Appalachian Trail Katahdin

I left Rangeley and did the Saddlebacks that evening. The weather was nice and I had great views walking along the ridge. The next day it rained the entire day. I fell hard twice, once I landed in the pushup position and I would've been hurt bad if I didn't catch myself. Because of the rain I got a bunk that night at the Maine Roadhouse hostel. For $35 I got a bunk, shuttle to and from the trail, laundry, dinner and breakfast. The hostel was one of the best I've seen and the two women, who'd just opened it, were super nice. After drying my gear and getting a bed for the night I left for the Bigelow mountains. They were wooded on top but had great views of lakes below.

On Pierce Pond there is a hunting camp near the trail. It's rustic from the1930's. They offer a pancake breakfast with sausage and eggs for $11 to hikers. The camp was cool. There was a pool table and a bunch of musical instruments for people to play. I had breakfast there then kept going the Kennebec River. At the river there is a guy in a canoe that ferries people across. I was there at 9am to catch a lift. 

After a couple more days hiking I got to Monson. Monson is the last town before the Hundred Mile Wilderness. I stayed at a hostel in town and resupplied before going into the wilderness. At this point I was around 115 miles from Katahdin. While at the hostel I ran into a guy named Sailor Jack who'd I'd seen on and off the last couple months. We ended up hiking through the wilderness together then summitting Katahdin on the same day.

The 100 Mile Wilderness used to be 100 miles with no services or major roads. Now people get food drops in the middle or slack pack some of it. Food drops are arranged through hostels. You pack a box with what you want then call them from a mountain top and they drop the food off at a road. It was a beautiful 100 miles with a couple mountains but also a lot of walking around lakes. It was much easier hiking compared to southern Maine. Along with the Presidentials in New Hampshire, the 100 Mile Wilderness is somewhere I'd like to visit again.  

Coming out of the 100 miles I didn't know what to expect. We walked out of the woods onto a dirt road that felt like the middle of nowhere. There was nothing I could see but a bridge to the right. We walked that way and crossed the Abol bridge to find the camp general store. We were pumped. There was food, beer, and ice cream. That day we hiked 29 miles by 6pm to get to the store before they closed at 7. 

The next day we summitted Katahdin. We left from Abol Pines and stopped in at Baxter Park to register before going up. The number on my registration card was 186, meaning I was the 186 NOBO thru hiker to finish this year. That has nothing to do with speed, since someone could have started a month before or after me, but it gives an idea of how many have done it so far. 

My family picked me up from Maine and I had a blast with them RV camping. 

The trip lasted from March 27 - July 27. 

During my final days of hiking there were so many thoughts going through my head that I wanted to talk about. Now, after being off the trail for a few days, they all seem so insignificant. The Appalachian Trail is a different world than the real life most people are used to. It's like a ferry tail where people have special names and travel through a trail meeting and re-meeting each other. People hike in completely different ways. For me I wanted to hike it in a way that was challenging and tested me mentally. Others have fun screwing around, taking lots of time to hang out in towns, and take a lot more time to finish. What I'm saying is the AT offers what a person wants and everyone is looking for something different. I thought it was tough. Hiking through the rain got to me. Mentally it pushed my limits at times, especially the wet feet. But I remember some of my happiest moments on the trail were in my tent exhausted after what felt like a never ending day. 

Towards the end of my trip I met quite a few interesting people. I met the Sutton Family who are a mom and dad doing the trail with their 5 year old son Harvey. They had to ask for special permission for Katahdin because normally 6 year old is the limit. I also met a guy named Shoes walking the trail barefoot. He was a flip flopper who I met coming south in Maine. I also met a guy who always wore jeans named Denim Dan. I can't imagine hiking the trail in jeans. 

Now it is time to go back to the real world, which I'm excited to do. I'd recommend anyone to do the trail or at least sections of it. I plan on returning to parts for sure. Not only was the AT cool but so many of the small towns were great. I got to see a lot of rural towns that I never would have. People were so generous along the way. It was a great trip.

   

AT - 1972 - Rangeley, ME

Massachusetts went by quick. Another friend and his girlfriend came and hiked with me for a couple days to do Greylock, which is the highest mountain in the state. When they left I was walking through town in the rain to get a bite to eat.

At mile 1700 I got to Vermont. I’ve done the first 100 miles of the AT in Vermont when I did the Long Trail, but I did it again. I hiked with some LT hikers for those miles and took my time. It was nice to do smaller miles and swim in all the ponds. There were a couple hot days but the hiking was fairly easy. Right before entering New Hampshire there was a 30’ bridge jump. It was awesome. I was nervous standing on the edge but another hiker was there so we both jumped before hesitating too long. Then my brother-in-law picked me up. I zeroed 4 days in Vermont with family and friends over 4th of July weekend.

After the long weekend I started hiking into New Hampshire. The White Mountains in New Hampshire were by far the toughest part of the trail so far. I had difficult days before NH, mainly because of big miles or numerous days in the rain, but the hiking was the hardest in NH. That being said it was my favorite part so far. The Presidential range was amazing. Throughout the Presidentials there were huts that people paid $80-120+ a night to stay in. The nice thing was thru hikers got the leftover food. When I hiked over Mt. Washington I got the best weather I could ask for. It wasn’t too windy or rainy. Then a few of us stealth camped near Pinkham visitor center and got an all you can eat breakfast for $13. Next was Wildcat Mtn, which was pretty tough as well.

I’ve been in Maine for a few days now and it’s great. I went through Mahoosuc Notch a couple days ago. It’s said to be the hardest mile of the trail and I’d agree. On both sides there are steep cliffs upwards. It’s a rock scramble through the notch over and under huge boulders. I had to take off my pack at least twice to get through small squeezes. That one mile of the trail exhausted me and took me a solid hour. 

Today I came into town to shower, do laundry and resupply. I hadn’t showered since Gorham or done laundry since Lincoln. I was well over do. I plan on finishing within a couple days of the 27th of July, which means I need to make pretty good time. It’s been great hanging out in town for a couple hours and having some beers. I’ve got 3.5 day worth of food and plan on doing about 69 miles before my next resupply. 

Lately there have been more SOBOs on the trail than NOBOs. It’s strange seeing such fresh people. They keep saying that us NOBOs don’t look happy and we have a glazed over look, also that we’re condescending. They have a point, but also we’ve been on the trail for months. I put on the same wet clothes and wet shoes every day. It’s nearly impossible to be cheery when most of the time all I want is a good shower and clean clothes. But still I’m glad to be here and happy I’ve had the chance to do such a cool trip.

I saw a moose on the trail yesterday. It was super cool. I spooked her and she ran off. Surprised me in the morning when I was still waking up but pretty neat.