some thoughts on summiting Katahdin

[tiptoe]

My first AT section was in 2006. Last year I got to tree line on the Hunt Trail and decided to turn back because of time. To complete the AT, this year (July 15), I hiked up the Abol Trail, starting at 6 a.m., made my way over the boulders in a drizzle and reached the summit about midday. I stayed about an hour, enjoying the views when the mists parted, took photos, had lunch, and visited with the other celebrants. Then I descended via the Hunt Trail, again in a cold drizzle, and hitched a ride back to the Abol Campground.

I was certainly glad to reach the summit (at age 73), but I didn't experience the overwhelming joy and sense of conquest so evident in most thru-hiker photos. For me, this hike was more like the completion of a pilgrimage. I feel exceedingly fortunate to have had the physical ability, time, and wherewithal to undertake this journey and am grateful for all the good company and help along the way.

I'm curious to know if other hikers have had similar feelings at the completion of their thru or section hikes.

katahdin!.jpg

[Gambit McCrae]

Well done TipToe, Well done! I look forward to the weight of my goal being lifted, but I don't know that I will be overly exuberant atop of Big K but I will be proud

[perrymk]

Congratulations!

I completed a section hike of the Florida Trail this past February. I was glad but can't say I felt overwhelming emotions. Certainly no tears or jumping up and down. My finish may have been tempered with being a flip-flop style hike. I started and finished mid-trail. It could also be that I'm just not a very emotional person.

I can say I felt better about my finish in the months following. It's a certain satisfaction of completion, plus something I needed to feel like a 'real' hiker. I am not implying other hikers are anything less; this was just something I needed. Plus the realization that while I hope to thru-hike the AT when I retire in 2-3 years, there are some other life responsibilities that may (likely) prevent my attempt. I'm still planning though.

[illabelle]

Not quite finished with the AT yet, but we have done Katahdin. We stood in line for selfies and hung around for an hour or so until we were ready to leave. There was no jubilant leaping or fist-pumping. In a sense it was just another hill, a pretty big hill, a memorable hill, an iconic hill - but not our last hill.

When we've climbed the last hill on the AT, that last step will be like all the others before it. And then quite suddenly, it will all be over. All the effort, the time and energy invested, the mental and emotional focus - it's just suddenly done. I think that will feel strange. Maybe that's what the first day of retirement will feel like.

Anyway, a BIG CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your pilgrimage! I don't know if you have anyone to share your accomplishment with, but thanks for sharing here. Seems like WB should have a special celebration each time one of us completes the trail. Whether that last step is solemn or jubilant, it's a Step of Great Significance, a significance that every hiker here understands deeply.

[Berserker]

Another "almost done" guy here. I have about 262 miles of the trail left. I've actually been picturing what it's going to be like when I get to the top of Katahdin, and I guess I'll have to wait until I actually get there. I have saved the 100 mile wilderness and summiting Katahdin for my last section, which will be equivalent to a NOBO thru as I have done all sections NOBO.

My only experience finishing a trail thus far was the JMT, which mileage wise is a magnitude of 10x shorter. Nonetheless, I actually got a little emotional when I finished. I was out there for 20 days, and I encountered some tribulation in the form of a wild fire that had me in smoke (some really thick) for 6 days that caused many to drop out. I vividly remember the 2nd to last day approaching Guitar Lake across Big Horn Plateau. From there one can see the largest mountains of the Sierras dropping off, and I felt a bit of sadness. I guess it was just being out in the Sierras for the previous 18 days and thinking that those huge mountains went on forever only to find that they do end even though I logically knew it.

[The Kisco Kid]

Congratulations, tiptoe! I just finished my 28-year quest on Monday. I left at 6 a.m. and summited at 9:30 with the peak to myself. It was a grey, rainy day making for a very slick ascent and treacherous descent. Rain is a great motivator, so is finishing the trail.

