| 6/11/99 | I was planning to try and start off easy,
but that wasn't the trail's plan. From Katahdin
Stream Camp ground to the summit of Katahdin is 5.2
miles. So I did 5.2 miles up and 5.2 miles down,
10.4 right there. The base elevation was 1,500 feet
and the summit is about 5,500 ft. An elevation
change of 4,000 feet. This is where my altimeter
watch came in real handy. There were some points on
the trail where there was very little forward progress,
but a lot of elevation progress. With the watch I
was able to monitor this. The climb was very
difficult. I now see why they don't allow anyone up
it with a full pack. It has about a three-quarter mile
section of the trail that requires bouldering.
Scrambling up and down and across boulders. It
would be very difficult with the added weight. I
then went the 2.4 miles to Daicey Pond Campground.
So a total of 7.6 trail miles but 12.8 miles hiked.
I definitely need to reduce my pack weight. The
digital camera will probably be coming home. At Daicey Pond I took a very nice cool swim. It was great after a long hot day. (85) I met 2 people from Maryland, Dave and Jenny. They are extremely nice and pleasant people. They are going to summit Katahdin tomorrow. Which could put them at least one day behind me. We will see though, I need to find a phone and check in before the 100 mile wilderness. I hope Abol Bridge has one. When we were in camp, a buck in velvet came in and decided that he liked our plants around camp. He walked all around camp not really caring about our presence or our conversation. Well its 10:00 and I am tired, if missed anything I will fill you in later. |
| 6/12/99 (Entry by Bill) |
I received a call today from Steve, a man Mike met on the trail. Steve plans on doing the same hike, but will not start until July 18th. Sounded like he was out getting in shape and surveying the first mountain when Mike ran into him. He said that Mike has climbed the first mountain (Katahdin) and has started the 100 mile stretch. Mike thinks this stretch will take him about 8 days, so I am hoping that we will get the next update next weekend. |
| 6/12/99 | I hiked 7.5 miles out of Baxter State
Park to Abol Bridge over the West Branch of Penobscot
River. On the way out I met 3 future
thru-hikers. 2 of them are husband and wife,
planning to leave July 1st. The 3rd was Steve,
planning to leave July 10th. They all were Maine
residents that were retired. If I go slow or if
they go fast they might catch-up to me. There is a grocery store at Abol Bridge. The truth is it's a very limited supplied convenience store next to a camp ground. They didn't have a phone either. My mother will start worrying about now, without a phone call. Steve said that he would make a quick phone call from his house for me. I thanked him profusely and gave him my brother and sister-in-law's phone number. I told him that they could pass it along to my mother. I then stopped at the store and got an ice-cream cone before going into the 100 mile wilderness. The days are really warming up. It had to of reached 85 again today. I hiked 3.5 miles into the wilderness to the first lean-to, Hurd Brook. I met 2 young women there packing their stuff. Gretchen and Nora. They were from Traverse City, Michigan. Southbounders as well. They started from Abol bridge and wanted to catch up to 2 other southbound guys that had already past them. Since I have already done 11 miles for today, I think I will stop here and see if I catch-up to them or if the Dave and Jen, the couple from yesterday, catch-up to me. Glen just came into camp and he will be staying in the lean-to tonight as well. Paul is northbounding just the 100 mile wilderness. He is using iodine to sterilize his water. I think he got some bad water somewhere. He won't say anything about it, he just keeps commenting on how he needs to get a filter. I think I will spend the rest of the evening hours reading the lean-to's log or registry. People put note books in the lean-to's to pass on messages. Some are messages to friends that are behind them and some are messages to people going the opposite direction and some entries are poems, thoughts or feelings. 18.6 total trial miles. |
| 6/13/99 | I hiked past Rainbow Lake to Rainbow Stream lean-to, 11.5 miles. I passed over a small bald, a hill with a granite top and no vegetation. Like Enchanted Rock. On the other side there were some bogs. A mesquitos haven. I practically ran through it. It would have taken too long to drop my pack and get bug spray. Right before Rainbow Lake I met a family of 4. A mother and father with their son in his early twenties and a daughter in her mid-teens. We talked a little and moved on. The lake was beautiful. It was 5 miles long and about a mile wide. The water was crystal clear. I took an afternoon swim to cool off and get rid of that perpetual bug feeling from the mesquitos haven. The trail followed along the lake's edge. There were a number of muddy and wet sections of trail. I finally made my way to the lean-to. Gretchen and Nora are here with the 2 guys they were trying to catch-up to, Sage (Lee) and Freestyle (Chris). 30.1 Total trail miles |
