Date: 2004-09-16
From: Rainbow Spring Campsite

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: broken clouds

I wrote to Bluebearee in a registry today that we resembled teenagers in a slumber party last night. Jalan Jalan, reading this, said to me, ¢You two were having a gab fest.¢¢Sorry, ¢ I said meekly. He didn¢t mind. He thought it was funny. 81 also mentioned that he could hear us but tried not to listen to what we were saying. Uh-huh.Splashes of red are added to the canvas colors of the woods today. I passed many rivers and streams again. Katahdin is a bit hazy. Tomorrow¢s summit day may not be great but I¢m so focused on my goal, I don¢t care.I¢ve been pretty spacey about things these days. I stashed both my bandannas deep in my pack so I had nothing to wipe the sweat while I hiked (except my arm or the palm of my hand, of course). Another time, I forgot to fill up on water even though that was my primary reason for taking a break. You get fixated on reaching a certain destination and forget the simple things.Today, I just needed to reach Katahdin Stream Campsite by 5 pm and the Trail was all flat, relatively speaking.I bumped into Loon and his friend Lizard as they headed south after flip-flopping. Bones was also there. Loon gave us some Trail Magic in the form of US dollars since we both ran out. What a great guy! It is amazing that you never lose the feeling of insecurity when traveling without cash, even deep in the 100-mile Wilderness. Even more amazing is how we managed to spend our money in the 100-mile Wilderness.Loon and Lizard managed to summit Baxter Peak on the choice day of the week when the cold front cleared the haze and the winds had died. He said they took fourteen hours because they hung out on ledges as they went. They also had to assist someone on the way down I heard. As they departed south, I actually felt a ping of envy since they still had a few more days to go on their hike while my journey ends tomorrow. I suppose the fine weather contributed to these feelings, but I also recognized that my last true traveling day was here now. It made me a touch sad.I got to Abol Bridge around 11:30 and stayed for an hour. 81, Jalan Jalan, Slips, Bones, and some new faces were there. Flamingo Joe and High Octane were there hanging out as well. They had finished the Trail already but had to linger for a few days before getting transportation home. We all enjoyed the sodas, Red Dye #9 hot dogs, and microwave cheeseburgers as we took a breather. The employees at the general store specialized in friendliness. Pop Tart, the ranger at the entrance of Baxter State Park, asked us various questions about our journey as well.You would think I wouldn¢t meet any new people on the Trail at this point but I was introduced to Sleeping Beauty, Grass, and Uncle Ben, also finishing their thru-hike this weekend. They had held off to wait for Slips.It didn¢t take me three hours to hike the ten miles from Abol Bridge to Katahdin Stream as people predicted. It took me more like four. But this is partly due to the sudden increase in mosquitoes forcing me to stop and don repellent for the last time. I also decided to admire the waterfalls. Grass, Sleeping Beauty (a guy), and Uncle Ben joined me and offered me food. Good people!When I reached Katahdin Stream Campsite, I had time to spare and immediately found Trail Magic from Grass¢ Dad, Rainman. He, Mila (I met him near Erwin, TN) and some generous campers gave me McDonald¢s cheeseburgers as a snack. Amazing how this processed food still does not taste good even after 2,169 miles. But I was grateful and mooched a stream-cold beer to wash the meal down.81 and his wife, Jane, offered me a ride to Millinocket. It was a long drive out of the park on dirt roads. They dropped me off at the Best Value Heritage for the night. When I walked in the lobby, the attendants immediately recognized me as a thru-hiker and told me where to go. I knocked on the hotel room door to be greeted by Sharon, Maria, and Mom. I couldn¢t believe I had made it this far. Even seeing my family had not triggered the immensity of the moment. It felt like everyone had shown up for my graduation, but as usual, fatigue overwhelmed me.To top the evening and to carbo-load for tomorrow¢s big hike, we went down to the Appalachian Trail Caf© in the center of town. Then we all went to bed early in order to reach the park gates by 6 am.