I got a late night phone call from one of my best trail mates the other night. We couldn't believe that it had already been a little over a month since we had finished. We talked a lot about post trail life and how it feels like we were just waking up from some fantastical dream. It has been undeniably a huge adjustment from waking up surrounded by an expansive forest to being enclosed in by four gypsum board walls. A day hasn't gone by this past month that I haven't thought back on trail life. Even the smallest of events that you never thought you would remember suddenly come vividly rushing back to you at random. They remind me that it all wasn't just a dream. It was something that we lived, and something that we should continue living.

Every night before everyone headed into their sleeping bags, my hiking partners and I would all get together and do what we called Highs and Hopes. We would all go around in a circle and tell each other our high moment of the day and our hope for tomorrow. We were known as Team Highs and Hopes on the trail. The High responses always varied greatly from just hiking that day to having some life altering moment on trail. The Hope responses are always really what intrigued me though. It seemed as if the hopes always came to fruition, I would say about 85% of the time. Even when the next day had a 100% chance of rain in the forecast, something that we have no control over. Somebody would hope for no rain, and just like that we would just have an overcast day with no rain. Our last night in the 100 Mile Wilderness, Trail Mom had hoped that we all see a moose together, and then the next day a moose and her calf where right there on the trail with us.  Other times it would be a hope for something that we had control over like a cold drink or to put extra miles in to get to an amazing campsite, and we would all go out of our ways to make that hope come true.

If you want something to happen badly enough it will happen. It may not happen when you want it to happen, but it will most certainly happen when you need it to. You just have to keep the positive energy flowing and keep walking in the direction that want to go.

The best advice I can give anyone trying to plan a thru hike is don't. Make sure you have the proper gear and mental mindset and just go. If you have to be done by a certain time that is fine, but don't try to micro manage by telling yourself you will be at point "A" on such-and-such day; because, something will always happen and plans will change. The best concept for me to grasp was not to have plans, but ideas. If you set a plan, you will feel like you have to stick to that plan and not deviate from it. Ideas though are fluid and change all the time. They can grow into something completely different from their original intention. It leaves you open to chance and spontaneous opportunities. Instead of saying "No, sorry, I have to be somewhere" you are able to say "Sure! I'll come to your wonderful lake house in Maryland for a night!" The best experiences that I had on the trail would not have happened if I had stuck to a schedule that I had planned out for myself. 

Whenever I am asked what the best part of the trail was, I always have the same response: the people. Even after all of the incredible sights and experiences that I had, they were all elevated in their pure awesomeness by the people that surrounded me. It wasn't just the other hikers either. It was all of the Trail Angel's that took the precious time out of their lives to help you for no reason but to just help. It was the local that would stop you in town just to see how you were doing and to live vicariously through you. It was the people back home that were rooting for me. Everyone that I encountered on and off the trail were so gracious and tried to help out if they could. It absolutely reaffirmed in me that people are inherently good. It's a shame that a majority of what we see on the news these days is about war and violence. 

Seriously, why do we do this to ourselves? Before the trail, the majority of my stress would stem from some future event that I was working towards. I remember leading up to the event (no matter what it was) I would be conjuring up different scenarios of how it may go and what could go wrong. The problem is, the way in which you may think something may turn out never turns out the way that you thought it would. So why waste the energy stressing about what could possibly happen? Instead just use that energy into enjoying the process that gets you to the event. The trail has doubtlessly taught me to just enjoy the present moment; because, truly, it is the only moment that you actually live in.

My feet still hurt. So, that must mean that all of this actually did happen right!? It wasn't just some dream that I am waking up from? Great, it's good to know I haven't gone completely bonkers yet. In all seriousness, I feel like I have lived more in the past 6 months than I have in an entire lifetime. It is good to know that the experiences and people that I met along the way will have an everlasting impression on my life. The Appalachian Trail experience is something that I will be able to grow with and continue onto the next adventure, even if it isn't on a trail. By undertaking such an incredible journey, it is a comforting feeling to know that absolutely nothing is impossible. The famous white blaze of the Appalachian Trail can be whatever you want it to be.

