The Summit

On the 12th I did 16.4 miles and camped at the Barren Ledges. On the 13th I did 21.3 miles and camped at the Sydney Tappan campsite. On the 14th I did 17.1 miles and stayed at Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to. On the 15th I did 23.4 miles and camped on top of Nesuntabunt Mountain. On the 16th I did 21.2 miles and stayed at Abol Bridge. On the 17th I did 9.9 miles to Katahdin Stream campground. On the 18th I did 5.2 miles and summited Katahdin!

Well, since the obvious big thing this post is that I summited here are a group and solo summit photo.

As you can tell I was mildly excited despite the less then fantastic weather. The hike up was extremely cloudy, foggy and windy but it didn't start raining until the way down. Then it rained and sleeted a bit just to get the point across that the weather could of been better. Despite that it was a fun summit. There was general excitement to not have to hike anymore but also most of us were sad that it was all over. Now a bit about the last week even though that information seems a bit insignificant at this point.

The 100 mile wilderness lived up to what is expected of it. It rained everyday and the trail was extremely muddy. Anywhere the trail wasn't muddy it was just covered in slick, wet roots. Even the bog bridges that are supposed to be there to help are so slippery they are actually the most dangerous part of the trail. Here is a little example of what the trail looks like.

Some of the days it just sprinkled on us a bit and that wasn't too bad. This did not hold true for the night of the 13th into the next day. During that 24 hour period Baxter State Park received 7 inches of rain. While the majority of this came down at night so it wasn't absolutely terrible, it did rain consistently the whole next day. This meant that the trail was very flooded with water, most things I owned were at best damp and the streams I had to ford were running a bit deep. Many of the bog bridges that are designed to keep you out of puddles and mud were roughly a foot under water that day. Here is Doctor Zoom fording a stream behind me, it's probably not the safest thing ever.

Eventually it wasn't raining and I even sort of got a view of the mountain I was about to climb. Still a bit cloud covered though.

All in all the 100 miles was enjoyable. I like the feeling of remote Maine woods. The moss covered boulders strewn through the woods just make me feel at home yet also like I am hiking through something from a previous time. It would have been better with less water everywhere but you can't get everything. By the end my feet were in the worst shape of the entire trail but I was still smiling.

Now I guess it's time to go back to a world most people live in all the time. It feels like I have to plug back into the matrix. I have no idea on some basic things like where I'm going to live. The concept of the amount of space in an apartment seems completely ridiculous. Everything I need fits in a backpack, why would I need more then a small room? Even then where exactly do I want to live? These are questions I don't even have an idea of an answer. I guess I kind of have to come up with something soon.

I am also thinking about what my next adventure or big "thing" will be. Should it be another long distance hike? Should I try and design and build a small house somewhere? Should I focus on job related things (weird)? These are again questions I haven't answered yet. I don't think I'm done with long distance hikes but I don't know if I want my next thing to be one or if I want to mix it up. I guess all I know is I have to go back to work in the relatively near future and in the worst case scenario a "house" that I am very comfortable in can be carried on my back. Everything else might just fall into place. Or not, who knows? Not me and that's just fine.

Relaxing in Maine

On the 4th I did 8.1 miles and stayed at Avery Memorial Campsite. On the 5th I did 9.8 miles and stayed at Flagstaff Lake campsite. On the 6th I did 15.1 miles and stayed at Pierce Pond Lean-to. On the 7th I did 9.7 miles and stayed at Pleasant Pond Lean-to. On the 8th I did 13.1 miles and stayed at Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to. On the 9th I did 17.9 miles and stayed at the LakeHouse hostel in Monson. On the 10th and the 11th I zeroed at the hostel cause it was nice.

So this section is defined by going nice and slow and just enjoying the trail. There are a plethora of lakes and ponds throughout these miles and I have enjoyed taking breaks at them everyday. The only thing that could improve this section is the fact it rains absolutely everyday.

The peaks of Bigelow were amazing as usual and Avery Memorial campsite remains one of my favorites on the entire trail. It is at a very high elevation for New England and the air just feels different. The views from the top weren't bad either.

