At around 3PM on Tuesday August 7th Coors, Strider, and I left Abol Bridge Campground/Store (AT mile 2175.9) to hike the 10 miles to the Birches Lean-To. We were all in good spirits, the trail started very easy and crossed the Katahdin Stream and Nesowadnehunk Stream and passed Big and Little Niagara Falls (it was getting late in the day so we skipped those side trails). I was definitely dragging - my legs and feet were getting tired, I started falling behind Strider and Coors.
We arrived at the ranger station at Katahdin Stream Campground at around 6:45 PM and checked in for our summit up Baxter Peak the next day. We were NOBO thru hiker numbers 294 (Coors), 295 (Strider), and 296 (me) for the season. I was pretty impressed that when I checked in at Amicalola Falls in Georgia I was NOBO thru hiker number 2084, when I checked in at the ATC HQ in Harpers Ferry I was NOBO thru hiker number 615, and I had arrived in Baxter State Park as one of the first 300 NOBO thru hikers of 2018.
At around 7:30PM we arrived at the Birches Lean-To (AT mile 2185.7) which had two small 4 person shelters and a couple of tenting spots. The five hikers who were already there were either sleeping or getting ready for bed. We ate dinner, which was a few snacks from the Abol camp store, as quietly as possible and retired to bed, prepared to wake up at 4AM. I was nervous for the next morning. All of the talk from the SOBOs got to my head. This was the most elevation gain in one climb on the entire trail - 1,088' to 5,268'. I had climbed Katahdin as a 10-year old and only remembered bits and pieces. I managed to get to the top as a kid, but I was somehow still nervous that I would take forever to get to the top and make my hiking partners wait on me.
My stomach was bothering me all night and I had to make several trips to the privy. I blamed it on town food again. Apparently Strider also had problems overnight. We woke up at 4AM on Wednesday August 8th, ate a quick breakfast, and were on the trail at 4:30, hiking with our headlamps. Strider and I both made sure to visit the privy again before we were above treeline and had fewer options for emergency stops.
All three of us decided that we would take our full packs with us - some NOBOs opted to borrow a day pack from the ranger station and slack pack the climb up Katahdin. Our packs had pretty much no food in them so they were about as light as they could get. The trail started easy and we were able to turn off our headlamps by about 5AM. The rock piles gradually got steeper and we eventually had to put away our trekking poles to have full use of our hands. Once we got above treeline the real fun started.
There was a rock scramble/pile that went on for about 3/4 of a mile. We would get to the top of one stretch, thinking we were at the top of the rock scramble, only to find more boulders. With about a mile to go we got to The Tableland (4,522'). We could see the iconic summit sign in the distance. The trail flattened and the rocks were sparse until the last stretch to the top. We hiked mostly together, helping each other find the best hand and footholds. At one point I stood up too early under a rock overhang, bashed my head on a rock and saw stars. But I was excited to get to the summit and pushed on.
When we arrived at the top it was just before 8AM. The first thing the three of us did was hike to the cairn at the official peak (5,268'). I couldn't help the tears from streaming down my face - tears of joy, relief, pain, bliss, pride. My thru hike was over. My body was tired and sore, my mind was drained, but of course it was worth it. I had thru hiked the 2190.9 miles of the Appalachian Trail in just shy of four months and summited with two great friends I had been hiking with for almost 1,000 miles.
It was a sunny morning, warm and not very windy - we could see clouds below us in the distance but the summit was clear. There were a couple of other thru hikers - Legs, Ziplock, and her hiking partner Joe - and a few day hikers but we had beat the crowd and had the summit mostly to ourselves. Strider had packed up a Coke for each of us to celebrate. We each took turns posing on the summit sign.
We stayed at the top for about 30 minutes - the clouds in the distance were getting closer as we started our descent. Originally we had planned on hiking up and down the Hunt Trail (the AT) but decided we would take a slightly easier/shorter Abol Trail on the way down. The rock scramble on the Abol trail was only about 1/4 mile but took awhile because we were constantly moving out of the way of dozens of day hikers on their way to the summit. We were glad we got an early start because it looked like the summit would get crowded quickly, and the views were obstructed by clouds. It took us about the same amount of time to get down as it did to get up the mountain.
We started walking down the dirt road towards the Park exit, hoping for a hitch to town. Unfortunately it was just after 11AM and most cars were driving into the park, not out. Finally, after walking about a mile and a half a car pulled over - it was a father and son on vacation, they weren't leaving the park but offered to take us to the park entrance station, about 4.5 miles down the road. The first thing they said was "you guys stink! you smell like old hockey gear!" and immediately rolled down all of the windows. Comments like that were never really insulting - even though we were nose-blind to our stench we knew it was bad, but didn't care.
We were dropped off at the park entrance and walked down the road to the visitor center where we found Legs, Ziplock, Joe, and Beans (who was planning on summiting the next day) looking for a ride into Millinocket. After only about a minute a white pick-up pulled over - the 7 of us piled in the bed of the truck and rode the ~18 miles to the McDonalds in town.
Coors, Strider, and I were planning on meeting Sixlegs there - we expected him to arrive about an hour after us but he was already in town! He brought us changes of clothes, deodorant, wet wipes, and trash bags for our packs. By around 2PM we were heading south to my family's lake house, about 3.5 hours away, where my family and Strider's mom were waiting.
Upon arrival I exited the car and ran directly into the lake. The hard work was over and my vacation recovery could begin. I didn't have to be back to work until September 17th, which meant over a month of rest, recovery, and relaxation, and I felt like I needed every minute of it. All I wanted to do was nap and eat sandwiches. I was glad it was over, but definitely glad I did it. Now I could start planning the next adventure.
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