Greetings from Monson, ME. We are near the end of this long road. Only 114 miles to hike through the 100 mile wilderness, Baxter State Park, and the Big K. The next time you hear from us, we will have completed our odyssey!
The rain and inclement weather did not stop after we left the White Mountains, neither did the challenging terrain. We expected the terrain to ease after Andover, ME but much to our chagrin we were still scrambling up rungs on the side of steep slabs and crawling down rock slides for the next 100 miles. We learned once again not to underestimate these mountains even if they are under 5000 feet in elevation. Finally the rain broke after 17 days straight days of spotty showers just in time to summit Saddleback Mountain. Above treeline, we got some amazing views of the burly ME landscape and what was to come. We have forded rivers, huff up steep mountains, battled the bugs, and trudged through mudpuddles all the way through ME. The constant harrassment by deerflys, blackflies and mosquitos drives us nearly to insanity by the end of the day (Maribeth has deemed our tent "the zone of peace"). Yet we perservere through these challenges and the accomplishment of completing the trail will be even more bitterweet. Many of our fellow Northbounders have gathered in Monson. We will surely be summitting with some of these comrades.
We will send some reflections on the trip as we finish next week,
Jared
Whew! We made it into Andover, ME last night. The past 150 miles have been tough...changing our perspective on the AT.
New Hampshire
We crossed the Connecticut River between VT and NH. Brother Pat lies (almost) due south on the river, so I smiled and waved hello as we crossed. The main goal was to meet Jared's family the following day, at the Lyme-Dorchester Road. You probably read the last post, so you all know that we met up and had a wonderful time. It was really hard to see them go. Watching movies, eating home-cooked meals, listening to music, and laughing and talking with family...we realized just how much we miss these things on the trail. But the visit had to come to an end, and they drove back to Boston to catch their flight back to MI. Jared and I continued hiking.
Kyle (J's brother) got a taste of the White Mountains when we climbed Mount Moosalauki on his last day out with us. The descent off this mountain into Kinsmen Notch is pretty legendary, even in AT circles...but the added elements of lightening bolts and rain made things all the more difficult. And then the difficult terrain (and rain) just didn't stop! Kyle departed with the rest of the family at Kinsmen Notch, and Jared and I were supposed to hike 7 miles further to the Eliza Brook shelter, but we were so tired that we stealth camped in the rain beside the trail. The next day we climbed the Kinsmens and got one of just a few views of the White Mtns. We looked over and saw the Franconia Ridge, the next day's big challenge, and reportedly the most beautiful section of the entire trail. The climb up the Kinsmens was brutal (hand over hand climbing, with wet slab rock), but the view on top was breathtaking: jagged waves of blue peaks fading into the distance, 360 degrees around us, with swirling clouds. I thought to myself, "Wow, so this is what the Whites will be like. This will be AWESOME."
The following day we climbed over the Franconia Ridge, a beautiful string of exposed (above treeline) mountains, with steep flumes on either side. It should've been an amazing day, but in many ways was one of the worst, most difficult of the entire trail. It should be said now that the White Mountains are also famous for having the worst weather in the country (perhaps the world, but I don't know if I buy that claim)...and the mountains definately started living up to their reputation. We awoke in the pouring rain, and as we climbed higher, turned into freezing rain. Luckily, we got our winter gear back in preparation for such a situation. We were freezing, soaked to the bone, and didn't see a single view on the AT's most beautiful section...and to climb so hard, for no visual reward was, well...heartbreaking. The rain made the steep descents painfully slow. And by now, my pants are so baggy that I kept tripping over the pant legs and into the rocks, the ground, and the trees...leaving me bruised and frustrated. We finally made it the 12+ (that's just 1 mile an hour!) miles to the Galehead Hut, one of the few huts run by the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club). The AMC hut system is loathed by some, because they charge the ambitious price of $90 a night (for just a simple bunkroom without heat), and is the only source of shelter for part of the Whites. What is a poor thru-hiker to do? Well, they compromise with us, by letting us do "work-for-stay". This option allows us to stay in the hut, safe and sound, and get fed really well...for perhaps an hour's worth of work. The huts can only accomodate 2-3 "work for stay" hikers, so the thru-hikers seem to jockey for position at the huts. I'm sure it's more of an issue during peak hiker season, but we're still pretty early in the game...so getting work-for-stay wasn't a problem. So we were able to dry off, get warm, and get fed...on the day we needed it the most.
