Date: 2004-10-17
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Baxter Peak (Summit of Mt. Katahdin)
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: moderate rain

We were up early (6 am) and had a quick breakfast. Honey-nut Cheerios for me and with real milk, what a treat (since there was a fridge in the hotel room I didn¢t have to use powdered milk). We all piled into Mike¢s SUV and headed off to Baxter State Park. The weather was not looking good on the drive there. Cold rain....At the park entrance the ranger informed us that today was a Class 3 day and that hiking above treeline was not recommended, there is 2 miles of above treeline hiking on Katahdin. There are class 1, 2, 3, and 4 days. A class 4 day means that Katahdin is closed for hiking. The ranger also told us that the Knifes Edge trail was closed which unfortunately is the trail I was hoping to come down. We continued driving into the park until we got to where we had left off at the base of Katahdin. We headed into the ranger station to sign in and debated on not hiking today and coming back tomorrow which the ranger thought may be a better day. Of course there was also the chance that the mountain could be closed tomorrow. To make things worse Mallory forgot her rain jacket and there was a cold hard rain coming down¢¦. Luckily Mickey had a spare poncho (he had been using it as a rain cover for his pack) that Mallory could use so we all decided we couldn¢t wait another day and headed out for our last five miles of AT hiking. (It was a good thing we did, I would find out later that the Katahdin was closed the next 3 days). The terrain was flat and easy hiking for the first mile then we hit the hard stuff. It was definitely some technical rock scrambling for a while. But we were way too pumped up to even be slowed down by the hard hiking. Just as we hit the treeline some hail and freezing rain/sleet came down for a minute. Not the day we were hoping for but that wasn¢t going to stop us. The trail continues up a rugged ridgeline before flattening out for a while at ¢table land¢. Just before table land the sun started to pop through the clouds, the rain had completely stopped and the clouds were beginning to break up!!!! We were able to start getting glimpses of views! What a day!After table land the trail starts a gradual climb to the top. Once part of the way up this last push we headed back into the clouds. Our visibility was only a hundred feet or so. It was also quite cold up here. There were small patches of snow/ice between the rocks. At this point I also caught up with Butterfingers and Wideload. We all had been hiking separately off and on all the way up. Magnet was about 5 minutes ahead of us, then Wideload, Butterfingers, and I were together. It was good to be back in the old formation again. Mallory was just a bit behind us and Mickey and Mike a bit further back. I could tell we were getting close but it was impossible to see more than a hundred feet or so. Then I saw it, THE SIGN! There is a sign at the top of Katahdin that marks the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. It is a large wooden horse type sign that we have dreamed about. I could barely make it out but there it was, finally. Wideload took off in a sprint yelling along the way. Magnet was already on top! We all yelled out in celebration. Then through the fog I heard Mallory scream too. Then she slowly emerged out of the clouds. Mickey and Mike were just a bit behind and Mickey gave his own yell. We were all very excited but I must admit it is a bit anticlimactic¢¦ Don¢t get me wrong, when I got to the top the feeling was awesome. I can¢t even explain how good it felt, but it isn¢t like there are people cheering for you and your friends and family are there. You¢re at the top of a mountain, it is silent (except for the wind) and secluded and you still have to hike down 5 miles. We took our pictures on top and I pulled out the bottle of champagne I had hiked up. I do feel bad about this one though. The whole trip I tried hard to leave no trace (not litter) and would pack out the trash I saw someone else left behind, but when I opened that bottle of champagne, the cork flew 30 or 40 feet in the air and the wind caught it and sent it even further. I looked but that cork was gone¢¦. It was damn windy on top so we crouched behind some rocks and ate our lunch and drank some bubbly. Then we all started to get cold so one by one we headed down. I stayed on top for a little bit by myself. I didn¢t want to leave. I wish it was nicer out, I would have stayed there for hours. I finally made my way down too. Just past table land and on to the rugged ridgeline I caught the others. Once off the top the sun broke through and gave us some warmth. We all took off some layers and snacked while enjoying the views. We all started going at our own paces again and Magnet and I were together when I saw the first sign....."Dan Noll Hi¢ was written in the ground. Mmmmm that is a weird thing to write. Then scratched on a rock ¢Dan Congrats¢ mmmm that is not as weird. I knew my parents and Jen (the scribe) were coming to meet me and I thought I may see them coming up the trail but I guess they were already here and left some messages for me. Just as I made it down to the trailhead sure enough there was good ole Mooney (Jen the Scribe) and Ma and Pa Noll!!! It was certainly good to see them. We all headed back to Millinocket and Pa Noll was nice enough to take us all out for some pizza. After that we went to the hotel bar and closed the place down with some wild and crazy celebrations¢¦.. Ok it wasn¢t wild and crazy it was 11pm, but it was nice to relax over a few drinks. Hey we are still on hiker time and the sun had been down for almost five hours already. It is weird to think of my trip as being over, for the longest time it felt like it would never end, but now it feels like it was too short. I guess that is like all of life though. It was one amazing trip. The scenery is amazing, the solitude and simplicity of trail life is a great thing to experience. One of the other great things was the people that you meet along the way. Even if you had only met someone a few times you were all going through the same things and felt like you knew the person forever. Anyone you would come across on the trail (complete strangers) you would stop and talk with them, at least for a minute or two. That is something that doesn¢t happen back in city life. And then the best thing that I found on the whole trail was the new friends. If it wasn¢t for Butterfingers (Stephanie) and Wideload (Stephan) I never would have finished. Mickey (Hans) and Mallory (Brittany) made the second half of my trip even better, and it was great to hike with Magnet (Gen) for all of Maine. There are tons of others that I¢m sad to think I may never see again. It was always fun when you would catch back up to someone or they would catch your. I'd like to let my parents know how much I appreciated them dropping me off and picking me up that made things sooooo much easier. And then of course the Scribe (Jen), she was my scribe for these entries, my supplier of food maildrops, my supplier of gear, and mental support throughout the entire trip.Thank you Jen Mooney. That's it. Happy Hiking! P.S. I'll be posting some pictures soon.