Katahdin, GAME11

The first day out of Caratunk was fairly smooth. I was excited about the fact that I could start doing bigger miles again and even more excited about getting closer and closer to the big K (and I'm not talking about Kmart).  Moxie Bald offered some spectacular views. I think I may have seen Katahdin because the day was so clear but I couldn't be sure. That night, I arrived just before dark at Moxie Bald Lean To and was greeted by none other than Jukebox. We hadn't seen each other since Harper's Ferry. I love these trail reunions. It feels great to see a fellow thru-hiker that you knew from earlier in the GAME closer to the end.

The next 18 miles to Monson were pretty cruisey. In general, the terrain chills out around here. The greatest challenge is dealing with constant wet feet because of all the fording. Maine has a ton of streams, brooks, rivers, ponds, and lakes. There is so much water in Maine. So very much. The reunions continued in town. Prana (GAME'06) described Monson as bittersweet, and I have to agree with her. The promise of finishing is exhilarating, but you are also aware that many of these friendships will be missed. That day, I was reunited with Tigger, Wobegon, Team Mofo, and Darvey. A few of us chatted late into the night.

I always planned to zero in Monson and zero I did. After the big Shaw breakfast, I spent most of the day on a giant raft in the lake behind Lakeshore Hostel and Pub with Jukebox. He impressed everyone with his ability to swim out to the raft with two drinks in hand. You could tell he had practice.

Leaving Monson, I had planned to do the 100- mile Wilderness in about 6 days, but I started to max out miles right away. The terminus was pulling me. I hiked 19 miles to Cloud Pond Lean To. These miles took all day because the beginning of the Wilderness is not flat. Also, more fording. It rained that evening but luckily I was in my bag by then.

It took all day to do the 17 miles on the next day. I fell 3 times, but I had the company of Wisp who is the only other woman my age that I have met this year. We both expressed our excitement about communicating with someone other than a 23 year old or 55 year old white man. Don't get me wrong, "Some of my best friends...." But, it was a nice break.

Day 3 of the Wilderness had a very treacherous ford. The night before, it poured continuously so that contributed to it. In addition, the rain made the trail a creek in many places. Even on the top of Whitecap, it was WET. Knowing that I was completing the last mountain range before Katahdin, I started thinking about doing the Wilderness in 5 days, and I wondered if I could do 29.6 miles the next day which would be my longest.

I woke up at 5am the next day, and I was in motion by 6:15. The trail is flat but Maine doesn't let up on the roots, rocks, and mud. I motored along pretty quickly until I ran into Hettie, who is the aunt of my friend Holler (GAME'08). She gave me some great trail magic a few years ago, and I stopped and chatted with her and her husband. Its pretty funny running into people in the Wilderness. Although, the 100 mile stretch is not really so remote. There are roads and even a hostel within the stretch. In fact, i got trail magic at 3 different roads during the 5 days.

This almost 30 mile day will remain significant in my head forever because it was during this day that I saw Katahdin clearly for the first time. There was a little sign near a lake that said "Katahdin view" with an arrow pointing right. I walked over and didn't notice a thing until I looked left and there it  was.....Huge and majestic. I just sobbed and sobbed. I was so grateful that I was by myself because I worked up a good ugly cry. After that, I was almost running to the shelter. I ended up passing some friends that I would have like to see once more but they were at Whitehouse Landing and I had a one track mind. I made it to the shelter by 7:30pm and had plans to rise at 5 again.

That night, 2 hikers came in at midnight. Thats like arriving at 4am. Midnight is so late, so I wasn't so fresh in the morning when I woke up at 0'dark thirty. I carried on though. I can't really describe how surreal things get at this point. Being so close is a trip. The reality setting in is powerful. Plus, 15 miles into the day, there is a camp store with sandwiches, so I was really ready to get there.

After the food and some beer and meeting CJ the Ridgerunner, I walked the final 9 miles to the base of Katahdin. Trashcan, one of the hikers that came in at midnight the night before, was with me. We both kept muttering to ourselves that we couldn't believe we were finally there. This was kinda funny because it took me 5 and a half months and it took him 3 and a half. He's a whippersnapper.

When we arrived at the Katahdin Stream Campground, Jetpack invited us over for some trail magic with her family. We happily joined them before we settled in for the night at The Birches. The Birches is a shelter area strictly for thru-hikers. They like to keep us out of the way of the campers. Seriously, there is no telling what kind of antics we'll get into. That night, many different numbers were thrown around for wake up calls the next day. Besides myself, Jetpack, Eats, Kenyan, Sweet Pea, Sage, Trashcan, Wisp, Vinka, and Poncho Verde planned to summit as well. We knew that rain was coming late morning. We knew that the next day was a better day to summit, but none of us were waiting. I waited too long already. I planned to get up by 4:30am and be hiking by 5:30am. Trashcan and Wisp were the only ones that were down with that time and that was fine by me. I was going up that MOUNTAIN as soon as  possible.

The morning brought clouds. It was cloudy at the campground. We had no idea what it was like above 5,000 feet, but I was ready to find out. The first couple of miles are fairly mild on the ascent of Katahdin.  Nothing I hadn't seen before. Things changed drastically once I got about 2.5 miles in. Big boulders that were wet appeared, and I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of me. It was dramatic. After a few miles, I was convinced I was at the top. I think the lack of visibility was throwing me off. At this point a 2 miles marker appeared on a rock, and I swear I heard the mountain say, "You didn't think I was gonna give it to you that easy, little girl?" Thats exactly what I felt like. I felt like a kid holding on to slippery rock, pulling my body up and to something I couldn't see. I would cry off and on at this point. Some sobbing and some quiet tears. Wisp was well behind me and Trashcan was well in front, so it was very quiet and private. Except the wind was howling off and on. I thought I was close again when I saw a 1 miles marker. At this point, I realized I hadn't really eaten enough, so I popped some snacks in my mouth and wondered if there was really an end.

I had to get within about 5 feet of the sign to see it. It seemed like the clouds parted and Trashcan was sorta bending over it in one of those traditional summit poses. I weeped a little more, and then I said, "Hey, I thought it was supposed to be red!" Trashcan agreed with me. We were both surprised about the brown color.  Moments after we did our photo shoots, people started arriving. First,  Capone (a section hiker), then another section hiker who's name I didn't catch, and then the rest of us riff raff. The rest of us nuts that walked all the way from Georgia to see this sign. It was a moment.

Just as soon as it started, it was done. Well not really. I still had to walk the 5.2 miles back down the now even slippier trail. These were bonus miles to boot. I mean, I was already a thru-hiker at this point. I had finally captured the title, the experience, and the glory. Still had to walk down the treacherous path, though. To the real world.

The real world didn't come right away though. Capone, the section hiker that we met at the summit, later became the most generous trail angel I have ever met. Not only did he provide me and Trashcan with a ride to Portland. He treated us to a lobster dinner, a night at the Clarion in our own rooms, and breakfast the next morning before we got on our buses to Logan Airport. Unbelieveable really. Needless to say, nothing really sunk in at that point.

Maybe it hasn't yet. I chased this dream for a long time. All I know is, I walked all the white blazes from Georgia to Maine in 2011. For most of them, it was the second time, and for some of them it was the third. This year, I started from the beginning and I didn't skip a blaze. I am officially a thru-hiker, and that is the end of this chapter.