The clouds parted for long enough to reveal Katahdin’s summit to me for the first time today. It was highlighted by a double rainbow brighter than any clothing I’ve worn in the past five months. Not to go off on a tangent here, but I have worn the same grey shorts and beige shirt every day on trail for the past 150 days. Let’s just say the rainbow was incredible. Rockhound, Chestnut, MoonPie and I sat and stared, occasionally breaking our reverie to take some pictures for a whole hour. When we got to Rainbow Ledges, the top of the mountain was covered in clouds and the rainbow was at its brightest. As we watched, the clouds blew off to the east and the rainbow faded as the summit of Katahdin was revealed.

The blueberries on Rainbow Ledges were another high point of the day. I’m still finishing my quart of berries as I write my journal in my tent. We passed beautiful rivers & lakes, a gorge and plenty of great trail today—but nothing compares to the mountain. It dwarfs everything around it. Even the great conversations I’ve been having with Chestnut sputters to a halt when Katahdin comes into view. I don’t know how to describe the impact of walking to a destination for 5 months and finally having it in view!

We walked through much of the afternoon with thunder crackling and a storm is again lightly passing through right now. At this point I’m beyond caring whether I’m wet or dry, however. A few miles more of the 100-mile wilderness, 10-15 miles of walking through Baxter State Park and I’ll be at the thru-hiker-only campsite called the Birches. I’ll meet Heather early in the morning and make the final climb, weather permitting. One more day of this trip before the whole adventure turns into a day-hike. It feels good. The trip’s in the bag and all the hard work, both emotional and physical, is behind me.

The company’s been awesome—these guy’s have enjoyed and suffered the same experiences I have during the trip. We’re shared so much! I’m just hoping Hoplite can join us for the final ascent ‘cause the weather’s looking good and we’re set to finish in just 2 days!