Maine has been blessed with plentiful lakes. Although I’ve never dipped my toes and taken a swim they’re enticing in their serenity.The glass-like surface caught my eye as I hiked by this picturesque lake.As the title of this post says… I completed my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail on September 8, 2019 at 10:35 AM when I summited Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine. I hiked from Georgia to Maine in 148 days starting on April 14th for an average of about 15 miles per day. The adventure is not reaching this goal instead it is the journey itself. And boy it was quite a hard journey. Steep climbs, massive descents, roots, rocks and mud to the last step. I have an deep appreciation for those who have gone before.Instead of going back down the ascent trail we asked the ranger for the easiest descent trail. I knew I did not want the height challenging Knife Edge. So I was told to take the Saddle trail. Well I got here and realized that I was going to descend a massive rock slide for over 1000 feet. For me this WAS NOT EASY. But I did it. It took me 2 hours to descend the rock slide and then I was expecting a smooth trail. Wrong again. It was one of the most rocky and rooty trails yet. By the time I got to my dear sweet daughter I was totally depleted both physically and emotionally.
At the entry to the Hundred Mile Wilderness another hiker took my picture. I’m carrying 7 days of food even though I hope to do it in 6 days.I wondered what these marble shaped dropping were from. One of the other hikers said MOOSE! Wow, I would never had known. So far I’ve not seen a moose. I’ve only seen these dropping all over the trail and around the shelters.
