Started off this morning with another exciting bear sighting, my first ever in Vermont. After running about 50 yards away, he stopped to pose and look back at me with an equal curiousity. Sadly, by the time I flipped the velcro on my shorts pocket to grab the camera, he was gone.
Appalachian Trail 2004
Daily dispatches and photos from the Appalachian Trail, a 2194-mile footpath running from Georgia to Maine through 14 states along the East Coast.
Bromley Mt.
The trio rolls on, but not until after a late start due to last night's feasting festivities preceded by a day of long miles. The three of us hitched into Manchester Center for more eating and a resupply, but ended up hanging around into the afternoon, shortening our day to a very nice relaxing one. It's cozy to be in this enclosed hut for a night with thunderstorms predicted.
Minerva Hinchey
Hiking together again, Walk On, Seeker and I took advantage of a misty, cool, and viewless day to try and burn some miles. Easy walking today, but long, through beautiful stretches of trail around Griffith Lake, Big Branch, and Little Rock Pond. A long day with more great company, followed by major feeding with multiple dinners late into the night.
US 4
Meeting my parents this evening, so time to make some more miles! Awesome to catch up with Lucky Star this afternoon before making the long climb up to Killington Peak. Also great to meet up with the Camera Crew again while we all ate lunch at Governor Clement Shelter--I haven't seen them since Damascus!
Stony Brook
Aaaaaahhh. So nice to sleep in a bit, in a bed no less! I slept like an absolute rock and enjoyed a delicious brunch with Footloose, Mom and Dad, and the Bartzes. After all that, it only seemed fitting to take a very comfortable shorter day and to just cruise the entire way--I guess easing the miles coming out of town seems to be a good match for me.
Woodstock Stage Road
Nice terrain, lots of PUDs. Not much more to say about that. Footloose and the Camera Crew and I popped in to the tiny "town" of South Pomfret to grab dinner, snacks, ice cream and beer at the general store. We had some great chatter over dinner across from the store before deciding to stealth camp on the porch of the Suicide Six ski area just up the street.
Happy Hill
Some beautiful views from some low hills today, but I'm really just getting psyched up for New Hampshire! Took a nice nap in West Hartford on a bench near the White River after some Ben & Jerry's ice cream with Footloose and the Camera Crew. Today's definite highlight was a very unexpected late arrival by my old friend Camel, who I haven't seen since Atkins, VA several months ago.
Moose Mt.
Hiked in tandem this morning with Camel, trying to catch up on the last few months of each other's hiking stories on the way into Hanover, NH for breakfast. We crossed over the Connecticut River into New Hampshire, nearly avoided a camera-dropping catastrophe, and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Lou's with Footloose.
NH 25A
My first full day in my 13th state! All I can say is: "New Hampshire? Bring it." Hiked one last big day alongside Camel--perhaps my last 20-miler of the trail! Tired legs today after last night's late arrival, and the trail turned pretty dramatically more diificult with several rugged and steep ups and downs.
NH 25
At long last, a short day! Hiked with Chris today and caught up with one another on how our respective hikes are going. Nice to slow down the pace for a change with so few miles to do. I arrived at the Hikers Welcome Hostel for a night indoors for the second night in a row and a crowd of thru-hiker friends to gather 'round the tv with to watch movies all night.
Beaver Brook
Slept in and relaxed this morning, trying to get as much rest as possible for the Whites, and hoping the cloud veil would lift from Mt. Moosilauke. After watching three movies this morning and being a complete lazy butt, Moosilauke had cleared and it was off on another short day but a long climb up to Moosilauke with Walk On.
Lonesome Lake
Spectacular terrain today beginning with an extremely steep descent from the shelter down to Kinsman Notch alongside a continuous cascade the entire way. The day ended with a long and difficult climb and descent over South and North Kinsman as the weather abruptly changed from sun to rain to thunder and back to just plain cloudy. So it is, here in the Whites.
Franconia Notch
Today was a day that got shorter and shorter as the weather got worse. Waldo caught up with Footloose, Walk On, and I after our morning chores at the hut and we all hiked the couple easy miles to Franconia Notch where we hitched in to North Woodstock for a resupply.
