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Day 154 – This is Where I Leave You
The day I have been working and looking forward to, as well as dreading, has finally arrived. Today I summit Mount Katahdin and complete my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, ending this chapter of my life. As Shooter has been known to say, “Who’s got it better than us?”
Nobody!!!
Although he has also been known to say it when we’ve been in miserable situations to lighten the mood as well… Regardless, it has been a bit of a rallying call for The Board the past couple months.
One Last Time
We got an early start to the day as we wanted to ensure we had plenty of time to get up and down Katahdin before our pick up at 3pm. Not to mention the palpable nervous excitement that was running through The Birches. I was actually the last one to leave the camp at 6:30am. Although I caught up to everyone at the Ranger Station as I was already packed for the day and the rest still needed to sort their things into what they were leaving behind vs taking up Katahdin. By 7am our trio was all sorted and hiking up the trail, ready to tackle the climb up to the summit.
The trail began quite easy, relatively flat and easy tread for the first mile. It slowly started to increase in grade and difficulty, become more rocky over the next mile until it was a steep, rocky climb. This next phase of rocky, steep ascent continued on past Katahdin Stream Falls, a beautiful waterfall that unfortunately you couldn’t get the best view of from trail.
After the waterfall the trail continued in the same manner up to O Joy Brook, the last reliable water source per Ranger Pete’s briefing from last night. When we arrived at the brook however, it was dry where the icon on Farout said it was. While disappointing, we had enough water to make it down and up Katahdin, it just would have been nice to have a bit more. Fortunately as we continued up mountain, water began trickling down along the trail where we believe the brook ran as well, and I filtered an extra liter of water.
From there the rocky ascent turned into more scrambling and the difficulty increased while our pace decreased.
As we scrambled our way up, we slowly emerged out of the trees and out above treeline. This is where we really became inundated with views of the surrounding mountains and the valleys below. Here we were entering into our next phase of the climb, exposed scrambling that was bordering on rock climbing, at least according to my inexperienced climbing viewpoint.
This contained the hardest scrambling and climbing I’ve done on the entire trail, but it was quite a bit of fun too. Even if it was hard and slow work. Fortunately in several spots there were rebar hand/foot holds placed into the rock that helped immensely.
After an hour of this, we wrapped the final portion of scrambling (at least on the way up) and went up a final steep ridgeline that was spine like, before reaching the Gateway, which transitioned us to the flatish and rocky tablelands.
The spine like ridgeline
On the tablelands the hiking became much easier. It still required careful foot placement through the rocks but it was certainly easier and faster than the scrambling that proceeded it. Right before reaching the tablelands Patch and Lizard caught up to us and we continued on, the 5 of us, the rest of the way. It was nice to have them join us as we shared in the anticipation that built as we crossed the tablelands, seeing the summit in the distance. As we neared the last incline up to the summit, the sign came into view, causing a new ripple of excitement as we all pointed it out to each other.
I barely recall the final approach to the summit as I flew up the trail toward the sign and the final white blaze. But I do recall that as the distance ticked down to less than a hundred feet wondering how I felt. Would I cry when I reached the sign, which I suspected I would earlier in the trail? Would I feel triumphant? I wasn’t sure.
On Top of the World
As we approached, some day hikers at the top already started applauding and giving us congratulations. Slalom was already up there as well waiting for us too. As I was attempting to soak in this moment, my final steps slowed as Shooter and then Birdie reached the sign, touching it before opening room for me. I reached out with my right hand, letting my fingertips touch the sign before letting my palm make contact as if giving the sign a gentle hi five. And then I leaned in and planted a big ole smooch on it!
I then got off to the side to make way for Patch and Lizard, going over to congratulate my fellow board members with fist bumps. Right behind Patch and Lizard came Hobbit, another thru-hiker I had heard of much through mutual friends on trail but didn’t meet him until now. And that completed our thru-hiker crew that I summited Katahdin and completed the trail with. Shooter I met the first day I was on trail at Hidden Pond Hostel and was the person I hiked the most with. Patch and Lizard I met within the first 10 days in Franklin, NC and were part of the beer run night that Beer Run and I did right before the NOC but didn’t see them after that until Maine. Birdie I met at Harper’s Ferry and hiked the rest of the trail with, completing the trio of Board Members. Slalom I met right before the Presidentials at the trail magic my parents did. And finally Hobbit I met near the summit of Katahdin. The people make the trail and this was a pretty awesome group to share the finale with!
