Appalachian Trail: Days 131-138: Monson to Katahdin, and Home

The Skinny:

• Monson: the last Zero day
• Hundred Mile Wilderness: mixed feelings
• Rain: wet
• Losing Trillian: Panic!
• Katahdin: wow
• Aftermath: contentment

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In the last blog, Trillian and I made it through the worst of Southern Maine and arrived at the town of Monson, just before the Hundred Mile Wilderness. We opted to stay at the lesser-frequented hostel there, but were rewarded with having the place all to ourselves, whereas Shaw's Hiker Hostel was overrun with hikers.

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Day 131: Saturday, August 15, 2026
Zero day at 100 Mile Wilderness Hostel

Having decided to take a zero day in Monson, the pressure was off and we could relax a bit. The morning at the hostel was calm and beautiful. After we had our coffee, Puzzles the caretaker drove us into Monson proper so we could do laundry at Shaw’s, check in at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters, have lunch and resupply.

With the laundry done, back in our (now clean) hiker clothes, we had lunch outside at the Lakeshore House Pub. Afterwards, we checked in at the ATC center, where Wendy, the guru of all things Katahdin and Hundred Mile Wilderness, gave us copious amounts of information regarding the final miles of the AT. There was a LOT to process: the rules around Baxter State Park, home of Mt. Katahdin, are complicated. I wrote everything down, as it was simply too much to remember. They don’t exactly make it easy to finish the hike, but the info that Wendy provided was very helpful.

Puzzles picked us up and brought us back to hostel for a relaxing afternoon, where we sorted all our foodstuffs and separated half, which would be driven to a point in the middle of the wilderness for us to pick up in a locked box. Trillian and I cooked dinner and enjoyed the evening very much. Tomorrow, the alarm would go off early and we’d return to the woods.

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Day 132: Sunday, August 16, 2026
to Long Pond Stream Lean-to at Mile 2,098.3

On the trail by 7:30 a.m., after saying goodbye to Puzzles. Easy to moderate hiking most of the day, but lots of roots and rocks along the way. Some interesting ledges with OK views. A sign advertised Trail Magic .2 off trail: we decided to walk there and saw “Vermont”, “Joker” and her husband “Red Man” there. It was at the cottage of a friendly guy who cooks burgers and has soft drinks and fruit for passing hikers. Nobody ate anything but fruit: we all had full resupplies. Anyways, hot dogs and hamburgers weren’t tempting. 

Carried on the last bit of trail alongside pretty cascades and streams, then up to the Long Pond Steam Lean-to. We shared it with two ladies, had dinner and chit-chat before retiring.

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Day 133: Monday, August 17, 2026
to unofficial tentsite at East Chairback Pond off Mile 2,112.1

Rain. Quite a lot of it, too. Forecast says it’ll stop between 8 and 9 a.m., but the hours tick away and we really should get going. Today and tomorrow are more mountainous, then we’ll be treated to flat terrain before Katahdin–still, there’s a hundred miles (exactly) to cover until the summit, and time is of the essence…. out into the wet we go. 

The rain kept up most of the morning and made the day rather miserable. Slow going was the name of the game: although the ups and downs weren’t anything too crazy, they were steep, and the abundance of (now wet) roots and slick rocks slowed our pace way down. For the day we only averaged 1.7mph

The rain did finally die down, but it remained gray and cool. Had a brief snack at the Chairback Gap Lean-to (full with hikers, none familiar) before the final few miles down to East Chairback Pond, where we set up camp. As I got ready to close up shop, the sound of rain came from across the pond, then pattered on my tent as I read before retiring for the night. 

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Day 134: Tuesday, August 18, 2026
to East Branch Lean-to at Mile 2,130.1

A much nicer day than the day before. Woke up early with a clear view of the pond, but a very wet tent. Packing up was gross since everything was wet. The day looked promising, however … We got on the road and hiked the remaining mountains before Katahdin. The Chairback range provided tough climbs, with some sections gaining over 1,000′ per mile. Trail conditions were good, however, and the day went really well. Around 1:30 p.m., I checked the forecast with the blip of phone service that I had .. possible rain coming at 2:00. There was a ray of sunshine so we stopped in the middle of the trail at a kind of opening made by dead trees. We held a ‘yard sale’ to dry out our tents and shoes and such. The first summits of the range were wooded, but the summit of White Cap was beautiful, and we had great views and nice sunny skies–that forecasted rain never materialized. Good! 

