The Casual and the Insane

Survived and made it to Andover! Also got a phone (which I'm writing from), which should be super useful as I am approaching the Whites and am sure to get some excellent views. Unfortunately, I am currently separated from my Trail family, so have no pictures for you. Knowing I was unlikely to get pictures (and so I could leave Double Dip and Camp Shoes something fun to find), I wrote Haikus each day to describe things. Also, apologies for spelling mistakes, for whatever reason auto correct isn't working and I don't have spell-check and am a physicist (so can't spell).

Day 16 (June 23): Bouldering!

Double Dip you're sick,
You can beat those kidney stones!
Hope you get well quick.

North Crocker Mountain:
easier than Bigelow,
but not much to see.

Mountain top sunshine
extends our short hiking breaks
Moose is here let's leave

Found the hidden view,
up the hill through fallen trees
Sugarloaf preview

Description:
Moose, Peaches, and I hitched back to the trail from Ray's cabin (took ~45 minutes), and started climbing the first of three mountains for the day. On our way up, we passed 6 other SoBos eating breakfast who had hitched out the night before and stealth camped on the mountain. 5 miles and 3000 feet up later, we were rewarded with a sign saying we reached the summit (there was no view).

Next, we had a breif dip down then back up (just 500 feet or so) to South Crocker where there was, while not a good view, at least something (if you knew where to look). We were passed by 2 SoBos (Columbus and Alex) who were booking it fast past the mountain.

We then had a pretty rough descent through some loose rocks/boulders, but all made it to our third mountain. The third mountain (Sugarloaf) was the most fun mountain we've climbed yet (aside from Katahdin), as it had a 1 mile bouldering section with full involvement of hands.

Eventually, we made it to our lean-to for the night, where we met up with Alex and a bunch of NoBos. The NoBos were fun, and shared lots of tips and advice.

Stats:
13.5 miles
1 mile up
Story time: suspended on account of all the people
Injuries: None

Day 17 (June 24) Weekend hikers vs. Thruhikers

Mouse in the lean-to
a hiker's horror story,
"It was on my face!"

Description:
This was an unfortunate day. We started off strong with Moose and myself attempting to go 17 miles, and Peaches denying it and calling us crazy (which translates to "see you there!"). We got a reasonable start (on trail before 7 AM), and Moose and I were booking it through the initial 5 mile descent we had.

*ferfurfel* (the sound of someone with a pack falling)
"Dang it!"

I turned around to see Moose on the ground, clearly in pain. I walk over and start getting out my first aid kit. By the time I arrive, she's fiddling with her left kneecap, which is clearly not where it's supposed to be. I gave her my compression bandage wrap and some Iburprofen. We walked the remaining mile down to the stream, and down the boulderng section a little slower.

We took a break at the bottom of the valley where a fordung was, right before our first mountain of the day. Moose's knee continued swelling. Peaches caught us, explaining he felt good enough to go the 17 miles. That was when I knew we wouldn't make it.

Throughout our lunch break, I read my wilderness first aid guide to see all the things we were doing wrong. It told us how we could make a better use of a compression wrap and that we should "be aware every step will cause further damage."

After suiting back up and Moose declaring that it was definitely worse, We decided to try to take some of her weight off. Peaches took Moose's tent, and I sprinted up the mountain, then sprinted back and took her pack the rest of the way up (she'd gone 1.4 of the 2.7 miles with her pack rather than wait for me to get all the way back). We decided to call it a day and just relax and read Ender's Game and see hos things were tomorrow, even though we made camp around 1:30 PM.

We were reminded that today was a Friday when 9 weekend backpackers entered the lean-to area and set up camp. You can pretty easily tell the difference between weekend hikers and thru-hikers. The former might have muscles and stay up past 8 PM. The later have dirt, grime, and bandages.

Stats:
8.0 miles
1500 feet down then up
Story Time: Ender's Game up to chapter 12.5
Injuries: Badly dislocated then hiked on left kneecap (Moose)

P.S. the haiku is because a mouse crawled across my face and woke me up the previous night.

Day 18 (June 25) The great divorce

MPG break up,
the Badass Squad is no more,
all hike their own hike

Saddleback Junior
pumps you up for its senior
still commands delight

Saddleback Ridgeline
Its alpine view reigns supreme
Maine's hills seem sublime

Came for the Privy.
Changed for the chaffing nethers.
Stayed for the logbook.

