiting Katahdin would be icing on the cake.   We walked into the campground and Ally and Mom came over. For the rest of the evening we were all talking a mile a minute. They had brought food along with them, but they had underestimated the hunger of thru-hikers. The big container of chili was polished off very fast. We tried to get to bed early-ish, because we were tired from not being able to sleep that much for the past couple of nights. We¢ve been too excited.   When you set a date to meet someone, you feel obligated to try and fulfill that. In trying to meet Ally and Mom at the campground we had to hike ahead of a lot of our friends. We found, though, that we would be summiting with friends that we didn¢t realize we would be.