Day 192 - 9/24

Today's the day! We completed hiking the Appalachian Trail all 2184 miles over 14 states. We put some snacks and drinks in Josh's bag and started up the mountain at 8. It, was a beautiful, clear day. The trail was fun because we were climbing up big boulders. We got to the Tableland a little after 11. When we could see the sign at the top of the mountain, Josh proposed! I was so surprised, and of course I said yes! We had lunch on top of the mountain and got lots of pictures taken. Around 1:30,  we headed back down and were at the bottom by 5. My parents were waiting for us at the bottom. We hiked the last 5.2 miles to the top today. This journey has been such and amazing experience! I'm so happy that we decided to do it and never gave up. It just goes to show that anything is possible.

Day 191 - 9/23

It rained a bit this morning, so we waited it out and left around 11. We stopped at the camp store to pick up some snacks. We hiked into Baxter Park where we met a ranger and signed up to stay at the Birches tonight. The terrain was very flat and easy today. We took a break at Big Niagra Falls and got to the Birches around 6. The ranger gave us our application for AT certificate and told us we are the 523rd and 524th people to finish this year. We set up our tent and were surprised to see the ranger from earlier this morning. He made a cake for the ten of us and had canned peaches. We stayed around the campfire for a bit before bed. We hiked 9.9 miles today. Tomorrow's the big day!

Day 190 - 9/22

My mom and sister, Hannah came around 10 this morning. We all took a shower at the campground before they came. We drove along the Golden Road and stopped at both the Ripogenus Lake and the Cribworks. We went back to the restaurant for lunch with my Aunt Pat and Uncle Dave. After lunch, we went back to the campsite and sat around the campfire. They all left around 5. Josh and I went back to the restaurant for dinner. We shared spinach artichoke dip, ravioli and corn chowder. It was really nice to take a day off and spend time with family.

Day 189 - 9/21

We all got up at 5 this morning and our parents were gone by 6. Josh and I didn't catch up with them for 8 miles! We hiked around Rainbow Lake and all had lunch on Rainbow Ledges. It was foggy, so there wasn't a view of Mt. Katahdin at the top. After lunch, we took a break at Hurd Brook Lean-to and then hiked to Abol Bridge. There was an amazing view of Mt. Katahdin form the bridge! Our parents hiked the entire 100 mile wilderness! We headed straight for the Abol Camp Store and were excited to find a restaurant inside. We had an early dinner there. Josh and I got the 100 mile burger, my dad got the Baxter Burger and Debbie got a reuben. We checked the weather and found out it was supposed to rain on Sunday, they day we were climbing Katahdin. Josh and I decided to finish on Monday instead and our parents decided to get picked up on Saturday. I called my mom to let her know the change of plans. Jim decided to pick Debbie up tonight. We made a nice campfire at Abol Pines and set our tents up in the Lean-to. Jim came around 9 to get Debbie. My dad stayed up with us until almost midnight. We hiked 15 miles today.

Day 188 - 9/20

Last night we heard a moose by the stream. We started hiking around 7. We made pretty good time today and had lunch at Wadleigh Stream Lean-to. Josh and I gave our parents a head start after lunch, and were impressed that they hiked almost 4 miles before we caught back up with them. We hiked up Nesuntabunt Mtn., which had a nice view of Mt. Katahdin at the top. Our parents did really well today and made it all the way to Rainbow Streams Lean-to, a 15.4 mile day. We were the only people at the Lean-to, so we had a nice campfire before going to bed. We are going to try to push a big day tomorrow too and get all the way to Abol Bridge.