Going up Bigelow there was a sign on a tree that felt pretty good to see. I can imagine it being a completely different experience for the southbounders.

Here are some other random shots from the past week.

Guess which direction I was heading. As a hint I got a bit wet before stopping.

I've fully resupplied for the 100 mile wilderness. This is what food for six days looks like for me.

There are only 114 miles left of the trail. It will probably take me seven days to finish it off. That isn't going to be too tough, but it is a bit more miles then this last week. So I don't have to carry more food I guess I'll actually hike more seriously for the next few days. I've been thinking a lot about doing another long distance hike in the coming years. If I can make it work I would love to do the Te Araroa but I think it is a bit more feasible to do the PCT which I also want to do. Long distance hiking is a ton of fun and if nothing else comes up in life I could definitely see me doing another trail.

Sickness

On the 26th I did 9.3 miles and stayed at Sawyer Brook campsite. On the 27th I did 2.6 miles and went back home. I did zero miles on the 28th and 29th at home. On the 30th I did 12.2 miles and camped near Bemis Stream. On the 31st I did 16 miles and stayed at Piazza Rock shelter. On the 1st I did 16.9 miles and stayed at Spaulding Mountain shelter. On the 2nd I did 13.5 miles and stayed at the White Wolf Inn in Stratton. On the 3rd I zeroed at the Inn.

This was an interesting section for me. It started with a friend meeting up with me to hike. Knee issues cut that short after two days and I used that opportunity to go home for a few days. It allowed me to rest a little, dodge some thunderstorms and allow people to catch me. The other big event was me getting sick for the first time on trail.

On the morning of the 2nd I felt terrible but slowly hiked out of camp. It took me four hours to do 3ish miles and the terrain wasn't that tough. Slowly I started to feel better and pushed into town. I felt great that evening, everything seemed normal. At 2am I found out that was not the case. By 8am I wasn't constintently vomiting anymore and slept most of the day. My whole body hurt and I felt like death but luckily I was in town where I had running water and amenities to make my horrid illness less awful.

By the evening of the 3rd I am feeling better and hope to leave town tomorrow. I'm really hoping that last night isn't repeated tonight since I felt good yesterday evening too. On top of my body making me wish for the sweet release of death I also lost my shirt on the way into town. It had made it 1990 miles and I always had it strapped on the outside of my pack but I think it got snagged on a tree. I was hoping that one tshirt was going to last the whole trail. Basically the last 24 hours have sucked.

I guess I should post a photo or two. I am taking fewer and fewer photos as the hike goes on so the selection for the blog is getting a bit scarce.

There are 188.2 miles of trail left and I'm only three miles from the 2000 mile mark. Assuming I leave town tomorrow I'll be doing the last 4000 foot peak before Katahdin. It continues to feel strange how close it is to over. I had thought that since this was my second hike it would be less jarring to think about the end of the trail but in many ways it is more. When you add up both trips I've spent almost a year living in my tent in the woods. The thought of always being restricted by walls isn't overly appealing. I'm sure I'll get used to it once again though.

Maine!

On the 21st I did a tad bit of blue blazing, hiking 6ish miles to cover 14.8 trail miles and stayed at the White Mountain hostel. On the 22nd I did 21.2 miles and stayed at the White Mountain hostel. On the 23rd I did 7.8 miles and camped at Page Pond. On the 24th I did 16.2 miles and camped at Bull Branch campsite. On the 25th I did 16.5 miles and camped at Dunn Falls.

I am once again in Maine!

At Lake of the Clouds my uncle met me and hiked up to the peak of Washington with me. It was fun hiking with him but a bit strange seeing someone from "real life" instead of just trail people. It also meant that I now have some sweet action shots! Don't let them fool you, it might look like I'm just walking but it's action!

