Gorham, NH to Maine Route 17 (1891.5-1956.2)

Wednesday 9/6; Gorham, NH (1891.5)

Zero day waiting out the weather. We stayed at The Barn at Libby House. It is a pretty decent hostel. Not our favorite, but among the better hostels we've stayed in. Highly recommended for a quiet stay in a nice little town. We meet a couple of Mormon missionaries in the street after dropping some post cards in the mail. They were nice young men who asked questions about our hike and politely have us a very quick spiel about The Book of Mormon before handing us our very own copy. We thanked them and promptly took it back to the hostel and added it to the obligatory Hiker Bookshelf. Every hostel has one; sort of a take one leave one sort of deal. Maybe someone will use it.

Thursday 9/7; Gorham/Crawford Notch to Lake of the Clouds Hut (1844.4-1855.4)

Guys, we managed to score a work for stay! We pushed 11 miles and are among about 20 hikers here, but the "Croo" is fantastic and allowed most of us to work for stay. This means we'll help out a bit in exchange for a spot to set up beds on the floor, and leftover meal that want eaten by paid guests. The food is very good and it's warm and dry. No complaints here!

Today's hike was a good one, overall. I was a little down and cried some for no apparent reason. Bean was super patient and very sweet, and we got through 11 tough miles to land here, 1.5 miles below the summit of Mt. Washington. The forecast called for rain and clouds. We had some mist and lots of clouds, but no real rain. As we hiked, the clouds lifted some and we got some unique ridge views with low clouds and shadows, and the light on the hills was spectacular! We even got a rainbow! So now, it's about time for sleep. We hope to avoid the rain again tomorrow while going over Washington!

Friday 9/8; Lake of the Clouds Hut to Madison Hut (1855.4-1862.6)

Today sucked. We started the morning with work for stay at lake of the clouds which involved opening windows and scraping the black mold off to help prepare the hut for end of the season closure. It was FRIGID outside and all our fingers were numb. All in all, not a great work for stay, especially since all the hikers are dinner last night regardless of their work status. So we got started very late (10AM) on the day we're going over Mt. Washington. The climb wasn't too terrible, though the fog was very dense. We made ok time and approached the overly clouded summit. Yard Sale and I came upon the weather station which was barely visible through the cloud cover. It was quite eerie to look at, to use YS's word. We found the summit, took our photos, found the visitor center, got warm drinks, and moved on. It was somewhat anticlimactic as we got absolutely no views and it was pretty cold. The day was very, very long, and was made longer when YS and I got off our trail and onto another. We went quite a ways before realizing it and making our way back, and lost week over an hour in the process. By the end of our second day above tree line, we were all exhausted and ready for safety and dinner. We approached the hut knowing this one notoriously doesn't accept with for stays, but knew we had no other choice. It was 710 when we arrived and sunset is approximately 725. And... They ACCEPTED us!! We were SO relieved!! They didn't have enough dinner for us, but we didn't care. We slept on the floor and woke this morning to wipe down the walls in the hut, and stomp down the kitchen compost. We did get some breakfast.

Saturday 9/9; Madison Hut to Pinkham Notch (1862.6-1870.4)

Thank G-d, we're finished with the Presidents! Coming down Mt. Madison today was painstakingly hard! We inches or way down lots of Rocky trail, all still above tree line. We did have some really nice views coming down as we headed for the trees and below the clouds. It wasn't a particularly bad day, though I wound up pretty grumpy this afternoon. I'm so entirely exhausted and really need a break, but we really want to get through the Wildcats, which are the last peaks in our Whites. Two more days and we'll be finished! Assuming, that is, that we hit our mark tomorrow. 13 miles is an awful lot in this terrain and with tomorrow's climb, and we have to stop at under 6 or go all the way to the 13. Makes a challenging day! We plan to start with a solid breakfast, though, so hopefully that helps.

