Tuesday, August 16th

Birches Campsite (2189.0 mi) to Summit of Mount Katahdin (2194.3 mi)

Hiking Miles: 5.3

Total Ascent: 4,195.2 ft

Total Descent: 3.6 ft

Total Grade: 785.4 ft/mi

Steps: 28,689

JIM CROCE – I Got A Name

Gator/Sunrise: It was our LAST day on the Appalachian Trail and I woke up LATE this morning. Our last day on this amazingly grueling, exhilarating, heartwarming, and exhausting journey together where the majority of my mornings began in darkness and ahead of most, if not all, thru-hikers hikers, and I slept in (It was 5:50 AM). However, instead of having feelings of anxiety or anticipation (like a Christmas morning as Croc described it) to rush out and finish this thing once and for all, I felt this indescribable sense of peace, and presence.

If all went to plan (like we dreamed it would go), today I would think and feel a prescribed way, and every step would be scripted and deliberate. Because today was about finally reaching the finish line, a finite destination (Mount Katahdin) and touching the iconic weather beaten wooden sign together with Croc (at the exact same time), and celebrating our once improbable achievement.

I looked around the shelter and realized I was alone. Croc was either up and ready to go (but allowing me to sleep in to conserve as much energy as possible) or he moved to the other vacant shelter. Likely it was the latter because I finally got the deepest sleep I had on the entire trail. I obviously needed it due to my present condition. Normally, I would have jumped up and anxiously scrambled to gather my belongings and to start our day, especially whereas it was going to be harshest grade we’ve experienced and technically challenging. But not this morning. I had an indescribable sense of peace, one that confidently whispered “We got this”. Any anxiety, any self-questioning and any self-doubt about whether I could make it to the top without a painful struggle was non-existent. We totally respected the trail (as we were instructed to do) and were cognizant of its risks, but we were going to make it to the summit proudly, on our own terms, while enjoying each step along the way. Whether our pace turned out to be fast or slow, I totally surrendered to listening to what my body was telling me. The only thing that would be scripted was what we would be talking about and how we would touch the summit sign simultaneously together. And I couldn’t help but think I will finally be going HOME to Teresa, the cats, the coffees on the front porch, and the early mornings where I can sleep in comfort, wake up without a specific agenda, and go out for my morning walks. In other words, the little things in life!

Mentally, I was not worried about how I was feeling physically. I let my body get the rest it needed, and my mind and body were connected and ready to go. I walked over to see Croc in the neighboring shelter alone (he wasn’t up yet), and there were only a few tents remaining on the grounds. The entire camp was eerily quiet. I walked back to my shelter and started organizing my stuff. I was definitely taking my Osprey backpack to the summit, but only packing things I would use during our round trip.

Croc heard me moving around and moments later walked over to greet me with a “Good morning”. And like he did over the entire trail, he asked me how I was feeling, and wanted to make sure that I was okay to hike today. He would have unselfishly let me sleep in as much as I needed, and hike at whatever pace needed with him right by my side. “As good as new,” I replied. “I’m ready”. And I’m pretty sure he said “Let’s go!” a la Tom Brady.

Croc was so ready to crush Katahdin like he crushed this entire trail! And although he wanted to complete the thru hike as badly as I did, I sensed he wanted to cherish this day for all the blood, sweat, struggles, cursing, adrenaline rushes, body hits, and everything that we sacrificed into this once-in-a lifetime experience. Once all thoughts and emotions settled in our minds, all there was truly left to do was bang out this sacred mountain.

As we walked down the path leading to the base of the Hunt Trail, reality was setting in. We were only 5.3 miles from officially finishing, and I was suddenly taken over by excitement. I remembered just one year prior when we were in the same spot ready to experience how tough the AT would really be by testing out its toughest mountain. In June of 2021, we made it only half-way up in 3.5 hours before returning back down the mountain. I was curious to see the progress we made over the past four months of intense hiking (the best training one could do is to simply get on trail). A hiker we had just met this morning took our picture at the base camp sign (as we did the year before). Then we looked at each other one more time and said “Let’s do this” (6:45 AM).

Call it adrenaline or call it joyful anticipation, but I was moving briskly up the trail. Or it could be I was just that much closer to being home so I could finally rest my beat up body while soaking in a hot bath to start the recovery process. Fortunately, I was not feeling the effects of whatever I had just yet, but in the back of my mind, I sensed that was coming. Almost 2 hours into the climb, we reached the clearing where we surfaced above tree line. Last year, it took 3 hours to reach this point (due to my comparatively lack of conditioning then) so we were cruising. I was so focused on my hike that several moments later when I asked Croc how far we were from reaching the vertical climb involving the support rung, he replied “Dad, we passed that awhile ago”.