That afternoon Zoom and Rosie came up with the idea of spending the next two nights at a local hostel and slack packing the 21 miles between roads. It worked out decently but 21 miles in the Whites kinda sucks even with just day packs on. This put us at under 300 miles left and the location where we stop hiking together. Rosie is off to a wedding for a week and Zoom needed a few zero days to let his knees heal. It was odd hiking out of town that next day solo. We had been hiking together as a group since Harpers Ferry (900ish miles ago).

Man, I had forgotten how hard the miles out of Gorham are. It's either that or my legs need a rest after pushing fairly hard through the Whites. The terrain has crushed my legs will to work the last couple of days. Those two 16's are probably the hardest days I've had on the trail. The first one even included Mahoosuc Notch which is a fantastically fun mile but quite challenging. The trail is at least mostly well marked with arrows.

The terrain might be hard but the views are absolutely amazing. I don't think I could ever get sick of hiking in this area. Every mountain top is beautiful and a challenge just to get up. Perfect combo.

Tomorrow I start my relaxed and lower mileage section of Maine. A friend is coming to hike some of the trail with me and so they don't die and so they hate only a little for convincing them to come, nice low mile days are ahead. My body could absolutely use the break. Hopefully this slow pace will allow Zoom and Rosie to catch up and we can summit Katahdin together. It seems fitting if we did so many miles together that we should at least put a little effort into summiting at the same time if it's feasible. It feels strange to be getting so close to the end. 

White Mountains? No Problem

On the 14th I did 17.5 miles and stayed at a trail angels house. On the 15th I did 18.6 miles and stayed at the Ore Hill campsite. On the 16th I did 15.1 miles and stayed at Beaver Brook shelter. On the 17th I did 9 miles and stayed at Eliza Brook shelter. On the 18th I did 18.3 miles and stayed near Garfield pond. On the 19th I did 18.3 miles and camped along the Saco River. On the 20th I did 11.1 miles and stayed at Lake of the Clouds hut.

This week was the main section of the White Mountains. They are outrageously gorgeous but somewhat difficult. Surprisingly my mileage is still going strong. I was even able to pull off back to back 18 plus mile days. The first of those 18 involved doing Kinsman mountain first thing and then doing Franconia Ridge at the end. Quite a day but one full good views. Like these...

So New Hampshire has been fantastic. These mountains are what I was waiting for since Georgia. Thankfully they do not disappoint. The trail is rugged and difficult and I love it. Nothing is quite as fun as climbing tough mountains everyday.

Besides the mountains, what has been amazing is the people. For some reason many people in the south will tell you that people are less friendly in the north. As a northern I have always disagreed. The trail this year has proven that this is blatantly untrue. The town of Hanover, NH has amazing trail angels. One of them gave us a ride to an outfitter, then a ride up trail to slack pack and finally picked us up again, took us to her house and fed us fancy cheese and gelato. All out of the goodness of her heart. Also, while in town two other people asked if I needed a place to stay. This is an extreme example of northern kindness but it has been the same way all over the north. Hitches come easy and trail magic is plentiful, it's a wonderful thing to see.

Tomorrow I summit Mt Washington and then shortly after it is on to Maine. Things are coming to an end. Hikers are more prone to discussions of life post trail now and it brings up quite the array of emotions. It might be nice to have knees that bend without complaint and feet that don't hurt but the trail is so amazing it will be sad to leave it again.

I'm am Not a Duck

On the 6th I did 21.9 miles and stayed on top of Glastenbury Mt. On the 7th I did 19 miles and stayed at Stratton Pond shelter. On the 8th I did 11.7 miles and stayed in Manchester Center. On the 9th I did 19.8 miles and stayed at Little Rock Pond shelter. On the 10th I did 19.4 miles and stayed at Governor Clement shelter. On the 11th I did 20.6 miles and stayed at Stony Brook shelter. On the 12th I did 21.5 miles and stayed at Thistle Hill shelter. On the 13th I did 14.7 miles and stayed in Hanover, NH. 

Vermont went quite smoothly. It felt great to once again have some sense that I was in mountains. I once again could stand out top of something I climbed and be completely surrounded by a great view. The best of these turned out to be Killington.