Greenleaf
Got a later start this morning, but it paid off with a quick view of Cannon Mt. and the remnants of the Old Man of the Mountain on our hitch back to the trail in addition to the weather breaking into sunshine once we finished the long gruelling climb out of the notch and up onto Franconia Ridge. An absolutely perfect day to enjoy this utterly breathtaking ridge.
Galehead
Beautiful sunshine for a second straight day--totally unexpected weather for here in the Whites. It was also very hot, owing mainly to all the continually exposed trail in bright sunshine, and more ups and downs on very rough terrain. Walk On, Waldo and I walked together again and took our time getting to Galehead Hut where Waldo moved on and Walk On and I decided to stay.
Crawford Notch
Much easier hiking today under even more blue sky. I can't get over my luck with the weather so far in the Whites. Walk On and I spent some time at Zealand Falls Hut having lunch and soaking in the falls (very cold) before trucking on to another break at scenic Ethan Pond.
Lakes of the Clouds
Well, my good luck with the weather in the Whites has apparently met its end. Walk On and I ascended the unrelentingly steep climb from Crawford Notch to Mt. Webster and up into the clouds near Mizpah Hut and the start of the Presidential Range. Had a great lunch at Mizpah out of the weather with a bottomless bowl of soup and all-you-can-eat brownies, all for the grand total of $3.
Osgood
Absolutely incredible. There are no other words for this day. An entire day of sunshine, blue skies, and almost no wind crossing the whole of the northern Presidentials; all this in a place known for having the worst weaather on the entire planet.
Carter Notch
A nice cruise on down to a lunch at Pinkham Notch this morning--a place I haven't visited since my last spring trip to ski at Tuckerman Ravine on Mt. Washington. Met up with Waldo and Camel at the visitor's center there and chatted with each other about our respective experiences at the AMC huts and the incredible scenery in the Whites.
US 2
Tough. Long. Tiring. Yup, that pretty much encapsulates today. Lots of ups and downs, but I felt suprisingly more energetic throughout all of it, even trail running a bit over the last couple of miles down to the road. It's always an uplifting feeling to feel like my body is regaining its normal strength a bit. Waldo, Walk On and I are in a terrible and hot motel room tonight since The Barn Hostel is full.
Gentian Pond
My last full day in the state of New Hampshire, and it did not get off to a good start. After a night of zero sleep, bad headaches, hot flashes, and a very dry sore throat in our oven of a motel room, I think I'm coming down with some kind of bug.
Full Goose
Sick and miserable. I don't think I've been more weak in my life. Crossed into Maine at least, so that's a good thing. State #14 of 14. This damn sickness has just got to end.
Baldpate
The day we've all been waiting for--Mahoosuc Notch. Thankfully, I felt a little bit more healthy and energetic for this famous stretch through a mile-long deep notch where the trail scrambles over, around, and sometimes under some extremely large boulders. It was great to pass through this stretch feeling better and laughing with the others about where the white blazes were leading us at times.
East B Hill Road
A short day today heading into the town of Andover for a night at the Andover Guest House and a resupply. Feeling gradually better this morning, but a bit weary, walking with Camel, Leki-less, and the Camera Crew. We all had some amusing entertainment this morning on the top of Baldpate…
East B Hill Road Zero Day
A much needed zero-day of rest, eating, movie-watching, and healing from my cold thing.
South Arm Road
Still on the mend after my cold, so I decided to take a shorter day and head back to stay at the Andover Guest House for one last night where it should be a bit quieter with everyone else back on the trail.
Bemis Mt.
Nothing much exciting today, just a beautiful sunny day with one big climb off the bat and another short-mileage day to keep easing my body back to recovery from whatever sickness I had. I feel good and rested after one more night in Andover, and I'm here for the night with Chris, Anna and Beau, Ramblin' Man, Capt. Hook, and Sparrow.
