Well, we weren’t the last ones to Katahdin, but I think we are surely in the running for the longest time spent on trail this year. Clocking in just shy of eight months hiking up the Appalachian Mountain Range, but finally we finished the damn thing. Two thousand one hundred and some odd miles later. . . and I freeze up every time I try to write about it. I have been procrastinating writing this post for quite some time. In fact, by the time this comes out we will have hiked the trail ‘last year’.
Thinking back to the day before summiting Mt. Katahdin. Hiking out of the 100 mile wilderness and laying out in grass to feel the warm sun heat up our wool. We were chatting with the other thru-hikers about our misadventures in the hundred mile wilderness while looking up at the massive stretch of ridge-line winking at us as clouds rolled over Mama K.
Soon after my parents arrived in Baxter State Park, and that night we ate some of my Mom’s infamous spaghetti, which was incidentally our last meal before setting out on the trail way back in February.
We were so lucky to have the support of both of our families during our journey, and it was incredible to have so many of them make it for our final hike. My parents, Bell’s parents, my aunt and uncle, her aunt and uncle, and my Grandma made it all the way up to northern Maine to see us finish the trail and celebrate our accomplishment. Some of them joined us for our final ascent up Katahdin, Bell’s aunt and uncle as well as her father all finished the trail with us.
The night before our final ascent we stayed at Katahdin Stream Campground, which is located at the base of Mama K. It was still dark out when our alarms went off the next morning. A light rain was pitter pattering on the shelter’s tin roof. When we turned our headlamps on all we could see was fog. We drank our coffees and ate some breakfast as the unseen sun rose up into the overcast sky. It was a grey, wet, and cold morning and it was time to finish our thru-hike.
The Appalachian Trail climbs Katahdin byway of the Hunt Trail. The Hunt Trail rises above the treeline about two and a half miles into it. The first two miles of the ascent is steep but it wasn’t anything we hadn’t dealt with in the White Mountains. The foggy undercast broke as we rose out of the Acadian forest and for a brief moment we were able to see the steep cliffside that was supposedly our path. If you are planning on hiking Katahdin byway of the Hunt trail, know that once you leave the treeline the ascent ceases to be a hike and begins to be a climb. Good thing we were slackpacking, I can’t imagine having to haul our packs all the way up that craggy bluff.
Some of those rock scrambles were quite exposed. With nothing but thin air between you and the ground far below, pulling yourself up and over some of those slick boulders felt a fair bit more dangerous than any of the other ascents we had done during our thru-hike. The fog came back soon after we left the tree-line and we remained in that cloud for the rest of the day.
The trail flattens out about a mile after rising above the tree-line. The fog was rather dense during this section and it felt as if we were walking through limbo. The flat trail seemed to gently ascend further up into the cloud and there was no end in sight.
As we approached Baxter Peak the rain turned to sleet then to snow. We knew we were getting close because we started to pass a bunch of shivering hikers descending and they told us we were almost there. As we got to the top I found myself pretty removed from what was happening. There was a large part of me that felt like that day was no different from any other day on trail. It hadn’t registered that it was to be our last day of hiking, and I don’t think it did until a few weeks after, really.
After taking pictures at the top and having a mini celebration we began our descent. As we got lower in elevation the snow turned back to sleet and then back into rain. We came down Katahdin by the Abol trail. Which runs down a rockslide which we slid down on our butts. Everybody who came to see us finish was waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain. We had plenty to celebrate that night; finishing the Appalachian Trail, getting engaged, bringing our families together for the first time and moving onto a new chapter in our lives together.
When we started hiking the Appalachian Trail I lacked direction in life. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with myself. I had decided to quit working in mental health for good and I needed time to think about what my next step was. Those eight months provided me with ample time to think about my life, where it is going, and what I want to make of it. As it always goes with introspection, I ended up with a lot more questions than answers, but what I learned about myself along the way helped provide me with some direction of how to move forward.
It has been several months now since that day and I still think back to it constantly. Both of us miss the lifestyle that thru-hiking provides and we have recently been daydreaming about when and where our next thru-hike will be. We have been living in New Hampshire, near the White Mountains. Bell has been working at a ski resort and I have been working construction. We have been out on several day hikes since finishing the trail but grabbing a peak or two during the weekend is different than camping out on trail for days on end.
Though that sense of accomplishment it seemed like should be waiting for us at the top of Mt. Katahdin, there has been a feeling of confidence and inner strength that is new for me. I believe that thru-hiking helped me feel more capable than I did before. Now to see whats next…
From the otherside,
Daniel and Lizzy
from the other side 