Description:
In the morning, Moose discovered she could no longer bend her left knee. She decided to take a zero. Not loving her enough to stay, Peaches and I left. I wanted to make up on lost time and try to get out of the middle of nowhere before trying to get a flight to Sacramento for a wedding, so aimed for a 20.1 mile day. Peaches wanted to not get injured and not be crazy, so planned a 15 mile day. Weirdo.

The view from the saddleback ridgeline was amazing. It was about 2 miles of exposed rock with a view of the rolling hills of Maine. If you looked back, you could clearly see all the mountains we had hiked in the past 100 miles or so. Also, because it was Saturday, there were lots of day hikers.

I think I passed maybe 20 day hikers in the 3 or so miles near Saddleback. You can identify day hikers by their small packs, very clean faces, lack of bug bite bleeding, lack of limping, and lack of sufficient leg muscle to get where they're going. One of them asked me if I'd come up from the ski lodge that morning. I looked confusedly at him and said "I came from Katahdin?" It was odd.

After reaching the first lean-to for the day, I stopped by and chatted with the weekend hikers who were staying there: a boyscout troop. They asked all about my gear and filters and stuff and gave me a slice of an apple. It was delicious. Then I kept hiking.

I passed the road for Rangeley (supposedly a fantastic city to stop in: it has THREE roads!!!), but just kept walking.

I passed a few more day and weekend hikers returning to their cars at the road. They seemed impressed at the size of my pack and the speed I was moving. I was getting nervous about my arrival time and the fire between my legs.

I failed to see the next two landmarks, which got me kind of concerned, especially since I was starting to chaff kinda badly (a first on the AT for me).

Eventually, I saw the privy at the campsite Peaches was shooting for (it had a trail blaze on it), so changed into my camp shorts. It didn't help.

5 miles later, I limped/waddled into Sabboth Day Pond lean-to to find a bunch of SoBos. Alex was there (still endlessly amused by the mouse on my face the other night), as was G Paw (one of the Canadians I started with). I also saw Donkey and Inch Worm (the guys who had returned my wallet) and met Cinder, Gonzo, and Troubador (who carries a guitar with him and plays it).

Stats:
20.1 miles
3000 feet up, 4500 feet down
Story time: wow these people stay up and chat around the fire until 9PM! Such nightowls. No time to read after that.
Injuries: Rashes where you don't want them.

Day 19 (June 26) I'll go........ this far....... I guess......

Categorical
Imperative states that we
Are ends not just means

Description:
I got up in the morning and decided to go 17ish miles, maybe try to keep up with Alex (who's booking it to Gorham by July 1 to meet a friend.... which might give me time to reach Hanover as I'd initially planned and easily get to Kyle's wedding) and go 19. By mile 3, the chaffing was back, and I knew the 19 wasn't happening.

At mile 6, I passed a road with a bench and a wonderful view. I sat there and ate my second breakfast - half a jar of peanut butter on 3 or 4 tortillas (first breakfast was 6 pop-tarts). G paw passed me, and I chatted with a NoBo who was pretty beaten down by the trail. In his words, he'd wanted to quit since mile 750, but he finishes what he starts. That sounds an awful lot like something I'd say and do. I resolved to consider quiting if I started hating it.

2 miles and 2 hours of waddling later, I made the 8 mile mark, where there was a shelter. I rested there and talked to some section hikers, who let me use their pump to filter from the shelter's "water source."

G Paw and I relaxed for about a half hour, then Donkey and Inch Worm came up. We chatted about how far we were going to go today (after all, it was only 12:30). Eventually, I untied my boots, so we collectively decided to stay there and not hike. G Paw had us lossen his pack weight by drinking his Whiskey which made me decide I should do a Kantian Haiku (yes Marshall, I'm aware I'm horribly misinterpreting the categorical imperative by having the word 'just' in their, but it was 5 syllables and I didn't think of the phrasing 'Are not means but ends' until after I wrote it. I have failed you.)

All in all, it was an enjoyable day with camradery, story telling, and waddling.