| 6/14/99 | Left Rainbow Stream Lean-to at about 7:00. There was a climb to be made today and I wanted to do it before noon. It has been hot for the last couple of days, without a cloud in sight. I made the climb to 1,500 feet and back down the other side to Wadeleigh Stream Lean-to, an 8.1 mile hike. I decided to try and keep going to Nahmakanta Stream campsite,another 5.8 miles. After leaving Wadeleigh Stream there was a nice sandy beach on Lake Nahmakanta. I refilled with water and spent the next couple of hours swimming. I could see small puffy clouds starting to roll in with small gusts of 5ph wind. I met Gormet Gert on the beach. She is in her mid 30's and doing her 3rd thru-hike by sections. She started in PA to avoid the mass rush of north-bounders. She had to skip some sections due to too much snow still on the trail. We sat and talked for awhile. She gave me a few suggestions. I left and continued on my way. The day was still hot and tiring. The trail was full of bogs and swarms of mesquitos that eat bug spray for an appetizer to their main meal. I finally made it in to the campsite. It was unfortunately away from the stream by 150feet. Enough so what little breeze couldn't make it to the campsite to keep the mesquitos down. I set up my tarp and mesquitos netting and went to the stream to wash up. I was contemplating the idea of going the 4-4.5 miles further to the next lean-to. I was hot and tired and sick of mesquitos for the day, and it was already 7:00pm too. It will be dark in the next 2 hours. I had already gone 13.9 miles and that was enough. I was walking back from the stream when Sage and Freestyle came down the trail. They were going to camp in the campsite too. They weren't in the best of spirits at first, they too were in the bog blues. After dinner and a fire to drive off the mesquitos our spirits were better, but tired. Goodnight. |
| 6/15/99 | It rained last night as predicted. I stayed dry and bug free in my shelter, but then had to pack-up the wet tarp. It is much cooler today, much more conducive for hiking. The wind gusts vary from 5 to 10 mph. I made good time today. The ground was firm even with last night's rains. I was able to keep my 2 mph pass. The elevation was also pretty flat. I saw a mother goose protecting her baby chicks. It was exciting to watch this sudden show in front of me. They didn't have anything to worry about from me, even though the whole time I was thinking the mother looked like a wild chicken and I bet she would taste good roasted over an open fire. I guess I am starting to get that infamous thru-hiker hunger. I passed Jo-Mary road today and am camping at Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to. It's a big deal because I am half way through the 100 mile wilderness. Especially with the 15.7 miles I put in today. I am sharing the lean-to with Gretchen and Nora. They had stopped short of the campsite yesterday. Sage and Freestyle were going to try and re-supply at a camp ground off of Jo-Mary. 59.7 Total trail miles. |
| 6/16/99 | Last night Sage and Freestyle showed up about
10:30. They had gone to the campgrounds with the
store. They were only able to pick up macaroni and
cheese and a bunch of snack foods. We awoke about
6:30, but I didn't get off until 8:20. I don't know what
any of the 4 guys have planned but I caught up with Nora
(trail name NSW) and Gretchen (trail name
Calamine). We made it to Logan Brook 11.4
miles. It is half way up White Cap Mt. It
will be another cold evening which will be good, the
other evenings have been so warm that I had only been
sleeping in the sleeping bag liner that I bought with the
gift certificate I got from my friends at work. The cold
night will also help keep the mesquitos down. Sage and Freestyle just came in to the lean-to and plan to take tomorrow off. My knee is starting to give me some trouble and I have a couple of small blisters. Tomorrow will be a big day though not so many miles, as it is all the elevation changes. It looks like I will be going over 4 peaks. Goodnight and God Bless, Michael a.k.a. (trail name Wrangler) |
| 6/17/99 | Slept in this morning and left about 9:30. I
caught up to North South West (Nora) and Calamine
(Gretchen). We summited White Cap Mt and were
rewarded with a phenomenal view. We could see
Katahdin and the lakes all around. You had the
feeling you were on top of the world. A similar
feeling when I summited Katahdin. We then summited 3 other peaks. The worst was West Mt. It's south slope, our down hill, was steep and long. Very tiring on the knees. NSW slipped twice because her knees couldn't support her any more. She just had to take a break and we were on our way again. We rolled into the lean-to at about 4:30. Only a 7.2 mile day but it had the elevation changes and all of our knees need the rest. We are only 34.2 miles from Monson, and All-You-Can-Eat meals (AYCE). Wrangler |
| 6/18/99 | I stayed last night at Carl A. Newhall lean-to.
