Day 128 - Katahdin (August 14)

I had my first view of Katahdin today from White Cap mountain. After all of these months, I can finally see the other end of the trail.

I'm ready for the end. My feet hurt. They have been pounded for over four months. I lost a lot of feeling in my feet and toes. Everyone has lost some feeling. The amount of and location of the loss of feeling is different for each person. It is also very painful to walk in the morning. It gets better after a few steps. And I also get shooting pains in the bottoms of my feet from time to time.

I've been pushing myself to near the limits of my physical and mental endurance for the last few months. There are many things I really enjoy about trail life like the beauty and the people I've met. However, trail life is a very hard life for those on a budget with limited time. I took few zeros the last half of the trail. I also knew I needed to make up miles, which meant I did not have much time for rest. I missed home and everyone back home.

Trail life also meant being uncomfortable for very long periods. My feet have been wet every day now for weeks. I walked through clouds of biting insects, through heat, cold, and rain knowing that I would get up and do the same thing day after day with no end in sight.

Trail life was not all bad, however. The trail magic was amazing. You never knew when the kindness of others would change your day or what was around the next corner. I remember telling Sonic when we were driven off Blood Mountain that we may have a more miserable night off the mountain than with those kids or we may find the Neels Gap hostile open and meet new friends. It turned out we had a wonderful time at the hostile. That's where we met Thought Foot and Road Rash.

Trail life has especially made me appreciate the kindness of others. I could not have finished the trail without all of the little things that strangers have done for me. But more importantly, I learned that there is no such thing as little kindness. I learned to appreciate even the smallest kindness. I hope that not only will I never forget this appreciation, but I hope I can show kindness and openness to others.

I'm tenting at Cooper Brook Falls lean-to. There are several people here who want to summit on August 18. They are Stripe, Forest Gimp, Pipper, Pipi & Hamburgler, Sailboat, Sage (who I hear is around but I've not seen him since VT), and Rino (who I also think is here). I will most likely finish with them on the 18th, but I would prefer to finish on the 17th if I can. Its hard to imagine having unlimited zeros in just a few days.