Katahdin to the Kennebec

Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods. Here grow the wallflower and the violet. The squirrel will come and sit upon your knee, the logcock will wake you in the morning. Sleep in forgetfulness of all ill. Of all the upness accessible to mortals, there is no upness comparable to the mountains. 
- John Muir

This recent journey to Maine was bittersweet and beautiful.  Breathtaking and brutal.

I hiked from Mount Katahdin to the Kennebec River, about 150 miles south.  The first few days were absolutely perfect hiking weather days.  Then it rained pretty consistently the rest of the time, creating some pretty hazardous water crossings.  Streams and brooks that would normally be ankle deep or passable by rock hopping were now waist deep or higher with body slamming currents.  The Trail itself was transformed into a meandering waterway with waterfalls in the steep sections and pools of standing water in the level areas.  Everything became wet.

The temperature never dipped below freezing while I was out there, but it never really warmed up once the rain came.  Cold hands and cold feet through and through.

I enjoy the challenges that come with backpacking, and the rewards of the natural world continue to be awe-inspiring.  It was rejuvenating to be back out there even for a short time. 

Come to the woods, for here is rest.

Blood and Rain

The blood trickles down my leg, mixes with the rain, and seeps into my dirty sock.

I pause and reflect for a moment. This is the 100 Mile Wilderness.

This is Maine. 

This is the AT. 

Challenging but fulfilling.

Beautiful but brutal. 

Blood from the fall but rain to wash it away. 

Day 179

08/26/12 - Mount Katahdin - 2,184.2 miles

Words cannot fully capture the emotions of this day.  We woke up early and ate our last Trail breakfast.  Packed up our gear and headed out to the ranger station.  We each dropped off a few pounds of unnecessary gear and started off on the AT.  We filled our water bottles for the last time.  Some other thru-hikers had already started the ascent.  As we crossed the campground in early morning light, we came upon a clearing... and there stood Katahdin... high and mighty looming above us.  It was to be a difficult climb to the top.  I couldn't believe that we were doing it.  That this was it.  The first mile went by pretty quickly as we passed Katahdin Stream Falls.  Then the Trail quickly started to climb.  A nice steady incline at first but soon turning to more hand over hand scrambles.  Once we got above treeline we saw other peaks around us and the lakes below us and the clouds above us.  It was truly an epic scene.  We dipped below treeline one last time then started the more scary and difficult portion... climbing straight up to the Tableland.  After this long, grueling climb, we were getting close.  The scene was straight out of Lord of the Rings... Rohan.  We stopped at Thoreau Spring for one last snack break before the end.  We had ONE MILE left on the AT.  We started up towards Baxter Peak, and as we got within about half a mile, there it was.  The sign.  A group of people were gathered around it but it didn't matter.  Right now it was just going to be me, Anna, God, and that sign.  KATAHDIN.  We held hands the last 50 yards or so.  We walked up to that sign and when Anna placed her hand on it and I hugged it, together, we officially became thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail.  What?!  WE.  DID.  IT.  I thought I might start to cry once I reached the sign, but I only got a little misty eyed a few minutes before when I first caught glimpse of the sign.  How often I had imagined us reaching that sign when the Trail was excruciatingly difficult.  And now here we were.  Standing before it.  We let the feeling sink in a bit (though even as I write this, I'm not sure if it has fully hit me yet).  Our other thru-hiker buddies were there, too.  Whoop and Resource.  Connect4.  ManBearPig and DudeManBro.  Everyone was excited and enjoying this moment with each other.  After about 15 minutes I decided to make it happen.  I set up the GoPro in front of the sign and asked DudeManBro to take one more video of us.  Anna was happy but maybe a bit unsure of what I was doing.  "I just wanna get some video of us on the sign and stuff.  Let's yell at the top of our lungs!"  And so we did.  And then we did our high five secret handshake.  And then I stepped down from the sign and said, "Anna... KitFox... I know we just finished the Appalachian Trail, but I wanted to know if you would go on another adventure with me."  She says nothing.  "Do you wanna get a two-person tent?"  And when she said YES I couldn't stop smiling.  What an incredibly joyful moment we were now sharing!  We kissed.  She put on the ring.  Everyone cheered.  I broke out the champagne bottle I had hidden in my pack.  ManBearPig said, "Dude you guys, we just witnessed history."  We soaked it in some more on top of the mountain and then started to head back down.  We were finished with the AT, but we still had to climb back down this mountain!  Wow!  We were excited.  It took us several hours to climb down, and when we did our parents were there waiting for us.  What a wonderful reunion.  I was so glad to see all of them there together waiting for us at the end.  It was perfect.  We went out to have our celebration dinner in Millinocket.  We sat outside and ate delicious food overlooking a beautiful lake with Mount Katahdin in the background.  What a perfect day and a perfect way to end one journey and begin another.  I am truly thankful to God and his love and to all my family and friends for their love, support, and encouragement.  I am thankful beyond belief for Anna coming into my life and falling in love with her.  She is an inspiration to me.  It really is a wonderful life.