Sunday 9/9; Pinkham Notch to Zeta Pass Stealth Camping (1870.4-1878.9)

Well, today didn't go as planned (really, what day does?). We'd hoped for 13 miles to Imp Campsite, but it turns out The Wildcats are no stinking joke! U-Turn, you weren't kidding! Anyhow, despite all that, it really wasn't a bad day. The weather has been absolutely beautiful! I bit windy, and a little cool in some spots, but clear skies and sunshine make for stunning views! Plus, we started the morning with breakfast at the Pinkham Visitor Center. A buffet that has giant, fluffy, whole wheat pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, blueberry coffee cake, and an assortment of other options...a thru hiker's perfect morning! We were up early to take advantage and still try to make it 13. When we arrived at the hut 5.8 miles into our day at 2PM, I knew we weren't going to make it. So we decided on a stealth camp site, and we're here with Yard Sale, Ma'am, and Smash Newton. Apparently Bear Pop may show up at some point, too. They're working on a fire, dinner is soaking, and life is good. The tent placement options leaves a bit to be desired, but we've reconfigured the arrangements for tonight inside the tent and I think it might prove to be pretty darn comfy. I'm tired and hope I sleep well.  We'll finish the Whites tomorrow and head into Maine. Big things coming...

Monday 9/11; Zeta Pass Stealth Camping to Gorham, NH (1878.9-1891.5)

These last couple of days have been so hard. Today was definitely better than/slightly easier than yesterday, but I just kept feeling how tired I was as I walked. My mind and body are so overwhelmingly exhausted. We only had 13 miles to go today which is a long day here, but we believed doable. So off we went. Ultimately, we did manage it, but I felt like we were simply never going to get there. The last 3-4 miles of the day were super nice and well graded, and we got a hitch pretty quickly after hitting the main road. We opted for a motel room for just the two of us. We enjoy hanging out with all our friends, but when we really need rest look we do now, the quiet of a private space is so important!


Tuesday 9/12; Gorham, NH, zero (1891.5)

Wednesday 9/13; Gorham, NH to Dream Lake stealth site

We heard that the first miles out of Gorham would be relatively easy. They were and we managed a couple miles past where we'd planned to stop. Our general process is to plan on a stopping point and then evaluate. Often, there is a further option, and a shorter/fallback option. Today, we landed in between the two. We camped with Yard Sale near a quiet lake. It was a nice evening of discussion over dinner and early bed time. Apparently we hot 1900 miles today, which we totally missed. But we're excited nonetheless! Tomorrow... MAINE!!

Thursday 9/14; Dream Lake stealth site to Carlo Col Shelter (1901.2-1908.5)

The challenging terrain had been quite frustrating as it's slowed is down considerably (as you can see from our mileage). We're trying to keep our cool and not worry about time, but it's hard with such short days. We stopped short of our goal today. As we were stopped filling water for the final 4.4 of the day, a SOBO showed up at the shelter beat down and ready for the end of the day (at 3pm). We know this feeling. It sucks. We had just been arguing (again) over pace an whether or not to push the 4.4/what time we could realistically expect to arrive if we did, and this guy (On Again) shows up and shares that today has been his absolute hardest day in Maine. This is saying something, guys. So we promptly agreed that it was probably smart to stay put. Bean too a spill after collecting water and has a big gash in an arm and hand, so it makes the most sense. It's frustrating, though, because it's only 3:15. We've got hours left in the day, but no water or camping until the next campsite. If we hope tomorrow and find stealth and a stream in a few miles, we'll both be ticked. But I guess it is what it is. We're excited to be in Maine and entering the home stretch. I'm hesitantly ready to find the end of this journey.

