Friday, September 25 7:09 pm 18.0 mi
AT 2107.2 East Chairback Pond → AT 2125.2 East Branch Lean-to
Weather: Warm and clear, sunny
Trail Conditions: Beautiful – two trail maintainers led the way up the first climb, chainsawing blowdowns out of the way
My Condition: On top of the world! Best I’ve felt in a long time physically, and mentally/emotionally more engaged
I got my first glimpse of Katahdin today! Beautiful blue ponds, fall foliage, and smaller peaks as far as the eye could see, but the Greatest Mountain towered over it all. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful scene. I sat there for quite some time, taking in the scene and thinking about how far I’d come, and not just in terms of distance. I ran into a section hiker, who left me with this: “You crazy bastard! I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve heard that. We’ve hiked Katahdin, but we haven’t earned it like you have. Enjoy it!”
Post Trail Analysis
I still get teary eyed and emotional thinking about this first time I saw Katahdin. Every mile, every bump and bruise, bug bite and sunburn, sprain and strain, every faceplant, all the hard work and sacrifice, all the saving and scrimping, every dollar I set aside for this venture, all the rainy days, all the cold nights, all the impossibly steep rock scrambles and knee pounding descents, all the tough days and scary moments, the unique obstacles that 2020 had thrown at us – each and every one of the challenges I had faced along the way got me one step closer to touching the wood sign atop this mountain. Every step all the way from Georgia to Maine, and now this goal I had worked so hard to achieve for so long was literally within my sight. Holy guacamole, what a moment! Framed in fall’s full majesty, my breath caught the moment I saw it and there was no doubt in my mind that that was it – that was the mountain which had beckoned me towards it for such a long time.
That section hiker’s words rattled around in my head for some time that day. Pat, one of my closest friends and the person I shared the trail with back on July 11 in Pennsylvania, has called me a “crazy bastard” so many times before that I almost heard this section hiker’s words spoken in Pat’s voice. I don’t think Katahdin’s majesty is a limited resource, exclusive to thru hikers. I don’t think I’ve earned the right to climb it more than anybody else seeking to do so. Anybody who makes the arduous climb up that mountain earns it, believe me. The climb does take on a much different meaning to a thru hiker, however, and I think that this section hiker understood and appreciated this fact. Katahdin marks the end of a long pilgrimage for a northbound AT thru hiker, a life changing journey through 14 states spanning 2193 miles. Katahdin, “The Greatest Mountain,” is sacred to the Penobscot Tribe of the Wabanaki, “People of the Dawnland.” The mountain represents the beginning of life, a place of birth and spiritual enlightenment. Closing in on the end of this great journey and seeing it for the very first time with tears in my eyes, I understood why this mountain is sacred. I had been changed by, and reborn on in many ways, the Appalachian Trail, and “The Greatest Mountain” marked the physical end of this incredible experience. The journey doesn’t end atop Katahdin, however; it simply marks the beginning of a new one.
Comments