Waking up that morning was like a 5 year old waking up on Christmas morning. It was still around 4:30 in the morning as we stirred and got ready for our last day on trail. It was really interesting to see everyone go through their last morning trail ritual. Cyclops with his morning cigarette, Squeeze made his morning coffee and hot breakfast, Trail Mom always seemed to be all the way packed before she even got out of her tent, and Easy-Go sat and watched it all unfold from his tent, but still always managed to be the first one ready. The mixed emotions hung thick in the air. After everything was packed up, we stopped by the ranger station to drop off our backpacks. The park rangers  recommended that we take day packs that they provided to the summit. After we grabbed our handy new and light packs we set out for the trail head and signed the hiker registration board.

This climb was a lot like the first; except, a little sketchier considering that to either side of you it dropped straight down the mountain. We slowly made our way up and over the boulders; eventually, making our way to the top where we entered The Tablelands. This area was a plateau, of sorts, before the final climb to the summit sign. The best way I can explain it is probably to liken it to the teaser trailer to the new Star Wars movie coming out (x1000). We could see our final destination point. The summit sign was just a speck on top, and we could see a few people moving around. However, we still had about another mile to go before we could get there.

We decided to hiker-train our last ascent. From what we could see we would be some of the first thru-hikers up that day. Every now and then we would just stop and just look at the sign as it grew closer and closer. We were ready to reach our final goal, but at the same time we wanted to keep the adventure going.  100 feet left, 50 feet, 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet... the anticipation and emotions flooded the group. Easy-Go, Squeeze, and Cyclops were the first ones to reach the sign. Yells of excitement and tears of pure joy erupted. I waited for a day hiker to finish taking their picture before approaching the sign. When they were finished, I approached the sign and collapsed on top of it and kissed it. All the years of dreaming and planning finally culminated into this one moment. A moment of pure ecstasy and accomplishment. The realization of anything in this world is obtainable if you want it badly enough, and that happiness isn't derived from material things. It comes from within and the interactions that you have with the people around you. You can travel through this world with nothing but what is on your back, and still be the richest person in the world. What I had first imagined as just a walk through nature up the east coast had evolved into so much more than I could possibly have previously conceived.

The Bigelows were the last "big" mountain range that we had to conquer before we would reach Katahdin. At least that is what we were told. After our evening in Stratton we set out back to the trail, passed an old 2000 mile marker, and then headed up the mountain to see its many peaks. The first peak we hit had an absolutely stunning view of a Horns Pond with Bigelow Mountain West Peak in the background. From there we hiked down to this very same pond to find a small makeshift barricade of twine and sticks blocking off a very rare carnivorous plant. The thing was so tiny I am not exactly sure how it could of possibly ate anything.
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After a lunch break at the pond we ascended to the highest peaks of Bigelow Mountain. We really lucked out with the weather in Maine and had incredible 360 views from the peaks. Nothing but lakes, mountains, and green as far as you could see. A small plaque on Avery Peak paid tribute to Mr. Myron Avery. Without him, the Appalachian Trail would not have been possible. Thank you Mr. Avery!

We camped for the night at the base of Avery Peak. The following morning we went up and over Little Bigelow Mountain and hit some amazing Trail Magic at East Flagstaff Road. Fig, a guy in his 70s who just completed his fourth thru hike, was there with some fellow Mainers handing out burgers and all sorts of goodies; including, a delicious cake of the Appalachian Trail. We hadn't seen Fig since Virginia so we sat there for a while and picked his brain on the trail to come.

From the river, we walked up the trail which brought us into the town of Caratunk. We hitched a ride to the Northern Outdoor Center and got a free shower, some food, and a much needed beer.  We then hitched another ride down to The Sterling Inn for a resupply and then headed back to the trail head to camp. 

