Date: 2008-09-05
To: Down East Coast of Maine
Miles today: 187.8

September 5, 2008    Stockton Springs, Maine(on the ¢Down East¢ Maine Coast)       What an Incredible Journey. It¢s hard to believe that my legs carried my pack and me almost 2,200 miles over the past 5-12 months.    First -    A Huge THANK YOU to my family (north and south), friends, fellow hikers, trail angles, trail maintainers, and ¢stealth¢ supporters for your love, prayers, companionship, trailside treats, rides, and well wishes during this adventure.    There is no way I can put into words how much I appreciate your being there for me either in person, or with your words of encouragement, or in spirit. I could never have made it to Katahdin without your help. God Bless You All.    Right now I have so many thoughts and emotions running through me that it is difficult to know what to say.    At some point I will put together a detailed account of my AT Thru-Hike with pictures and memento¢s in PDF format for my family and anyone who might find it of interest. For now I will just do a brief update of my last few days on the trail.    As I wrote when I got back on the trail in Caratunk - my left knee soon became very painful. The three-day, stiff-legged hike from Caratunk to Monson was awful. For a while I was very concerned that I might have to get off the trail for several weeks.    Quitting was never an option. I was ready to use a crutch and only go a few miles a day if it came to that.    For me and others - The Trail seems to have a special way of kicking the crap out of you on some days, and then on other days providing you with special gifts just at the time you need them the most. In this case the trail ensured that I would come across a southbound hiker (Just Jill) who is a sports massage therapist and who told me exactly what was going on with my knee, how to treat it, and reassured me that this would work itself out.    The one thing I didn¢t report is that I took a nasty fall just before Monson and cracked a rib on a log lying across the trail. I didn¢t bother me much until after I left a soft bed at Shaws Hostel in Monson and started sleeping on the ground in my tent again. Its fine now, but there were several days that it was a painful concern.   Oh yes, I should probably mention I also fell and snaped one of my Leki hiking sticks the day I left Monson. Not uncommom events on the trail.    The last week or so of hiking through the Hundred Mile Wilderness and summiting Katahdin was Incredible.    The weather was excellent, the trail was rough but manageable, the Maine woods, mountains, lakes, and streams are amazingly beautiful, and I traveled through most of it with a wonderful young couple from DC (Cory, Alyssa, and dog Yankee) as hiking partners.   They met on the AT in 2005 when Cory (Street Fighter) did his AT thru-hike and Alyssa (Turtle) did her second section hike. This time they were doing a Gorham to Katahdin hike to complete Alyssa¢s last section of the AT.    We all had an Awesome time. We stayed at several remote lakeside campsites. We watched beautiful sunsets and sunrises. We had a great time at the White House Landing Wilderness Lodge. (1 lb hamburgers and huge pizzas). We relaxed on spectacular mountain tops and waterfall overlooks. We swam in lakes, - and ¢ Cory proposed to Alyssa on the summit of Katahdin. Priceless.    From Monson to Abol Bridge Campground we only saw a few Southbounders and no Northbound Thru-Hikers. The SOBO¢s we saw were - Mountain Berry & Thom Thumb (NH), Kevin (NY), Johnny Quest, Bill, and Peachy.    Cory, Alyssa, Yankee and I arrived at Abol Bridge Campground on Sunday afternoon. The campground has a spectacular view of Katahdin. Danger Dango and Zero (Blake?) had arrived just before us.    Later that evening Stomp & Shuffel, Smokin Joe, Cranky Pete, Freebird, Meat Bag & Doxie, Wet Sox, Jukebox, The Professor, and Shadow Cast arrived. We had a great evening of food and trail talk around a campfire.    Early Monday morning Danger Dango, Zero, Stomp & Shuffles, Wet Sox, Jukebox, and Shadow Cast headed straight for the summit of Katahdin while the rest of us each took leisurely 10 mile hikes to check-in at the Baxter State Park Ranger¢s Station, then we all set-up at The Birches campsite at the base of the mountain. Spider and Billy the Kid rolled into camp late afternoon.    That evening Smokin Joe¢s father arrived at The Birches in his pickup truck and brought us hamburgers, munchies and beer for our last night on the Appalachian Trail. It was a great last Trail Magic campfire gathering.      On Tuesday morning we all got up around 5:00 am and one by one packed-up and headed to the Rangers Station to drop off our heavy backpacks and grab light day packs to take up to the summit of Katahdin.    About half of the five mile trail to the summit is an almost straight-up 4,000 ft rock climb.    Cory and Alyssa went ahead while I took my time nursing my bruised rib. I was also going through a whole gambit of emotions about finishing the trail and about Lynn.    The weather was bright and clear most of the way up Katahdin, but the summit was shrouded in thick clouds as one by one we each finally arrived at the Holy Grail for AT Thru-Hikers, the famous wooden KATAHDIN sign at the summit.    Smokin Joe, Cranky Pete, Freebird, The Professor, Meat Bag & Doxie, Spider, Billy the Kid, Cory, Alyssa, Whisper (with her father), and I all summited that day. We took pictures, joked around, ate snacks, and tried to understand the full meaning of what we had accomplished.    (See last six images on PHOTO's Page)    We all gave Cory and Alyssa some private time at the base of the rock pile near the sign while he surprised her with a proposal and family ring that her mother had given him ¢ and - she surprised him with a wood and stone ring that she had custom made for him. The stone in the ring was from a rock that he had given her from Katahdin in 2005.    Later the three of us shared a very emotional time together as I spread a handful of dirt from Lynn¢s grave on the summit of Katahdin.    It was a very special moment that seemed to symbolize the end my 30 year journey through life with Lynn, and the beginning of their new life together.    Members of our little Thru-Hiker group reluctantly started the three hour trek back down the mountain around noontime just as the clouds began to clear on the summit.    It was amazing to catch glimpses of the Knife Edge Trail and of the spectacular panoramic vistas from the summit. The clouds completely cleared as we worked our way down the mountain.    Back at the ranger station most of the group caught a ride to Medway and/or points south with Smokin Joes father.    Cory, Alyssa and I caught a ride with Paul from the Appalachian Trail Lodge to Millinocket. We ate at the AT Caf© and stayed in the lodge that night. Both the lodge and restaurant are Most Excellent.    Wednesday morning we caught a ride with section hiker Evergreen (Mary LouP to Bangor where I rented a car and we drove to Stockton Springs on the Maine Coast.    My daughter in law¢s wonderful parents (Bruce & Nancy) live there and they took us out sailing on Penobscot Bay yesterday, then we all had a fantastic lobster, steamers, and corn on the cob dinner at their home last night. Life is Good.    Today we are taking a leasury drive down the coast to meet Alyssa¢s mother in Portland.    Either tonight or tomorrow they will head to Boston. Later this month they are moving to Puerto Rico where Alyssa has taken a job as a law clerk for a federal judge and Cory will finish his college degree.    Right now my plan is to spend the month of September relaxing, visiting family and friends in Maine and New Hampshire, and helping Jon and Morgan renovate their home in Auburn, Maine.    Around the first of October I will head back down to my home in Georgia and try to figure out what I want to do with the next chapter of my life.    Over the next week or so I will be writing friends I met on the trail and try to post some more pictures. I took about 3,000 images so it will take a while to sort out a few of the best to post.    I guess that's all I have for now.    Again ¢ Thanks to All.    All My Best,    -Wes-    Please feel free to email me at any time.    wesriley23@gmail.com