Date: 2014-09-15
From: Katahdin Inn and Suites

To: Mount Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I thought for a bit about what I wanted for my final "Title" and could not think of anything that better sums up what this hike has meant to me and what made it successful. As I have said before, whenever there was a time I truly needed something and I prayed over it, God was there to help me. I know this seems a little strange to some, but I do believe He was there for me when I needed help. And Family. I can't say enough about my wife Laura and all of her support as well as that of my sons and daughter in law. Even now while typing this I think about those really tough days when I needed an inspiration to get through it and all I had to do is picture my grandsons Gavin and Elliot and their smiling faces. It was a raw energy that just made what seemed like impossible - possible. I also had my parents to thank for the foundation they gave me to see this through and to be able to open myself to what it had to offer. My brothers and sisters who are also my best friends gave me the strength to see this to the end and helped me stay focused. I will never be able to thank them enough. Friends along the way were like ports in a storm as well as a place to get your soul rekindled. Their warmth and kindness made each one of them a true trail angel and I will forever be gratefully paying it forward.With that said, it was another long night of little sleep where I woke up every hour on the hour. It was a hiker's Christmas morning. At 4 Laura's alarm went off and she quickly shut it off and rolled back over and went back to sleep. I am so envious of her and how she does this even at home. With the shower out of the way and everything packed and loaded in the car it was time to get Leo and head out. He also had been up for quite a while and was ready to go. A quick stop for coffee and a bite to eat as well as some gas and off we went. As I drove along I kept thinking this is it, I'm actually going to do this. How will I feel, how will things change if at all, what's next? I just didn't know. It was dark when we left but as we got closer to the park the sun began to light up the eastern sky and it appeared that the reports of a sunny day in the low 60's may come true. We made it to the Baxter Park gate about 545 and had to wait for it to open at 6. After getting in we still had to navigate 8 miles of narrow and I mean narrow winding road to the parking lot at the base of Katahdin. As we passed each pond or lake we took one last look for the ever evasive moose in hopes of catching a glimpse but it was not meant to be. We had been about number 5 in line to get into the park, but there were several people who were camping nearby and were already prepping to start their climb. One last trip to the privy as there is only one more on the way up and let's say there are few places of privacy up on top if you have to go. I attempted to check in with the ranger but they were not scheduled to come on duty until 7 and we would be on the trail before that. We did sign in at the register and it was 650 at that time with 5.2 miles to go.The trail initially was quite nice with a comfortable grade and not a whole lot of roots and rocks. After about a mile it started to angle up and we then crossed over the Katahdin Stream Bridge. The water was so pure and clear that we could easily see the pebbles lying in the stream below despite the depth of the water. After crossing the trail angled up even more but we were aided by the work of the trail maintainers who had built a stone step going up quite a ways. At the top we had a great view of the Katahdin Stream Falls which plunged down on the rocks below. I never get bored of such views. We continued to move up sharply below tree line as the climb got steeper and steeper and began to involve more rock climbing. It also started to get a bit warm as we both shed our jackets - for the time being. We didn't have much for views at this point as the tree cover was quite dense and close to the trail. Once in a while we would get a teasing peak of what was in store helped in keeping the adrenaline flowing. Things progressed quite well until we got above tree line and the wind and rocks took over.Back at the base I had hemmed and hawed about whether to bring my Frogg Togg jacket as a wind breaker, but it had been warm and sunny down there and I figured my long sleeve under Armour cold gear shirt and fleece would be sufficient. But I failed to heed my own mantra, "if you don't have it, you can't wear it". As we broke above tree line the wind picked up from what appeared to be a mild 5 to 10 mph to 10 to 20 mph. This wasn't so bad initially as the sun was still out but a look off to the west showed this might not last as clouds continued to build and move our way. To make things even more interesting, we went from trail hiking to what seemed like alpine mountain climbing. For about a half mile we had to pick our way up, around, over sideways or whatever way we could large boulders and sheer rock at what was a sharp ascent. There were some steel rungs here and there to "help" but they were spaced for those with legs of an NBA player. On top of this, there were a number of places that offered little consolation if you happen to slip or fall as we were quite close to the edge a number of times with falls of a 100 feet or more. And what made it even harder was as we climbed the views became more and more tantalizing and awe inspiring which played with our ability to focus on the