Sep 17 - Maine (Finish)

DAY #157
START LOCATION: Katahdin Stream Campground
FINISH LOCATION: Baxter Peak, Katahdin
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 5.2
TRIP MILEAGE: 2,179.1
MILES TO GO: 0


We got soaked last night. The rains came in the evening before dinner and we all crawled into our tents pretty early.  Our overnight experiences ranged from The Dogfather getting soaked and moving into the truck to Casper's dad sleeping great and staying dry. I slept pretty well and stayed dry.  I'm proud my tent held up the entire hike, even with some precarious repairs along the way. The rain was trailing off by the time we got up around 7AM. Casper made coffee and we packed up our stuff.  Casper, NLC and Malcolm were heading back to Vermont.  It was a bit of a bummer to say goodbye.  I enjoyed hiking with them.  They were a great help cleaning up camp, but we insisted they hit the road.  They had a long drive ahead of them.  So, we said our goodbyes. 


Since I floundered a bit with my Baxter State Park arrival date, The Dogfather was left with a camping reservation at Katahdin Stream that required packing up our current tentsite before we summitted. We noticed on a stroll around the campground that the folks in the tentsite we were moving to were gone. We shifted all our stuff over and got ready to hike.  We hit the trail at 9:45AM.  

The Dogfather Ascending

The trees were still dripping when we began the walk, but we could see patches of blue sky starting to show. The excitement kicked in. I knew we'd have good weather today.  The trail got steep after a mile. We meandered our way up a river of a trail and poked above treeline around 3,600' at 2 miles in. I had a fully loaded pack as I was carrying the Dogfather's food, water and clothing along with mine... plus a few extra celebratory items. We stopped for lunch around noon, just before the technical boulder scrambling began.  This was good timing.  The ascent got hairy and having a nice break and some good leftover ham sandwiches help keep us sharp.  The Dogfather, approaching 60 years old an not having trail legs, did a fantastic job of climbing.  We passed a bunch of folks that turned back while he kept pushing.  It was cold and windy as we were reaching, crawling and squeezing over and through the rock. But, the sun was strong and keeping us from being too cold.

The Tablelands

We reached the top of the Tableland around 2PM. The Tableland is an expansive plateau at 4,600' with lots of small boulders and alpine grasses.  It is over a mile long before a short, easy ascent up to Baxter Peak. The Tableland was a nice easy stroll top to allow. Marty McFly passed us on his way up and I passed a few thru-hikers on their way down.  This was a nice touch... to have a couple thru-hikers around to enjoy the finish. I found the Tableland a great stretch to gather my thoughts, enjoy walking with my dad and reflect on the memories of the hike.  The emotions, mostly excitement and happiness, were flowing as I could see the summit approaching for over 20 minutes. The heart was definitely racing when The Dogfather turned to me about 100 yds before the finish and asked me to lead the way to the summit. I have a feeling I was all smiles. It was surreal. The sun was blazing, the air was cool. It was about 3 in the afternoon... The spot was absolutely beautiful.

I touched the sign, I turned to Marty McFly and yelled... "OK Marty!... What now!?" and we laughed. This pretty much clued the dozen plus teenage dayhikers into what was going on.  The congratulations started flowing.  I pulled out a bottle of champagne and cigars by dad brought for me.  I climbed up on the "Katahdin" sign and celebrated like it was New Years.  The champagne busted open, I took a big swig and it tasted fantastic. I cannot put into words how I felt at that moment...  surreal, happiness, satisfaction, appreciation and relief. I also felt blessed and humbled.  I pulled it off and I was still healthy. I take none of it for granted.

We shot some pictures and decided to move on.  We had to depart promptly to return before dark.  The walk back down across the Tablelands was amazing.  The atmosphere was deafeningly quiet. The Dogfather and I were astounded at the silence.  It was a nice touch.  We scrambled down the mountain much faster than we'd ascended.  The knees and joints were taking a beating.  But, it was a sweet pain. The sky was brilliantly devoid of clouds as we strolled the last 2 miles.  The forest and sky was so peaceful. 

Sunset Returning to Katahdin Stream Campground

With about  1 1/2 miles to go...  We were back below treeline and approaching Katahdin Stream Falls.  While walking about 30 yds behind the Dogfather, something occurred to me for the first time on this hike.  Nearly all of a northbound thru-hike is traveled in a northeasterly direction. This condition became apparent when, now walking in a southwesterly direction, I was walking toward a brilliant orange sunset following southbound blazes.  I'd seen lots of sunsets on this trek, but this was the first time I could remember hiking towards one.  The symbolism brought about some of the strongest emotions I've felt during this adventure. It was a slew of sadness that the hike was over, satisfaction that I'd made the most of it and happiness about what's next in my life.

"There are two things to aim at in life:  first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it."

~ Logan Pearsall Smith ~