I’m old. I know it. I also know there’s not a lot I know. At least I know that. One thing I do know for sure, though, is that our current sleep system is not warm enough for us in Maine. I even boiled a liter of water last night before I got in bed. Really, it is warm enough if a person can get in bed and stay in bed all night. I’m a 55 year old man (as of six days ago; maybe I just haven’t gotten used to the new age yet) and sleeping through the night is not an option. I think the only time in the last 239 days when I made it through the night without getting up to pee was when we were in New Jersey and I was severely dehydrated and heat exhausted (ahh, the good ole days). Maybe if I had a better sleeping pad (no, I’m not going to start bashing Big Agnes again), our quilts might be enough. Bottom line, I’m glad we’ve only got two more nights to go.
A cold night combined with an overcrowded campground causes people to sleep in. If everyone sleeps in rather than the usual staggered approach to getting up, an interesting phenomenon occurs. Something that, surprisingly enough, doesn’t happen that often on this 2190.9 mile trail. A line forms for the privy. I kept heading across the camp to grab my moment of silence only to find the crapper (thank you Thomas Crapper for your lovely invention) occupied. Being naive to bathroom lines, I would leave thinking I’d return when the current occupant was finished only to find someone else had beaten me to the (next) push. After falling for this trick 3 times, I decided to stake a claim and form a line. 20 minutes later I got my turn. No sooner had my pants met my ankles than Bunny shows up at the privy and starts complaining about how long I take to go. Her loud complaining combined with the knowledge of 3 more people behind me, killed the moment for me. I’d have to give up my warm seat (yes, there had been that much traffic) and try again later. We were the absolute last people to leave camp today.
To give an idea of how late we were leaving camp today, we met a sobo couple that had just finished the PCT and decided to come to Maine to hike the hundred mile wilderness to decide if they wanted to hike the AT next year. They started this morning hiking south from Abol Bridge. This is where we plan to stop today. They had already hiked 15 miles and we haven’t even gotten started.
Bear, Sassy, and GCN waited for us to catch up. We are all feeling excited about having the end in sight, but not overly hurried to be done. Once again, we had another great day of hiking with almost no elevation gain. It looks like all the normal climbing we have come to expect on the AT has been postponed for our final day. For now, just another level day walking lakeside in Maine and enjoying the fall colors reflecting off of the lakes. We are careful to not let Bunny lead. However, we do all take turns screaming “Oh my gawd! Isn’t this beautiful?” to let Bunny know how much we admire her enthusiasm.
The only climb of significance today is up Rainbow Ledges. When we got to the top, we found several hikers sitting in the sun not wanting their trail life to end, either. This was also the last chance for us to make a phone call to Baxter State Park to make campground reservations for tomorrow night. Once we had a campsite secured, I had to let Peter know the campsite number so he can camp with us tomorrow night. He stubbed his toe in their recent move and still hasn’t decided if he’s going to summit Katahdin with us in two days.
Once our business was completed, we decided to move on. Rainbow Ledges was nice and colorful, but we were disappointed that we couldn’t see Mount Katahdin because of the trees. That is, until we emerged onto some exposed rocks with a break in the trees. This was our third opportunity to see the end point of our journey. Today would be the perfect day to finish with clear skies and moderate temperatures. The weather report for tomorrow doesn’t look good, but our day looks a bit better. We’re hopeful for a nice day on Wednesday.
We’ve got less than 6 miles until we are out of the last hurdle, and it’s almost all easy downhill. We stopped at Hurd Brook Lean-to for a late lunch and we all started getting a little nostalgic. When we started the trail way back in February, we made note of all the “firsts” we were experiencing: the first stream, the first bridge, the first shelter, the first time we camped, the first time we dug a hole to poop, etc. Now we’re keeping track of our lasts. That was the last downhill we’ll have on the trail. This is the last lean-to we will eat in. This is the last packet of tuna I will ever eat, etc.
And then we were exiting the hundred mile wilderness. Just like that, the portion that is compared to Mirkwood Forest is now behind us. We survived the trolls, ferries, and giant spiders without incident. We passed the sign saying we were leaving and came on to a gravel road. Now we just have to cross the famous Abol Bridge before we enter Baxter.
Abol Bridge is a major landmark for thru-hikers. It’s just about over except for Baxter. I was expecting a magnificent, golden bridge comparable to crossing into the Emerald City of Oz. What I saw was pretty much a one lane bridge that was architecturally functional yet insignificant. Like all of our trails, the ending will probably be another let down. I’ll bet the marching band won’t even show up when we summit Wednesday.
I walked from the trees out on to the bridge and then realized this is not just an ordinary bridge. This is a bridge that doesn’t need architectural significance. This is a bridge with a full frontal of Katahdin. THIS, is the money shot blown over all our faces. We have arrived, but Katahdin has come.
A couple of guys in a pickup truck stopped and walked up to us. We started a conversation with them. I know it’s hard to believe Bear and I can come out of our shells and talk to random strangers, but, it happens. One of the guys is a chef, Rico, for the NPS at Acadia and the other guy with the truck is one of his suppliers. They decided to take advantage of an off day and drive out to Baxter. When they found out we were thru-hikers finishing up, they offered us beers. GCN and Bunny had run ahead to the store so I didn’t think of begging beers for them (an error of omission for which I will be paying for quite a while, I didn’t get my wife a beer when she doesn’t really drink that much).
Bunny and Chip were afraid the store might close soon and wanted to get some food if it was still available. The restaurant has already closed for the season and the store is about to follow suit but it’s still got snacks and drinks. We decide to buy a bunch of junk food for supper (plus a beer for Bunny since she didn’t get a free one, maybe a tall boy will get me back in good standing). As we were paying and asking about camping in the area because we weren’t sure where we were supposed to, the cashier told us the camping prices here and in the state campground down the road. As we were trying to decide where we were going to head to, she let slip “we also have little cabins for just about $8 a piece more.”
I don’t know much, as I stated before, but I do know our wives will gladly opt for the cabins and I’d be relieved for any addition warmth or protection. We got a 6 person cabin for the 5 of us. She even one upped it and gave us the one closest to the shower house with hot showers and flushing toilets. Nirvana!
Our next to last night on trail turned out to be a bit nicer than expected. We headed to our cabin but missed the sign that said not to cook in them until after we’d all made supper. As a bonus, I got 2/3 of a tall boy. We could splurge and eat as much food as our stomachs would hold because the store will be open at 7 allowing us to get coffee and more junk for the road. Tie my face to a hog and roll me in the mud, life is good at the end of the trail.
EFG