We did talk a lot about the various parts of the AT, the wonderful and quirky characters we met, our favorite trail foods, hostels and unforgettable moments. We talked about Croc’s upcoming May 2023 wedding, and me naming each of the 7 groomsmen and 7 bridesmaids in the wedding party. The significance of that was tied to me learning who they were during this same climb last year. But what I thought about most between breaks in conversation was getting home, and specifically those things we appreciated most about it. And how we would celebrate by having “A Walk in the Woods” movie night with our favorites trail drinks and foods. Here’s our list: Drinks: Gatorade, Soda, Coffee, Yeungling, Chocolate Milk, Bourbon, Water. Foods: Big Mac, Chicken Sandwich, Filet O Fish, French Fries, Chicken Nuggets, and Subway Foot Long Pros (Tuna, Chicken and Italian Combo).

Croc waited for me just under a quarter of a mile away from the summit so that we could finish our remarkable journey together, much the way we planned all along. We slowly walked up to the sign, then a rush of reality hit me that we actually made it. We simultaneously reached out our hands to touch the iconic sign TOGETHER (Croc’s right hand and my left) to make it official. Then Croc turned to me and we gave each other a huge hug. WE DID IT!

I’m not sure how to exactly describe the way I felt in that precise moment. I felt relieved in a way, but there was no euphoric excitement, tears of joy or even relief that it was finally over. Like Croc had described, I too had expected some type of feeling to overtake me, but whatever that perceived utopia was, we effectively experienced those feelings spread over the 119 days we lived the trail. There is truth in the saying that it’s not about the destination, but the journey! Day 119 was as special as all 118 days that preceded it!

It was a peaceful walk down the mountain although I was extremely anxious to reach the bottom. Once we hit the 3.6 ft ascent (the only uphill climb during the return hike), it hit home that we would actually reach the base camp, and that we weren’t hiking in an endless loop. It felt so “present” and “free from thought”. The only thought running through my mind was now I could truthfully call myself a “hiker”. Haha.

Teresa was reading a book in the RAM when we approached the basecamp parking lot. She finally saw us when we were closely approaching, and she jumped out and gave us a big hug. She subsequently had us retrace our final steps so that she could shoot a video. Then the feast, and thank goodness because we were starving. We sat at a nearby covered picnic table and started chowing down the food Teresa packed in the cooler. Fish nuggets, wraps, shredded cheese, blue cheese dressing, blueberry muffins, cantaloupe, hummus, Trader Joe’s Corn Chips, Yeungling beer, Gatorade, Diet Coke, cold water, and more! It was absolutely amazing!! Thank you again Teresa!

Then after changing into some dry clothes, I hopped into the front seat of the RAM truck and just totally relaxed. Our INCREDIBLE journey had come to an end, and I felt a strong sense of pride and gratitude for having the opportunity to have completed this with Stevie, and with the help of Teresa. I will remember this hike the rest my life! No argument that I had the BEST hiking partner a “hiker” could ever have. I may be in my sixties (and that in itself is cool) but I will likewise be forever impressed that a 28 year old, who could finish the AT in 90 days, was patient and caring to stay side by side with me unconditionally throughout the entire 17 weeks (119 days). And I echo Croc’s statement that despite all the complaining and cursing we let out, and wanting to be off trail since the first day, I would do it again in a heartbeat (with a lot of bribing!).

VIDEO

Croc: By no means were we the first ones up this morning even though I had that Christmas morning feeling where you just want to rush out of bed and experience the day. When I did get up, it was light out (meaning it was well past 6:00 AM) and I was surprised Gator hadn’t come by to greet me yet. And by surprised, I also mean not that surprised since he was sick and likely enjoying a much-needed snooze. I wandered over to his shelter and fortunately he was up and already packing up.

At this point, there were only a few people left at camp and it felt like a ghost town. The guy who wanted to be the first up Katahdin must have been out before the sun rose. I know people were excited, but I thought they’d at least stay for a bit and have breakfast.

Gator and I packed up our belongings for the last time and journeyed down the dirt road about 0.25 miles to connect back to the AT once again. We dropped off all the gear we wouldn’t need today at a spare lean-to across from the ranger’s cabin. This would make our trek up Katahdin, the hardest mountain on the trail, a tad bit easier without having to haul up our tents, sleeping pads, quilts, extra clothes, extra food, etc. It was basically a slack-pack today. Although, we did contemplate keeping some stuff in our bags so when we took the photo on top of Katahdin, it would look more natural as a thru-hiker than having a small backpack like a day hiker.