Friday 9/15; Carlo Col Shelter to Bull Branch Shelter (1908.5-1915.6)

Mahoosuc Notch is finished! This is "the most challenging/fun mile on The AT." I did find it challenging, not so much fun for Fresh. Bean enjoyed it very much. Basically, it's a rock scramble/maze that you have to shimmy and squeeze through, and then balance over for a mile. There were a couple of moments that I was truly scared I'd fall and Bean had to help keep me calm and moving. It was another short day due to the difficulty here. This one mile took us (me) 3 hours to traverse. Literally. We hoped to make it another 2.4 and we probably could have. But there's a camp site just after you finish The Notch, and we opted to stop here. It's actually quite nice. So we'll walk out of camp in the morning straight uphill for 2.5 miles to conquer Mahoosuc Arm, and then I think we'll be finished with the Mahoosucs. Thank goodness!!

Before all this today, we had some hard climbs, but they were we'll worth it. We going ourselves above tree line again, though for the first time in Maine. It's gorgeous with the fall leaves beginning to show their reds in the valleys. Have I mentioned how much I love Fall?! In fact, I'm super excited to be going home in time for all the fall festivities! Anniversary, birthday, Halloween, THANKSGIVING (my Favorite!), and all the fall themed everything around town. Plus.... Pumpkin things! Pumpkin Noosa Yogurt is a new favorite!

We're camped again with Yard Sale tonight which is a treat! We like her a lot and it works out well that we've been seeing a bit of her lately.

I've deduced that I love the camping part of backpacking. I even like the hiking part when it's minimal miles per day and there's no real deadline to meet. But camping is my roots and it's really what I love.

Saturday 9/16; Bull Branch Shelter to Bald Plate Shelter (1915.6-1924.9)

Thank goodness for the end of today. I was starting to think that all of Maine was gonna be less than fun. But finally, this afternoon we got an actual trail which we could actually hike rather than rock climb. Though we're told not to get our hopes up because the next couple of peaks are apparently very hard. The southern half of Maine is very, very hard!

We ran into a number of day hikers today. One lady gave us a whole pint of blueberries! They were SO good!! We ate the whole container on the spot. All after climbing vertical rocks to see a hazy view of fall colors below. It was a beautiful day that brought a better mood for Fresh. Looking forward to town couple of days and PANCAKES!!

Sunday 9/17; Bald Plate Shelter to Andover, NH (1924.9-1932.9)

Finally a decent day with a decent pace! At least for the second half of the day. The first half was quite challenging, though the views we're stunning! We made good time and called for our ride into town to the hostel. First things first, showers. Then food, of course! Then a decision to slack pack tomorrow. We are super excited to get some miles in AND sleep in a bed again! A shower at the end of a hiking day is an absolute novelty.

Monday 9/18; East B Hill Road to South Arm Road (1932.9-1943.0)

Slack packing is AMAZING! We are back on our pace, for today at least, and knocked out 10 miles before 3PM. It felt great and had me feeling like I might actually be able to do this. After weeks of slower pace than we'd become accustomed, it feels like I just can't possibly finish. My body is simply exhausted. So this splurge which includes a bed at night and showers at the end of the day is so nice! And...we're doing it again tomorrow! 13 more miles will take us one day out of Rangley. We're looking at 3 or so more weeks to finish, and we are getting so excited! More tomorrow before posting this...

Today 9/19; South Arm Road to Maine 17 (1943.0-1956.2)

Another successful slack pack in the books! Today really was a great day. The hiking was moderately hard and we moved quickly without packs on. We're a bit concerned about putting them back on tomorrow. They'll feel so heavy!

Yard Sale and I had another great discussion, and OG and I had a first. We're all full of emotions about coming to the end of the North bound section. These emotions seem to range from relief and excitement to apprehension and fear. Most of us feel a jumble of many emotions, and for some of us, it's very overwhelming.

Wishing all who celebrate a peaceful Rosh Hashannah and a meaningful Yom Kippur fast.

And wishing Jessica and Marc and Jazz and Branden beautiful wedding celebrations! I know you'll both be gorgeous brides. Wishing you only happiness in your marriage! Remember that everyone there celebrating with you (and some of us who aren't) are your village. We are the people you'll call on when you are ready to celebrate, or when you're struggling.

