We had a plan that would see us arrive at Baxter State Park early on August 6th and complete the 10 mile walk through the park to the foot of Katahdin. The wilderness is like funnel with a number of other thru-hikers all on a similar schedule, everone experiencing the bitter-sweet feeling of joy at the prospect of the imminent completion of the trail and a feeling of saddness and reflection as the end draws near.

The first day it took us about 9 hours to walk 15km. We were challenged by several mountains, difficult terrain and heavy packs. The next day we did 21 miles and that took almost 12 hours. From our map we knew that Day 3 was tough in the Morning with 4 peaks to ascend and descend and then the trail looked like it would be flat, you can't see the mud and roots on the map! We had just set up our tents when Scooby and Murphy's Law arrived at the shelter and came running over shouting Unhinged and Eveready. We hadn't seen them in a thousand miles and there they were. They had an urgent need to finish to attend a wedding and were doing crazy miles. It was so fun catching up while they ate a quick dinner and planned to push on for several more hours.

They next couple of days were easier but long because we covered big miles. We spent time reflecting on the five months on the trail, the five million steps we took and the nearly 2200mi/3550km we walked. The highs and the lows, what we had learned and how we would feel when it was over. It was sureal. Walking had become our way of life it is what we did all day for 144 of the 151 days of our adventure.

Our last night in our tents was at The Birches, a special camp site for thru-hikers. On Friday morning we pack up our things for the last time and set off on the 8 hour return hike to summit Mt Katahdin.