Date: 2015-09-18
From: The Birches Lean-to

To: Katahdin Summit
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: haze

Katahdin is the best hike of the entire AT! And that's not just because it's the end.I wasn't particularly nervous or keyed up for this last day of hiking, but all the same, I didn't sleep very well. Some of the others got up before daylight, and when I got out of my tent at 6, Tabasco, Low Pro, Stretch and Tonreg were all gone already, with the twins just about ready to go.We walked to the ranger station to drop off all the stuff we wouldn't be carrying up the mountain, which was almost everything. I carried my own pack (they have loaner day packs too), but it pretty much only had snacks and my rain jacket.When I got to the picnic area just before the trailhead, there was Cruise Control! We all started the hike together but Sasquatch was out of sight in about 30 seconds. Cruise Control and I had an excellent time catching up on this easier part of the trail. In this case, easier means that it was uphill, but it was still regular trail. We knew there would be a fair amount of climbing over rocks and boulders later. We passed Katahdin Stream Falls, which is very pretty but impossible to photograph due to view blocking trees. Someone should cut those down! (I kid, I kid).I would say the climb is roughly divided into five parts, and the second part involves walking through a stream and over rocks, but it is still not too hard. A little bit further though, the bouldering fun starts. It really was fun. Pace Car caught up with us (remember: late riser, faster hiker) and we all climbed over, under and in between the boulders. This was probably my favorite part of the climb. There were two or three spots where there was rebar to assist, and overall I thought the trail was very well laid out. Another cheer for the MATC! (And thank god the AMC is not in charge of the trail on Katahdin!).Once you get out of that bouldering section, there is a short level section before you climb steeply over slightly smaller rocks than before. I could see the Knife Edge but didn't realize what it was so I thought the summit was actually further away than it turned out to be. There is a sign to indicate one mile, which took me by surprise, but no complaints!About a half mile before the finish, two hikers passed us, and one of them said to me 'well that's been a long time'. I did not recognize him at all at first, but then realized it was Jokes! I hadn't seen him since Damascus and he looked very different. It was really fun to see him after all this time! A little while later, a hiker came down and asked if I was Airlock. I said I was and he told me my husband was up there waiting for me. Aaawwwww! We could see the sign and the (small) crowd. Pace Car got there first, followed by Cruise Control and I brought up the rear. Per one of the suggestions in the comments, Sasquatch took video of our last section, which we will link here once we're home.I hadn't really expected to be all emotional about summiting and I wasn't, and neither was anybody else I could see, but it was a ton of fun to hang out at the top and congratulate each other, take the obligatory pictures with the sign and just generally celebrate the achievement.We didn't stay too long though, as it was getting a bit crowded and it was fairly cold and windy at the top. And of course Sasquatch had already been there quite a while! Also, while the AT was done, I wouldn't feel 'done' until I got down again. As Ed Viesturs says "Going up is optional, getting down is mandatory". Of course we're not talking Everest here, but still. The hike down was long and hard on the knees but eventually we did of course make it back. Now we had the challenge of finding a ride out of the park during the middle of the day. By now our group was back to 7: Stretch, Low Pro, Tonreg, Sasquatch, Cruise Control, Pace Car and me. We got a ride in the bed of the ranger's pick up truck to a better spot 5 miles down the road. Traffic was fairly sparse and cars were frequently full, but we had a nice shady spot so things were ok. We got out in dribs, with Stretch, Sasquatch and me getting picked up by a really nice couple that took us all the way into Millinocket. Their son had thru-hiked last year and they were very stoic about our considerable hiker stench. Once in Millinocket, we all congregated at the AT lodge, where Kansas had secured a room for Sasquatch and me the previous night. Thanks again, Kansas! And then it was time for lobster rolls and Prosecco (for lack of champagne but who cares!).We arranged for a shuttle back to Monson for Saturday so we could get home. But that did not go as planned. Stay tuned!Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?