A couple of days later we were getting ready to tackle another major feature of the Whites: the Presidential Range. This is the most exposed part of the trail, where the AT is above treeline for 12-14 miles. Our intention was to make it to the Lakes of the Clouds hut that night, but we had to hunker down because some bad thunderstorms blew in. We made it about halfway to our desired hut, but turned around and ran back to the Mizpah hut...making only 7 miles of progress that day. The next day we climbed Mt. Washington, the most famous mountain in the region! The weather compromised with us...no thunderstorms, but no views either. But it was all good, I came to enjoy the feeling of the swirling mist around us. We relaxed at the visitor's center for a half hour...made a phone call, wrote some postcards...but the rangers were talking of more thunderstorms to come, so we moved out of there pretty quickly. We continued the Presidential traverse without incident, making it to the Madison hut for the night.
The next day we climbed over Mt. Madison in a mini-hurricane, pummled by wind...and progressed .7 miles in one hour. But as we started descending toward Pinkham notch, suddenly the clouds lifted and revealed blue sky/sun, and the glory of the Presidentials. We sat down and had a granola bar up there, just taking in the view. I could've stayed up there forever..."so THAT's what we were hiking on??"...it was so beautiful, probably one of my most memorable moments of the trail.
And so the Whites continued...down into Pinkham Notch, up into the Wildcats, over the Carters, over Mt. Moriah, and down into the NH town of Gorham. We showered, ate, and rested...picked up a gourmet food package that our trail friends Christy and Ken sent to us, and continued on our way to Maine.
Maine
We crossed the NH-ME border on the second day out of Gorham! What a wonderful moment, our last state! The sign reads "Welcome to Maine, the way life should be". The trail in southern Maine, going through the Mahoosucs, is also famously difficult. The popular debate lately seems to be, "which did you find harder, the Whites or the Mahoosucs?" I still think the Whites kicked our asses a little more, just because of the weather...but the Mahoosucs are a force to be reckoned with also. The climbs are slow and steep, and you have to be really careful with your footing, especially in the rain. We went through the Mahoosuc Notch a couple of days ago, which has the reputation of being the hardest mile on the AT. It wasn't so bad though, just slow going...it was a mile of climbing over boulders, under boulders, around boulders, hopping to and from boulders...for about 2 hours. It's very cold down there too, like walking into a refrigerator, so you can find patches of snow undernieth the rocks. We saw a dead moose down there also. I guess the moose wandered into the rocks, broke its leg, and struggled for a few days before a local put it out of its misery.
So here we are in Andover! We estimate only 2.5 more weeks to go. It's pretty crazy to think that we're [probably] going to make it! We can count the number of days remaining on our fingers and toes. I think both Jared and I have some mixed feelings about this adventure coming to an end.
Hello from Lincoln, NH.
My parents and brother Kyle are visiting us for three days. We are living in the lap of luxury. We have been slackpacking (hiking without full packs) for the past few days with my brother. Yesterday, we finished our day of hiking early (despite spending an hour skipping rocks) and my Dad was waiting at the trail crossing. We drove back to our sweet hotel room on Loon Mountain and my Mom had whipped up a batch of strawberry salsa and pesto pasta just in time for our homecoming. Cold beer was in the fridge and a hot tub awaited us after our meal. Tomorrow we are climbing Mount Moosilaukie (~4800) will be above treeline for the first time on the trip. We are entering the White Mountains of New Hampshire famous for fickle weather and rugged granite mountains. Sadly, my family will be departing, but we are well fed and loved. Our batteries are charged for the adventure to come. Only 400 more miles and less than a month until we complete the long walk to Mt. Katahdin, Maine.
Peace and love,
Jared