Stats:
8.3 miles
1000 feet down, 1000 feet up
Injuries: The Waddle - Donkey and Inch Worm suggest using axe spray. It earned them the nickname "fire-crotch" in Lacrosse. I declined for now.... just gonna take some short days.

Day 20 (June 27): Notches and Climbs

To carry water
or to trust the water source
That is the question

Description:
The day started out well enough (I slept in my hammock because mice), with me hitting the trail around 5:45 AM. I managed to sleep in until 4:50! Might be a new record. I passed a bunch of NoBos, which all consisted of the same conversation:

NoBo: "Hi!"
Me: "Howdy!"
NoBo: "How's it going?"
Me: "Well."
NoBo: "Good."

I think I was supposed to ask them how they were doing so their response of 'good' made more sense, but I always forgot.

Eventually, I made it down Old Blue Mountain to one of the roads to Andover, where I was staying next (there's also a road to Andover 10 miles later). Someone had left a trashcan out and there was a clear flowing broom. It was bliss. I threw away all my heavy trash, washed my feet, filled up on water, and checked to see if I had enough food I could make the next road or if I had to take this one. If all I ate the rest of the day was tortillas, peanut butter, and ramen, I would be good. So I decided to go on. I helped that everyone I camped with the night before caught up in that time and decided to keep going.

After that, we had a bit of a dicey hike. This was the first "Notch" we had hiked. I'm not quite sure how to describe the notches. I assume the name comes from the fact the elevation profile looks like someone just cut a 1000+ foot hole in the ground we get to walk through. They were steep. I waddled through (everyone else passed me even at my full waddle). I picked up a walking stick (my third for the trail). I called it "Fire Weilder," because it gave me something to do aside from contemplate the pain between my legs as I walked and gave a nice satisfying thump whenever I pounded it down. At least until it broke.

After the first notch, we had a second, steeper notch. It was 1.3 miles with 1500 feet of elevation gain. For thise of you who have hiked Flatiron or Thompson's peak, this was about twice as steep as the roughest parts of those. This was the first time since I got to the trail that I sincerly wished I had earbuds so I could just play some distracting pump-up music to motivate me to climb the mountain.

When we reached the top, there were a bunch of elementary achool kids on a 22 day backpacking trip. They decided to go down the notch and camp below. We also had a water source which was just a mud puddle. Made me glad I carried 3 liters of eater up the mountain (didn't need to drink that junk).

Later that night, Karate Kid showed up, even though I had expected to never see him again. Apparently he had to take two neros and a zero and go to a hospital because his big toe was horrible infected. He showed me a picture. Honestly, it didn't look that much better now that he's treating it. I might see him again.

Stats:
12.8 miles
3500 feet up, 4000 feet down
Injuries: unsure if my rash is going away or if the infected cut I found on my right ankle, the bug-bite turned bleeding blister on my left heel, or the fact my knees and I are no longer on speaking terms are just distracting me from it. Regardless, I'll take it.

Day 21 (June 28): Nero maybe?

East B Hill road hitch
Walked past graves without a ride
Thought I'd not arrive

Description:

Today, I slept in EVEN MORE! After getting up at 4:50 to no water, I was on the trail going down the mountain to Andover by 5:45. A section hiker the night before had told me it was the easiest trail he'd walked on in Maine. I agree. I probably averaged around 3 mph (once you factor in breaks for trying not to sweat out the last of my water and futulely searching for nice water sources... technically I averaged 2.3 mph).

When I reached the road (East B Hill) I needed to hitch from, I found trail magic: a gallon of water! Being a considerate person, I just drank a little over a liter and left some for others. I then started to walk to town (8 miles away).

Turns out, almost nobody drives on East B Hill road. Here's a log, as near as I can remember.

8:30 finished drinking water, started walking east
8:38 a pick-up truck passes me. Just the driver and nothing in the bed, but he doesn't stop
8:57 a gas truck passes
9:13 a logging truck passes
9:36 a van gives me a ride to the hostel I'm staying at.

Fortunately, all today, I've had no chaffing. I'm unclear whether to attribute this to the cooler weather, an improvement in my hiking ways, the easiness of the trail, the low milage I did, or the low milage I did in the days beforehand. Regardless, I'll take it. I also bought some Vaseline.