I screamed for joy when I reached the summit and heard the group that just left holler back from somewhere in the clouds. I knelt down and said, "oh my god" to myself a dozen times. I started section hiking as an 11-year-old Boy Scout (hence the trail name The Kisco Kid--I started the trail as a kid from Mount Kisco, NY) so this journey has been with me for most of my life and I couldn't believe I finished it.


The wind and rain were whipping so I only stayed long enough at the top for another group to catch up so they could take my photo.

It's still fresh for me. Right now, it's a great sense of accomplishment and marks the end of a chapter. I have a wife and 11-month-old son, and soon a mortgage...it's a good time to complete the journey. Though yesterday on my first night home, I watched Lynne Wheldon's CDT movie Overexposed: My Strange Life on America's Toughest Trail. So, I won't be hanging up my boots.

As for the A.T., I am looking forward to experiencing the trail without having an agenda of making miles—more sightseeing, fishing, relaxing, and family walks. And hopefully some volunteering on a trail crew too.


And a big thanks to the Whiteblaze community for helping me along the way!

-The Kisco Kid


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[illabelle]

Congratulations to you, Kisco Kid! What an accomplishment!

[Dan Roper]

I'm envious of you folks who have finished or nearly so. I'm not sure I have enough free time to make it nor whether I'll commit to a concerted effort.

My boys and I began NB section hiking at Springer in 2007. As of last month, we've made it to Atkins, VA, or about 540 miles.

Given their jobs and college and the like, I think my boys are about to drop out, leaving me (at least for a few years) to hike solo. I enjoy solitude and hiking solo but I won't know if it's "worth it" until I actually make the 5-hour drive to Atkins to pick up where we left off. I may do that as soon as September. Even if I enjoy my time, I don't know if the longer and longer drives required to reach the left-off point will allow me enough time to complete the trail. I'm 57 and own my own business and have the typical family and other responsibilities that might make taking off for a week or two each year difficult or impossible.

At this point, I doubt I'll finish the trail, but I'm going to continue walking....and who knows what might happen?

[illabelle]

I'm envious of you folks who have finished or nearly so. I'm not sure I have enough free time to make it nor whether I'll commit to a concerted effort.

My boys and I began NB section hiking at Springer in 2007. As of last month, we've made it to Atkins, VA, or about 540 miles.

Given their jobs and college and the like, I think my boys are about to drop out, leaving me (at least for a few years) to hike solo. I enjoy solitude and hiking solo but I won't know if it's "worth it" until I actually make the 5-hour drive to Atkins to pick up where we left off. I may do that as soon as September. Even if I enjoy my time, I don't know if the longer and longer drives required to reach the left-off point will allow me enough time to complete the trail. I'm 57 and own my own business and have the typical family and other responsibilities that might make taking off for a week or two each year difficult or impossible.

At this point, I doubt I'll finish the trail, but I'm going to continue walking....and who knows what might happen?

My husband has a business as well, and yes, it's difficult to leave things in the hands of others while we go off into the hills. If you're able, I'd encourage flying after a certain point. For us, that point was MD/Penn. We can't take two weeks off, but we can do 8-9 days at a time. Better to spend most of that time hiking, instead of hours and hours driving. I hope you're able to work it out.

[Berserker]

My first AT section was in 2006. Last year I got to tree line on the Hunt Trail and decided to turn back because of time. To complete the AT, this year (July 15)

Oh yeah, I forgot to congratulate you on finishing. You were apparently on a very similar schedule to mine as far as number of years. I started in 2007, and if all goes will should finish next year (2019).

[HooKooDooKu]

I was certainly glad to reach the summit (at age 73), but I didn't experience the overwhelming joy and sense of conquest so evident in most thru-hiker photos...
I'm curious to know if other hikers have had similar feelings at the completion of their thru or section hikes.

Congratulations on your accomplishment!!!

I wonder to what extent it might be a difference in how much effort you recently had to make to complete the task.

