The last remaining days

Tue 26 July Day 138
Wow - AYCE bfast at Shaws was delicious!! You pick a number (generally between 1 & 4) and you get that number of pancakes, sausages, bacon, eggs and piles of home-fries (fried spud & onions) plus orange juice, tea and coffee. Fantastic start to the day. The only bummer was that it was raining - hard :( it has been the first day in months that I have started hiking in the rain.

It looked as if it was going to be a tough 15mi. The elevation was all over the place and really bumpy. However, I really enjoyed it. There were lots of stream crossings and even one I had to ford. It reminded me of the Whirinaki trails.

I had a late lunch at a shelter only 4.7mi from where I am now. But I didn't stay there long as there was a weird guy there. He introduced himself as a SOBO called "Roaming Dude" and said that he was having a zero because he didn't have any rain gear!! Then he asked if he could take my picture and put it on You-tube. "No thanks" was my reply!

The last mile to this shelter (Long Pond Stream Lean-to) was the toughest today. I thought that I had missed the sign or something as it took ages to finally make it.

Lots of people in tonight - Puddle duck, Coyote, German Shepherd, Spike, plus two others I can't remember their names. Spaceman and Rocket may even be in later too.

It's still raining off and on. Let's hope it clears by the morning.

Wed 27 July Day 139
The rain stopped early this morning and I set out by 7am. The first 11 miles of the day were tough! Lots of ups and downs that were really steep! I was stuffed by lunchtime.

The best part of the day was the views. Lots of hills and lakes.

Thankfully, the second half of the day was much easier. There was lots of smooth terrain and it was easy to get through. I managed to get into the Carl Newhall Lean-to by 7pm. 20.8 miles done.

The Maine Boys, Crop Duster and German Shepherd came in soon after as well as 2 SOBOs and 2 section hikers. It was a full shelter.

Thur 28 July Day 140
I wasn't looking forward to the 18.9mi day, however, I met Spaceman and Rocket just as they were setting out at 6.30am so tagged along.

Going over the four hills in 3hrs seemed relatively easy (must have been all the chatting). We had a great view from the top and cruised down the other side (thanks to the many stone stairs).

The shelter that we stopped in for lunch was really nice. It had skylights that let in the sun and we all sat around chilling out. It was very pleasant.

The rest of the afternoon was easy - really good trail and slightly downhill. Fantastic!!

Said goodbye to all the others as they were heading out to get some big miles done in order to make Katahdin by Sunday. It seems strange now, knowing that I won't catch up with them again on trail.

I am staying at the Cooper Brook Lean-to which is situated on the brook. There is a nice swimming spot (although the water is full of tannin at the moment - but good enough for a wash). Plus there is a waterfall, so it's quite noisy. The privy even gets a mention as it is so clean! Way to go MATC (Maine Appalachian Trail Club)!!

There are four of us in the shelter and four tenting. One of the guys I had met on the day we climbed McAfee Knob - it was great to catch up and I even got fed a Mountain House meal (dehydrated packet meal). Yum - second dinner!

Definitely time for bed - it's 8.30pm. Not far to go tomorrow.

Five sleeps to go!! :)

Fri 29 July Day 141
I had decided to make it to the White House Landing (15mi) today. It has resupply and a shower - worth spending money (that I don't have) on. Plus it gives me a shorter day - I don't want to be doing massive days before reaching Katahdin.

The hike this morning was really nice. Smooth trail with only a few rocks and tree roots. I hear it's going to get worse. But I made good time and had the 15mi done by 12pm.

On arriving at the landing I had to toot the air horn to get the boat to pick me up from across the lake. The site is beautiful. I was fortunate to be able to eat the 1lb cheese burger while enjoying the view. It was delicious! But I was starving.

I did a bit of basic laundry - just a rinse really, but it should dry as it's super windy this afternoon. I am currently sitting lakeside updating the blog, reading magazines and planning the last few days. Can't wait.

Four more sleeps.

Sat 30 July Day 142
Up early (but only to pee) then I went back to bed until 7am. It was great to sleep in! I headed to the main house at 7.30 and had coffee before bfast. It was an all you can eat affair. Orange juice, scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffin and 12 blueberry pancakes!! Plus 2 cups of coffee. It was delicious too.