Some other Southbounders had caught up to us. Cubs
and Crazy Dave stayed in the lean-to with North South
West, Calamine and me. There were 5 others that
stayed the night in tents in the area. 2 of them
are older gentlemen. One of them had sold his
business of exotic animal transport and done the trail in
'93. The other had just received his vet. license
and his family owned a zoo outside of Boston. Two
others are brothers from PA. One of them is a
Southbounder and the other is a teacher who is doing this
in his time off. He is hiking home. The 5th
guy is a flip-flopper. He started in Tennessee,
hiked north for awhile, and then bused to ME to head
south. He said he is doing it this way for time
reasons. He was also saying that the trail was so
packed with hikers in April that the Rangers were turning
people away at the entrance to the trails. The
lean-to's and tent sites were at capacity. You want
to talk about an army moving north. Today we had our own small army. Everyone but Cubs headed for a 16.8 mile hike over the Barren Chairback Range. The 9 of us made our way at our own pace up and down the mountains. I got to Chairback Gap lean-to about noon when it started to rain. I huddled in there with a number of others, eating lunch and contemplating the weather. The weather broke and we were off. We had already gone 9.9 miles and had a rough 6.9 miles to go. We were quickly rewarded with a spectacular view on top of Columbus Mt. It was absolutely breathtaking. Eventually all 9 of us were sitting there in awe taking in the scenery. Group by group people left again to continue on our journey. We had a number of other great views that day. I straggled in to the Cloud Pond lean-to exhausted and hungry. The 4 guys that beat me there had set up their tents rather than take the lean-to. It was a great gesture of hospitality. Knowing that they had more daylight to set up camp they decided to set up tents and let the stragglers take the lean-to. I ate and went right to bed. |
| 6/19/99 | I slept in this morning and left about 9:30. I did 16.1 miles today. It was a bunch of short ups and downs. A real knee stresser. I think I over stressed a muscle and had to nurse it the last 5 miles. I made it to Leeman lean-to just 3.5 miles from the road into Monson. It's just four of us tonight. Crazy Dave, the 2 brothers from PA and myself. The others must have stopped short. I am going to bed tonight with the fairytales of the Pie Lady in my head. (the Pie Lady is one of 2 hostels in Monson) |
| 6/20/99 | I left at 7:30 and made it the road just in time to
catch the two older guys. I was talking to Pete and
asked since he was done with the 100 mile wilderness,
that's all his hiking, what he wanted for his water
filter. Side note: ceramic filters SUCK! I
had bought this snazzy ceramic filter with the idea that
ceramic filters you can clean and therefore get more use
out of it. Well 3 days into the trip I have
problems with it. I have had problems before this
trip, but this took the cake. So I have bee using
iodine for the last 6 days. Pete says "I
bought it for $60 how much will you give me for
it?" I said "Well I will give $60 if you
want." The other guy says, "Pete give him
a break, it's not like your going to need it in the next
2 years. Besides you own a zoo and are a
millionaire." Pete chuckled and said
"$30" and I said "ok". I was
digging through my pack and scrapped up $25 when he said
that was enough. What a great guy! He sold me
a $60 Pur water filter used twice for $25! It was
the filter I went into REI to buy originally until I got
talked out of it. So I am planning to send mine
home, where I have a spare filter waiting for me.