In town, I got a new phone, (where this update is coming from), ate lunch (a bacon cheese burger, a double bacon cheese burger with steak, and a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting), and bouvht the next 6 day's food (20 bags of poptarts, 10 ramen, mashed potatoes, 3 spam, 4 tuna, 3 pasta sides, and some trail mix). It was wonderful. A bunch of the guys decided to buy a bunch of beers and whisky and go a mile further into the woods and have a party. I decided to stay in the air conditioning, do my resupply in peace, and figure out how in the world I'm going to get from Gorham NH to Sacramento CA now that I have access to a box of all knowledge again.

I also texted Peaches, Camp Shoes, and Moose to find out where they are, let them know I have a phone now, and try to arrange meeting back up after I leave and come back to the trail. Only Moose responded (the others probably don't have reception). Apparently, she took a few zeros and eventually wound up in Rangely (about 35 miles behind me), and is hoping to get back on the trail tomorrow. Peaches left today (presumably also from Rangely, since he hasn't been to Andover.... I guess he probably decided not to be a jerk and stay to help his friend with the gimp leg escape the mountains.... or maybe he got hurt, or took a zero or just decided to take some slow days. I'll probably find out eventually). Camp Shoes and Double Dip hit the trail today too, though they were back at Stratton (where I started this update, about 70 miles behind me). I look forward to seeing them again soon. After all, I need to finish readng Ender's Game to them! They're right at the exciting conclusion! Well, aside from Camp Shoes and Double Dip: they left, like, 3 chapter ago. Silly hospital visits.

After much internetting and calling, I've figured out I can take a bus then a plane to get from Gorham to Sacramento fairly easily... though I haven't bought tickets yet. That's a project for tonight (pretty late night tonight, it's already 5 hours past my bedtime).

Blessings,
David "Whiskers" Martin

P.S. there will be pictures next time (hopefully) now that I have a phone. Some of them might be good. Tomorrow I'm climbing some exposed rock which should have a good view, though there's also a thunder storm tomorrow and omnious clouds out my window... so We'll see. My priorities are something like: 1. Don't die, 2. Get where I want to go (8 miles away), 3. Take some cool pictures. So if I think I can safely take pictures of lightning striking as I cross exposed rock, I will. But if it means I'm getting to the shelter late? Read a different blog.

P.P.S. a NoBo told me the AT is harder to hike than the PCT (though logistics are easier for the AT). Aparently, the PCT has trails which aren't actually just roots and rocks. After gettin internet, it looks like the NoBo was right: while the AT is 500 miles shorter than the PCT, it has about 100,000 feet more of elevation gain/loss

Summer Days and Summer Summits

Rejoice! While my phone still doesn't work (I should get a working one in 80-ish miles or so), I have been hiking with friends who have working phones and cameras! Let the Pretty Pictures commence!

Also, my father is a techno-mage (see comment on last post) and rescued the photos I took from the hundred mile wilderness. Check that post again for more pictures (I just added them all at the beginning).

Day 10 (June 16): A Beautiful Day

We arranged a ride from Monson back to the trail early in the morning (6:00 AM) so we could hit the trail early and try to knock out 18 miles on our first day back on the trail. Today was probably the first legitimately beautiful day we had on the trail. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining, it hadn't rained for a few days, the mud was drying, and the bugs were in hiding. All around, it was the best possible day.

While hiking, we discovered the AT is different outside the hundred mile wilderness. It was easier to traverse (fewer rocks, roots, and mud), and we heard and saw many more signs of civilization (occasional logging roads, boats in lakes, day hikers, snowmobile trails, etc.). We even experienced our first trail magic as a trail family! There was a cooler with some lemonade and crackers and a bin for money. Peaches bought Moose and me a lemonade and crackers, which were both delicious.

We did three fordings, with two of them requiring us to take our boots off and wade through (third was just a rock-hop). The water was perfect. In fact, the New Yorkers (now given trail-names: Double Dip and Camp Shoes), Peaches, Moose, and I spent about 45 minutes at one of the fordings just relaxing in the beautiful weather and nice, cool water, and annoying horse flies... many horse flies were killed in the making of this blog post. Double Dip went swimming.

We met a north bounder who was hiking the IAT, which I believe is the International Appalachian Trail, which apparently goes into Canada. She, as every other north bounder we've met thus far, was intense.

