Day 116: Summit of Mount Katahdin

Start: Katahdin Springs Campsite (AT mi 2187.9). Stop: Summit of Mount Katahdin (AT mi 2193.1). Today’s miles: 5.3 miles (10.6 round trip). Total AT mileage: 1168.1 miles

ITS SUMMIT DAY!!!! I cannot believe I actually pulled it off! Making it to this day specifically, summiting with TieDye and Poptart, completing the first part of my journey! Y’all. I’m so overwhelmed with emotions right now! I’ll try my best to get it all in here, but please know, words will never do today justice. Ever.

I got up at 5:30 and started packing. TieDye, Rippin Riles and I headed towards the ranger station to exchange our stuff. There’s a spot at the ranger station to leave behind some of your gear that you won’t need, so you can slack pack up Katahdin to make it a quicker and safer journey. We ate breakfast there and once our stuff was bagged and labeled, we started down the trail together.. it was 6:35. From the stuff left behind, it looked like several others already got started today.

The first mile was mild and went along a stream. As the trail traveled up, the stream had waterfalls to gawk at. The trail had stone steps and roots and some easier areas. It was beautiful, and the weather was fantastic so far.. not too hot, not too cold, hard to tell how the sky would turn out but it was just slightly hazy out.. no big storm clouds yet.

As the trail continued to get steeper, sections turned into more of the rock climbing jungle gyms of southern Maine and the Whites of New Hampshire. When I crossed a tiny trickling spring I panic chugged my water and filtered an extra liter. The guys got ahead of me while I was doing this, but I just felt the need to have more water so I got some and then carried on.

Just before 8am I took a fall after twisting my ankle.. I think I fell technically because of trying to take the pressure away from actually hurting my ankle. It hurt, but I was moving again within a minute without issue. About 5 minutes later, people from the big group that gave me my spot at Birches (which ultimately is the only reason I was able to see and stay with TieDye) started passing me. I’m always so impressed with how fast people traverse this climbing crap. I just can’t make decisions that quick or something.

The second I came above tree line, I was in a the boulder scramble of all boulder scrambles! It was a “put your poles away” type thing that required hands, knees, every muscle in your body to get up and over. There were parts with random rebar loops sticking out of rock face just close enough to grab and then pray your feet meet some traction to keep you moving in the correct direction. There were sharp edges and long drops. I actually ended up passing some day hikers.. which tells me I am stronger than I think I am.

There was a brief flat section before the trail continued steeply up more scramble. Once I reached that point and pulled myself up.. Poptart was sitting on a rock taking a break! I thought we didn’t have much farther to go to summit, so seeing her made me think she already summited and was heading back down now.. lol she just laughed at me and told me she had only gotten started a little before me.

She was trying to get enough service to book a room at the hostel for tonight, so I turned my phone off airplane mode to see if I’d have better luck.. I ended up having one bar of service so she used my phone to make her call. When finished, we hiked the rest of the day together. She had me laughing all day long.

We did the crazy straight up rock climb to get to the false summit. When we finally made it to trail that allowed you to actually stand all the way up and mostly walk or rock hop vertically instead of bending and reaching and doing a whole lot of praying, I was beyond relieved. The views were unbelievable! The clouds were below us but not obstructing the views.. the sun was shining, the summit was just ahead. I was stunned.

Even while looking at it, we still had over a mile to walk on top of that mountain and a little bit more of a climb to get to the top. When I got to the sign, TieDye and Rippin Riles were there, along with that 8 person crew and a few others I met last night when visiting Poptart.. and they all did a little “PBSSSSSS!!!” Shout out and some “congratulations! You did it!” And, y’all, cue the tears. I did some joking bows to hide the emotion a little but man it was overwhelming.

I walked past the sign and gave it a little tap, then found a spot to put my pack down and hug TieDye and Poptart. We all took our pictures, soaked in the realization for each of us of what this day means for everyone.. for many it was the end of a journey, the “I made it” and for a few of us it was the half way.. for me it was a moment of complete happiness as I’ve envisioned myself standing on that specific sign since reading a book in 2016 about the trail. I knew I’d be standing up there someday. And it’s just really something special that today is that day.