There were a couple other fantastic views in Vermont even though most of the mountains had fully wooded summits.

I came across a cool spot at the top of a mountain where people built a lot of rock cairns. People had even placed rocks pretty far up in the trees. Obviously I had to one up such people and go higher.

Vermont has been the first state that had some spots that really felt maineish. There are lots of ponds and evergreen woods that have the look and smell of Maine. It has felt great with the feeling of home.

In my last blog I believe I forgot to bring up the fact that I had succeeded in my own four state challenge. I mentioned a while ago trying to go four states without shower or laundry but it didn't last. I reinvigorated myself at the Deleware water gap for the challenge. I made it! I didn't shower between Deleware Water Gap, PA (mile 1289) and Manchester Center, VT (mile 1647). Laundry was even more impressive since I did that at Duncannon, PA (mile 1143) before Manchester Center. It was not a challenge for the faint of heart but it passed the time.

Now I'm onto another challenge. It has been coined the Fecal Trinity. The challenge is to poop in a flush toilet, a privy and in the woods all in the same day. It is outrageously difficult and I think I need the stars to align perfectly to have it happen. So far many days of 2 out of 3 and I keep continue to come up short. Eventually I hope to complete this one. It says something about the brain after so many miles of hiking. Such an activity is t challenging enough, you have to keep pushing the limit. Also, entertaining ourselves in the woods can be hilarious.

And now for something completely different...

Anyone who has a dream interpretation book laying around try your hand at this interesting specimen I had a few days ago.

The dream starts and I'm on a date with some reasonably attractive woman, at no point could I remember a face to this woman so just some faceless yet attractive woman. During the course of that date I find out she is addicted to heroin and in debt to the Russian mob. The next day I grab my guns, like everything is normal, and go to rescue her from the Russian mob's heroin den.

During this rescue attempt I meet heavy resistance and I was forced to run. I decided to run to get help from Kim Jong-un in North Korea. I ran there amidst a hail of gunfire (obviously you can run to North Korea in a few minutes) and found Kim astride a large horse firing back at the Russians. While I knew he was Kim Jong-un he had the rugged appearance of an American cowboy instead of kind of looking like a giant baby. He apparently hates heroin and people that deal in its trade. I end up getting wounded and as I am laying under a copse of trees Kim rides up and dismounts. At this time I realize that all of the Russians are actually ducks firing machine guns. I am distraught to discover that when I look down at myself I am also a duck. Kim kneels over me, placing his hand on my shoulder, and in a deep, sincere voice says, "You are not a duck. You are a turtle." I immediately feel completely at peace with my place in the world and awake.

Hiking does some strange things to your mind I think. Your welcome to comment on your interpretation of that.

Vermont!

On the 29th I did 21.6 miles and camped at Laurel Ridge campsite. On the 30th I did 26.4 miles and stayed at Mt Wilcox North shelter. On the 1st I did 15.6 miles and stayed at the Super 8 in Lee, MA. On the 2nd I did 19.0 miles and stayed at the Quality Inn near Dalton, MA. On the 3rd I did 8.8 miles and stayed at the St Marys of the Assumption Church. On the 4th I zeroed at the church. On the 5th I did 21.6 miles and stayed at Seth Warner shelter.

This was an odd section for me. It ended with what felt like the first mountain in a long time. My Greylock is the highest mountain in Massachusetts and the first time the trail hit 3000 feet in hundreds of miles. Not a bad view from the top.

What made this section was spurred on by the World Cup. Doctor Zoom, Rosie and I decided to try and get into Lee in time to see the USA game. This meant we had to do a 26 mile day, which ended at 10 pm. Followed by 16 miles the next day before 2pm. That was rough to do but at the road crossing we had a car waiting for us. A fellow thru hiker was from the area and she was letting us borrow her car. This made it feel quite strange to not have to hitch and be able to go wherever. But it worked and was a relaxing night in a hotel.