From there we all took turns taking each others pictures with the sign. What nobody tells you is the step to get up to stand on behind the sign is very high up and a real reach if you’re not really tall!
This was obviously a special moment for all of us, so the pictures took a bit to filter through. I don’t know if I mentioned this before but Shooter has been carrying a Kon Knueppel jersey the whole trail. Weighing in at over a pound, it was quite the weight penalty for never wearing it (he would take pictures with it everyday but never wear it). But at the summit he finally put it on! As someone who has taken many of his Knueppel pictures of the day, it was something special to see him put the jersey on for the first time, grinning ear to ear in triumph (Even if Kon Knueppel never won rookie of the year, which still grinds Shooter’s gears to this day).
We made sure to get a good picture of The Board with the sign.
As well as one with our whole summit group.
After the pictures we went off to the side and had some snacks, trying to enjoy and soak in the moment as much as possible. During this time several day hikers came over and congratulated us and asked us questions about our journeys.
Sitting at the top we noticed something really odd, there was no wind! It was very calm and none of us could think of a time we were on a higher peak and it was this calm. Even as the clouds rolled in as a precursor to the rain and storms coming in later tonight and tomorrow. I also reflected on how I was feeling. I wasn’t feeling overly emotional as I thought I might. Sure there was some excitement and pride, along with a drop of melancholy. But mainly I felt, tired. Physically tired and emotionally used up. I wouldn’t say the end was anticlimactic, because that just isn’t true. It’s a moment I will never forget. But, and I know this sounds cliche, if there was ever a time I understood and felt the meaning behind the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “Its not about the destination, it’s about the journey”, it was in this moment. The journey was everything. It was the destination.
And Just Like that, It’s Over
After 45 minutes at the summit, The Board decided we better get heading down for our 3pm pickup at the Katahdin Stream Ranger Station. Hobbit and Slalom ended up coming down with us as well. As we headed down onto the tablelands, I was surprised how much of the last mile I didn’t recall hiking just an hour earlier.
Most of this section of trail I knew I obviously hiked but it didn’t really look familiar, just showing how locked in I was on the summit. As we reached the trail intersection, we took a left to go down the Abol Trail and not return back down the Hunt Trail, the way we came up. We heard the Abol Trail was faster and thought it would be fun to do something different than what we did coming up. As we knew it would be, the first mile was extremely steep and scrambly, taking most of the time to get down Katahdin. My main thought through the technical part of the descent was to not fall and hurt myself. I made it this damn far, let’s get this final bit done uninjured. And I did!
A little bit after reaching the treeline, the trail eased up and the last couple miles cruised by.
Before long, we made it to the Abol Campground, where we then took the park gravel road back to Katahdin Stream Ranger Station, to the rest of our stuff and our pickup point. As we walked the road we shamelessly tried to hitch the 2 miles back and after a few vehicles and about 0.25 miles of walking, we got a taker! He unfortunately couldn’t fit all 5 of us, but could fit 4. Slalom offered to walk the rest and/or try for another hitch as his ride wasn’t coming until later in the afternoon. Which Birdie, Shooter, Hobbit, and I accepted gratefully and jumped in the car. The driver was a park employee and we were his first thru-hikers he picked up, which we thanked him profusely for doing!
Shortly later he dropped us off near the Ranger Station and we walked the final tenth of a mile back to it. Formally wrapping up my thru-hike and putting my long days of walking behind me.
30 minutes later our ride from the 100 Mile Wilderness Inn arrived, early even, and picked us up. Hobbit asked if he could tag along and get a bunk as well there, which he was able to do. The ride to Millinocket was close to an hour and before we even left the park I was already head bobbing and dozing off.