***

It really is a wonderful life.

And this is the history of our thru-hike.  As many of you may know, Anna and I are no longer together.  We split ways earlier this year.  She is an incredible person and I know she will continue to do great things.  Like I said in my final journal entry, I am so thankful for her and that we completed this journey together.  Life doesn't always turn out the way we think it will or want it to, but we keep moving forward one step at a time.  We're all on this earth for a purpose, and I think hiking the Trail allowed me to experience life on its most fundamental level.

Live life everyday.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  Climb a mountain.  Witness a sunrise.  Swim a lake.  Smell a tree.  Walk.  Run.  Breathe.  Sweat.  Cry.  Scream.  Share.  Give.  Laugh.  Love.  Live.

I think of all the people who we encountered on our hike and the impact they made on us.  And I think of all the family and friends back home who helped us beyond count and encouraged us along the way.  Friends.  Family.  Complete strangers.  I want to thank each and every one of you who was a part of this journey.  Each and every one.  I thank you for your love.

"Strange, isn't it?  Each man's life touches so many other lives." - Clarence, It's A Wonderful Life

KitFox ascending Katahdin

ManCub ascending Katahdin

The final entry

The final tally

August 26, 2012

Day 178

08/25/12- The Birches - 2,179 miles

Five point two miles away.  We are camped at the base of the Great Mountain.  We crossed over Abol Bridge earlier today to finish the 100 mile wilderness.  Bought some last minute food at the camp store (also secretly bought a little bottle of champagne for our summit victory).  Tomorrow is the big day.  The day we have been looking forward to and striving to reach with every step we've taken.  I can hardly believe it.  I am so excited.  On our way to the top.

***

Entering Baxter State Park

Day 177

08/24/12 - Rainbow Lake - ≈2,161 miles

Another eventful and wonderful day!  Woke up at 3:30a – breakfast of oatmeal and coffee.  Started hiking off into the dark morning.  Caught our first glimpse of KATAHDIN as we came to a lake at sunrise.  So cool.  Heard the loons.  Caught another view of Big K at lunch.  Then took a refreshing dip in Crescent Pond –– and Anna got in, too!  All the way in!  I was so proud.  And happy.  As we got nearer to the end of the day, a giant bull moose walked out in front of us.  I almost started speaking in tongues I was so shocked and excited.  A moose!  With giant antlers and everything.  Now I'm sitting by the fire (our first one since Tennessee), listening to the loons by the lake.  It is a beautiful evening.  The sun set over the pond.  The stars are out.  And this is it.  One night left after tonight.  One full day left of hiking.  We climb Mount Katahdin the day after tomorrow.  And we will be THRU-HIKERS.

***

There were so many highlights of our hike, but Day 177 was definitely one of my favorite days.

First glimpse of the Great Mountain

Second view at lunchtime

Crescent Pond

Immediately after seeing our moose.

We will be thru-hikers.

Day 176

08/23/12 - Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to - 2,135.9 miles

Not too bad of a day.  24 miles before dark.  Tomorrow will be the real challenge.  Only two more nights on the Trail after this one!  Wow.  I am ready.  We are ready.  It's been wonderful, but DANG, day 1 seems like a lifetime ago.  I know there will be a time when we miss it, but right now I'm missing the rest of my world.

***

Day 175

08/22/12 - White Cap Mountain - 2,111.4 miles

Cowboy camping baby!  Hanging out on top of White Cap Mountain.  Wind blowing.  Open sky.  Stars.  Awesome.  Cold.  Long day.  Sore sore feet.  Hungry.  Got some fancy chocolate bars from a day hiker today.  Really nice lady.  Couldn't believe it!  Trail magic from a day hiker in the 100 mile wilderness.  What an incredible journey we are on.  So lucky and thankful and happy to be out here with Anna.  Thank you, Lord.


***

   Getting ready to sleep under the stars.