To think it took me 5 years of dreaming and planning for this moment, and others.. like TieDye have had this dream far longer, decades longer.. and to be standing there next to him on his day of reaching his dream is honestly so surreal. I will have memories of the top of that mountain for all my years to come. It was something so beyond special and more than I could ever attempt to explain with words alone. It was a feeling I pray each of you find in some way in your own lives somehow. Maybe not necessarily in the standing at the top of Katahdin, but having something you’ve dreamed of come to fruition. The feeling of, “yesssss.. this.. finally I’m here!” I hope that makes sense.. and I want it for each of you.

We all ate at the top and then starting making our way down. I was anxious about the descent of those rocks, because of the impending rain and because one slight shift in weight the wrong way and it’s so much easier to fall-and fall hard.. fall dead. That feels dramatic now, typing that, but in the moment it’s easy to see how one wrong move could seriously end your life, or at the very least-your life as you know it. Poptart and I took our time, laughing and cursing and making our way. Ok, the cursing was me-whatever. I liked following her lead, because with her being shorter than me, whichever way she chose to go would end up being a safe bet I’d be able to get down the same way.

It took us 4 hours to reach the summit and the same time for me going down because once I got out of the jungle gym I started to pick up my pace to try to meet my shuttle on time. At 2:15 I still had almost 2 miles to go. I went as quick as I could, and in the flatter sections I started to jog. The last half mile I actually ran.. and it felt soooo good to just-run. I miss running. I passed Rippin Riles and a woman at a picnic table at the bottom, but raced past them because I thought I saw my shuttle van.

I got to the meet up place at 2:57pm. A whole 3 minutes to spare! I caught my breath, got my stuff, put on my camp shoes. The others waiting for the shuttle said the driver told them she’d be back in a “few” so I went back to the picnic table area, used the bathroom, and then went to see Rippin Riles and meet the woman he was sitting with. I wasn’t sure if this was someone named Biscuit I’d heard of, or if it was Tiedye’s wife, Kathy. It ended up being Kathy! I hugged her and we chatted while waiting for either my shuttle to appear around the corner or Poptart and TieDye to appear coming down the trail.

It was perfect timing because once they came through, I had time for more celebratory hugs right before my shuttle appeared. We made plans for dinner and then I ran back over and hopped in the van. To my complete sadness.. the van did NOT go straight to the hostel. We went to Abol Bridge to get other hikers, which was fine, but then we sat around for 40 minutes waiting for more hikers. Like-we didn’t leave that area until 4:30pm. I raced down a mountain to be there by 3, to wait an hour and a half in a van before being driven to town. I was annoyed. But whatever-nothing I could do about it so no point in complaining.

I met some people I didn’t know, one being RamChop who has the record for the Half Gallon Challenge back in Maryland-which is pretty badass, also, today is her birthday! How epically awesome is it to say “I summited Mount Katahdin on my birthday” ?? Pretty cool.

We got to the hostel, I quickly showered, put my stuff in my awesome private room (named the Springer Mountain room-how perfect since that’s where I’m walking to next), and started my laundry. The others showed up and showered too.. then we headed to a pizza place a block down, the only restaurant in town open today. TieDye and Kathy met us there from their hotel. The five of us ate and chatted and relished the incredible day. Before my food came out I ran back to the hostel to put my clothes in the dryer.. haha

I had a steak and cheese sub, which was massive and so damn good. I devoured all of it and a beer, too. When we got back to the hostel, I got my clothes from the dryer and promptly made my way to my bed. It felt like laying in the clouds. My head was still floating in the clouds from today anyway. It was only 8:30 but it felt like 3am. Even still, I got started on uploading the first couple days of the 100 mile wilderness before calling it a night and getting some shut eye. Some very comfortable, very much needed and appreciated shut eye.