At the 100 Mile Wilderness Inn, we quickly settled into the bunk room and for one final time, with the efficiency gained over months of experience, did our final into town dance. Showers, blow up and organize our bags, laundry, etc. Before ordering some food and while we waited, walked down the street to a convenience store for some snacks and beverages. Back at the bunk room we spent the time notifying friends and family of our completion of the trail as we waited for our food to arrive. Which when it did, we tore through it like a pack of famished wild animals. It had been a long day and eating wasn’t on the top of mind most of it, so we were starving.
After eating we enjoyed some beers while finalizing our travel back to our respective destinations. Tomorrow would be the final day The Board of Directors would be together on this trip. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles style, we would take a shuttle to the neighoring town, to catch a bus to Bangor, where I got us a rental car to drive to Boston, where we would finally go our separate ways. With me catching a late flight back to Wisconsin, where my parents would pick me up.
On the bar at the Blue Ox Saloon
But before all that, we had one last evening together! Which we celebrated with Patch and Lizard at the Blue Ox Saloon in Millinocket. A fitting end to the trip, surrounded by some of the people who made the journey special. As well as popcorn and beers. Perhaps even a round of shots… But, ultimately as much as I think we all would have liked to revel in the company and that moment forever, we were all exhausted and did not have a late night in us. So we parted ways with Patch and Lizard and headed back to the bunk room for bed, tired but happy.
Thank you everyone for following along on this journey with me! I really appreciated all the kind words of support and encouragement for the past 5 months. Writing this daily blog was hard work and while I enjoyed doing it and regret nothing (except maybe not writing a Star Trek themed blog, but I never got around to it), there were many days that the last thing I wanted to be doing in my free time was working on it. But I’m glad to have committed and followed through. Knowing that people were following along often gave me that extra push of motivation when I needed it. So thank you for keeping me honest! What a journey we have been on! Godspeed to you all.
Oh, and for any of you long time readers. The top of Katahdin was my final best view of the trip. So one last time, drink.
Day 154 Stats:
5.3 miles (+ ~4 bonus miles)
4,170′ ascent, 10′ descent
The Birches Campsite to Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin
46 DSLC…
Times stove has been used: 14
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Comments 80
Congratulations Brock – a gold-star lifetime achievement. Thanks so much for sharing it with us, I’ll miss the daily updates. You have a very engaging writing style and it must have been a major effort to keep so up to date with your exploits. Safe travels and thanks again.
Thank you Hugh for following along! This certainly has been quite the adventure!
Congrats Brock! 🥳
Thanks Amber!
Congratulations to you and ” The Board ” Been great following your journey.
Thank you Tom. Appreciate you following along our journey!
Congratulations! I really have enjoyed your blog. Happy trails. Cheers, good luck!
Thanks Two Bites! Glad you enjoyed it!
Congrats! I’ve enjoyed following along with you every day. I’m not sure how to start my mornings now! We look forward to seeing you back in Austin and hearing even more about this adventure!
Thanks Stephanie, looking forward to catching up!
Congratulations Brock on completing this journey! It’s been fun following along and reading your blog updates 😊
Thanks Lisa, see you soon!
Congratulations! I have enjoyed reading about your adventures. Thank you for taking me along for the ride!
Thank you Allison for following along!
I’ve enjoyed following your journey. Thank you for sharing it, and congratulations!
Thanks Claire, glad you enjoyed it!
Congrats!!! I’ve enjoyed your blog so much and sincerely thank you for keeping up with it. I looked forward to the email notifying me of a new blog post every morning. What a journey, and what a great last post. YOU DID IT!!
Thanks Kate, appreciate you following along from the beginning!
Congrats!
Thanks Jakob!
Congrats to you and the board on your completion! Thank you for allowing the rest of us to live vicariously through your writing and experiences. Great Job! Thank you!!!
Thank you Michael and thanks for following along!
Hey Brock! Congratulations! You made yourself another life long memory. Thanks for the daily blogs. It made it feel more real. I got to “see” the trail through your eyes. The good and the not so good. Wherever your next adventure takes you I hope they have a lot of pizza!! Take care.
Thank you Uncle Silly! Hopefully not too much Pizza, I got to start cutting back now that I’m not hiking all day!