When I need a replacement, I will just send for the whole
thing. So anyway, the 3 of us hitched into town to the Pie Lady. They picked up their car and I made myself at home. I went to the general store and re-supplied and did laundry at the Laundromat. I am now sitting in clean clothes on a warm bed waiting for the expected great dinner with home made pie for dessert. |
| 6/21/99 | Yesterday I did laundry and showered and shaved. Once again I am glad I got the sleeping bag liner. I just threw it in with my clothes. The Pie Lady makes excellent blue-berry pie. There were 7 hiker staying with her last night. 3 of them were northbound. Over diner we swapped trail information. The Pie Lady dropped me off at the trail at 9:45 and I used the entire summer solstices day. I finished an 18 mile hike right at 7:00pm. The terrain was nice and flat. Other than the rocks and roots it was a nice hike. I am at a lean-to with George and Trout. They have been taking it easy fishing along the way. This lean-to reminds me of fishing in Canada. Moxy Lake is right in front and the loons are calling out at sunset, which is 9:00. What great day. I might be able to hit Caratunk tomorrow if I want to. It will only be a 13 mile day but there are 2 mountains in the way. It looks like they will be over a 1,000' climbs, which will add 4 hours to the day. My body feels good. My right foot is giving me some trouble, but my knees feel good. It must have been the light day yesterday and real food, topped off with a pre-mixed Jim Beam and ginger ale in a can. It was surprisingly good. |
| 6/22/99 | Last night the mesquitos were pretty bad and the mice were really loud. I finally was able to drift off to sleep. I hiked 13.1 miles today and went over some small mountains. The day was hot though. I got a heat cramp in my leg and had to sit down for awhile, drink water and massage it out. The coolest thing is that I saw a bull moose. I got a few pictures of him. He was just developing his antlers and was definitely not camera shy. I was almost to the lean-to when I hear this cry for water, it was more like a shout, then coming barreling down the steep mountain behind me is 1 of 5 people I passed from a scouting trip. The kid was 16 and his face flushed and dry. He had ditched his pack and carried his plastic quart size water bottle in his hand. I stopped him and asked if the water was for him or someone else in his group. One of the counselors I passed didn't look that good either. I made sure he had water though. I gave the kid most of my water and sat him down until he was alright. I found out later that the troop leader had lost interest in the group and the fathers were trying to teach the kids about backpacking, for their merit badge. Unfortunately it was the blind leading the blind. One kid in particular had on bluejeans and a light weight long sleeve shirt. Anyway, I stayed the night in the lean-to with Red, a 44 year old man who is mentally slow, and with Trout and George, from the previous lean-to, and Crazy Dave pulled in kind of late. He got a later start out of the Pie Lady's and made up the distance today. Total trail miles 145.5 |
| 6/23/99 | Last night we were visited by a "mini-bear", a chipmunk. Fortunately it didn't get any of our stuff, just a lot of racket. I set out early this morning, because I had to cover the 6 miles before 10:30 at the latest. The ferryman, Steve, takes people across the Kenebic River only between 9:00 and 11:00. It's on a first come first serve basis for the canoe ride. It's important because there are a number of dams up river that release water when ever they need to. The river can become torrid in a mater of minutes. I reached the town of Caratunk at 9:00 am exactly as Steve was pulling up in his truck. Crazy Dave was sitting looking at his map. Steve came over and introduced himself to us and said that if we wanted to hit the general store before crossing we could throw our packs in the back of his truck and cover it with a blanket, which we did. I picked up some other snacks and a pint of Ben&Jerry's ice-cream. I finished it in record time and crazy Dave and I met Steve at the river where we crossed without a problem. We then made it to the next lean-to which was 3.7 miles away. We sat there at noon with 9.7 miles under our belt for the day. Crazy Dave then says that he want's to average 15 mile days so he is going to camp on a pond 6 miles further up. I said see-ya and took a little nap in the lean-to. I then pulled out my map and started planning my strategy for Bigelow Mountain. I needed to cover about another 10 miles of flat ground before I would start worrying about terrain change again. It was only 1:45 and it doesn't get dark until 8.30-9:00. Darn these long days and my obsessiveness. I struck out and completed a total of 19.7 miles today. My legs are reminding me of it now. The mesquitos are pretty bad here too. Crazy Dave has set up his tent and we ran into the 2 brothers from PA camping here too. I set up my mesquito netting in the lean-to. I am the only person in the lean-to. I hear a constant buzzing of mesquitos trying to find a way in. Total Trail miles 164.5 |
