To the end

Over the days following my big 24 Katahdin crept closer and closer into view. I had caught up with Holmes and Watson; Early Bear Lil Dipper and Wis-pee were still ahead.














[Me crushing Katahdin from the safe trail distance of 36.4 miles, atop Nesuntabunt Mountain, Sept. 19, 2009.]

I cowboy-camped on Sept. 19 on a pre-made bed of leaves at Rainbow Stream Campsite. With the moon in its new moon phase, the night sky glittered with stars. The fire crackled, and I could hear loons crying over Rainbow Lake which hit the shore about 100 yards away. It was time to contemplate being in the wild for more than three months.

It was also time to contemplate getting out of the woods. Baxter Peak on Mount Katahdin lay just 26.4 miles away, and there would be just one more night of camping.

There is no more beautiful state on the trail than Maine, and I hiked it during a fortunate spell of weather. Since I entered Maine on Aug. 26, I'd had only a couple hours of drizzle aside from the Tropical Storm Danny day. Every other day, the sky was blue and the birches stood out white along a dry trail.

I got the fire going again next morning at 6 a.m. in preparation for a 20 mile day. These days, I was starting off the morning with the equivalent of four cups of coffee in the form of Folgers singles [you steep them like tea bags].My pack weighed less and less each day, so it became easier to fly along the trail.

I got a couple more shots of Katahdin on the way to The Birches, the final campground on the AT northbound.














[Katahdin from 21 trail miles away on Rainbow Ledges, Sept. 20]

At Abol Bridge, the boundary between the 100-Mile Wilderness and Baxter State Park, the mountain really dominates the view.














[Mt. Katahdin from Abol Bridge, 14.5 trail miles away, Sept. 20].