Way to go Dubs and the Board! Congratulations on this achievement! I’ve consumed your daily blog posts like you’ve consumed whole pizzas. I enjoyed reading about you and your group’s shenanigans. I bet you were a fun group to be around. Take care, and best of luck on your next adventure!
Misty, that’s awesome! I hope others thought we were fun too!
Congrats!
Thanks Paul!
Such an awesome write up! I know how challenging it is to try and keep up with a blog like this while doing the thing, so mad props on a) doing the thing and b) amusing all of us along the way! Hope you got that pizza counter up to at least 25 and I look forward to reading about your PCT adventures if you take us along when that challenge eventually comes up. Well done Brock and the rest of The Board!
Thank you Tyler! I think I fell slightly short of 25 on the Pizza Counter but I was close! Appreciate you following along.
Hell yeah, bud. This has been my favorite blog and it’s been so exciting rooting for you and the board.
Congratulations! Thank you for taking the time to write, despite the obvious constraints.
Beetred, glad you enjoyed the blog! That’s awesome to hear and appreciate it!
Congratulations Brock! My husband and I met you when we were day hiking Grayson Highlands in April. We were passing out granola bars to hikers. We’ve been reading your blog and following along every day since then. We will miss your daily posts, but what an accomplishment for you! Best of luck to you on your next adventure!
Eileen! I remember it well! Thank you for the snacks, they were very appreciated!
Congratulations! Each year I read 2-3 Trek Bloggers and this year you were the only one left – which I’m happy about because your blogging and adventures were the best! In my opinion, you hike the hike with so much intention. You hiked big miles, took a zero when needed, had beer breaks with friends and never seemed to lose sight of the goal. Best of luck to you!
Acurt, thank you for the kind words and for following along! I certainly tried to experience as much as possible and have some fun along the way.
Congratulations Brock! Heck of an accomplishment. Thank you for your thorough documentation. As an aspiring AT through hiker you really brought the trail to life. As a fellow Wisconsinite, I appreciated your documenting of pizza and beer consumption! Revel in your success and welcome back to Wisco! Now to through hike the Ice Age Trail?
Thanks Matthew! I’m glad you enjoyed it and as a former aspiring AT thru-hiker, if you can make it work, do it!
As for the Ice Age Trail, that will probably remain a section/day hike trail for me, but I definitely intend to do the whole thing! I think I will be more apt to go for bigger sections now after my AT experience.
Congratulations on an outstanding feat! Thanks again for the wonderful pictures and descriptions. Maybe we can follow along on another adventure in the future?
Bop-It, thank you! Not sure what I got in the future for adventures but we’ll see!
Congratulations, PCT is a great follow up
Thanks Cosmo! While PCT does look really cool, I need a break right now!
Thanks for bringing us along, and congratulations!
FYI: Completing the three state challenge in Crocs was insane. I knew then that you’d push through to the end. Way to go!
Mark, thanks for following along! And yeah, I can be a bit stubborn…
Brock, it was fun to follow you, your stories were really great, as I get closer to retirement, I will be taking to the trails, and following in yours, and many others footsteps. rest easy- hope to meet you one day on the trails.
Joeditt
Joeditt, thank you and I hope to see you on the trail somewhere as well!
Congratulations Dubs and the Board!!!
I have followed you & your posts since the beginning and your blogging was simply the best one on theTrek bar none!
The “hardest” part of an unbelievable journey like thru-hiking the A.T. is when it’s all over and you have to go your separate ways with your “tramily.”
For the rest of your life the memories will always be there and it will be a blessing forever.
As the “Philosopher” of 1980 wrote about the A.T. – “ A life more worthwhile even the Gods could not dream of…”
And so it has come to be for you!!!
Happy trails
Sincerely,
Rippin Reils
A.T. 1980
A.T. 2021
Rippin Reils, thank you for the wisdom and kind words from an AT Alumni! It certainly is tough going our separate ways but hopefully we can get together from time to time. Maybe to provide some trail magic on the AT!
congrats! well done!
Congratulations on finishing your AT hike. Enjoyed your blog. David Odell AT71 PCT72 CDT77
Thank you David! The AT in 71 had to be quite the adventure!
Thanks Jeff!