When we were ready to go, we headed over to the trailhead for Katahdin and stopped to take a picture by the base camp sign. This is where we started when we attempted to hike Katahdin the prior year and only made it halfway up. We fortunately had a bathroom at the base camp since there was really only one more bathroom stop on the trail, as most of it was above the tree line on a narrow rock scramble. This is where I had my final “bathroom break” ever on the trail. When I came out, I noticed the trail was starting to get crowded as many of the outside day hikers were allowed in at 7:00 AM and they were all trying to start their hike early. We just saw a line of cars coming in and beginning to fill in the parking spots.

Gator and I began the last 5 miles reminiscing about when we hiked this section last year. We probably mentioned “I remember this” about half a dozen times. It was insane to think about how different we were as hikers from then to now. When we “quickly” got above the tree line (I put quickly in quotes because it took a few hours, but it was also such a steep incline it was actually quick by hiking standards) we could finally look back at the hundreds of miles we previously hiked. When I was at this exact point last year, it didn’t really mean much. But now it was a good reminder of where we just came from and the long days we put in to get here. Especially looking over the horizon and seeing the miles of woods we just hiked.

As we made our way up, we passed the point where we turned around the year prior. It turned out to be a good move to turn around the year before because there was still a long way to go. Although it was only two more miles, it was a fairly steep uphill and challenging terrain. It would have taken us at least another 6 hours to go up and back down from that point, and there was an impending storm coming last year. We then popped over a ledge only to find a false summit ahead of us. After that false summit, we’d then be able to see the real peak on the other side of a straightaway. This part of the hike proved the most challenging as we scrambled up some tough rock climbs using all four limbs. There are many ways to rank or classify your hike, but the general rule goes like this:

Class 1 – Walk in the Park

Class 2 – Hands for Balance

Class 3 – Scrambling

Class 4 – Difficult Scrambling

Class 5 – Technical Rock Climbing

We were definitely at the Class 3 stage and maybe one or two climbs were knocking on Class 4’s door. We definitely didn’t hit Class 5 since that uses ropes and pulleys and is more of a rock climber experience. Class 4 usually still uses ropes for security and involves tricky movements, so we weren’t quite there but it was as close as we could get. If it rained, then I would call it Class 4.

At the top of the false summit, we did get cellular signal for the first time. I kept this in mind for when we would head back down and I could call Christina saying I finished. It also helped us send a text out to Mom letting her know our status.

As we finished the last couple of miles, we began to pass some of the hikers from the day prior coming back down the mountain. They had gotten up early and had peaked several hours before and were now closing out their day. Unfortunately, the guy who wanted to be up there first didn’t achieve his goal as he mentioned the others beat him up. I did go ahead of Gator for about a half mile to enjoy a little time to myself before we summited and take it all in. Of course, I waited for him to catch up so we could hit the peak together. Imagine if I ran ahead to get there first after everything we just been through? I did joke that I technically sectioned hike the whole AT before him, because I had completed this trail up Katahdin before. It was a dumb joke, but Gator was nice enough to laugh. What is great about Katahdin is that although the last mile is still an incline, it’s more of a ridge, so you can enjoy the beauty of the scenery while you finish.

When we were about a couple of hundred meters from the top, Gator and I finished the last remaining steps of the AT together. I forget what we were talking about, but it was probably something like “I can’t believe we’re finally here.” This was the image I had been fantasizing about for the past four months and how good it would feel to walk the last few steps.

We both reached out our hands together and touched the sign on top of Katahdin. We had finally done it. Although I wasn’t expecting anything to physically happen when I touched the wooden sign, I was also expecting to have some sort of feeling. I must have used all the excitement in the moments leading up to the peak and that I just felt unemotional when physically touching the sign. I must have just been so pumped to eat, or sit down, that I wasn’t even thinking about my emotions.

Now it was time for photos. Gator and I had fantasized for weeks about how we were going to take our iconic summit photo. Would we put our poles in the air like most hikers do? Or throw our bag up? Maybe sit on top of the sign? Mailman walked over to give us a photoshoot which allowed us to try out all the options. We ultimately decided on a Gator and Croc photo together (naturally) and then one of each of us by ourselves with our arms in the air. My personal favorite was Gator with his bent trekking pole showing us the hardship that poor pole went through. I did have to take one more photo with the Polaroids that Christina gave me of herself, Josie, and Maxy that I carried during the whole thru-hike. I would look at them whenever I felt down, or wanted to quit the trail, which was many times. I also took out the Tramily necklace as a shoutout to our crew down in Virginia.

