Date: 2002-07-30
From: Mt Katahdin

To: Georgia
Miles today: 10.0

July 30, 20025:30AMDidn¢t sleep too well last night. I am wondering if I need to get a softer pad. The Z-rest is really not the thing. But I slept off and on. Got up at 4:45AM and sun is shining so far. But it looks lie it could rain. I am camped here at Katahdin stream campground and I can see Mt. Katahdin right out my tent window.   I am having breakfast, had a bagel and heated up some water and going to have tea.   I am going to leave my pack and stuff in my tent and start the climb, If I get done in time I might go ahead after I get done and pack up my stuff and head on to the next campground, will see what happens.   I am on the mountain and there is other around so I am telling them I am talking into my tape recorder and not to mind me. I just summated MT Katahdin, met a young man named Ralph who has done, 49 states and the high peaks and all he has left is Alaska. He hiked with me up here. It¢s foggy up here, you can hardly see 50 feet and it¢s raining and it¢s almost snow. Took off this morning about 5:45am and it¢s now 9:15 right now so we made good time.   But it¢s interesting it¢s good feeling to be at the summit. Took some pictures and am going to head down below where maybe it's a little warmer and not raining. Down from katahdin it¢s 2 in the afternoon, took me about 6.5 hours to climb the mountain and get back down.   The sun is coming out here so I figure I might as well get packed up and go now down the trail and start the Appalachian Trail. No sense sittin¢ around here at the campground. Nothing to do around here anyway. SO I am re-packing my pack. What a struggle. Seems like I can¢t get organized. I imagine I will sooner or later, anyway I am kind of stinkin¢ but I wish I had shower but will wait till I get to the next campground which is about 10 miles so I better get to hoofin¢ and get going.   I met a man on the trail and his wife; they had 2 kids, 8 year old boy and 6 year old girl. And they were hiking the Appalachian Trail. And she was there halfway gong up those boulders and the little girl was crying she didn¢t want to go, but up they went. They had already hiked half the trail. They had gone to Harpers Ferry and they drove up here and were hiking back down to Harpers Ferry, which is what they call flip-floppin. But I felt sorry for that little girls and thought about Brenna and thought boy I don¢t know if she could do that or not.   What a Day, I left Katahdin Stream Campground and went to daisy pond and thought I would stay there and I run into this character yesterday and he just bah blah blah and I don¢t even know what the hell he is doing on the trail, anyway he said he was going to get u pat the crack of dawn and climb Mt. Katahdin and you have to register to climb the mountain and I went and looked and he wasn¢t registered to go in. So I registered and I looked for his name and he wasn¢t in there.   His trail name is Spanky. So I ran into this Ralph guy and we went up and the only one we saw coming back down was some young guy.   And then on the way back down again we never saw Spanky and thoujght he must have decided not to go because it was raining and foggy and couldn¢t see very well. So anyway after we descended the mountain we heard him telling this other guy that he climbed the mountain this morning and I said, ¢oh I didn¢t see ya¢. And he said, ¢ well I must have been off the trail¢. And he was telling this other guy that he climbed the mountain this morning and had left at 5:30 this morning and I said I left at 5:40 and I didn¢t see ya.   And I didn¢t see your name on the trail registers and that we didn¢t see him and that we were looking for ya.   He said well I must have been off the trail when you went by and my clock must be off.   Anyway I don¢t think he did it, but I don¢t care, he is only fooling himself. Anyway he was at DC Pond, and he said well I am going to go on down the trail a ways and camp at Abol and I thought I am going to do that too, because it¢s only 3 in the afternoon and there is plenty of daylight left. I thought I would never get here¢¦. Man oh man, I finally got here about 9 was getting dark, got a camp spot the camp store was closed. The lady opened it up for me. I was so thirsty, I ran out of water so I got some Pepsi, Gatorade, sandwich and an ice cream bar. 7.50 for a campspot and 6.00 for food.   Then I went and had a shower. It¢s .25 for a shower for 3 minutes so I did a 6-minute shower. Bathed and it is now 10:30 so I have to get some sleep. Goodnight, and I am gonna be stiff tomorrow.Pa Kettle