task on hand. Remembering the sign at the base that said, "Rescuers can be many hours in arriving" did help some and we were able to final top off that section. But our reprieve was to be short lived as we faced a narrow rock slide that seemed to go right up into the sky. While it didn't seem to be very long, foot placement or should I say the CORRECT foot placement was paramount and significantly slowed me down. I kept telling myself you have come way too far to fall and get hurt now. As we moved through this section the clouds moved in and covered the mountain while limiting any range of view. Along with the limited view, the temperature had dropped drastically and rime ice was now on the edge of all of the rocks as well as the plant life. After what seemed like an eternity we made it to the Gateway of the Tableland. This left just 1.6 miles to go, but as I've said in the past the last mile or so always seems to take forever and this time it seemed even more so given that it was to be my last stop. By this time the mountain was really socked in by the clouds and the wind was getting stronger and stronger and despite having gloves on my fingertips were getting cold to the point I had to keep slipping them out and under my shirt to thaw out. The landscape took on a strange unworldly dimension given the lack of perspective and the number of rocks that just appeared to be tossed everywhere. With Leo behind me I pushed on and in short time we made it to Thoreau's spring marking the 1 mile to go point. I don't know if it was the adrenaline kicking into overdrive or the fact that I was getting colder and colder and wanted to move faster, but after walking for about a half hour I looked back to see how Leo was doing and I couldn't see him! I knew I couldn't stop to wait for him as the wind by this time was just about howling so I moved on until I found a rock to hunker down behind out of the wind. About 10 minutes later he caught up and I had him take the lead to the top even though he graciously offered to have me go first. After a 100 yards or so it came into view and seemed so surreal with the clouds and the wind and everything. As I approached the sign I was initially numb of any feeling but as I reached out and placed my hand on the sign I was struck by this overwhelming emotion and sense of well being and completeness. Filled with this emotion I turned to thank Leo for all he has done and for being here today to share this very special moment. At that point we got my picture with the sign along with pictures of Leo and I with a Vietnam Veteran's shirt representing his unit and who had started the hike but could not complete it this year due to an injury as well as pics of Leo and I holding a USMC flag for my son Joel who is a Marine and the flag of Ireland for my son Kris. I want them to both know that when it comes to doing something, "YES THEY CAN". We then promptly broke out the coffee and baileys and shared with Patches and Viking who had been hunkered down for 2 hours behind some rocks in hopes of the sun breaking through. They were quite appreciative as was I when Viking gave up his spot for me so I could get out of the wind. While there was no "view" the sense of accomplishment more than made up for it and I basked in the commraderie of these fellow thru hikers and others that had made this ascent. But as I sat there the cold seeped further and further into me and I began to shake quite a bit. With some sadness I knew that I had to move out to stay warm so we said our last good byes and congratulations to Patches and Viking and Leo and I headed down the mountain. Now most people now how to tell the difference between a thru hiker and a day hiker (besides their smell). A thru hiker would rather be climbing up hill opposed to a day hiker who would rather be going down hill. Going downhill is much more difficult as it is harder on the knees and in this case with large rock boulders and drops much more precarious. As a result we took our time as we moved down and this was aided by the large number of hikers who continued to pass us as they moved up to the summit. Leo and I figured there had to have been at least 25 to 30 hikers coming up as we went down. As we moved down we could once again peer off to the west and could see the skies opening up for more views. And what views they were. Huge rock walls, alpine meadows, lakes and ponds every where and mountains rolling as far as the eye could see. What a wonderful day we had given to us today. We finally made it below tree line where we were out of the wind and the sun continued to become stronger and stronger. As it warmed we once again shed our jackets and quietly made our way down. Leo was in the lead this time and while despite his long legs and strong pace I can usually keep up with him, I found myself lagging a bit as I slowly sipped the last savory feeling of being on the trail and realizing it was over. This magnificent hike of 2,185.3 mile has been beyond description and I would encourage anyone thinking of doing it to do it. You'll never regret it. Again thanks to all who have followed and a special thanks to Wet Dog, Moving On, RW, Oconee whose company I shared on the trail and Pickles who mailed me my Life is Good Hat that I had left at Eliza Brook Shelter and that I wore on my summit of Katahdin. Also to my good friend Gray Ghost. I never thought I could find such a good friend on the trail, but I did in Gray Ghost and look forward to his completion of his thru hike.Finally, to my true love and best friend Laura, Thank you.