We met back up with German hikers “Joker” and “Red Man” at our penultimate shelter break, where we filtered water and discussed the miles going forward. We all agreed the next Lean-to would be fine for us to then push bigger miles on the upcoming flat days so we can still summit Katahdin on Saturday. 

The remaining few miles to the East Branch Lean-to passed by nicely, and there was plenty of space at the shelter. We tented nearby and both Trillian and I had mashed potatoes for dinner. Hoorah.

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Day 135: Wednesday, August 19, 2026
to Mahar Landing at Mile 2,152.3

Early alarm call, but my watch says I slept great. Chilly morning, having blueberry fig bars and Biscoff cookies with my coffee at 5:30 a.m. The sky had some pretty orange streaks in it, but it was mostly blue–a good sign. The day turned out to be a pleasant one, weather-wise. We hiked to Jo-Mary Road, where a short side-trek took us to the location of our food cache, brought there by the staff of the Hundred Mile Wilderness Hostel. We stopped to repack our foodstuffs and have lunch there.

And now on to the biggest drama of the four-and-a-half months of my hike: I lost Trillian!

We stopped for a break at Antlers Campsite. We headed North and agreed to meet at the Katahdin Viewpoint, a few miles away. I was ahead of her. A half mile before the viewpoint I stopped quickly at the Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to for a candy bar. I left the trail for no more than two minutes, while trying to keep an eye out for Trillian on the chance that she passed by in that moment. I met two girls at the Lean-to hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness: one in the shelter, then her friend who came back from the short loop of trail that leads to water, back on the AT. I went to filter water on trail and was concerned when I didn’t see Trillian coming down the hill towards me. I started to worry: she should have caught up with me by now…

I thought maybe somehow she got ahead of me so I carried on to the viewpoint. There was no sign of her. I was very worried now. I dropped my backpack and backtracked South for a bit. When I didn’t see her I grew extra worried and went back to the viewpoint, got my pack, and hiked back South to the lean-to. I confirmed with the girls that neither of them had seen Trillian. Nope. I was starting to panic at this point. There was, in my mind, no way she could have passed me. For that brief moment I left the trail, the second girl was ON the AT at the water: she would have seen Trillian if she passed, as we met when I walked down from the lean-to to the water and she was coming up. I left a note for Trilly and my bear canister (to catch her attention) at the trail junction and hiked South, back towards Antlers to find her. My mind reeled: she could have been hurt, and it might have been bad, since so much time had gone by. “Vermont” came the opposite direction (hiking North) and said he hadn’t seen her–he had just come from Antlers. I grew seriously anxious. I left my contact info with the girls at the shelter and told them that I’d be at the viewpoint, since that was where Trillian and I last agreed to meet. I hiked back yet again and waited for a while. I had a little cell service there (amazingly) and tried to text and contact Trilly, but there was nothing back from her. I didn’t know what to do.

Trying not to panic, but to think logically, I decided to hike North to the next campsite, the one where maybe we would’ve gone together. I hiked the two miles there and found “Batman” but no Trillian. What to do?! I was a mess. It was getting dark. Stupidly, (very stupidly), neither Trillian or I had each other’s satellite contact numbers. I know she uses her Garmin satellite device to send a message to her family at night to let them know she’s safe. I thought that if only I could contact her dad, maybe I’d know if she checked in…

Distraught, I was writing home and asking for help. My Aunt Anita and her wife Jean really came through for me and found her father’s number and reached out to him. I learned that Trillian DID check in safe from camp. I got her GPS coordinates and checked them on the map. She was a further two miles ahead of me!! I was VERY confused, but EXTREMELY relieved. I could sleep knowing she was alright; but–not surprisingly–I barely slept at all.

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Day 136: Thursday, August 20, 2026
to unofficial tentsite on Rainbow Lake at Mile 2,175.0

I was up and out like a flash at dawn to cover those two miles to find Trillian. The relief at seeing her was so much that I have to admit I wept. We took time to figure out just what the hell happened, and put ourselves together. Somehow, completely inexplicably, she must have passed me during the precise moment when the girl returned to the lean-to from the stream and I walked down. How I didn’t see her is still completely incredible to me. Apparently, she was sending ME texts from the viewpoint, but neither of us received each other’s messages; probably because the signal was so weak. Trillian assumed that I must have been past her, (!!) so she kept walking! The improbability of all this simply can’t be overstated, but it’s the only explanation. After a while, we finally hit the trail again.

It was rocks and roots all day, making things slow going. We had a neat view from Nesuntabunt Mountain, including more great views of Katahdin. The mountain was only 14 miles away, as the crow flies, but the trail would wind 35 miles before we would reach the summit.