I didn't need to eat until lunch :)

Lunch stop was a nice beach on the side of a huge lake (they have so many here it's amazing). The sun had finally come out after a wet start to the day and it was wonderful to wash and soak my feet while eating leftover pizza from last night.

The rest of the day was up and down trail - I kept stopping though for blueberries on the side of the trail. It's fun to be able to pick out handfuls of the best ones.

I saw Katahdin again today - some cloud on top and it was only 12 miles away! I have to hike another 25mi to get there though - it doesn't seem fair!!

Tonights shelter is called Rainbow Stream and is right on the edge of a bubbling stream. Great for washing off the days grime! It is quite noisy though. I am the only NOBO in tonight the other 8 people are SOBOs or flip floppers (went to half way NOBO, then skipped to Katahdin to head back SOBO).

I'm getting excited. Three more sleeps to go!!

Sun 31 July Day 143
I got up at 5am and had left by 5.45am - Pop tarts and peanut butter for bfast and straight onto the trail. I wanted to get to Abol Bridge with plenty of day to rest and recover.

Trail was easy and I arrived at the Abol Bridge Campground on the Penobscot River at 11.45am. 15 miles flew by!! I met a ridge runner for the region and chatted to him for a bit. News just in - the weather was going to pack it into thunderstorms by tomorrow. That meant I needed to summit Mt Katahdin the next morning before the weather set in.

It also meant that I had to do another 9.9mi to get to The Birches Lean-to at Katahdin Stream!! Crap! A 25mi day!!

But the weather was wonderful and the views along the river were a good distraction. I ended up at one part of the trail where I just couldn't find a blaze so I ended up going up a high water trail. That meant up hill of course! So frustrating.

At least the rest of the trail was flat - I was able to scoot along and arrived in camp around 3pm-ish. Battle Cat and OTT were on trail too and Snifur was at the Lean- to. It was good to catch up with them and also to have hikers to go up Katahdin with tomorrow.

My legs are tired and quite weary. Nothing that Aleve (vitamin I) can't fix though :)

Not two sleeps, but one to go. It's like Xmas.

5.2mi to go!!!!! But it's all up hill - really steep up hill.

Mon 1 Aug Day 144
Slept hot and cold all night - couldn't quite get it right. But the alarm went off at 5am and we all straggled around, packing a light pack and eating the obligatory Pop tarts.

We were able to leave everything out of our packs at the Rangers station. This meant we could climb with only rain gear, food and water. It was an amazing feeling to have so little in my pack.

I was grateful for the light load though as the ascent was tough. It started nice and flat, quickly turned into stone steps and boulders, then into major rock scramble.

The scramble consisted of rock climbing without a harness or ropes up massive boulders and at a vertical height of over 3000'. It was a little scary in a few parts (especially looking back over my shoulder, although I'm not sure why I did that so often). As I struggled up and over these rocks I also had the horrendous thought of how would I ever get back down again!!??

But there was no turning back. I hadn't come this far to not do this. The weather was holding and the sun was shining - it was a perfect day to climb the end point of the AT.

The feeling of touching the last white blaze and the Katahdin sign was so satisfying. Hard to believe it was actually happening, but none-the-less very real. We did the photo thing at the top and stared at the awesome view. Looking back now (8hrs later) it has been one of my best days - if not the best.

I was apprehensive about the descent, but ultimately (and surprisingly) it was so much easier coming down. All the tricky parts were non-issues. I even met a kiwi girl (who was on holiday from Canada) on the way down. Small world.

It took me 3hrs to get up the mountain and only 2hrs 30min to get down. The legs were hurting a bit (and I'm sure they will be a little sore tomorrow) but it was done.

All of us had a successful day. Snifur's family and Battle Cat's mom turned up at the car park so we got trail magic and the start of 'normal' life began again. I was fortunate to grab a ride with BC & OTT to Millinocket, where I am staying at the hostel.

Spike and Crop duster are here, which is nice to see familiar faces.

I am so glad the AT is all done. No more hiking for a little while. Just slap bang into the real world again. I will have to spend tomorrow trying to organize my remaining days in the States.

No more miles to go.
See you all soon. Earlier than expected :)

- posted by enzed :)