From Caratunk the trail leveled out a bit, big mountains were replaced by slippery rocks and roots, river fords, and my favorite, mud pits. We stopped at Pleasant Pond for lunch and the water was perfectly clear so I went swimming. Later in the day, I spotted an otter swimming around in a small pond. He had no idea that I was there; so, I sat and watched him for about 15 minutes before Trail Mom walked up. We all found a campsite not too far from the otter pond and set up camp. The next day we had our first couple of real fords (no canoes provided). I was able to rock hop the first one, but Cyclops took a spill and got soaked. The river we had to ford afterwards offered no rocks to hop across so we waded through with the help of a strung up rope. The shaky rope seemed to keep me off balance though so I just shuffled over the slick rocks with my trekking poles as support.

The next day, we hiked into Monson, ME and stayed at The Shaws (which is a must stay). The place was very comfortable and the other hikers there were great company. Famous trail angel/8 time thru-hiker "Baltimore Jack" was also there to share some of his hilarious trail stories. From Monson we would be trekking through the 100 Mile Wilderness which can take anywhere from 4-10 days, and crosses only private logging roads. The Shaws offers a food drop for the 100 Mile Wilderness so we spent most of our zero day figuring out logistics and setting up our resupply. The 100 Mile Wilderness would be our last stretch before Mount Katahdin. Everyone was starting to have mixed feelings because the end was so near. This grand adventure that we were on was coming to a close, but we wanted it to keep going.

The next day we tackled our last mountain range up and over Gulf Hagas, Hay, and White Cap Mountain. I woke up early in hopes to see my first moose, and was the first one out of camp. As I was hiking along the trail I saw something through the brush. A moose, I thought! Then it started barreling towards me at an alarming speed. When it reached the edge of the trail about 10 feet from me I finally was able to see what was actually charging me. Turns out it was a black bear and not a moose! After some frantic expletives, the bear decided that it didn't want to mess with a smelly hiker and then sauntered off back into the woods. I made my way another mile or so to the shelter, looking back every so often to make sure the bear hadn't changed his mind. After I calmed down and wrote in the shelter log I continued along the trail.

When I reached the top of White Cap I noticed a small painted "K" on the ground with an arrow pointing out into the distance. Our first view of Katahdin! It was absolutely surreal to finally see the physical thing. All this time it had just been some far off goal that we were trying to reach, and now it was an actual tangible thing. It was pretty emotional to finally see it, and to think back about what it had taken to even get to this spot. I sat there and stared at the mountain while I ate lunch and waited for the others for a good three hours.

The next day we picked up our resupply box that The Shaws Hostel dropped off for us on one of the private logging roads. They even through in some Ben & Jerry's ice cream for us. Nothing better than some ice cream in the woods. After the sugar fest, we meandered over to Crawford Pond to relax and go for a swim. From here on out the trail really leveled out and most of the rocks and roots disappeared. It was really just auto-pilot mode hiking. It was nice to not have to look at your feet the entire time and be able to enjoy the scenery around you. We stopped at Antler's Campsite for the night which was situated on a peninsula that jutted out into a lake. Definitely one of my favorite campsites. The following day, the trail meandered along old logging roads and brought us along the shores of Rainbow Lake and countless ponds and streams.. It was like the Appalachian Trail was rolling out the red carpet for us as we made our way to Katahdin.

The the trail exits 100 Mile Wilderness right at Abol Bridge. There is a camp store and another stunning view of Katahdin. We had some breakfast sandwiches before we pressed on our last 5 miles to the base of Katahdin. When we entered Baxter State Park, a forest ranger radioed ahead to the campground for us and reserved us a campsite. There has been a lot of talk about thru-hikers, Baxter State Park, and the park officials wanting to move the terminus away from Katahdin because of rowdy hikers. My personal experience within the park was phenomenal. The rangers were some of the nicest people I met along the trail, and one of them even told Trail Mom and I stories of Pamola (the fabled spirit of Katahdin). When we reached our camp spot, we checked in at the ranger station for our official thru-hiker finishing number. I would be the 703rd thru-hiker to come through that year. We setup camp and enjoyed a beautiful sunset that lit up Katahdin. I started our last fire and we did our last session of Highs and Hopes before heading off to sleep for our last day on trail.