When we got to camp, I discovered that the new pot I had purchased worked beautifully, and Ramen was incredibly easy to cook and clean (which is good, that's all I've got for dinner for the next stretch). I had three packets. I also discovered that my boots were beginning to fall apart -- but it can be fixed with liberal application of duct tape (the glue at the toe is separating: a victim of Maine's roots and rocks).

Stats:

Awoke at: 5:00... grudgingly

Asleep at: 8:30 PM

Milage 17.9 miles (18 if you count the time we walked in circles for 20 minutes)

Elevation: Negligable (maybe 800 feet of culumative up?)

Bugs: minimal

Weather: Perfect

Water consumed: 3 liters

Slept at: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to right before the mountain with Peaches, Moose, Karate Kid, Camp Shoes, Double Dip, and a few other SoBos who wandered in.

Day 11 (June 17): Wait.... It's kinda hot

Now with our 4th straight day of not rain, the novelty of not being wet was beginning to wear off... and the sun was beginning to shine. We climbed our first mountain after Monson, and all decided we should have gotten up earlier when it was cooler. In fact, Karate Kid had the foresight to go earlier than us... we didn't see him today after he left.

With our first mountain summitted, we ate at the peak and admired the view (no, none of my trail family took pictures, deal with it). I ate summer sausage and we finished the New Yorker's wine they had taken from Monson, then found the trail (a non-negligible task) and descended again (after a good hour-ish break admiring the views).

We descended Moxie Bald Mountain, and got to Pleasant Pond mountain (after another fording). Pleasant Pond mountain may have been our least favorite mountain yet. It was about 80-85 degrees and humid, and Pleasant Pond mountain had ~8 false peaks. While it was only about 1500 feet of up, it was very deceptive... and hot. After summitting it, we descended the mountain, passed some day hikers, and arrived at our lean-to we stayed at for the night.

Karate Kid had left us a note and pressed on for the day, trying to arrive at Caratunk today (6 more miles away). We decided to begin doing story time, since I've got my kindle. We are reading Ender's Game

Stats:

Awoke at: 4:30... because sun

Asleep at: 8:00 PM

Milage 13.1 miles

Elevation: 3000 feet up, 3000 feet down

Bugs: none

Weather: Hot

Water consumed: 5 liters

Slept at: Pleasant Pond Lean-to right after the mountain descent with Peaches, Moose, Camp Shoes, Double Dip, and a few other SoBos who wandered in.

Story Time: Ender's Game, chapters 1-2

Day 12 (June 18): Rivers and Ferries and Waterfalls!

Today, Moose and I realized we were eating more food than we had in our bags for getting to Stratton. Fortunately, there was a small town (Caratunk) 6 miles from our lean-to we were going to be passing through. She also had a package to pick up there. Unfortunately, there was an unfordable river (400 feet wide, below a dam, can have river increase by 5 feet of depth in 5 minutes) which required a ferry to get across, which only ran from 9-11 AM. So, Moose and I got up at 4:30 AM and left by 5:30 AM to try to get to the resupply we had read adds for in the lean-to hiker journals.

On our way, we met Pyro and his new hiking partner Jelly Bean, who were also going into Caratunk for more food before Stratton. Jelly Bean had some pretty gnarly bloody mess going on with her right heel - about a quarter sized chunk of flesh missing, with a liquid band aid, gauze, medical tape, and compression wrap on... and bleeding through all of it. Which we compared with pictures on the internet of trenchfoot (see previous pictures) and Moose's toe. Which, by the way, is missing it's toenail and skin. The meat underneath had begun to blister.

The top of Moose's right pinky toe after it had healed a bit. It's got issues.
Image Credit: Moose

We got to Caratunk in plenty of time, where we stopped at the B&B resupply shop and got more food (Ramen and Pop-tarts mostly), and some treats for now (I got a gatorade, some reeses cups, some M&Ms, and a Klondike Bar and Jelly Bean and I split some cheese and crackers). We also met up with Karate Kid who had stayed in town and picked up a package from the post office today. We then meandered back to the trail, and crossed in the ferry.

On the other side of the river, there were waterfalls everywhere! Double Dip and Camp Shoes kepts stopping and swimming in them, and the rest of us went slow admiring them. We only went 3 miles after the ferry to the first lean-to, where we stayed. The lean-to legitimately looked like rivendale. We all went swimming (which was very good for moral and smell).