Congratulations, Brock, on the huge accomplishment! I’ve enjoyed so much reading your posts each day. Thanks for taking us along on your journey!
Thank you Brian, glad you enjoyed it!
Congrats, Brock! What an accomplishment. Enjoyed reading your blog every day since the beginning. Thank you for taking us along!
Jozaki, thank you from following along from the start! Much appreciated!
Congratulations! I’ve really enjoyed following your journey and I appreciate the time you’ve put into these posts. I hope that you settle back in to post-trail life without too much trouble and that you’re able to stay in touch with some of the amazing people you met.
Anne, thanks! I certainly hope so as well, the people are the best part!
I cheered when I saw the picture at the top of today’s post! So happy for you. What an accomplishment! I’ve been following along since the beginning and it’s so great to see you meet your goal!!
Thank you Amy for following along from the beginning, that’s awesome to hear!
Thank you so much for the blog. What a great journey that I got to follow along with drinking my morning coffee on my sofa in Houston. You did an incredible job of keeping up with the blog and chronicling your trek with a positive and humorous outlook. Cheers!
Thank you Els, happy to be part of the morning routine! Appreciate it and glad you liked my humor!
Congratulations Dubs!!! And to The Board!!!
Your writing is amazing. You described each day so I could place my self in it. I love your honesty of the good and the not so good, the reality of the ups and downs. The stories with the pictures described, showed us, and took us on your wonderful adventure.
I’ve been following a few of you as you’ve been on your journey. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thanks Patricia! Thank you for following along and glad you liked it!
Thank you for taking us along with you and The Board. I have truly enjoyed the journey.
Congratulations!
Thank you Lisa, I’m glad you followed along and enjoyed it!
One last thought, your writing was so entertaining and so well descriptive I think you should print your blogs and make it into a book. You are a very talented writer.
That’s very kind Patricia, thank you. Writing a book would be really cool, we’ll see!
Huge congrats to you Dubs on your hike! What a journey! What an experience!
I’ve followed your hike from the beginning, as it reminded me in many ways of my own 2 years ago. Not least of which are our Wisconsin ties. The adjustment post-trail can be hard. If you’re interested in connecting as you settle back in, let me know. I’d be happy to meet up and compare stories over a beer.
Congrats again!
John Grogan
2024 NOBO
Trail name: Badger
Thank you John! Yeah, not looking forward to the post trail adjustment, currently staving it off by traveling for a bit before heading back to work. Appreciate the offer, I’ll let you know! Beers with fellow hikers are always fun!
Enjoy. Cheers to you!
Brock;
Congrats!! I have followed you since day one and have truly enjoyed your journey and watched the whole pizza ticker climb. Thank you for taking us along for the ride.
Sheila
Thank you Sheila for joining the ride! Glad you appreciated the pizza tracker like I did.
Congratulations! What a phenomenal accomplishment! Your sense of humor and engaging writing style made each post a daily pleasure since the very beginning of your AT adventure. Like every journey, I knew this would end, but I already miss virtually traveling along with you and your companions. Thank you for sharing this part of your life with all of us. If you ever decide to write a book about your travels and trails, I would love to read it! Best of luck with whatever comes next. Godspeed.
Thank you Lily! Glad to have had you following along from the beginning.
Following your journey has been such a fun ride these past few months! I loved this final recap and appreciated all the small details, like where along the trail you met each person you summited with, and the note about how tall the sign is (you’re right, it’s hard to climb up there, especially after nearly 2,200 miles on your legs!). I hope that you got out of this adventure what you needed to; the trail truly does provide in ways we never anticipate. I hope you’re able to settle back into the “real world”, but never lose touch with who you became on trail. Thanks again for bringing us readers along, you are a gifted storyteller and it’s been a treat to follow along. Happy trails, best of luck in your next adventure!
Thanks Magic, appreciate the kind words! I’m glad you also had similar thoughts on the sign! Happy trails.
Hell Yeah Dubs 😎 Welcome to the family brother ✌️❤️🧭
Thanks Brian, glad to be apart of it!
You should do a post with everything you wished you had known before hiking. Any changes to the gear you started with? Anytime that can help thru hikers like me that are starting out in April? Thanks a bunch!