Date: 2010-06-29
From: Katahdin Stream

To: Mt Katahdin Summit
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"So it did. The big K day. My turn to join the ranks of all thru hikers who either start of finish their hike by climbing the majestic Mt Katahdin. Sean and I got an early push this morning at 0630 after Aubreys father drove us to Katahdin stream campground to start the hike. My first thoughts were of Christmas. Thats right, Chrismas! The Douglas Fur and all the pines give off this amazing fragrance that leads your senses to a Christmas tree farm. Well in Jersey we have gas station parking lots filled with Cristmas trees but if I had ever been to a Christmas tree farm I imagine it would smell like Katahdin. It was awesome. The climb started pretty easy for the first mile, and than just up. Just UP is the only way I can describe it. We thought for sure a climb of that much would surely consist of switch backs gently taking you up the mountain 20 feet at a time. It did not....just up. So we climbed...and climbed and climbed. While it wasnt anywhere in the arena of easy, we were both pleased with our level of conditioning. We were tired, not defeated. Later in the day that would change. After we left the tree line and achieved greater altitude we were amazed at the amount of technical climbing we had to do. Either of us had any idea we would be bouldering and negotiating all manner of steep rock faces. That mountain is perilous. You could really die up there. Plenty of steep drops off rock faces and one missed step type of climbing.   It was just plain hard. I found myself fabricating dialouge with the mountain. "Really mountain, another 500 foot accent after I just did one and you teased me with what I thought was a view of the top.......Mountain: Really smelly hiker? I've been here for billions of years and your going to bitch at me because you decided to climb me today? Do whatever you want but i'm not moving" So we continued to climb. Up up up up up up up.....until finally, at 10:40 this morning we reached the summit and that elusive sign i've been dreaming about for years. We were the first of the day and enjoyed some quiet time before quite a few more hikers joined us in the next hour. There were two guys there who are on a Quest to climb the highest peak in each state having completed almost the whole country. There were a group of Mennonite men from PA who were amazing. In farm clothes complete with suspenders, Amish hat and wooden cane they made the journey in no more than 5 hours despite not one of them being under 60. It was humbling, as was their kindness. The views were all cloudy at first and than cleared up just long enough to snap some pics. Thank you God. A climb like that just has to be rewarded with a view.The descent may have been worse than the accent. I'm not kidding, it was brutal. The thing about descending is that you have a view of just how steep it is the entire time. Wow...going down that stuff is tricky to say the least. By the time we were half way down we were feeling a little defeated. Your using muscles and tendons in your legs and knees that you never use, so you start having uneasy feelings in your legs. Sean is a litte faster on the technical stuff than I am so he usually stayed a minute of two ahead before meeting for breaks. At one point we both looked at each other and....well we both knew what the other was thinking. But we did it!!Now, one more night in town. We are all going out for one last meal (Aubreys fathers treat!!) than we will start our true southbound out of Baxter in the morning. I just have to say that I am so thankful for all my friends and family, and especially Aubrey. Aubrey has picked up way more than her fair share of expenses over these last months knowing that I was trying to save money. Her father Rick was more than generous with his time, taking off from work to drive us here. Her mother Michele, let me stay with them after I got rid of my apartment and saved three months rent. Thank you all so much!!!!Tomorrow I bid farewell. Tomorrow we head South to takcle the 100 mile wilderness. I will be trying to update this from my IPhone as much as possible but there is no guarantee I will have a signal. At the very least, I will give legnthy updates when I hit town and can get on a computer. Next stop, Monsoon Maine, which should take about a week or so. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.Churchill