We ended the day with the first two chapters of Ender's Game, which I'm beginning to read aloud from my Kindle. Everyone is enjoying it (when they stay awake for it).

Karate Kid, Pyro, and Jelly Bean went on to the Lean-to 10 miles up the trail. We met a couple NoBos -- they're all super intense (ultra light-weight packs, started in snow, going for records, that sort of thing).

Stats:

Awoke at: 4:30... resupply!

Asleep at: 9:00 PM Reading is bad for you.

Milage: 9.7 miles

Elevation: 800 feet down, 800 feet up

Bugs: a couple

Weather: Hot

Water consumed: 4 liters

Slept at: Pierce Pond Lean-to with Peaches, Moose, Camp Shoes, and Double Dip.

Story Time: Ender's Game, chapters 3-4, The Fall of the House of Usher (fell asleep during reading)

Day 13 (June 19): The Beautiful and The Lazy (and in pain)

Today we set out to do 17.7 miles, but readjusted on account of Moose's toe and the heat to just doing 15.1 miles. It was an excellent hike, though we should have started earlier (it was warm). We passed a couple day hikers and section hikers today. They thought we were super intense (clearly, they haven't met the NoBos... or Karate Kid or Pyro or Jelly Bean). We took a picture of ourselves at the leanto at the 10 mile mark (where Karate Kid, Pyro, and Jelly Bean spent the last night).

Trail Family, from right to left: Peaches, Double Dip, Camp Shoes, Myself, Moose.

Image Credit: Camp Shoes (he has a timer)

After a brief break and swim in the pond, we carried on to our tentsite, which, honestly, was the most beautiful and restful place we've been to yet. There was a rock beach we could walk into the lake with, drift wood we could burn (and Double Dip and I could get new walking staffs), and a gorgeous sunset. We also had more reception than normal, so some of us were able to call people.

Camp Shoes (left) and Double Dip (right) walking down to enjoy the view
Image Credit: Moose

The View (Image Credit: Camp Shoes)

Stats:

Awoke at: 6:30... it was so hot!

Asleep at: 9:00 PM Reading is bad for you.

Milage: 15.1 miles

Elevation: 1000 feet up, 1000 feet down

Bugs: horse flies in the water

Weather: Hot

Water consumed: 6 liters

Slept at: East Flagstaf Lake tentpads with Peaches, Moose, Camp Shoes, and Double Dip.

Story Time: Ender's Game, chapter 5-6

Day 14 (June 20): The Bigelows

Today, we climbed a mountain range. It was hot. It was sweaty. I drank 8 liters of water and got dehydrated. It was long. But boy were the views worth it.

We learned our lesson, and got up at 4:30 today (though Camp Shoes slept in a bit-- we left him behind (he caught up)). Still, we made our first summit (to little Bigelow) by around 11 AM... and then we still had  more miles and three more mountains to climb.

Little Bigalow (from Bigalow) Image Credit: Peaches... the next day

 From Little Bigalow, we were able to see what we had left to do that day. It was moderately intimidating (see picture below)

Avery Peak, Bigalow, and South Horn... all mountains left to climb for the day
Image Credit: Moose

After descending Little Bigelow, we reached a campsite 5 miles from our final destination. Moose and Peaches were feeling a little tired and hurt (see Moose's toe picture), and so decided to stay there the night. Camp Shoes, Double Dip, and myself pressed onwards.

Moving up the mountains, we moved quickly, but stopped for every view (even the one which required another summit and .4 miles of added walking). It was glorious. We took some pictures

Panaromic still doesn't do justice
Image Credit: Camp Shoes

At the top of Bigalow, we spotted a leg dangling ledge, so we all dangled our legs, then Camp Shoes went back to take a picture of Double Dip and myself. It was stunning (also quite windy).

Dangling Legs (Image Credit: Camp Shoes)

Eventually, we made camp at about 7 PM, got water, cooked and read some short stories. Note: Paranormal romance is a HORIBBLE CATEGORY NOBODY SHOULD EVER READ.

Oh, also, we were passed by someone who mentioned I had dropped my wallet. Apparently it fell out of my bag at the last lean-to we had stayed at. Some other SoBos behind us who knew me picked it up and were bringing it.

