Date: 2018-09-06
From: The Birches Lean-Tos and Campsite 

To: Katahdin - Summit of Baxter Peak
Miles today: 5.2

2018 Miles: 853.5 DONE!!Hikers at The Birches talked nervously the night before summit day. There was excitement and anticipation, knowing Katahdin is a serious climb. No one has heard of a hiker failing to complete a thru hike because they could not make the final summit, but there is a sense of the difficulty while there is also the desire to just get going.  In the very wee hours of the morning I knew Dr Who in the other shelter had his headlamp out and was getting ready to start out in the dark. At 4:30 I began to do a few chores by feel only. Then a sixth sense told me Glider was laying over there still in his sleeping bag but awake. I whispered ¢Glider, are you awake?¢ and he said yes and we both began to move about freely, getting ready.  Our big packs were staying at the ranger station and we had separated gear the night before as best we could into our day packs. After final prep, including breakfast, we hoisted our backpacks onto our backs and carried our day packs in our hands the quarter mile down to the ranger station, by headlamp. The first mile was winding through the Katahdin Stream Campground and then into the woods, quickly starting to gain elevation, but in a more normal climb like on any big peak. Soon we hit the beginning of the two mile boulder scramble. Huge rocks straight up where we would wonder how to get a hand or foothold to get up to the next boulder above.  Hard work with no letup. On such a steep ascent you can see out to the surrounding mountains because you are on near cliff-like structures, though still surrounded by the forest. So we knew we were making progress because these towering peaks were at our level as we slowly crawled up the side. It seems that the only mountain you can¢t see is the one you are on. It¢s hard to see where you are in the ascent of a peak or how close the actual summit is because false summits and false shoulders hide each other, going ever higher and out of sight.  Then we finally came above treeline and could see the stacked tower of boulders ahead, one tower at a time.  Naked boulders steeply up a rugged incline, hiding the next one until nearly ready to crest the top. Then the next one, looking just like the last one, comes into view.  I was ahead and could look back to see Glider working his way along the stack behind and below me, looking small. Finally I saw a sign in silhouette against the murky sky ahead and anticipated it would level off at the next crest - The Tablelands.  By this time I had been in the clouds and out into a short clearing dozens of times. The wind was wild and strong enough to blow me off my feet sideways. My cap was in my pack for fear of losing it in the gusts. I would be socked in or get a view out and down as the clouds whipped by. The clouds were in multiple layers, giving beautiful views to the lower elevations of Katahdin, and to the surrounding mountains, and sometimes all the way to the valley floor.  At The Tablelands sign I waited for Glider and got a few pictures and a video. The wind was fierce and cold.  I even pulled out my jacket against the exposure, thinking hypothermia a possibility.  Glider came up and soon we moved ahead. The Tablelands is where the ascent levels off some. Think rock fields, but also think moonscape.  For a long way the ascent is gradual, hopping from rock to rock.  After a mile we met Dr Who, already returning from the summit. He was upbeat. He was excited and somewhat of a chatterbox.  We talked about his summit story, shouting over the wind.  We still had to gain about 700 feet elevation and there was a mini-version of the shoulders hiding each other from view as we continued to hop rock to rock but very steeply now by comparison. Then I saw the sideways view of the iconic summit sign so I knew we were getting there.  A tenth of a mile remaining, then 100 yards, then a few feet. Then I slapped my right hand against the cold weathered wood of the summit sign.  From Georgia to Maine, I¢m here! Tears welled up. Momentary confusion.  I¢m here, but you¢re supposed to do something. Yes, get pictures. Look around. Try to take it all in.  Try to memorize the way it looks, the way it feels.  I got a cryptic message out to Marlene so she would know. Other hikers came in. Congratulations all around. The landscape continued to clear and then cloud over. The wind continued to whip around.  It did not seem cold. I took off my jacket.  We got pictures, everyone trading camera duties. I fought back tears. The hike was over. Think about all that has happened. Think about that other summit down in Georgia. The events between are too many to count. Yes, I still had to hike back down but that was mere formality.  We stayed about 30 minutes.  Then you look around, then just walk away. It starts to be a memory right then. We came up the Hunt Trail, where the AT white blazes are found.  Retracing about a mile, we picked up the blue blazed Abol Trail, going down another way to the Abol Campground, rather than repeating the Hunt Trail. (We thought it might be a little easier, but not so much).  It was steeper but the steep part was shorter, or so we thought.  Hard to tell really.  Look at a picture of Katahdin and you see from a distance a long white gash going right down the center of the front side of the mountain. That is from a rockslide long ago. The Abol Trail goes over a steep cliff face above for a long way, and then right down the center of that gash. In total it is longer than the Hunt Trail.  Very steep almost all the way down until the valley floor forces it to level off. Our knees took a real beating on the pounding jamming descent.  Finally a more normal woods walk for awhile and down into the Abol Campground. After that a quick two mile walk on a gravel road with tall trees straight up and close in on either side, back to Katahdin Stream Campground and the ranger station. Then it¢s over.  On the shuttle ride out of Baxter State Park and into Millinocket, Katahdin came into view several times.  Now it¢s sort of personal. I¢ve been there. It¢s a memory and slowly the details fade.   But I¢ve been there. I wink at the mountain, and we both know.  Goodnight Sweetheart.