Date: 2005-09-23
From: Katahdin

To: Seawall Campground (Acadia National Park, ME)
Miles today: 0.0

8:00 pm - So Long and Thanks For All The FishKatahdin exists unto itself. Logically, I know that I reached it by hiking up from the base, but some part of me rejects that, refusing to believe. The top is too radically different from the bottom; surely, they're not both part of the same mountain. Time passes differently up top. An hour spent up top may be fifteen minutes in the real world, or considerably longer - it's hard to say for certain. Reaching the top of such an incredible summit is an experience reserved for few, and cannot be fully explained to the satisfaction of the uninitiated.I didn't sleep very much. I was too exicited, like a child on Christmas Eve or on the night before entering the second grade. Every time I woke up my mind started racing. At long last, dawn arrived and provided the needed excuse to climb out of my sleeping bag.Bear Tracks, Professor Nutbag and I ate a quick breakfast and then went to the ranger station to dump unneeded gear for the hike on the enclosed porch. The day's weather was posted: a 50% chance of showers and 15-20 mph winds. It was a Class II day, meaning that hiking above treeline wasn't recommended. Not that it mattered much to us - we were determined to go up come hell or high water.The trail was easy for a mile or so until we crossed Katahdin Stream. It then began climbing, taking us past a waterfall along the way. We didn't linger too long. We wanted to beat the weather. The trail got steeper with every step and the rocks grew into boulders. The 50% chance of showers turned into 100% as a light drizzle started. Ten minutes later, we broke clear of treeline.I thought the trail designers were joking. It was as if Mahoosic Notch was rotated vertically. I could see a mile long climb stretching before me on the edge of a steep ridge, dropping sharply on both sides. It simply got steeper as one approached the top, still a thousand vertical feet distant. Climb it we must, and climb it we did - somehow. There were spots that were next to impossible due to the rain. Iron rungs and rock slabs are not fun when slick. I passed over the only spot on the AT where I actually feared for my safety. It was a long drop to the valley below as I wiggled on my belly up a smooth rock slab with no handholds. I briefly contemplated turning back and climbing on a better day, but quickly dismissed that thought. I figured I was already past the most treacherous parts; I might as well continue and tag the summit before traversing them again.It was the right decision. The rain didn't last long - thirty minutes, perhaps. We watched a hairline crack of bright sky on the horizon grow every larger as clearer skies swept toward us. It never became clear - there was always a haze - but it became pleasant and we even got some rather inspirng views of the nearby mountains and pond filled valleys.At the top of the climb we reached the Tableland. The mountain flattened out, and Baxter peak lay just under a mile and a half away across mostly flat terrain. The Tableland was my favorite part of the mountain, and perhaps the entire trail. It's a surreal environment that has to be experienced to be understood. 5,000 foot plateaus simply shouldn't exist on the East Coast.As we went up, we passed a few groups coming down, including Linux and Epistimalogical Maniac, two fellow thru-hikers completing their trips. Just shy of the summit we ran into a dayhiking trio that told us they saw a bear on the top about twenty minutes prior. Really, I can't make this stuff up.The peak was maybe a hundred feet above the Tableland and worlds apart. It was cloudy and windy. Slowly a ghostly apparition began to solidify. It was the infamous wooden sign atop Katahdin. We had reached the peak; Professor and I completed the Appalachian Trail.I didn't feel overwhelmed by emotion, suprisingly enough. Perhaps it was the cold, or maybe there was simply too much to do. Professor donned a three piece corduroy suit he brought for the occasion. I read a letter that my Dad gave me to open at the summit. I then popped open my celebratory beverage. I had wanted some champagne, but the Abol Bridge campstore didn't sell any. I made do with the next best thing - Miller High Life, the champagne of beers. My victory cigar, however, refused to light in the wind.Perhaps my proudest moment up top was the assemblage of a life sized cardboard cutout of Dick Cheney. I hatched the idea somewhere in Virginia but didn't find a suitable picture until Stratton. My friend Bruce has a father that runs a photo shop. He printed the picture out as a six foot tall poster and mailed it to me in Monson. I glued it to cardboard obtained from the maildrop boxes of hikers (thanks Red Wing and Hopeful!) and scored the cardboard so that it would fold up and fit snugly inside my pack. I wrapped it in a heavy duty trashbag and carried Dick Cheney on my back through the Hundred Mile Wilderness and up the summit. At the top I unfolded him and duct taped my trekking poles to the back to provide support. The tape held for about five minutes, which was enough to snap a few summit photos alongside the Vice President of the United States.A lot of people asked me, "Why Dick Cheney?" Why not? He's always hanging out in some secure, undisclosed location. Why shouldn't it be on top of Katahdin?Several other hikers showed up in the