I'm sorry I won't be there to celebrate these occasions with all of you. You're in my mind and heart as we continue on our journey toward Katahdin, and then home!

Hanover, NH to Glencliffe, NH (1741.8-1791.1)

Thursday 8/24; Happy Hill Shelter to Red Velvet Shelter (1741.8-1749.1)

A short day spent booking it into Hanover, NH, and then milling around town for most of the day. Things learned in the process? Dartmouth is gorgeous, Hanover is an absolutely precious town which caters to hikers and is full of overpriced everything, and I (Fresh) want to visit again.

We ate at a little place called Lou's which had the best berry pancakes I've had on trail yet. Also a pretty great omelette with Gouda, bacon, kale, and tomatoes, and a few doughnut because every hiker needs one of those. So yummy! We had a free side of pizza each for lunch, and gelato to top it all off. We're now a mile out of town at the shelter, which we're sharing with a bunch of pre-orientation Dartmouth students. Apparently, pre-orientation programming is a thing now. Or is it only at the Ivies? I overheard a couple of the girls chatting and I'm shocked at how shallow their conversation seems to be. Was I this air-headed at 18? Gosh! Anyhow, a great day. Looking forward to tomorrow!!

Friday 8/25; Velvet Rocks Shelter to Trapper John Shelter (1749.1-1764.3)

Wow, the weather! What a gorgeous day to start getting into some bigger climbs again! The climbing sucks as much as I remember, but the views are beautiful already! We wandered through the miles stopping to talk with new people and friends. We met Shaggy and his friend whose name I simply can't remember (sorry!!). They were so nice! SOBOs who we hope will keep in touch! We have camped the last couple of days with Deacon who is going to Maine. Tonight we were talking about Miss Janet and her amazing kindnesses. I wish there was some way to repay her, but there some isn't. She's so very kind to this community and gives so much of herself to us all.

Saturday 8/26; Trapper John Shelter to Hexacuba Shelter (1764.3-1776.3)

I forgot to where yesterday, so I'm making it up today (Sunday). Yesterday was largely uneventful, which was a blessing after the night before. I'll start there...

Friday, after blogging (which I did early), we made dinner, talked with a fellow hiker who want feeling very well, hung out and chatted with a bunch of hikers who were both new and old faces, caught up with GWAG, and we all went to bed. I had read a little, was trying to tune out another Dartmouth group which was very loud, and had almost dozed off Wolfe Dog told us that they were calling 911 for the hiker who didn't feel well earlier. Long story short, they called, got the rescue crew our location, and waited. I didn't get in the middle, as I felt like there were enough people helping. I did help pack up the sick hiker's things when they decided to take her down the mountain, and her significant other was going with her. It turns out she's doing just fine, but it was tiring and scary to take part in. Her hiking partner kept thanking you for helping and telling us not to worry about it, that they didn't want to bother. We had to make them ok with the fact that this is what the community is here for. We hello each other. It's what makes us a great group of people. After they departed, I went down and asked the Dartmouth student group to be quiet. Then we crashed.

The following day (today), we're tired and sluggish, and had our biggest climb in a while up Smarts Mountain. The climb was hard and long, and I injured my knee on the way up. No idea at all what I did, but it hurt so badly at one print that I wasn't sure I could get the rest of the way up. I did, and we rested for lunch at the top. The only view was afforded by climbing the fire tower, which I haven't done in some time as I have become uneasy with rickety things on stilts. We meet Scott and Brynn, day hikers who gave us sweets, fruit, beer, and carried out our trash. They were pretty great!

We made our way down the mountain to decide if we'd push on to the shelter or camp near the stream at the bottom. We decided to push on and it worked out ok in the end. The shelter was neat, built part way up Mt. Cube, it's built on the shape of a hexagon and has a bunch of space. We camped with a couple of SOBOs (Nameless was among them and was super nice!), and two sectioners, Julia and get grown son Chris. They were out for the weekend. Turns out, we met Julia back in Connecticut a couple of times (we recognized her), and Chris graduated from GA Tech. So we found all kinds of things to chat about!