In 2016, I completed a thru hike of the JMT. When I reached the summit of Mt. Whitney, I was overcome to tears with emotion.

By contrast, when I joined the 900 Miler Club in 2017, I felt a great sense of accomplishment, but didn't get giddy, excited, or very emotional about it at all.

Now for those that might not know, the 900 Miler Club is for people who have hiked all the trails listed on the official back country map for GSMNP (and requires well over 1,000 trails miles of hiking to accomplish). It's a far greater accomplishment than hiking the JMT (which again, for those that don't know, the JMT goes from Yosemite NP to Mt. Whitney and is about equivalent to thru hiking the AT from Springer Mtn to GSMNP).

But the difference was the recent commitments I had made in accomplishing these tasks.

In the case of the JMT, I had spent a full year loosing weight (50lbs) and training by walking around my neighborhood a few miles almost every single day for that year. So by the time I reached Mt. Whitney, it was the end of a task that I had been steadily working on for over 12 months PLUS hiking for 17 days strait (prior to JMT, never camped more than 2 nights in a row).

On the surface, joining the 900 Miler Club is a much larger accomplishment, and I had worked on it for over 20 years... but that had not been 20 years continuously. It was a weekend trip here, a weekend trip there... The idea of actually accomplishing the task didn't come into focus until I realized last year that only 12 more trips to GSMNP would allow me to complete the task. And when the end finally came, it was at the end of yet another typical weekend trip to GSMNP.

So in a sense, my work to thru hike the JMT was like an AT thru hiker doing going from GA to MA in one season and becomes overwhelmed upon reaching the summit of Katahdin... but joining the 900 Miler Club was like summiting Katahdin after a decade of being a sectional hiker.

[tiptoe]

And congrats to all who have finished or will soon finish.

I should add, too, that the Whiteblaze community has been very supportive over the years, especially with up-to-date info on logistics.

Illabelle, I have shared this "triumph" with my extended family. Most are joyful, most appropriately joyful, some relieved that I didn't get crushed by a falling tree, eaten by a bear, fall off a cliff, or get attacked by a psychopath.

And no, I'm not hanging up my trail runners just yet. Right now I'm really busy in my garden, but I hope to continue backpacking for a bit longer as long as my health holds out. The day after summiting, I met Pappy, an 87-year-old AT hiker. What an inspiration!

[stumpknocker]

Congratulations tiptoe on walking the trail and still going strong at 73!

Personally, I have mixed feelings about Katahdin.
Slowed down in 2002 when I realized that there was only about 700 or 800 miles of trail left until I reached Katahdin.
Summit day (9-18-2002) of Katahdin found me sitting there for about an hour before actually touching the sign.
The long walk I loved so much would be over when my hand touched the summit sign.
My life had been waking up and walking for the last six months and I liked that.
Had I known that my walking the trail was not over yet, I would have touched the sign, descended the mountain, hitched into Millinocket and gone to a restaurant to eat two or three dinners.

Katahdin is just another mountain if you keep walking long trails.

[evyck da fleet]

Congrats. For me it was about the journey not the finish. At some point I’d finish whether I had to come back to do it or thru it. And Near the end, probably when I booked the flight home while in Monson, I knew I’d finish in the year I started. As a result I had a bunch of I just hiked the AT moments 12-24 hours after I finished as opposed to the one emotional reaction of some hikers.

[Emerson Bigills]

Congratulations Tiptoe, don't undersell your accomplishment. Sounds like textbook perseverance to me.

Since you asked I will share my Katahdin moment. After 139 days of hiking, I left The Birches around 5:30 by myself and saw about 2 other thrus on the way up the Hunt trail. I reached Tableland by myself and had that last mile in bright sunny blue skies, 25 mph winds and probably 50 degree temps. It looked like Pamola Peak was actually the high point to me, so the sign on Baxter Peak kind of snuck up on me. It was just 9am, but my hike was over.

