Day 190
Start: Sand Beach, Lower Jo-Mary Lake
End: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles Hiked: 20.0
Miles on AT: 2167.3
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I only had 3 more nights left on the AT! This morning I awoke to the sky on fire and then promptly fell back asleep. The sunrise spread a dark, burning orange throughout the sky and I was just lucid enough to catch a glimpse of it from my tent before I decided it was too early to wake up. By the time I regained consciousness, the sky was back to a bright blue and the sun was fully up. It was 8:30 am already!
I didn’t have the longest day ahead of me, but it was still a shock to have gotten such a late start. The trail ahead of me was mostly flat today with only one big climb. I could handle that! The day was quiet; no rain, a few clouds, and some were all that followed me. Unlike yesterday, I didn’t run into anyone while I was hiking. The trail felt like a different place with no one around me.
As I hiked, I listened to podcast after podcast. With no hard climbs, there was very little to concentrate on. But, I did spot a cool set of twin privies, one of which even had a cute little curtained window! Just after that, I got another awesome sight of Katahdin. There she was, shrouded in clouds, looking as mysterious as ever. Before I knew it, I would be up there, too.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. The climb for today was a little challenging just because I had been out on trail for so long and felt so depleted. Despite being so physically strong, the constant strain of tough hiking everyday was taking a toll on me. I could get up the mountain, but it wasn’t a cake walk.
Soon, the sun was starting to set and the temperature lower. As I was approaching the shelter, a familiar smell wafted by me. Was that a campfire? As I got closer, the smoky aroma intensified. I started getting excited. I was going to get a campfire tonight!
Sure enough, a group of at least 7 people sat huddled around the fire, making dinner and trading laughs. And you couldn’t guess who was there. SheRa, Tilly’s Mom, Tilly’s Mom’s mom, Halfpint, and a bunch more people; it was like coming home to a surprise party! I hadn’t seen Halfpint since New Hampshire and thought for sure she would have summited by now. Selfishly, I was glad that she hadn’t so that we had a chance to catch up before the end.
That night, I had a true AT spirit-filled campfire experience. We sat for hours, burning more wood and burning more time, trying to squeeze in every last second of the end of trail experience. I wanted to be responsible and go to bed at a reasonable time, but I was having way too much fun. After all, I had made it this far already, why rush? I even got to dry out my clothes by the fire, giving me another set of dry clothes just in case we got rained on in between now and summit day.
I think tonight was one of my favorite nights on trail. There was no longer a time crunch, no longer a question of whether or not I would make the miles to Katahdin. I just enjoyed the night and the company. A part of me wished I could’ve spent most of the trail with this spirit and light-hearted feeling, but guess I would have to bring that with me on my next thru hike.
Eventually, we let the fire die down and everyone started to turn in. I crawled in my tent smelling of campfire smoke and unforgettable memories.
And that’s day 190.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.