Monday, still Class IV, can't climb. And now the campground is closing and we have to move to Millinocket, the closest town. Get a room at the motel.
Wednesday dawns...no that's right, we're up before dawn. We have to get to the gate to Baxter State Park by 6 a.m. so that we can get into the park. They only
let a limited number of cars in and we don't want to be shut out. Nutella, Sir Privy Winks, and Luna are getting a ride out with us. These are hikers I met during my hike and I'm excited to be summiting with them. Bluebearee, a ridge runner, and the ranger are there at the campground to
greet us. And off we go!
The first mile or so are a slow climb in the woods, past a waterfall, over some boulders. Then the boulders become more prominent and larger. And larger! And pretty soon we're having to really scramble our way up, sometimes grabbing metal bars in the rock to hoist ourselves up...and
up...and up.
INCREDIBLE!

And up and up and up. A hard climb for Dana and Dennis, as I can only imagine. (I had had 7 months of conditioning.) And then I see the "sign". The thing I walked 2,175 miles to touch. Dana was hiking in front of me. Dennis was behind trying to video and hike...(not an easy thing to do). And Dana stepped aside and said, "The moment is yours, Bag Lady!"
And on I pushed, up and up.
And then I was there!
At that old, faded maroon saw-horse shaped sign that has printed in washed-out white letters, " Katahdin, Northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, a mountain footpath extending from Georgia to Maine."
And the emotions are unlike anything I've ever known. Intense happiness, joy, tears, sobbing, disbelief, wonderment, undefined.
I did it! I said I would!
Step Lightly,
Bag Lady