At 6:30a I was woken up by the light filling the tent. It was a fantastic feeling to sleep until you naturally wake. A part of me was a bit annoyed though that I now wake up at 6:30a. If given the opportunity, I probably could have laid back down until 9a or later. I wasn’t given that opportunity. We have a mountain to get to.
Last night we came into camp at dark. The sign advertised “view of Katahdin”. We had high hopes of what we would wake up to. They were far exceeded. With fog lifting off of the lake, trees changing their color on the shore, and the mountain reflected in the still water – Katahdin stood to greet us in her full glory. We were honestly in awe. This is the mountain we’ve hiked so far to. In just a couple of days we will be standing on top of her, completing our thru-hike. As we broke down camp this morning, there was a sort of reverence in the air. We would stop occasionally and look at our goal. It seemed like the perfect way to finish our last morning in the 100 Mile Wilderness. Last night I had proposed we camp somewhere else because it was a .2 mile side trail to the dam. If I had known what was waiting for us, I would never had suggested a change in plans. After seeing the mountain, I said to Warthog, “2,200 miles and we almost skipped this .2”. I’m so glad we didn’t.
We would continue to see her, Katahdin, all morning long and from different angles. Our day was full. Moving swiftly through the woods, we covered just over thirteen miles in about five hours. We hiked next to a lake, over ledges, and through tall trees. It was a gorgeous morning.
When we were up on the ledges, you knew there was cell signal because thru-hikers congregated on their phones. Normally I would tease people about being so connected (I am just as guilty), but as we near the end, many of us are coordinating with friends or family. We need the signal to be able to organize how we will physically connect. Other times we are just playing on our phones.
Mid conversation we stumbled across a sign warning southbound hikers that they were entering the 100 Mile Wilderness, a place with no options to resupply. Which meant we were leaving it. Just like that we were finished with this famous stretch of the Appalachian Trail. I was sad to leave, but also excited at the accomplishment. Shortly after seeing the sign the trail pushed us out of the woods and onto a dirt road. It follows the road for over half of a mile before turning into Baxter State Park, home of Katahdin. We weren’t headed as far as Baxter today. Just a quarter of a mile down the road is a camp store and restaurant. Our plan was to grab a bite to eat there while we wait for Snow Monkey’s parents to pick us up. On the way, we crossed over a bridge with yet another view of Katahdin. It is surreal to be so close… so close you can almost touch it. We stood a bit on that bridge admiring the mountain we would soon be climbing up. Well, we were either doing that or sizing up our opponent. I’ll be honest, I’m intimidated by the climb. Warthog assures me that we’ve done other climbs just like this. I know we plan on going with light packs, so that eases some of my nerves. I just want to be up there and across the finish line. It’s sort of like a big exam is coming up. You are anxious to take it, but want it to be over too. It will be soon enough. We plan on summiting on Monday.
Tomorrow is the last day that the camp store and restaurant would be open. I would say lucky us that we got in before it closed, but really, I’m not sure it was all that lucky. They were running out of supplies so fast, it was hard to keep up. Everyone’s sodas were flat. When we asked about it, the waitress just said, “Yeah, they’re bad.” Well… maybe tell people that before you fill their order. I wasn’t super impressed. I also didn’t have high hopes of a camp store/restaurant. Although, their poutine was delicious. It was a dish that brought me back home to Michigan for a moment.
Around 3:30p, Snow Monkey’s parents picked us up. They drove us back to the nearest town, Millinocket, where we would stay for the night. The drive back was mainly down a dirt road that would be paved for random fifteen foot stretches. It was a bit weird. The speed limit was 45 mph. We were only doing 35 mph and that was plenty fast.
Finally, the woods started to give way to houses, which turned into neighborhoods and a downtown. Millinocket was mostly an older downtown. Just outside of that is a brief section of newer businesses like McDonald’s, Rite Aid, Tractor Supply Co., a grocery store, Dunken Donuts, and more. The hotel was next to all of these. It is the perfect place for a hiker to have a zero day. That is if they can get the forty minute hitch. We aren’t taking a zero. We are just getting clean and good night’s rest. We spent the evening showering, organizing, visiting, and eating. Now we get to crash on a king sized bed – something that has a bigger footprint than our tent even. My exhausted body is so excited. I can’t even begin to describe how much joy this bed brings me. It’s a luxury well earned, I can tell you that.
-ansel