Date: 2017-06-04
From: Roaring Brook Campground

To: Katahdin Stream, then Millinockett
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

¢Make wise decisions.¢ Frodo¢s last words to me as she sent us off from Roaring Brook Campground to climb Katahdin. I won¢t see her for over three weeks. On the Continental Divide Trail, soon after we felt the heft of that beast, she stopped saying ¢I love you¢ last thing as she left me at a trailhed. She always said that, but it was followed by ¢Make wise decisions.¢ That admonition was definitely appropriate today.It wasn¢t just the vertical gain of 4,000 feet, it¢s that we did it in under 3 miles, up the Helon-Taylor (¢Heel-on¢) Trail. The upper portions had me in 3-point, 4-point, and even 5-point stances. If 2 points are my feet, and the next 2 are my hands ¢ and boy are they scratched up tonight from all that rough-surfaced Maine granite ¢ then what¢s the fifth point I¢m putting on the ground to eke out every last bit of cling to the face of granite chimneys and refrigerator-size block vertical walls? The fifth point (maybe a princess alert) is my keister, my bum, my rear end, my tush, me a_s.I¢m not sure photos will do it justice, but, here, I¢ll try: (Frodo: Woah, dudes!  That was one hairy hike!  Glad I missed that one!)The last 1.1 miles to the summit is the knife edge. Even Rolling Thunder, who is an excellent climber and mountaineer, was taxed. I¢m not afraid of heights, but I could not let myself look down. Pitch after pitch was challenging, with both sides near-sheer drop-offs, and I had to focus on my next handhold ¢ will that granite flake hold my weight? Can I wedge my foot into that narrow gap and push myself up? Actually, numerous times I was in a 6-point stance, with my back pushing hard against a wall as I crept my feet and hands up higher.Rolling Thunder had estimated four, but it took us five hours to reach the summit. As I got close, as I knew I would soon see that iconic sign from so many photos, as I knew that after 9 days hiking I would see my first white blaze and finally be starting on the real Appalachian Trail (after talking about it for so long), I choked up. I am really here, I thought, and I shook for a moment, eyes misty, and then I walked those last steps.Here¢s a shout-out to my yoga class, ¢Warrior Two.¢ (Frodo: I haven't got that photo yet, sorry)Since before we started it had been really important to Rolling Thunder to summit Katahdin in sunshine ¢ views, not stuck in a cloud. Me, I just wanted to get there. And if it wasn¢t too much to ask for, please no rain.Rolling Thunder got all he wanted. Though we began in sun, clouds quickly rolled in and for a long time we could see that Katahdin¢s summit was cloaked, as if a paper bag had been pulled over its face. But then the clouds lifted and gave up sweeping views of lushness greener than a Star Wars tropical planet. We could see where we¢d come from to the east, and south of us we could see far into the 100-mile Wilderness, our destiny. It was distinctly odd to see 15 others at the top. During our 8 days on the IAT we saw two other hikers. Now we were about to enter a trail where such solitude was as rare as a buffalo (Frodo: I am transcribing Scout¢s journal from photos he emailed to me. Following ¢buffalo¢  there is a word that is totally illegible ¢ hickie? hiker?)(Ha! I¢ll include the photo of this page so you can see what I¢m working from!)Our next adventure awaits, but right now, tonight, I write from the Appalachian Trail Lodge in Millinockett. My feet sting, but they feel better than they have for days (don¢t worry, no foot photos!) Tomorrow I will take a zero day, a much-needed day of rest.Scout