ME 4
Finally, an easier day of hiking with most of the miles being pretty flat. I happened upon a nice cooler of trail magic soda this morning, but it was nothing compared to the trail magic I got with Chris and Anna after walking through rain until we hit a road crossing this afternoon. A guy standing there next to his pickup offered us not only a ride into town for resupply, but also a place to stay the night at his family's home in Rangeley.
Sluice Brook
A late start today after a breakfast with the Beliveau family, and Chris, Anna, and I were off on a big climb up to the exposed alpine summit ridge of Saddleback Mt. Blue skies all day today for us to enjoy along with views of surrounding lakes and Maine forest. A few tough ups and downs later, we found a great spot to camp for the night next to the sound of Sluice Brook just a few feet away.
ME 27
Hiked again today with Chris, Anna, and their dog Beau up and over Spaulding Mt., past Sugarloaf ski resort, and up and over the Crocker Mts. down to the road that leads into Stratton, ME. We struggled for a hitch more than any other time I can remember, but we finally got a ride in for resupply just as the sun went down and the temps started getting quite cold while we waited.
Little Bigelow
What a great night's sleep at the White Wolf Inn last night, and now a beautiful, cool day to cross the Bigelows--the final big mountain range before the end of the trail. In perfect suit, it was also the perfect day to cross the monumental 2000-mile mark with friends Chris and Anna.
US 201
Well, so I lied awhile back when I said that my last 20-mile day was actually going to be my last. So, now I'll say it again: "This is my last 20-mile day." There. A much easier stretch of trail today for Chris, Anna, and I to race along on, and with our early start we were gunning to catch the canoe ferry across the Kennebec River which only runs until 4pm.
Bald Mt. Brook
A second straight day of easy walking after a good night's rest at Steve's bunkhouse in Caratunk. A great guy--he left us coffee on the porch this morning and even gave us each a postcard with an individual, personalized congratulations message for finishing the trail. It was one of the more thoughtful things I've seen on the whole trail.
Horseshoe Canyon
Today’s highlights: Tons of blueberry picking on Moxie Bald Mt. and our first real river ford across the West Branch of the Piscataquis River. Hiked most of the afternoon with Camel talking about cycling, and it made me anxious to be home on my bike for a nice long ride.
ME 15
One last short day heading into the town of Monson, ME before beginning the 100-mile wilderness tomorrow. Also, my last day alone on the trail since my friend Gerry from home is meeting me tonight to finish the trail with me.
Long Pond Stream
Well, only the 100-mile wilderness awaits, and my friend Gerry arrived last night while I was with the rest of the gang at Shaw’s. Walked today with Gerry and NY Mule (Brett) along a fog-shrouded trail after leaving behind the very last trail town and my very last hitchhike. Suddenly, there are a lot of “lasts” taking place. Under 100 miles to go to Big K (Katahdin).
Chairback Gap
Today was a carbon copy of yesterday’s weather as Gerry and I set off on the climb up to traverse the Barren-Chairback range. Some solid ups and downs slowed us up quite a bit so we ended the day at Chairback Gap as the Camera Crew, Leki-less, and Camel moved on to tent by the river a few miles down the mountain. White Cap Mt. and a long climb awaits tomorrow along with our first views of Katahdin from the summit.
West Branch Pleasant River
Clearly the challenges of the trail are not at an end. After 9 hours of continuous downpour through the night, Gerry, Captain Hook and I awoke in the shelter to the sound of roaring water below the shelter where the AT continued and a silent spring could be found the night before. This didn’t seem to bode well for the amount of water that might be found on the trail this morning.
East Branch
True story: It is now November of 2017, a mere 13+ years since I wrote the previous post from my AT thru-hike in 2004. I may have broken a record for the longest cliffhanger on how this adventure came to its end! The remaining posts for the final 6 days of my hike have lingered in my mind for all of those years…
Mahar Tote Road
When this day began, I had it in the back of my mind that if my luck had truly turned for the better and everything went right, there was an outside chance that I might catch up with Camel, Leki-less, and the Camera Crew by day’s end. The only problem was that their likely destination was 22 miles up the trail. What was it I had said about no more long days? Well, about that…