| 6/24/99 | Last night was miserable. It was so hot and the mesquitos wouldn't quit. Whenever I would move in my sleep and press up against the mesquito netting the buggers would attack me through the netting. It then dumped rain at 5:00am and I mean dumped. It lasted for about 45 minutes and then stopped. Crazy Dave was already trying to get ready for the day. I on the other hand wanted to sleep in, especially since the rain brought a little better sleeping weather. I got up and left around 9:30. Red had made his way up the trail from where he camped the night. He was ready for a break and I headed out. Crazy Dave was going to try and cross Little Bigelow and Bigelow today, I said see-ya. I did 20 miles yesterday across flat terrain. I didn't want to kill myself on 15 miles today. Especially with ending the day with a 3,000' climb straight up. So I did a 12.2 mile day and I am camping on the other side of Little Bigelow. This way I will start off my day with the 3,000' climb. It was so humid today though. I thought I was back in Houston. It was unbelievable. This camp is at a little higher elevation and the temperature is already dropping! All right! I might be able to get some good sleeping in. 2 guys from the last lean-to are here. These guys came in pretty late last night and one of them has a dog. The dog is a Doberman,lab mix. pretty cool and protective dog. They are thru-hiking as well. I passed 4 northbounders today. They also made me glad that I didn't try and stay at the next lean-to. They said that they passed a lot of Southbounders expecting to stay there. One of the guys said that he expected that I was the 35th Southbounder that he has passed and I am sure there were a number of them that he didn't know that he had passed in towns. The beg. of the trail will be pretty social. It's the end that will be isolated. There will be a number of dropouts. Then the rest will be spread out along the trail. Total Trail Miles 177.5 |
| 6/25/99 | I climbed over Bigelow Mt this morning and saw some gorgeous views of Sugarloaf ski slopes and the rains that are hitting the mountain range south of there. The day was hot and the only wind was on the peaks. I passed by the Horn Pond lean-to and saw how great they were. But I found out later there were 10 people sharing the two 6 person lean-tos. Awfully crowded. I made my descent as my right thigh muscle started to tighten up. It was all this down hill strain. I finally hit the hwy to Stratton at 2:30. According to the guide book the entire town was 8 miles west of the trail except for a small grocery store that was only 2 miles east. I choose to go east. The only reason I was stopping at all, was that in my haste to get out of Caratunk and catch the ferry I didn't make a crucial phone call. I needed to request my second set of maps to be sent to Rangeley. So at the Stratton Hwy, I caught a ride in after about 6 cars had passed in about 30 min. This was pretty good for someone who has never hitched before. The 3 elderly people in the cadillac pulled over and popped the trunk. I threw my pack in the trunk and sat down on the leather seat in the back. This wasn't your typical ride. We did our polite introductions and the people said they just took a hiker into town. I asked to be dropped at the store a couple of miles down the way. They then asked how long I would be. I said not long. They said they were just running up the road a ways to a plumbers store and wanted to know if I wanted a ride back to the trail. I said sure. I then tried the payphone at the store and it didn't work. I explained my problem to the worker and they said make the call a quick one. I called my sister-in-law, whom I was sure would be home, and gave her all the info. I looked outside and didn't see the car yet so I bought a pint of Ben&Jerry's Southern Pecan Pie. It was good. I finished it up and made it half way through the Keebler cookies when the car showed up and picked me up to take me back to the trail. It was 4:00 and I had already covered 10 miles. I was looking to do about another 4 to a stream crossing. It started to rain on me and I never found that stream crossing. So I am camped by a rain run off. I did about 14 to 15 miles today. I don't have an exact mileage since I am not next to a land mark. I will be in Rangely soon and I will take a much needed break. Then it will be about another week and it will be good-bye Maine! |
| 6/26/99 | After sleeping on the mountain last night I had slugs on my tarp and everything was damp from the rain or from condensation. I managed to pack-up and go about about 7:30. Hit the peak with spectacular view. I climbed Spaulding Mt today and did only about 9 miles. The elevation and the distance today weren't so bad and I will only be doing 8 miles tomorrow. I will probably be in Rangeley on Tuesday. I will be taking it easy all the way there. Grizzly Bear and Slippery Rock came in last night. They are locals section hiking. Cool people and Grizzly Bear sounds like he has section hiked most of the trail. |
| 6/27/99 | Today was another short day. I only went to the next lean-to, 8 miles. With only doing 9 or so the previous day I am wired to do more. I took my time getting here and even went for a mid-morning swim, which felt good. I sure hope that the post office works quickly to get my maps here. With all my time off, I have had an opportunity to do some more looking and planning down the line. It's funny the last couple of days I had hiked or met up with Niche, and when we arrive at 12:45 at the lean-to I let out a groan. Niche says, 'It's not a day off we did 8 miles today.' He is moving on further to sleep on the Saddle Back Mt. I want to keep going but I would just spend money in town, so it's better to take my time getting there. I have been able to just sit here and listen to the brook and watch the trees sway in the breeze and think and contemplate things. |
| 6/28/99 | I did 8.5 miles today across Saddle Back Mountain
Range. I crossed Saddle Back Junior without a
problem and trekked on to the Horn of the Saddle. I
made it up the Horn Mt and saw the green giants of
mountains through the misting clouds. I moved on
into the saddle. I was in the middle of the open
land when I could see the dark cloud roll over the Saddle
Back Mt into my path. It started to sprinkle and I
dropped my pack and grabbed my Gore-Tex jacket and the
rain poured and the wind whipped up by the time I had my
pack cover on and my pack on my back when the clouds
moved in and the visibility was now 20 yds. I
listened for awhile and didn't hear any thunder so I
moved on. Now I couldn't see the peak
anymore. I just pushed on through the rain and the
clouds. The tugging on pack, jacket and hat.