I started feeling a little under the weather and we slept. I hoped to feel better in the morning.

Sunday 8/27; Hexacuba to Stealth Site (1776.3-1786.5)

Well, my knee felt a bit better this morning and has done well today, overall. We walked well, found the omelette man, and sat a while eating extra protein provided by this trail angel. He made us giant egg scrambles with ham, cheese, peppers and onions. We had bananas, doughnuts, and juice. It was amazing! Then...I realized I really wasn't feeling very well. We walked a bit more discussing what the best choice is. There's a hostel we were gonna slack pack from but we aren't sure about bunk space and we certainly don't want to pay nearly $20 each to camp in the yard. Add that to the fact that I'm not feeling well, and we decided to call it an early day and put the tent up here by a small stream. I'm hoping that an extra couple hours of rest will help me feel better in the morning. We're officially in The Whites and I need to be healthy and strong to get through them. I think it was the smartest decision, though it's frustrating. It's a pretty day and we stopped before 5PM. It feels like wasted hours. But I guess a few hours of down time is better than getting sick and being down for days. Anyhow, back at it in the morning.

Monday 8/28; Stealth Site to Hiker Welcome Hostel (1786.5-1791.1)

5 miles today. We were supposed to be here yesterday but...You read how that went. And I'm not feeling any better. Energy level is low and our package with all our winter gear isn't here yet. So we're hanging for the day. The gear will certainly be here today, so we'll head out tomorrow, assuming I'm feeling better. Until then, this place works fine. Lots of beds, a hot shower, and a hiker feed tonight!

Tuesday 8/29; Mt. Mousilake slack-Bean/Zero-Fresh  (1791.1)

I woke feeling all but worse. So I got stressed and cried, Bean was sweet and supportive and told me that it's ok. So, off he went to home over the first mountain in The Whites, and I went back to bed for the morning. Watched some movies, slept some more, set an alarm to send home the gear were replacing with the winter gear we received yesterday, and woke 10 minutes before it sounded to hear Erik's voice arriving from his slack. Meaning...he finished slacking our first White Mountain in 5 hours. He's fast! He says it was amazing and shared photos from the climb and summit. My anxiety over the climbing to come is not helped by this set back.

Wednesday 8/30; Zero at Hikers Welcome Hostel (1791.1)

And...We're both under the weather. I woke early to use the outhouse and recognized that I feel much better, but still need another day to recover. When we woke later, Bean told me he couldn't to hike. So, unplanned zero it is. I felt like the lead caretaker at the hostel was less than helpful (Tricks was AWESOME though!!), So we decided to switch locations, resupply today, and be ready to go in the morning. Hopefully we're both feeling up for it. So we're in North Woodstock, NH tonight, we've had a tasty meal, and we're resting in a private room. We certainly should have moved yesterday. We had a discussion at dinner about how close we are to the finish and how we feel about that. Basically, we simply can't believe it. Neither of us is ready, nor can we figure out how we'll tell you all about our experiences. It's a bit hard to explain. Actually, it's kind of impossible. So we'll be working on this for the next weeks. Until then, hoping tomorrow is a great day!

Port Clinton, PA to Delaware Water Gap, PA (1217.8-1293.6)

Saturday 7/15; Port Clinton, PA to Eckville Shelter (1217.8-1232.6)
Today was a pretty good day. Slow going with the rocks, and a late start put us into camp at about 7PM. This is later than we prefer, but still reasonable with the summer sun. Our feet are hurting from the rocky trail, but it's to be expected at this point. We're tenting tonight with a great group of people including Ten, Bluebird, and Alexis. We've met them all in recent days and like them very much. Plus we've still got Patch close by. Always a party! The next couple of days may be a bit challenging with a super fund site requiring us to camp outside it's proximity. Stay tuned...

