Date: 2004-10-07
From: Abol Bridge 

To: Katahdin - YAHOOOOOOOOO
Miles today: 10.7

GatherWake up sick and hurting, and it¢s so cold, got down to 20 degrees last night. Pack up, go over to the camp store and call home. Mom said dad and Jorma tried to find me last night but couldn¢t.Mom said she would call dad to let him know I was at the Abol Bridge Camp store, I told her I would wait a while.Dad and Jorma drove up about an hour later, dad tried to get me to go back to the hotel and heal up, but I insisted to push on, I¢m too close to quite now, I¢m going on to the Birches and stage for the summit of Katahdin, I can see Katahdin looming from here, only 10 miles away. Besides I might get sicker and not be able to make it at all. Dad had some medicine for me he had gotten in Millinocket from a druggist there.We push on, I keep walking. I will not quit now!!!Make it to the Katahdin Stream Camp Ground, Dad and Jorma was waiting for me there. Dad said he was going back to Millinocket and get some more medicine and stuff for my feet. He tried to talk me into going to Millinocket with him. I told him I would crawl up the mountain if I had too, or get someone to drag me up!!Make it to the birches, a little later dad and Jorma come by. Dad leaves and comes back later sometime that night and leaves me more medicine, mole skin and tape for my feet. Swan said she had some oil for my feet, her and Ursa helped me.Kip woke me at 4:30 AM, he was very excited about the summit and wanted to go up. I told him I was sleepy and would catch up later. At 6:15 I woke up and found the supplies dad had led at my feet last night. I fixed up my feet best I could, packed up and started towards Kathadin.I started out of the camp and knew the 4000 ft climb would not be easy!! The base of the mountain was very easy, but as I got further up it became very technical, a lot of boulder scrambling and hand over hand climbing. Right when I broke tree line a cold steady wind started blowing. What I thought was the top turned out to be another 1000 ft to go. I kept pushing up towards the summit, feet feel some better now.I can see the real summit now and could barely make our tiny figures on top, I picked up the pace!! I¢m nearing the top and can see the sign that says Katahdin!! I¢m thinking, my God, it¢s all over!! I can go home and reap luxuries of my long forgotten other life, and I could stay clean for more than one day.I walk up to the sign and put my hand on it, everyone is yelling and cheering for me. After that we took pictures. I held up the cheeseburger money and letter Ed Wright sent to me, someone took my picture holding it up.I climbed up on top of the sign screaming and grinning, I don¢t even notice my feet hurting.I hold up a copy of the Denton Orator, the issue with Ira Craven, dad wanted me to take Ira to the mountain with me. ¢We took Ira to the mountain¢. Dad said Ira would have liked that.We exchanged address and such, we talked about how to get back down. We decide the knife¢s edge trail was the most dangerous, so off we go, with 2000 ft vertical drops and sharp rocks that will cut you if you fall. We thought of it as our victory lap for the finish, and down we go to the bottom, and I can¢t wait to get there.We make it down, I find a Ranger and sign out with him, then found Kips parents in the parking lot. Dad was on the other side of the mountain waiting for me to come down that way. Kips parents were looking for him, so we went in search of Kip. We soon met my dad on the dirt road, he had Kip with him. We pulled over and big hugs were in order. We swapped passengers, then on to Millinocket where food awaits.The next day we leave the Katahdin Inn and go eat breakfast, there we meet the rest of the gang and talked about all we had been through, because soon we will be leaving for home.After breakfast we started down the road, Tarzan, Slimer, Chef and dad. Dad is going to drop Chef off in NY and Tarzan in northern VA.I wasn¢t looking forward to the 17 hour drive home, but it had to be done. Knowing I was going home was the best feeling, but leaving the trail was sad in a way, and that¢s a given.Many, many hours later we cross into the state of NC, I already feel much better and looking forward to seeing everyone back home.This was a very great journey, and I¢ll never forget it¢¦¢¦¢¦"I went to the wood because I wanted to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life; living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness out of it and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience."Henry David Thoreau