Katahdin!!

Post date: Sep 16, 2016 12:28:20 AM

On 9/14 Spoon and I left the Abol Bridge Campground and hiked an easy 10 miles to the Katahdin Campground. Along the way we stopped by a beautiful broad river called the West Branch of the Penobscot River. It was early to mid morning and warm. Loons were singing. I knew this might be the last time to swim on the hike, so took advantage to enjoy the fresh clean waters of Maine for the last time by going for a long swim. We also stopped several times during the hike looking into boggy areas hoping to see a moose, but had no luck. Several hikers saw moose on their hike but I never did. In short order we reached the Katahdin Campground, found the ranger station, and registered for the big day to summit the next day. We stayed at lean-to #10 with a father/daughter team from Michigan. His name was Mittenman, hers Socko. They had already reserved the lean-to and let us stay there with them. We were all going up the next day and were excited with nervous anticipation. As we set up camp, several hikers we knew who had summitted that day were returning and filled us in on what to expect. The weather on Katahdin is somewhat unpredictable but usually forecasts are pretty close. The weather for those returning had been terrible with rain and wind gusts up to 60 mph, so they were glad to be off the mountain. The next day, our summit day, the prediction was for great weather.

Today, 9/15, we got up at 4:30 after a night of fitful sleep, excited and nervous about the big day. The 5 miles up takes an average of about 4 hours because of the steepness and rock climbing but most say it hardly seems that long because of the adrenaline and excitement of reaching the peak and end of the long journey. This was exactly how it was for Spoon and me. The climb flew by in cool, windy weather with the sun frequently breaking through the clouds that was, as predicted, perfect for our hike. On we went and finally, there it was, the summit with the famous Katahdin sign in sight! Up we went marching the final steps of a 5 million step journey. And we made it! The sign was ours for a brief moment. A few other hikers were there and kindly, reverently stepped away giving us our time to celebrate. It was beautiful. The goal had been reached. The end of a long journey and culmination of a childhood dream.