Sunday 7/16; Eckville Shelter to Bake Oven Knob Shelter (1232.6-1250.0)
Holy Rocksylvania! The rocks we were promised in Pennsylvania have arrived! Today was hard. Physical, mentally, it feels like every time we make it through I've obstacle another presents itself. These rocks are no joke. Anything from small/medium rocks that move under foot to giant boulders that must be scrambled over. They're scary, tiring, make for slow hiking in order to remain safe, and most certainly make our already sore, tired feet just ache! A long, hard day of hiking, though, was followed tonight by learning that my sister became engaged over the weekend! She's happy and excited and I'm happy for her! Now to finish this so we can plan a wedding over a bottle of Frank Family!

Monday 7/17; Bake Oven Knob Shelter to Delps Trail Campsite (1250.0-1267.5)
Defeated doesn't begin to describe today's emotions. The rocks continue to pound and we got Lehigh Gap today which was the biggest climb we've encountered in a while. Actually, we opted for an alternate and it was still very hard! The main trail, we're told, was a giant rock scramble. We opted for the "winter route" in an attempt to spare my nerves. I still wound up melting down anyway. It was a big relief to find ourselves in camp tonight, and a little helpful to know that some of our friends had equally hard days and opted to stop sorry of their goals, too. So there are a few of us here in camp, where water is flowing for the first time nearly all day. Water never tasted as good as it did tonight when we'd been out for 5 miles after carrying extra through a government super fund site. The positives from the day: 1. We are lots of wild raspberries and 2. I found a "giant puffer" and played with it for a bit. Tomorrow's another long day, but we can do it. Hopefully the rocks will start to ease up as we head into NJ.

Tuesday 7/17; Delps Trail Campsite to Kirkridge Shelter (1267.5-1287.2)
Wow, what a day! Our pace was spot on all day, which is an improvement over yesterday, for sure! We're super excited to have made it just about 20 miles today, and that we'll be in town tomorrow! I'm craving a Sprite like there's no tomorrow! First stop, drinks! Currently, we are listening to a flip flop hiker who is 18 years old and extremely excited about... Everything. Holy wow can this kid talk!

Wednesday 7/18; Kirkridge Shelter to Delaware Water Gap, PA (1287.2-1293.6)
We made it to Delaware Water Gap!! This means that in a few steps, we'll be in NJ! Which means one more state down! 7 down, 7 to go, and the rocks of PA are behind us (in 50 or so miles). We had a leisurely morning before nearo-ing into town. It seems like days ago that we walked off the mountain and onto the street here in DWG to see a home renovation that struck us both. We looked on as we walked by and we're greeted by the owner, Marty, who is renovating this home to turn it into a B&B. It was lovely chatting with him and hearing about the plans. Check it Appalachian House on Facebook. We then walked on to find the church hostel here in town. They operate on donations and allow us use of their basement, including the shower. We're staying here tonight and may zero tomorrow. Or bodies are pretty beat up with all the rocks. We got the Village Farmer for lunch... And goodness, can we say baked treats?! Oh my gosh! I also hit the post office to pick up our package from U-Turn. Thank you for our hiker treats, all the way from the 100 mile wilderness! We'll enjoy every last bite that much more! Found out way to Wal Mart in the next town, resupplied, then walked to the laundromat which is decked out in film memorabilia. Then ran into Miss Janet who wound up giving us a ride from that little town back to the hostel, but not before the group ate something. So we thoroughly enjoyed time and a meal with Miss Janet, Scout, Mishap, Spillz, Bluebird, and Legs. We have done so much in a short day. Tomorrow, we rest!

Thursday 7/19; Delaware Water Gap, PA (1293.6; 0 day)
Today was a very chill day full of chatting with friends, moving from the busy, crowded church hostel to a quiet motel where we have spent the majority of the day lounging, napping, and watching TV. The Presbyterian Church hosted a hiker dinner where we enjoyed time with local church members and hikers alike. It's been a very quick zero day. Back out tomorrow for a couple now months to Katahdin!

Rain barrels are all over Delaware Water Gap!