Date: 2014-09-30
From: Abol Pine Campgrounds

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2

Well this is it. The day I always dreamed about but never thought would actual arrive. It rained last night and when we woke up this morning around 5:30 it was cloudy but the rain subsided at least. The forecast said it would be cloudy which really didn't bother me, I can't control the weather and I've gotten enough spectacular views that I could concede not getting one now. I woke up with that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach like it was the first day of school and then a wave of emotion hit me and I had to hold back the tears. The Birches are on the opposite side of the campgrounds so we took the walk and it everyone was still sleeping. We got to kiosk where there was a clipboard to sign in, signed in and then we were on our way.    We had daypacks on that we borrowed from the ranger office, some poeple carry there pack up but I didn't have an attachment to my pack like others did so I left mine behind. We passed the last privy of the Appalachian Trail which I had to visit, I thoroughly enjoyed the privies throughout the trail especially in Maine so I had to pay homage before heading up. The first part of the hike wasn't to bad, had some boulder climbs but it was fun. When we got to the boundary between the woods and the alpine zone, we had some amazing views. We were high enough up where we above the clouds and the peaks of the mountains were poking through. While it was cloudy below, the sun shone above, we may get lucky and have good weather. The hike got a little more difficult when we were in the alpine zone where the trees grew smaller and the rocks grew bigger.The hike became more climbing and this was probably the only time I was actually scared for my life. I'm pretty awkward so some of these hand and feet placement got precarious. Then we got to "The Ledges" which is the plateau before the final summit and the weather turned out to be beautiful, rescuing Radio gave us good karma which brought us the great weather. With blue skies and sun shining, we walked along and looked up and you could see the Katahdin sign in the distance like a small dot. We got to the final climb and all I could do was laugh and smile the whole way up. This was it, the final climb. We hiked up and there it was, the sign to bring so much happiness and joy to people was right in front of us. All of sudden the smile and laughter faded for a moment and tears streamed down my face as I put my hands on that sign. Six months of emotions bottled up poured out and what a cathartic experience it was. We were the first ones up that day and had the mountain to ourselves, this was our day, we deserved it. We took a whole bunch of photos and waited for others. Eventually Pilgrim made it up then Tumbles,Senator and Yeti Legs and finally Cadi and Hobo. This was the class of September 30th, 2014. We clapped and cheered everyone on as they made the final ascent up. It's a unique experience to share with people who share the same journey but experience it totally differently but in the end we have a common bond-we hiked the Appalachian Trail.    We stayed up there for a little over an hour and then headed back down the mountain. It's a weird experience hiking back down as we're not heading on to the next shelter or campsite, we're heading home.Home. It's going to be weird not seeing those white blazes everyday or Atlas in front of me or meeting up with James or Delaware spontaneously but this journey couldn't last forever even though I wish I could. I've had a poster of the Appalachian Trail on my wall for the past ten years and I've always looked at it and wondered "What If?" and now I can go back and look at it with a smile on my face and say "What's next?".   Thank you to all those who followed my journal and experienced this journey with me. The messages of support and encouragement meant more than I could express in words, you guys helped me finish this journey. I'm going to a conclusion post in a few days when everything settles and I can collect my thoughts.