Day 131 - The Ordeal Ends (August 17)

The ordeal ended as quickly and quitely as it began. I don't know why I thought it was such a good idea to walk from Springer Mountain, GA to Mount Katahdin, ME. I don't think anyone on the trail can explain why they thought it was such a good idea or why they stuck out the rain and misey of early Maine. It was a good experience. It was better than I expected.

I was up at 3:30 AM when I heard Pipper and Forest Gimp getting ready. I decided to get up with them. It would be dark when I started walking, and I preferred walking with others in the dark. It can be very difficult to find the white blazes with my headlamp.

We started out around 4:00 AM. The trail was mostly flat. We even saw a moose in the dark. I stopped to watch the moon set over the river a little after it stated getting light. It was a very beautiful morning. I saw Stripe come by while I was sitting in the semi dark. I startled him when I called out to him from the woods.

The trail crossed two streams. One had some logs across that I could walk on. The second had only one thin log that looked really dangerous. I wanted to keep my feet dry for the climb up so I tried to construct a log bridge. I ended up wearing my crocs, sitting on the log, and pushing myself across with my feet on a submerged log. I'm not going to miss these river crossings.

I made it to the ranger station about 10 minutes after Pipper, Forest Gimp, and Stripe left for their climb up Katahdin. I would have been right behind them except that I was offered breakfast by a group of campers. They wanted to know all about my trip so I ended up talking more than eating. One in the group thru hiked in 2000.

The climb up Katahdin was supposed to be the hardest of the entire trail. The rangers tell people to expect an 8 to 10 hour climb up and down. The climb was not as steep or dangerous as other climbs, but it was definitely long with a very long section above tree line. I hate being above tree line. Its too windy and cloudy up there.

It took 2.5 hours to get to the top. The summit was in the clouds. I was surprised by how many people were at the top. It was windy and cold, and most people were not prepared for the weather. I had my picture taken by the Baxter Peak sign. I forgot to touch the sign so I may not actually be finished with my hike.

It was cold so I did not stay too long at the top. I met Pipper, Forest Gimp, and Stripe on the way up, and I met them again on the way down. There was some nice views once I got below the clouds.

I did not feel much of anything finishing the trail. It seemed like just another day on the trail. I was feeling some anticipation of the climb up and down just because I knew the climb was supposed to be so hard. I suppose the trail is not over with one step. Its a gradual end with many millions of steps.

There are stages to the trail experience. I could never relate to either former thru hikers or to southbounders. Our experiences were too different. The trail changes you in stages so slow that you hardly notice them. There is the excitement of the beginning, the routine of the middle, and the fatigue of the end. It may be more complicated than that, but I think we all experienced those changes.

I was going to leave the park with Pipper, Forest Gimp, and Stripe, but they found a ride that had room for only three. I very quickly met a nice Canadian couple who gave me a ride to Millinocket. They even left me with a bottle of wine.

I'm staying at the AT lodge. I should be able to get a shuttle to the bus station in the morning. I shared the wine with Jaime and some other guests. Jaime's daughter is Hippy Chick who Sonic and I met at the very last shelter of Sonic's trip. Hippy Chick and Poet are in CT now. They have less than two months to get to Katahdin before it closes for the year.