Day 174

08/21/12 - Fourth Mountain - ≈2,090.5 miles

Getting too tired to really do anything once in camp.  Haven't read in several days.  Don't really want to write.  Just sleep.  Swam today.  In a pond with rain.  So refresh.  Then in the creek.  So cold.  Both great.  Now time for sleep.  Just sleep.

***

Refresh.

Day 173

08/20/12 - near Spectacle Pond - ≈2,070 miles

100 mile wilderness.  Into the wilderness we go.  Did our last major resupply today in Monson.  Pack is HEAVY.  Met up with Dr. Bruce amazingly on the AT.  Without going into details, the timing of the encounter was just about miraculous.  Amazing.  Got our mail drops and watched all the hikers sauntering around town.  And by town, I mean the road between the gas station where we resupplied and the hostel.

***

Caution.

Day 171

08/18/12 - Kennebec River - 2,032.7 miles

Tired.  Today was a good day.  21 miles.  2 swims.  1 ManCub fall.  Lots of chubbles.  Crossing the Kennebec in the morning.  Big mile days from here on out.  But we are going to have fun.

***

Day 166

08/13/12 - Crocker Cirque Campsite - 1,988.7 miles

Tough.  This is tough.  Anna is not feeling well.  Hoping and praying it's not "the sickness."  One day at a time.  We were both feeling a bit nauseous last night going to bed.  I think it was too much butter for me... but Anna says she's feeling worse now.  Today was beautiful, but again difficult.  Beautiful but brutal.  Also, a mouse chewed through my food bag last night while it was hanging.  It must have either climbed down the rope or jumped from a far away branch.  I think it also used echolocation to zero in on my Peanut M&Ms because it was like a direct hit the way it got into those.  We saw Seeks It again this morning.  Such a cool, encouraging guy.

***

I have mentioned Seeks It in a previous blog post after he finished his double thru-hike of the AT in 2012.  We had the privilege of running into him several times up in Maine, and as I mentioned briefly in my journal, he always encouraged us with each passing.  He is a gifted writer and a genuine human being.  I encourage you all to check out his current blog posts and catch up on his amazing Appalachian journey.

Seeks It reaches his finish line, November '12

Day 165

08/12/12 - near Oberton Stream - ≈1,977.3 miles

Another tough day.  The terrain is difficult.  Wet.  Slippery.  Steep.  Thundering now.  We are both trying to stay encouraged.  Trying to enjoy this time while it lasts.  But I think we both want it to be over.  We want Katahdin.  It just started pouring.

***

Day 164

08/11/12 - Eddy Pond (?) - 1,967.5 miles (?)

Fun morning meeting up with Dr. Bruce for breakfast and resupply.  Encouraging.  We are in the homestretch.  Incredible.  We did a full resupply at IGA and I still feel like I could eat just about everything in my bag.  We'll see how far I can make it last.  Hopefully 100 miles.  Right now we are camped along a beautiful misty pond.  The rain is lightly drizzling off and on.  I think I might read some Jack London.


***

KitFox & the misty pond

Day 163

08/10/12 - [Rangely] - 1,963.8 miles

Livin' it up in probably our last real trail town.  Motel with poptarts.  Comfy beds.  Coffee.  Hot chocolate.  Olympics.  Wifi.  Outlets (lolz).  And food.  Walked around the small downtown, which reminded me a lot of the town in Northern Exposure.  We also have a new hiking buddy to join us to Katahdin... Baxter, the cat.  He is already worried.  Also heard Mumford & Sons' new song, "I Will Wait," for the first time today.  I like.  I like a lot.

***

Baxter

And just for fun...

Day 162

08/09/12 - Little Swift River Pond Campsite - 1,959 miles

Let's just say today was emotional.  Started off with total hiker hangover... slept in even though we needed to do big miles again.  Super slow getting out of camp.  Super discouraged.  As we hiked the next few miles I went up and down with my attitude, but mainly I kept thinking about how tired I was and how far I had to go.  Not good.  Ate lunch with thunder in the distance.  Super discouraged again.  Not really knowing how I was going to be able to finish this day, let alone our thru-hike.  Then, as we were starting a climb, we met Kinder.  A SOBO section hiker from GA.  We small talked for a minute and she seemed really nice – an old kindergarten teacher.  We smiled and said goodbye.  Then, at the last minute, she turned over her shoulder and said, "And... don't lost heart."  Tears welled up in my eyes.  For some reason, that was exactly what I needed to hear.  Because today, for the first time, I really had started to lose heart.  Thoughts were entering my mind about quitting for the first time.  I was at an all time low on the Trail.  "And don't lose heart," was all she said.  Well, after I finished sobbing in front of Anna, I was reignited and charged up that mountain.  I thank God for sending someone like Kinder our way to say those simple words of encouragement.  She may not have thought anything of it, but it got me through today.  We hiked on in happy spirits and came to Moxie Pond then Long Pond.  We finally went swimming for the first time on the AT!  It was gorgeous.  It was fun.  It was absolutely what we needed.  We finished our day hiking 4 miles in a wet thunderstorm, but I think we are in good spirits.  Tomorrow we hit up Rangely for one of our last town stays.  Amazing.  Dont.  Lose.  Heart.

