Everything is over now, baby blue

There are moments in life in which the weight of each step taken, each storm resisted, and each mile endured full of a single point of light, and you realize that you have arrived exactly where you were always destined to be. The path of the Apalaches is not just a path through the mountains, it is a passage through the self, through the community, through the endless dialogue between struggle and grace. Thinking about Katahdin is to feel the culmination of 2,200 miles of hope, exhaustion, laughs, pain and love, interwoven in a single moment. This day was not only the day of the summit; It was the closure of a chapter that had lived in all beats for months. And although words will never keep it completely, here is my attempt to share the morning when the dream finally met reality.

Summit Day – August 24

We woke up at 4 am, ready to go immediately. It was the day of the summit. The day we have been dreaming forever. Mr. Soul took us to the head of the path, gave us a talk and then left. I existed only in my light of light of light, but I was very excited. I thought of every day before this, every step forward it took me here. The sun came out slowly and the path was magnificent. A Pacific and plane pine forest by which we wove, sometimes seeing its majesty in the distance. It seemed massive, but the idea of ​​being so close exceeded any feeling of fear.

Mama K at 5:30 am from the path near Golden Road.

We saw our first deer in Maine, calling from the river. An eagle fisherman pounced on the river and began calling a song that none of us had heard before. Then we woke up a youth bear, our first bear stain from Connecticut. I saw him running and we both looked at each other, «wow, this is magical.» It seemed that even the animal kingdom was congratulating us. We approach the guardian station and registered at the summit. I updated Hiker 1542 to 417 in West Virginia, at 371. I signed the registration book at the guard station something like «I feel the power of the mountain, she is a mother. And I am at peace.» We went to our last 5.3 miles. Each sign that we passed with a single digits to the beak made me tear in advance.

5.3 miles to the summit, everything is uphill from here.

My legs have never felt so strong. It was a straight adrenaline trip to the tree line, practically running every day we saw. Somehow, I managed to remain present. Everything felt so vibrant and monumental despite the fact that the first part of the climb seemed very familiar. Once we went to Treeline, we witnessed a different point of view than anyone who has seen in New England. All day he felt similar to walking through a 14ER. I packed my posts and began to climb rocks during the next two miles. It was a lot of fun! Someone said it was a mixture of Mahosuc Notch and Mooslauke that I did not understand, but now.

White blazes that lead to the fight towards the «entrance door»

After breaking towards the entrance door, I saw the Ridgeline. By then, I was practically running. But something occurred to me where I decided to reduce speed. This was my final mile of the at. The ridge line did not look at anything like I expected and I felt that the tears fell into my face when I realized, finally, I was going to do it. For now, even if I broke my leg, I could drag me. As if God read my mine, a day hiker in front of me shouted in agony when he fell to the ground. He grabbed his pimp and realized that he had a Charlie horse. I gave him an electrolyte tab and showed him the stretching I do to relieve pain. He took me out of him for a second. But then he focused again.

This was before the entrance door, I think. False summit

I thought the edge of the knife, another path to the top was the summit. But when I was just below the top, I saw someone stand on the sign. I started crying stronger and laughing. I let Stider catch me and walk to the sign together. My legs were trembling and my laugh looked like the sound of an inhuman creature. I passed out this part, but we played the sign together and then we cried and hug. Someday, hikers cried with us and observed in silence. It was the moment we dream. He had done it. I walked every mile of the trail of the Apalaches.

How the sign is seen in the focus with the Blaze White final. Surreal

We stayed at the summit for more than an hour. You always see photos of the sign, but I never imagined that the vision itself is so great. Today, especially, with the clouds on top and the enlightened configuration, the sunlight resembled the fingers of God that extended and illuminated the mountains and the ridges below. We take photos of Baby Ruth and preacher. I asked a guy with a good camera to take a photo. Someone asked me «Have you walked to AT?» I noticed the last time and began to cry again: «Yes, I said. I have done it.» Even writing that is now making me cry. Everything feels so surreal.

This photo may always seem like Photoshop, I’ve seen so many on this sign. I can’t believe it was my turn.

Views from the summit. It seems red!

Finally, the clouds began to look dangerous and we left the summit. On our way down, we saw Mr. Soul running. Tomorrow I went to the summit, but he told us that our energy was infectious and that in his heart today it was the day. There is a special link among hikers, especially on a day like today, which is indescribable. The word congratulations does not even do justice.

We and Mr. Soul. He shouted at him for stopping his career to get a photo with us.

Our walk was practically silent. We feel so tired. There was always a joke that we would talk about what is still on the road to Katahdin. But after 4,300 feet of climbing and 16 miles of hiking, we were mute. I hope I could say that I was also reflecting, but I was numb. Tired and focused on the steep descent. We have an easy hitch, not even in the right direction, but for a restaurant. In the restaurant, people congratulated us and a 2023 hiker group offered to take us to the shelter. What I will miss most about the AT is the immediate connection we have for strangers.

Reflections of life, what follows?

They all go, now what? What will you do with your life after thinking about anything, eating junk food and living every day outside? As to ask: «How will you adapt to life that capitalism has now created that you have had a taste How should life be? A life of moving through nature and choosing berries every day without deadlines or emails? My answer: Sit with feelings.

One more image of the sign of the most famous summit in the world

People are kind in their nucleus and are looking for a connection. People want to inspire themselves, believe in our dreams and find a purpose for our only fleeting life. For some, that dream is to walk 2,200 miles above and on roots and rocks. It was mine, it is still. I think that if you put me in Georgia and told me to walk to the north alone, no one to talk or listen to stories, I would not have a chance to finish. Being close to a community of people who share my dream, who are willing to be exactly who are without facades that we place in the real world, made me move on. I just tried to be a sponge, I absorb as much good energy as I could and warehouse it for a long time after my final fire in Katahdin Peak. At a time when the world is falling apart around us, friendships are still becoming, humans are still creating art, communities persist and love each other. I saw that resistance in cities such as Hot Springs, NC, and I felt the connection in the Apalaches forest.

The moon moth that inspired my path of path, taken in April 2025.

Words are fleeting to describe the immense joy that this path has given me. Katahdin was the end of my white fires, but I hope that the spirit of the path permeates my real life wherever I find me below. They say that to finish a walk you need stubbornness and luck. TRUE. But I have learned that you also need the grace to forgive you, honor every moment and be alone where your feet are. The only thing in my control is to make it important today, while preparing me in silence for tomorrow. The path showed me how to take both who I am and who I want to be. Strong. Persistent. Humble. Present. And kind!

Crying at the hotel business center writing this blog, reading text messages from my friends. I am overwhelmed by the amount of love. Happy tears!

So what follows? Living with intention. Let the lessons of each mile shape the way I move around the world! And probably also bird and sewing observation! I hope to have some new hobbies 🙂

Thank you very much for reading and following my trip. I am very grateful to The Trek for introducing myself to such a large community and providing a space for me to write. If you want to support me and buy me a beer, you can do it here: https://buymeacoffee.com/laurenmullen. I really appreciate you!