I was expecting a lot of emotion, but I was just elated and very proud. After about 5 minutes of euphoria, I realized there was no one on the top to take my picture and it was starting to get cold, since I had stopped moving. A slight sense of panic came over me as I thought how silly a summit selfie would look. Fortunately, a family of four came up another trail and was doing their summit sign photos as I huddle nearby behind a boulder. I asked the father if he would take mine. He asked if I was a thru hiker and I could finally answer yes. He started yelling to his kids and I really appreciated the respect he showed for the accomplishment. Needless to say I cherish the pics he took.

I passed a couple other thrus as I came back across Tableland and could see the look, the good look, in their eyes. I went down the Abol trail, but was actually floating on air. The Rangers had carried my backpack from the KSC ranger station to Abol Campground for me. When I dropped off the loaner day pack and walked out to the gravel road to hitch into Millinocket, I was probably the happiest I have ever been in my life. I had accomplished the goal and was heading home. Nothing meant more to me at that moment.

[soilman]

I did back to back summits last Friday and Saturday. This was the 4th and 5th time I have climbed Katahdin. For me the most emotional time summiting was at the end of my thru hike. The other 4 times were just ho-hum. I was asked on Saturday if I wanted my picture taken. I said no, I already had done that.

[Christoph]

Aint gonna lie.... I cried like a baby when I finished last year. Got it all on camera too (and Youtube). Toughest thing I've ever done for sure. Everyone's different, different emotions. Took me 133 days and finished with a good friend named Shepherd (Google or Youtube "bikehikesafari") You can see it here towards the end... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihfME15xuIQ&t=34s
I gotta say, at 73 (or any age for that matter) that's awesome! I was scared *****l3ss climbing Katahdin (I've got positional vertigo). Haha Anyway, that was my feeling/reaction.

[Lnj]

IMO and very limited experience, the emotional reaction tied to a big finish is in direct relation to the amount of blood, sweat and tears went into it. Like how hard was it? If it was the hardest thing you've ever done, then crossing that finish line would certainly overwhelm you. If you had grown well acclimated to the lifestyle and had grown comfortable then finishing the trail might be only slightly saddening or a bit nostalgic at the most. I finished a very short hike over a weekend, but at that time, it was the hardest thing I had done and I sobbed when I saw our truck at the end. But that's just my opinion.

[tiptoe]

...the emotional reaction tied to a big finish is in direct relation to the amount of blood, sweat and tears went into it. Like how hard was it? If it was the hardest thing you've ever done, then crossing that finish line would certainly overwhelm you. If you had grown well acclimated to the lifestyle and had grown comfortable then finishing the trail might be only slightly saddening or a bit nostalgic at the most.

Lnj, I think you nailed it.

For me, section hiking was a bit of a scramble at first and became increasingly enjoyable as my skill level increased (I had no idea what I was doing, really, at the start). More and more, I looked forward to my hikes as a respite from the work world (when I had a job) and a chance to experience the natural world as a creature, not all that different from the many creatures I encountered. My trips lacked the intensity and duration of a typical thru-hike (longest section was 500 miles), and for me, the "great achievement" aspect held little appeal.

[Zed]

I sobbed when I finished my first thru hike on the Ouachita Trail. Probably because I had a failed attempt a few years before, it was such a relief to complete it.

5 months later I completed the Colorado Trail. No sadness, but proud of the accomplishment.

On the AT, I spent many days picturing the finish, thinking about how it might feel. It was 1 year after finishing the CT that I got to the sign on Katahdin and I really didn't feel anything, maybe relief that I had finished without injury and would see my wife soon. But it was just another mountain on my long walk. I got my picture and headed down quickly. Poor weather might have had something to do with it.

Now almost a year later, I get quite nostalgic and sometimes misty eyed thinking back to the summit of Katahdin. It's hard to predict how you'll feel, and I don't think there is a right or wrong way. It is what it is.