***

You can check out my original blog post about this day here.   It really is crazy how much someone's words can affect you.

First swim on the AT

Day 159

08/06/12 - somewhere in Maine - ≈1,915 miles

Mahoosuc Notch is behind us.  Unreal.  Miles are still ahead of us.  But we got them.  We got them.

***

KitFox in the Notch.

Trail.

A personal favorite: Roots.

Day 158

08/05/12 - Full Goose Shelter - 1,907.3 miles

We have walked to Maine!  So surreal.  So amazing.  Today was another tough day.  So tired.  Crossing the border was exciting though.  And we ate lots of delicious Maine blueberries!  Mahoosuc Notch tomorrow.  Lord of the Rings audio book with Tipsy and Fetch in the shelter.  Fun.  I am ready for Katahdin.  Running out of energy.  Constantly running out of food.  Me hungrooooooo!

***

Seeks It

"No wealth of kings can compare."

I want to shout out a huge congratulations and mazel tov to our friend, Seeks It, for his recent and incredible accomplishment.

This year he walked 4,368.4 miles on the AT.

Many people attempt a thru-hike.  Only a few attempt a yo-yo (hiking to the end, turning around, and hiking back again).  Seeks It set out to hike the AT twice in one year by retracing his steps every day (essentially, a day by day yo-yo).

We had the privilege to meet him up in the Maine woods a couple days in a row as he was either setting out or retracing his daily miles.

We were blown away by what he was doing.  Everything we went through, the steep inclines, rocky uneven terrain, bad weather... he did twice in the same day.

You need to think about that for a moment, and let it sink in.

Anyways, he is a much more gifted writer than I am, and I encourage you all to check out his blog and read back on his earlier entries.

Proud of you, Seeks It!  And so glad KitFox and I had the pleasure to meet you.

The Maine Woods

Kinder

"And... don't lose heart," she said as she walked away.

My eyes immediately began to tear up as I told her, "I really appreciate you saying that."

We walked North and she walked South.

She was a retired kindergarten teacher from Georgia doing a section hike in Maine. We didn't converse long as we passed each other on the Trail. The weather. Trail names. Where we're from. Small talk.

She asked how the hike was going, and I told her, "Great." But if I was being honest with that question I would have told her how I was at an all time low.

I did not know how I was going to get through this day let alone this thru-hike.

KitFox took over my pathetic answer and opened up a bit.

"You know, it's been really difficult lately. I think we're starting to hit a point where we're ready for it to be over. It's been great and rewarding, but it's hard."

"Yeah," I agreed completely.

The former kindergarten teacher gave some last words of encouragement, and we trudged on. For a moment I recalled my own kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Keenan. I remember her being sweet, just as this lady was.

And that's when I heard her voice come again from behind us.

"And... Don't. Lose. Heart."

The words came out distinct and precise.

She smiled, turned back around, and continued walking.

I'm not exaggerating (though maybe I'm a little ashamed)... I cried for the next ten minutes.

For some reason, those words in that moment, were exactly what I needed to hear. Those four simple little words spoken at the last possible moment in a random human interaction. It might be that she will never know the impact that had on me or this hike.

But I am thankful for her and that moment and for Anna and for everyone else who continues to encourage us along the way. Not just on the AT but in life.

The day began as an ultimate low point for me on the Trail, and with a last-minute word, it became one of my favorite days.

With renewed vigor (after the crying, of course) we charged up the next mountain and made good time the rest of the day despite difficult terrain.

We came to a lake a few hours before sunset. A beautiful, picturesque, MAINE lake with clear cool water and surrounding evergreen trees.

Next thing I know, Anna is wading in and I'm sprinting in!

It was surreal.

To be so blissful and joyful splashing around in the refreshing water.

What a change.

"And... don't lose heart," she said.