We pressed on and made camp by Rainbow Lake, where we were treated with a beautiful sunset. We were both so relieved to have found each other and be back in control, the evening was extra special.

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Day 137: Friday, August 21, 2026
to the Birches Campsite at Mile 2,192.6

A beautiful morning by the lake. I had coffee going just after 5:30 a.m., and the breeze off of the water and the early morning light was beautiful. It was not dark. Hit the trail just after 6:30 a.m., and climbed a bit to the Rainbow Ledges. We saw Batman there, and all took a moment to bask in a glorious view of Katahdin.

We descended to, and crossed the Penobscot River on Abol Bridge: cool. Just on the other side was a general store and we saw Red Man and Joker there: he had a six pack of beers: nice! He informed us we should be numbers 11 and 12 (the last two) to be able to stay at the Birches (The Birches is a dedicated site in the State Park for long-distance hikers, who can’t necessarily predict exactly when they’ll arrive. A strict limit of 12 people per day is enforced. Little did we know that several people camped just before the Birches the following night to be early in line! Sneaky). We dropped our packs and walked the .8mi to the kiosk to sign in, then headed back for beer and snacks.

The day was gorgeous. Gorgeous! We hiked on and got into Baxter and faced a dilemma: follow the AT for ~9 miles, or take the blue-blazed “Blueberry Ledges” trail for ~4. We took the blue-blaze. Along the way we stopped to swim in the chilly river and wash all the grime off.

The final push to The Birches was kind of a slog, but not long. Maine just continues to be an obstacle course!! So many rocks, roots etc. Once at the site, we set up shop, ate rice and beans, and had some nice time chatting with other hikers. After dinner the park ranger came, gave us our Baxter Passes (Trillian and I are NOBO hikers 291 and 292 up Katahdin!!!) and explained the nuances for the next day’s hike. It was still early, so after spending a little more time with Trilly, I retired to my tent, put ear buds in and listened to Enescu’s String Octet. Heaven. 

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Day 138: Saturday, August 22, 2026
Katahdin. Evening at the Hundred Mile Wilderness Hostel (not the same as the one BEFORE the Wilderness)

Up at 5:15 a.m. All the other hikers were already up, many gone already. Coffee ready at 5:30, sure tasted good. Quite cool morning, temps in the mid-40’s… Would have liked to stay in the sleeping bag a bit longer! Made a second pot of coffee. Repacked such that the heavy things could be left at the ranger station and could still summit with my pack, albeit much lighter.

The hike up Katahdin was nothing short of magnificent. The day was perfect, the hike was challenging but fun, and the views were breathtaking. This is not a climb for beginners, there are very technical sections and quite a lot of elevation. Our excitement pushed us further.

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Epilogue:

There was an equally tricky descent from Katahdin, after which we waited to be picked up and shuttled to the Hundred Mile Wilderness Hostel in Millinocket (same name but very different from the one we stayed at before the wilderness!) We were filled with funny feelings about being done: a sort of emptiness mixed with excitement. Once settled at the hostel, we headed out and met several other thru-hikers who also completed their journey that day and enjoyed a fun pizza dinner together: there was "Mint" from Norway, "Fozzy" and "Cuppa" (they got engaged on the mountain! Congrats!), "Red Squirrel" and "Joker" and "Red Man" from Germany.

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Day 139: Sunday, August 23, 2026
Bus from Medway to Bangor, Bangor to Portland, ride down to Kittery with Michael Scherr

After multiple bus rides South from Millinocket, timing and schedules worked out perfectly for my friend Michael and his fiancee Kyla to pick us up in Portland and take us to Kittery for our friend Gaby’s birthday cookout. Welcome back to civilization!

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Day 140: Monday, August 24, 2026
Boston

Before Trillian flew back home to California, we wanted a relaxing day to ourselves. We booked a room in Boston and spent a lovely day around the city. In retrospect, it’s not surprising that we spent a lot of time in the Public Gardens: I think we needed greenery around us!

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Day 141: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Home

After lunch, I escorted Trillian to the airport and we had an emotional farewell, sure that we’ll see each other again soon, but not knowing just when. I took the bus from Logan up to Concord, New Hampshire, and my neighbors were there waiting to bring me home. What a surprise to see this huge sign in their front yard! They are just the best.

It felt good to be back home. I’m very lucky to live where I do, in the mountains: it makes the transition easier. It also helped that the weather was spectacular and my pianos weren’t in such bad shape, all things considered! Now, it’s time to get back to reality.

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