I can’t imagine today being any better. Snacks at the camp store at Abol Bridge, a swim at Rocky Rips, views of Katahdin throughout the sunny day and Heather and MoonPie’s parents waiting for Rockhound, Chestnut, MoonPie & me at the Birches!

What a wonderful surprise to find my fiancée waiting for me a day early! MoonPie’s parents laid out an incredible spread of steak, salad, bread, pie & watermelon, wine, beer, soda & more and we feasted for hours! The park’s gates close at 10pm, so Heather left our site at 9 and MoonPie’s parents shortly after that. At 10pm, we were hungry again so broke into the hot dogs we’d originally packed in for our dinner and roasted them and marshmallows over the fire. We hung out for a while watching the Perseids meteor shower before I crashed way past thru-hiker midnight (that’s about ½ hour after dark.)

Great trails all day! We watched an osprey hunt next to Abol Bridge while we hung out and ate ice cream and soda for breakfast. Our next break was at Rocky Rips where the river runs smooth and fast over carved bedrock. I stood in the river for a while, playing with the standing waves that formed around my legs as the water collided with them. It’s a cool sensation to stand in the middle of a river and have one leg totally dry because the other leg is diverting all the flow around it! Our last break of the day was at Daicey Pond where we had a beautiful view of Katahdin over lunch. I’m rested and ready for our summit in the morning. It’s 5.2 miles and 4,200 feet up and I’m ready to git ‘er done!

I’ll be the 84th northbound thru-hiker to complete the AT this year. I was #104 at the midpoint at Harper’s Ferry and the word on the trail is that 1,500 NOBOs started this year. That’s down a bit from the surge around 2000. It felt like the SOBO count was pretty low as well, but I don’t have a number.

I wish my brother could be with me tomorrow. It’s possible that the thru-hike was my idea, but I remember him selecting 2004 as the year that we were going to do it. After the torment I went through in New England, excruciatingly missing Heather and home, I know he made the right choice for himself back in Virginia, but I still wish he were here!

Bedtime. Let’s see if I can still sleep with the butterflies dancing in my stomach! I’ve been waking up around 5:30 for much of the trip but the last few days have been slipping towards 4:30. Anyone care to make a bet? I’m so excited!