My adrenaline was pumping, this was awesome. I
checked my altimeter, I only had about 200 feet left to
climb. I had my feet secure on the went granite
ground and my head about me. This was no time for
doing something stupid. Out of the clouds in front
of came the sign post with the summit marker. The
wind pounded down on me. I just stood there in
front of the sign with a grin on my face. I let out
a yell, "Yahoo, God what a glorious day you
made!" With that I headed down the trail and
discovered a small pond on the mountain. It had
small white flowers around it with dark green
grass. With the fog bank of clouds blowing over the
pond it looked fairy-taleish. Later down the trail
I saw a moose in a pond eating. I snapped a couple
of pictures and moved on. I made it to the lean-to
just in time for a 2nd wave of rain to hit. I
stretched out my gear to dry and settled down with the
register to read. There is an Outward Bound group
here at a campsite. Slim and Walkingman came in
later in the evening, along with 2 northbounders.
We swamped trail info and stories. One of the
northies has a small transistor radio. I haven't
heard music in so long. The station isn't even one
I would prefer, but it came in clear and just the music stimulates the mind. A great end to a great day. I have been so caught up with the miles that the beauty was 2nd. It has taken these slow days to snap me out of it. I am who I am though, and I know I will get caught up in it again. Total trail miles 218.2 |
| 6/29/99 | I awoke early and tried to sleep in a little more. I then took my time getting ready. Slim and I were going to head into town together. We finally left about 8:30 and covered the easy 2 miles without a problem. The morning weather felt pretty good, but the sky was still filled with big grey clouds. We caught a hitch into town in a Saab. The interior was pretty beat up and the ceiling lining was missing, which was actually a relief for me as I didn't want to get dirt inside a newish car. He drove us the 9 miles into town and dropped us off at the post office, which was conveniently located on the other side of town. We could see what the town had to offer and where everything was located. This town, like the others, was small enough to walk through it in about 15 min. We hit the post office and both of our packages were there waiting for us. That meant I didn't need to spend a day in town! Not that a town day would be bad or anything. It just means spending more money. So, after the post office we went across to the Alpine Shop, which was a tourist trap, but they also sold some hiking equipment and Slim picked up a Ridge-Rest and mailed home his Therma-rest. It was a good idea, I should have done the same thing. It was then 11:00 and we stepped into the Red Onion restaurant for a real meal. I ate a 14" pizza with ham, hamburger, onions, peppers and mushrooms and we split a pitcher of beer. It must be the combination of weight loss and burning so many calories, but the half pitcher actually gave me a slight buzz. Jetson walked up while we were finishing eating. I had only met him once before and that was at his lunch break on the trail. He came up and you would have thought we knew each other a long time or something. We got talking and he had stayed in town last night and was about ready to head out after lunch. Slim and I spent the next 2 hours resuppling and making phone calls home. In my case e-mails. Jetson came up and the 3 of us started heading out of town. We dropped our packs just outside of town and were looking for a pick-up to hitch out of town with. Across the street there were a bunch of kids on bikes next to a van with a U-haul trailer. The young woman who was the counselor told us to come over. So we grabbed our packs and walked over. She asked if we were going to the AT and that she would take us. After throwing our packs into the trailer and her giving the kids some quick instructions she took us to the trail. They were a YMCA group out for a bike ride. The 3 of us hit the trail at 3:00 and it poured rain on us. My boots and clothes were so soaked that with each step I could see water squirting out of my boots. We cover the 9 miles to Sabathday Lean-to. There were already 4 men from Quebec there. Slim decided to tent it and Jetson wanted to get some more miles in and then tent it. I just made myself at home in the shelter. The men were friendly and spoke French often between themselves. Not a bad day for an 11 mile day. |