They say that when you get to the White Mountains you have done 80% of the trail, but only about 20% of the work. Let me tell you, they definitely were not joking around, and it doesn't get any easier in southern Maine. Navigating through boulder fields and near vertical slabs of rock, your body is pushed to its absolute limits both physically and mentally. It is all worth it though, the phenomenal views, wildlife, and challenging trail made Maine my absolute favorite state along the trail, and for that it deserves to be broken up into parts.

From Goose Eye Mountain, we hiked down into the Mahoosuc Notch. The notch is noted in my guide book as either the most fun or difficult mile on the entire Appalachian Trail. For me, it was a blast. The Notch is a ravine piled high with giant boulders, and you somehow have to get from one side of the ravine to the other. Over, under, sideways, longways, pack on, pack off, on knees, or awkwardly suspended in the air. Whatever works to get to the opposite side of the ravine. For me, it felt like a giant adult jungle gym. In all, it took me about an hour to find my way to the other side. Immediately following the boulder scramble, in true Appalachian Trail fashion, the trail shoots you 1600' straight up the Mahoosuc Arm. (As if you weren't already tired from using muscles you didn't even know existed.) At parts, the Arm felt like a vertical Mahoosuc Notch followed by some seemingly vertical rock slabs. I am so happy that we didn't have to attempt this in the rain.

This section of Maine was a nice relief from the Mahoosuc Range. It still had its challenging climbs, but it was a huge relief to not be completely worn out at the end of the day.

Between Andover and Rangeley we hit the most unexpected trail magic that I have ever a received. A German couple who had just finished up their thru hike were posted up at a dirt logging road seemingly in the middle of nowhere. They had Gatorade, chips, fruit, doughnuts (Trail mom was super happy about this one), and sodas. It was truly trail magic. From there we continued on to a nice sandy beach at Sabbath Day Pond. The water was crystal clear and naturally we had to stop and relax for a bit. The following morning we hitched into Rangeley for a resupply and food. I ended up mailing extra food to myself from Rangeley to Monson in order to help out with the 100 Mile Wilderness. The following day we decided to go back into town for breakfast and stay for Rangeley's trail days festival. Also it was opening weekend for college football!

With only a few more big mountain ranges to traverse before "Mama K" our spirits were pretty high coming out of Rangeley. The locals told us that the mountains that were coming up were some of the most beautiful in the state, and they weren't lying. 

From Rangeley we started our way up Saddleback Mountain. Along the way we stopped at Piazza Rock Lean-to which had some caves that we explored and a double seated privy with a cribbage board in the middle! Squeeze really wanted a few pictures of this for his Christmas card, so naturally I offered to help him out with it. Hey, it's the Appalachian Trail, social norms went out the window a long time ago. From there we hiked a few more miles to Eddy Pond for lunch. We somehow fit 5 of us into a small row boat that was left on the bank. After lunch we decided that we should probably actually start our day up Saddleback Mountain. The views were absolutely stellar, and I ran into Drop Bear from Australia who I had not seen in quite awhile. After Saddleback, we went down and then up The Horn, and then down again and up Saddleback Junior. It was a tough but rewarding day of climbs and descents. My knees were definitely feeling it.

The following day we went over Lone and Sugarloaf Mountain. Our guidebook said that we were supposed to be fording a river, but luckily the water wasn't near high enough and we made it across without getting wet. On our way into Stratton, ME we crossed the 2000 mile marker. Still can't believe that my feet have taken me this far!