Also: this was a super legit lean-to! They had multiple structures, maps of the area, and educational privies! They had whiteboards explaining how composting works, which was pretty cool.

Stats:

Awoke at: 4:30... still got hot

Asleep at: 9:00 PM

Milage: 12.8 miles

Elevation: 4500 feet up, 2000 feet down

Bugs: some biting tiny flies at the pond

Weather: Hot and beautiful

Water consumed: 8 liters

Slept at: Horns Pond Lean-tos with Camp Shoes, Double Dip, and two section hikers going north.

Story Time: Payback's a Witch (awful and horrible), Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton (ok I guess.... it's no Ender's Game)

Day 15 (June 21) Reunions

Today, I slept in, and the New Yorkers went ahead. I wanted to wait until I had my wallet before entering Stratton, and probably wait for Moose and Peaches (even though it would probably mean I'd need to take a zero day in Stratton because of library hours). I got my wallet, and met back up with Moose and Peaches, then walked down the last 5.1 miles to the highway with them.

At the end, we met up with a day-hiker who offered us a ride, but only had one seat. We gave it to Peaches, then Moose and I hitch-hiked into town. We were picked up by a nice older guy named Ray, who was super awesome. the conversation eventually went like this:

"So, do you guys know where you're staying tonight?"

"We were thinking about the Stratton motel"

"Have you paid and registered there yet?"

"No."

"How does free sound."

"Sounds great."

"Ok, I'm going to go pick up some stamps at my family home near Stratton, I'll show you guys it, and if you want, you can stay the night there."

".... Cool!"

Ray then showed us his home his grandfather build in the '70s, his father remodeled in the 2000s, and he was preparing to give his son. Apparently, it's currently being used as a ski-cabin. He let Moose and I stay there for the night.

After we dropped our packs there, he picked up the stamps he needed, gave us a ride into town, and said goodbye.

In town, we met up with a bunch of the people we had seen on the trail -- Pyro and Jelly Bean had taken a zero (I think for her heel), Karate Kid had gotten there early that day, the New Yorkers had arrived a few hours before us. We ate all the food, and took some reunion pictures.

Stratton with the Badass Squad
Right to left: Moose, Myself, Karate Kid, Peaches
Image Credit: Moose

Then, since Double Dip's sleeping plan was hike back to the trail and sleep in a campsite, we took him (and camp shoes) to Ray's cabin where Moose and I were sleeping (there are 4 beds and 2 couches -- both the couches are long enough I can actually sleep on them!) There, Moose, Double Dip, Camp Shoes, and I played cards and read. It was quite enjoyable

Stats:

Awoke at: 7:00 ... sleeping in like a boss

Asleep at: midnight - reading is dangerous yo.

Milage: 5.1 miles

Elevation: 400 feet up, 2000 feet down

Bugs: none

Weather: Hot

Water consumed: 6 liters

Slept at: Ray's Cabin with Moose, Camp Shoes, and Double Dip.

Story Time: Ender's Game, chapter 7-8.5

Zero Morning and Day: the Pain!

Moose woke Camp Shoes and myself up at 3 AM today. Double Dip had been in pain for the past 4 hours (we fell asleep). He rates the pain an 8/10, and it's a shooting pain through his abdomen. We think it might be giardia (he was drinking unfiltered water after his filter broke)... except that he's not having uncontrollable diarrhea and Camp Shoes is fine (who also drank unfiltered water). Eventually, we called Camp Shoe's dad, who is a doctor, and were advised to go to a hospital. So, we called 911, and got an ambulance to take Camp Shoes and Double Dip to the hospital (I don't really know where they are now). 

In the morning, Moose and I found out that Double Dip has a kidney stone, I think 7 mm in diameter. He's hoping to pass it and be back on the trail by Saturday. We'll see what happens.

As for myself, I'll be finishing my zero in Stratton today, eat all the food, order new boots (though really, with duct tape, who needs new boots?), enjoy (and try to break in) my new camp shoes (my parents are awesome), buy more food, do various other town chores (like laundry) and hopefully finish reading Ender's Game to Moose and Peaches. Karate Kid left early today, and the New Yorkers will probably catch up to us once they pass their kidney stone, so it'll be just Moose, Peaches and myself for the next section (unless we pick up someone)

Oh, also, Camp Shoes gave me a new trail-name a few days ago (around the time my trench-foot cleared up).