The following day had periods of downpours but between ducking into shelters and spending a few hours at a trail angel named The Cookie Lady I dodged 100% of it. We did 10 miles after 5pm to get into Dalton and sleep out of the rain but the hotel in town was full. Luckily the owner was super nice and drove us the another one two miles out of town. So already this is odd because it's two nights in a row in hotels. You can sort of tell how humid it is in this photo.

My spirits didn't get down at all either. Even without a great view.

The next day Wet Stray Dog, who I hiked with earlier but he had to get off, swung by and we hung out until the afternoon. I did 9 miles while dodging all the rain again and slept at a hiker friendly church. The following day I awoke to the sound of heavy rain and just rolled over and went to sleep. Of the ten or so hikers at the church that night all of them stayed another day to not get downpoured on. The father there was great and drove to the Berkshire Mall so we could hang out and take over a wing of a bar for World Cup watching. What a great guy. On a side note, he can tell when hikers are staying there because he can smell us in the rectory. Here's a few shots of us in town.

It was four days in a row staying inside and felt odd with all the town hoping. It worked out though since there was three days of rain and I didn't get rained on once. It made the day I crossed into Vermont absolutely beautiful. Not too many states left. The horrible humid weather has finally broken and I'm ready for Vermont to be awesome.

Back in New England

On the 20th I slack packed 17.8 miles and stayed in Delaware Water Gap again. On the 21st I did 17.7 miles and stealth camped a mile after Sunrise Mountain. On the 22nd I did 28.3 miles and stealth camped half a mile after NJ 94. On the 23rd I did 23.7 miles and stealth camped along Little Dam Lake. On the 24th I did 29.5 miles and stealth camped a mile after US 9. On the 25th I did 18.3 miles and stayed at RPH shelter. On the 26th I did 16.8 miles and stayed at Telephone Pioneers shelter. On the 27th I did 21.2 miles and stayed at Mt Algo shelter. On the 28th I did 19.7 miles and stayed at the Sharon Mountain campsite.

So it's been a while since my last post. 200 miles in fact. I'll try my best to get through it. Hopefully I can make myself write a post more often. It takes a lot less time when it hasn't been so long.

This section started with the Post Office sending my food drop to the wrong zip code for general delivery. This delayed the box and held me in Delaware Water Gap longer then I had planned. The people I was hiking with didn't even spend one night in town and I ended up spending two. Luckily, instead of taking a zero on the 21st I paid someone to slack pack me. Slack packing is when you get driven up the trail and you hike back to wherever your stuff is. This allows you to basically carry nothing makes the miles easier. I had never bothered before now but it was my only real way to get some

miles in so I figured why not. It was a beautiful day, it's amazing how pretty New Jersey is.

The following day was the summer solstice, or more importantly hike naked day! While many people only do it for a short period of the day, if they do it at all, I did 15 miles with a bandana as my only concealment. The day was full of fantastic interactions with day hikers since it was a Saturday. Two of my favorites include the older couple walking their dog. We held a five minute conversation without me or them mentioning my attire, or lack of, and then we wished each other a good day and moved on. The other favorite was some who at least claimed to be a reporter and decided she wanted to interview me. I agreed and she whipped out her iPhone for a quick video interview. That will probably live on the internet somewhere. It was a great day complete with a fantastic sunset.

After that I did some big miles and caught back up with people. It wasn't actually as hard as I had thought it would be. The only major incident of those days was my lunchtime bear encounter. I had already seen multiple bears in Jersey but this one surprised me. I was sitting on a stone wall along the trail at a road crossing eating lunch and I heard something behind me. I turn around and a rather large bear sedately walks through the stone wall, looks me up and down, then continues on. I wasn't fast enough with my camera to get the look but I got the bear. Besides that the only interesting thing is state lines. 

All in all this section of trail is just beautiful. The woods of southern New York and New Jersey are just amazing. Even having done them before I was still surprised by how nice they are. If you are ever looking for a relatively easy section of the AT to do but you want it to be beautiful definitely look at this section as an option.

Well I have 9 states down and I'm back in New England. Hopefully it won't be over a week until my next post but who knows.