The last white blaze
still light on his feet
The Maineiacs Uno and Dewey completed their 2174 mile Appalachian Trail adventure September 6, 2007 with the ascent of Mt. Katahdin.Uncle Jay (trail name Stick) drove from New Hampshire to hike this last segment with them and to share our final moment of sweet success.
The last 10 days were nearly perfect with respect to weather and hiking conditions. The air was crisp and clear, more fall-like, but perfect for cruise hiking. Dewey's leg injury improved daily, but never seemed to slow him down enough to allow Uno to stay abreast. Coming into Monson, we did experience a brief but violent thunderstorm. Within just a few minutes, the storm came up from nowhere, with lightning and a microburst of high winds, bringing down tree branches above our heads. We quickly pushed on and were quite drenched by the storm, but otherwise unscathed. We pushed into Monson, staying at Shaw's House; a wonderful hiker hostel with an all-you-can-eat breakfast. They seem to be well acquainted with a thru-hiker's appetite, but were astounded that neither of us asked for seconds. (It's possible that this may have raised issues of authenticity as thru-hikers!)The hike through the hundred mile wilderness came off flawlessly. The weather was perfect, (if not a little chilly for the likes of Dewey). We went into the wilderness with one day's worth of food then met Kathy and Tracey at Gulf Hagas for lunch, a swim in Screw Auger Falls, and to pick up our supplies for the next four days. The first 40 miles is mountainous and is difficult at times. We had a wonderful campsite the first night at Cloud Pond on Barren Mountain, but the 19 miles that day took us til 7:30pm to complete. Then came the slow, arduous, muddy walk over the Chairback range which has a reputation with thru-hikers as the toughest in Maine; only surpassed by the Mahoosucs. After Gulf Hagas, we scaled the last true mountain before Katahdin: Whitecap at 3800' is one of New England's hundred highest peaks. With these mountains behind us, the terrain became much more level, and somewhat easier to cruise through lake country.
Our final day on the trail, we hiked the last three miles to Abol bridge, then 10 miles into Daicey Pond, where Kathy had rented us a cabin for the night. We had the afternoon to relax in the sun, and admire once again the stunning views of Katahdin across the lake. Uncle Jay spent that day hiking the Owl, but joined us that afternoon at the campground.
The final day to summit Katahdin offered us nearly perfect weather conditions. After a somewhat leisurely breakfast of huevos rancheros, we began hiking the Hunt trail from Katahdin Stream at 9am. We were truly energized and nearly ran up the mountain, reaching the summit just before 11:30. We noticed a man taking pictures of us and initially thought the Bangor Daily News was there to cover our finish. But no, it was Uno's partner 'gastro Dan', who had driven up that morning to climb the mountain and greet us with whoopie pies, and hearty congratulations. Not knowing our expected departure time, he had been on the summit since 9:30, a truly heroic effort.
The down-climb was uneventful, as we avoided any rain even though the clouds appeared. There was champagne and celebration at the bottom. Thus ends our saga and adventure on the AT for now. Neither of us was tempted to do a 'yoyo', turning around immediately and hiking to Springer, as some hikers (usually those who have no life) have been known to do in the past. One trip on the AT which was the adventure of a lifetime seems sufficient for now. We both expect to become couch potatoes for the next week, and Kathy has made it her personal crusade to restore at least part of the 37 pounds Uno lost during this excursion. We cannot thank our friends and family enough, especially Kathy, for their help and support, without which the trip would not have been possible!