meantime. Fig and Just Visiting completed their thruhikes, and Jon and Rachel also reached the top. Not Guilty, a flip flopper who I hadn't seen since before Waynesboro, appeared along with his father. We all huddled behind a rock out of the wind and ate lunch before descending. Professor kept the suit on for the descent.As we reached the end of the Tableland, I looked back and saw that the summit had cleared. Oh, well - we still had a blast, clouds or no clouds. While scrambling down the boulder field, I heard Just Visiting talking to some familiar voices. It was Sam-I-Am and Origami on their way up. They awoke at Abol Bridge, saw that the mountain was clear, and took a shortcut trail to reach the base since the next day's forecast was lousy. They were headed up to enjoy the recently cleared summit and planned to hike back to Abol Bridge the following day to complete the trail. We chatted briefly and then they disappeared up the slopes. It was a wonderful surprise to be able to share a summit date with them.I had feared the descent down the boulders, but it turned out to be easier than anticipated. The wind had dried off the rocks so they weren't even very slick. For once, the descent didn't seem as tricky as the ascent. It was, however, physically draining. By the time I reached treeline I was pretty wiped out. Professor stopped partway down to smoke a cigarette while I puffed on my victory cigar. Feeling a little stronger, we finished up the final two miles together.Exhausted, we reached the bottom and found Little John waiting. He'd hiked in from Abol Bridge. Proteus was there, too, planning to hike up the next day. Like Sam and Origami, he wanted to go up today but got lost on the shortcut trail. Little John decided not to hike Katahdin. He'd already done it earlier in the year so his hike was over when he reached the base. He said he'd go up if it was a nice day, but saw no point in climbing it again in bad weather.An hour or two later, Sam and Origami came down. They, too, were beat. That appears to be a comon theme for hikers coming off the mountain. We waited around another hour or two for Not Guilty and his father to come down. They'd offered Professor, Bear Tracks and myself a ride to Millinocket which we gladly accepted.They came down; we said our goodbyes and left the Trail one last time. After a detour to pick up a maildrop package, we split a room at the Palolem Motor Lodge. Our victory dinner was lots of Chinese food. The Professor's fortune cookie read, "Now is the time to start something new." Fitting. Exhausted, we phoned friends and family with our good news and then promptly fell asleep.We woke up at the usual time. At the motel's continental breakfast, we ran into the Muppets one final time. We watched as they loaded up a van and pulled away. We soon caught our own rides - first a taxi to Medway and then a bus to Bangor, the largest city we've seen for six months (excluding my sidetrip to DC for an evening). Conveniently, a laundromat was next door to the bus station. We started our loads and then I walked across the street to the airport, where I had a rental car reserved.With clean clothes in tow we ventured downtown to check e-mail at the public library. After a quick lunch I drove to a supermarket to buy a few day's worth of food. I planned to head to Acadia for a few days. I bought a lot of fruits and vegetables as part of my detox diet. Professor and Bear Tracks acquired two large pieces of cardboard. They wrote on one "Long Distance Hikers Need To Get Home." The other simply read "Syracuse, NY." I left the two of them on the side of the highway with my best wishes and an open invitation to some southern hospitality. It's been an honor to hike with Professor Nutbag. I'm proud to call him my friend. I drove the two hours to Acadia and found a site at the Seawall campground. I plan to spend the next few days in this area, exploring the park and coastal Maine. I'll fly back to Marion on the 28th and will start work at Vecna (my old employer) on October 17th. In the interim, I need to find somewhere to live and start to pick up the pieces to my DC life once again.I've been living on the trail for six months. This has been the best journey of my life. I've made friendships that I hope last a lifetime and have seen so much. I don't feel that I proved anything to myself or anybody else. I knew from the begining that I'd eventually make it to Katahdin, barring injury or disaster. But I didn't know how I'd get there. I have memories to last a lifetime, and the friends to prove it. Professor Nutbag, Crazy Legs, Low Bridge, LiveStrong, Phoenix, Gozar, Sam-I-Am, Origami, Vapors, Skywalker, Wilderness Bob, Turbo Joe, Romer, Slim, Crickett, Dandy Sherpa, Dandy Lion, Mr. Sweepers, Jude, Hopeful, Red Wing, Mayfly, Koho, Good Ole Boy, Sloppy, Jukebox, Bassline, Troll, Anchor, Oblivious, Gypsy Lulu, Touk, Ug, Apple Pie, Pumpkin, Bug, Miss Priss, Fig, Just Visiting, Sleeveless, Socks, Pus Gut, Hot Crotch, Spoon Main, Noonin, Thunder, and a host of others that are too inumerable to list - thanks for being a part of my trip, and for letting me be a part of yours. I'll always treasure the time we spent together.Everything must pass, eventually. My AT adventure has drawn to a close. I do not plan to hike the AT again. Life's too short to repeat myself. There's simply too many other things that need doing. We've got our own roads to ride and chances we've got to take.