It did feel funny just stopping and turning around. For the last 2,200 miles we have just continued forward. Even when we temporarily went Southbound it was still forward progress. Really the only time we backtracked would be from a blue-blaze to a shelter, water source, or road, but that was typically under a mile and not part of the trail. It felt odd too because the trail continued past the peak of Katahdin. You could decide to go down another route that was a tad longer, or go over the Knife’s Edge (ridge next to Katahdin), or even continue for another few hundred miles in Maine (no thank you). It must be how people feel going southbound and ending on Springer where you could call it a day or continue eight miles down the approach trail. Like anything, it’s just a total 180 being done with something that took so long.

We decided to grab some lunch and soak in the moment for an hour or so. We figured we’d eat as much food as possible to lighten our loads as well as enjoy the view while it lasted. It was a beautiful day and we wanted to take advantage of it. We also got to witness a few others complete their thru-hikes as well which felt even more memorable than my own. One guy broke down in tears and hugged the sign. Truly magical. That’s why I felt my ending was sort of bittersweet since I didn’t have that emotional connection to the trail; however, I fully acknowledge I did this to myself by cursing the trail every 10 minutes and complaining the whole time. My name should have been Grumpy.

We finally made our way back down since Mom had arrived at the base of the mountain a few hours early and we didn’t want to keep her waiting. It would definitely take us a few hours to get down, so we wanted to get a head start. We said our goodbyes to Mailman and Amazing Grace and began our last 5 miles (non-AT) back down. We did pass a few hikers still climbing up Katahdin that had the unfortunate experience of not making it to the Birches Campsite on time and had to stay at Abol Bridge the night before. This meant that their hike today would be nearly 20 miles (10 to the base of Katahdin, and then 5 miles up and down). They made the right call though because it stormed the next few days.

While we walked back down we had the pleasure of reliving our memories on the trail such as our favorite stays, the worst people we met, who we’d like to hike with again, the tastiest meal combos, etc. We did have a conversation about unfortunately not summiting with our buddy Dijeridoo. We did see a hiker begin to write their name (with a D) and cross it out on the Birches Campsite signup board the day before and wondered if that was him. It likely was and we just missed him!

Before we crossed back into the tree line, I reached the one spot with cellular service and gave Christina a call. She was at her exotics-con and had her whole team there congratulate us.

It all sank in when we got to the last two miles before we’d see Mom and jump in the car. The trail turned flat and we had what felt like our normal neighborhood walk in the woods back to the parking lot. When we did get to the parking lot, Mom greeted us with a whole spread of food, which we wolfed down in seconds. I specifically remember fish tacos and drinks to wash it down. We were finally free! Now we just had to enjoy the 6-hour drive back home in the air-conditioned truck, while we planned our “Walk in the Woods” movie night for the next day. I can’t recall everything we had on the menu, but we were thinking about getting five different drinks (chocolate milk, Yuengling, Gatorade, etc.), desserts (Poptarts, ice cream, etc.) and foods (Big Mac, ramen, etc.). Gator would definitely know the whole list. When we did have the movie night, we opted for just a Costco pizza and some Yuenglings.

All in all, it truly was an indescribable experience that I’ll never forget. And to spend it all with my Dad made it that much more memorable. I couldn’t have asked for a better hiking partner and I am SO proud to have Gator as my Dad. I will also be forever impressed that a 60/61-year-old kept up with a 28-year-old and finished the AT in 119 days. Although we complained about absolutely everything and wanted to be off trail since day 1, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Post Trail Follow Up:

We made good on our promise to have a “Walk In The Woods” movie night on Wednesday, August 17th. The only exception to our plan was eating a COSTCO pizza , and a few other snacks, in lieu of our original list of favorite trail foods. Watching it together was so much more enjoyable, especially after we hiked the trail. We certainly recognized and appreciated a number of the sights, landmarks and character types that we experienced on trail.

As for Gator, the reason for him feeling grossly under the weather during the last four days on trail was because he contacted COVID. But even that didn’t stop him from finishing the last 75 or so miles of the AT. Unfortunately, he successfully passed the virus on to Teresa (likely on the ride home from Maine) who subsequently tested positive a few days later.