KA TAH DIN

• I traveled 11.5 miles today with 4242 ft of ascent but only 5.4 miles and 4177 ft of ascent were officially on the AT. Today was my summit of Katahdin so only the hike up the mountain counted.
• I was stoked to climb the mountain last night and ended up going to bed early, around 7:30pm. Before I went to bed I met 2 Nobos, Shepard and Climber who stayed at my tent site with me. They were awesome and since they were finishing up the trail they left a bunch of extra food with me.
• I woke up at 3:30 this morning and left camp at 4:05 to do the 2 mile road walk back to the AT trail. I was psyched to do the climb since i knew the summit should be awesome and there was a famous mile stretch were you had to climb over steep boulders the whole time.
• The first 3ish miles were a pretty typical steep uphill climb through the woods. The miles breezed by as I was anticipating the upcoming boulder field beyond the tree line.
• The boulder field was crazier than I expected with lots of rock climbing on an exposed ridge. I did have an amazing 270 degree view will climbing which made the whole experience feel pretty epic.
• After the bould field there was a 1.5 mile climb through the “Tablelands”, a gentle and flat climb through the top plateau of Katahdin. I was grinning the entire last half mile before the sumbit
• I ended up submitting with a group of about 7 Nobos (Bird, Mountain Goat, Rex, Weary Soul, Goggles, Swallowtail, and another whos name I forget) who were just finishing the trail. It was awesome being apart of their ending. Katahdin had exceeded my expectations, the climb and the view had been amazing!
• the 5.4 mile hike down the mountain was brutal. Downhills destroy my legs and any thought I had of feeling fresh tomorrow after summitting disappearred as I finished the descent.
• After the hike, I shuttled 2.5 hours back Monsoon to spend the night at Shaw’s where I’ll be taking a zero, or rest day, tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to a shower, laundry, and some hot meals!

Peace!