| 6/30/99 | It rained again last night after I went to bed. Slim and I got off to a late start. The morning was actually cold and it felt good. We have had so many warm days. We passed a number of northbounders too. Their numbers will just keep increasing. Slim and I caught up to Jetson in the evening. We have set up camp halfway to the next lean-to. We covered 12.4 miles today and the lean-to we passed was just too short of a distance and the next lean-to was just one mountain too far away. At one point I was hoping to make it to Gorham for the 4th. I don't think I will make it. It won't be that bad, I might be a day away and be able to watch the fireworks from the mountains. Now that would be cool. Total trail miles 242.1 |
| 7/1/99 | Slim, Jetson and I camped at the bottom of Old Blue Mtn. So we started off the day with a 600' climb. It was the 2,000 foot decent that made your legs hurt. There were some awesome views though. There was one viewpoint where you looked out over a 600 foot drop. It was awesome. I took a quick break at Black Brook before going up Moody Mtn. The 750 foot climb was bad but the decent was worse than off of Old Blue. It was extremely steep and I slipped a couple of times. I made it down to Sawyer Brook and Jetson and I had lunch there by the stream. Slim pulled up later and he gave us some wild cucumber that he found. It was pretty good. I then climbed the 1,600 feet to the top of Wyman mountain and took the rest of the easy 7 mile decent down to a small waterfall for the night. That finished up my 15.2 mile day. I was so tired and dark was coming too fast I ate diner and went right to bed. |
| 7/2/99 | I awoke and made it on the trail by 8:00. It was only 3.3 miles to the lean-to, but it was uphill. Which is why I didn't make it there last night. I made it over the top of the hill and it dumped on me. I made it to the lean-to and Niche, Kermit, Wildchild, and Magnet were contemplating hiking. Jetson was sitting out the rain there. The 6 of us stayed in the shelter for 2 hours waiting for the rain to stop. We went ahead and had lunch. I "yogied" big time. (def. Yogie - to get food from others) I needed to pack more snack food next time. Anyway, the rain stopped and we straggled out of the lean-to. The next lean-to was only 3.5 miles, but it was over a mountain with 2 exposed peaks. I went over the peaks and saw some great views. I made it the lean-to and the others were there talking. They were going to stop here. It was going to rain again and the next section of trail is straight up. Besides Niche took up a collection and hiked the 2.5 miles to the road hitched a ride to town and then bought 3 cases of beer and then hitched a ride back to the trail and walked up to the lean-to. So how could I refuse and go on. I put my cash in and sat and enjoyed some beer in the wilderness. Beer has a lot of calories and full of carbs. We are just getting ready for the Mahoosucs. One of the toughest mountain ranges. |
| 7/3/99 | With the extra calories from last nights party, I really got into today. It started off with a 2.5 mile hike down hill to a road crossing. Then it went up a 3,000 foot climb to Old Spec Mtn. I took the .3 mile side trail to the fire tower. It had a complete 360* view. I tried to take some photos that would show the panoramic view. I will need to pick up one of those panoramic disposable cameras. With a lunch break with Kermit and Jetson I was ready to finish up the day. We hit the infamous Mahoosuc Notch. Many hikers think that this is the toughest mile on the entire trail. The mile is more like a jungle gym than a foot path. You have to climb up and crawl under large rocks the entire way. The best way to view the mile is as a jungle gym. If you try to treat it as a foot path you will be very upset with it's difficulty. Jetson and I took a little over an hour to do the mile stretch. Which is a pretty impressive time from what I understand. It was fun and a great change of pace from pounding your feet all day. I finished today's hike up a 900 foot climb to where the shelter was. I was jazzed. It was a great hike with great weather. At the shelter we have massed quite an army. We now have 8 southbounders, including myself. Not many shelters will handle this many. It will be interesting to see what happens once we get to town. I will finish Maine tomorrow. I am happy, but sorry to see it go. It was a beautiful state. I will definitely need to come back. Total trail miles 276.5 |