It wasn’t the best night of sleep as my air mattress kept loosing air. I’ve got to check for leaks when I get to my next campsite. I so need good rest and sleeping on a deflated mattress just doesn’t help. The boys and I were up at 5:30am and on trail at 6:30am, just as planned.

Today was an easy day with little miles, little elevation and just a little bit of mud. Wedding Walker led the way through the first section of the trail. He has a nice pace that’s easy to follow. We meandered through more virgin forest and followed the shoreline of Rainbow Lake. There must be a Hunter or Fisherman Lodge at the north end because we saw and heard 3-4 Float Planes landing and taking off.

We stopped for a bite to eat and enjoyed the gorgeous lake that had leeches all over the bottom. Juice said as long as you swim above the bottom, you’ll be fine. You’ve got to be kidding me? I am not putting my foot in that lake and definitely not my body. It’s a looking at lake, no swimming happening from me. And to think about it, I haven’t seen anyone else swimming with exception of the two kids from yesterday. But Mom quelshed that fairly quickly.

We headed north and climbed our one and only knob today, Rainbow Ledges. Rainbow Ledges, a partially exposed dome of granite, scraped clean of much of its soil by an early 20th century forest fire. Blueberries are abundant here during late summer and early fall. We had a fairly good view of the base of Katahdin, as well as views southwest to White Cap and Jo-Mary Mountains. The boys had cell service, the one and only place to make phone calls before entering Baxter Park.

The family showed up and planned to get to Abol so they needed a camping permit to Birches. I was so fortunate to get the tent site at Katahdin Stream tomorrow night. Hikers who don’t have a site ahead of time, lineup at the Kiosk at 4am to wait for the coveted 12 spots. Some of the hikers were already waiting at 2:30-3:0am this morning. The spot that Blue and I have accommodates 4 hikers so Juice and Wedding Walker can stay with us.

We all headed to Abol Bridge and arrived around 1pm. Abol Bridge is above the West Branch of the Penobscot River. It is a major milestone for hikers going in either direction on the AT, as it is the northern tip of the Hundred Mile Wilderness, and the southern end of the trail in Baxter State Park. Just east of the bridge, the Abol Bridge Store has plenty of provisions for the hungry hikers including ice cream, many snacks, sodas and beer. All the hikers stocked up on drinks and sat outside on the one picnic table.

Donald Duck as he calls himself, the Ranger gave us all the intel on securing a site and permit to climb Mt. Katahdin. There were 10-12 of us sitting outside as he gave us the rundown on all things required at Baxter Park. It’s a well-oiled machine and there are a series of hoops you have to jump through to summit this mountain. We all had to fill out permits and come tomorrow, we’ll need to drop those off with the On-Duty Ranger at Katahdin Stream CG after 7am. Ones without a campsite, will look on a board, then hope and pray that their name is on the roster. If not, they need to try again the following day. It’s quite a process.

I picked up my resupply boxes, which included my Birthday Cookie from Bayside Cafe. Debbie Carapiet bakes these huge chocolate chip cookies for all volunteers on their birthdays. Even though I am 3,000 miles away, it was that important that she mailed me my birthday cookie. What a sweet gift to have right before my summit. I shared it with the many hikers that were sitting at the table and still have some left for tonight’s dessert. Yummy!

Wedding Walker secured our campsite for tonight which includes showers, and breakfast in the morning. We headed down to the lake and I finally had the opportunity to see Mt. Katadrin in all her glory! The clouds lifted and we all sat mesmerized by how beautiful and larger than life, she truly is! Today was the first day that I actually could see her from the base to the top. It was the warmest day I’ve had in Maine and one of the clearest. Such a treat and what a windfall. There is something pretty darn spectacular about waiting and then finally seeing her with your own eyes. We will be climbing that mountain in two more days.

It has been such a struggle to get to this point, in so many ways. But now that I am this close, it is a reminder of how hard-work is required to obtain an everlasting achievement. Nothing in this world comes easy that is truly life-changing. There were many times where I questioned my motivation, my purpose and reason for being out here. Yet the Lord made it clear that this was important and He had a plan that I would see in the end. Persevering is a struggle at times.. It requires blood, sweat and tears to overcome obstacles that we or others, place in front of us. I wonder how many times I was so close to achieving God’s best but stopped short? My prayer is to see what my Lord has intended long before I was created, fulfill His promises, and to give my heart solely to Him. Then I will truly see the glory of God.