Blessings,

David "Pretty Toes" Martin

The 100 Mile Wilderness

Edit: My parents are wonderful people (see comment below) who rescued pictures from the 100 mile wilderness. I've collected them here for your reading pleasure (words below this set of pictures is unchanged)

The journey begins (registering before Katahdin)

The Trail... on an ideal day (start of Katahdin)

First view from Katahdin

More View from Katahdin

This is the Appalachian Trail... some pull-ups required (also on Katahdin)

Trail Magic! (also Katahdin)

View from Katahdin... only 2 miles left to go

Is that the top? (Hint, it is... even though it's covered in clouds)

Alpine Zones are fragile. Don't break. (Also Katahdin) 

The Peak... and the official start of the trail.

Looking through the clouds (atop Katahdin)

There's a lake below! (still Katahdin)

Knife's Ridge... someday, I'll hike that. But not today.

Plaque at the top of Katahdin

More cloud covered Katahdin. Still has snow.

It's a fording! I decided to take the high water bypass.

100 mile wilderness sign. Know what you're doing.

Bottom of my right foot after it's recovered for 2 days from the Trench Foot

Top of my right foot after it's recovered for 2 days from the Trench Foot

A lean-to. Rainbo Stream Lean-to to be specific.

Ideal Section of trail.

Normal section of trail in northern half of 100 mile wilderness.

100 mile wilderness? Then why are there canoes?

First good view on a clear-ish day.

More rocky trail.

Southern section of the 100 mile wilderness. Bouldering is fun.

There's a bird!

The clouds finally parted a bit! A good view.

Mist covered mountain.

Last picture before my phone broke, a mist covered lake from atop Barren Mountain.

Well, that was exciting! Unfortunately, part of the excitement was that my phone no longer works, and so I am unable to post any of the ~100 pictures I took from the first leg of the AT on the internet (or access them at all). I'm working on finding a solution, but it's kind of hard given I'm in the middle of nowhere (nobody sells phones or digital cameras within walking distance and I couldn't fix it myself). I'll post pictures if and when I get a way to do so, but don't count on anything. Also don't count on regular updates (I'm writing from a library right now), though I'll update when I can. If this update seems weird, it's because I'd been planning on telling it around pictures, which I no longer have. For the next section, I'll actually journal, which will change the tone a bit (probably. Time will tell).

Now, with business out of the way, on to the journey!

Day 0 (June 5): Recap: Meet the SoBos

After arriving in Millinocket, I met five other Southbound hikers (SoBos). The Canadians (James and Tom), Casey, and Caroline. Casey had a four person lean-to reserved, and invited the Canadians and me to stay with him the first night, so I decided to do that and hike Katahdin. We chatted for a bit and plotted out our plans. Part way through the night, we recieved our first omen, when another SoBo got a ride out of the 100 mile wilderness after giving up on day 3. He told us all about how bad the trail was, how you couldn't sleep at night, and how you needed hiking poles (which none of us had). Our spirits were undamped, but we considered ourselves warned.

Casey decided I should be called Grizzly because I've got a huge red beard and am from California. We'll see if it sticks (turns out it does).

Stats:

Miles walked: 0
Hours in boots: 0
Water drunk: 2 liters
Injuries sustained: 0
Food consumed: 4000 calories
Bunked with: Casey, Caroline, The Canadians (Tom and James)

Day 1: Katahdin

The other SoBos and I took a ride with four others from the AT Lodge down to Baxter State Park (where Katahdin, the northern terminus, is) to climb Katahdin at 6:30. We met with the ranger and left our heavy (~50 lb) packs there, took daypacks (<5 lbs), and started our climb. The ranger told us to expect it to take 8-10 hours to climb Katahdin.

The climb was beautiful. It was a partly cloudy day, which meant we were walking through a forest in and out of shade. The trail paralleled a stream (with waterfall) for quite a while, and occasionally the stream would overlap with the trail, making the trail essentially a rough water slide (which was fun to walk up).

After about 2 miles of incline, we got above tree-line, and hit the boulders and wind. This was where the fun really began. The trail transitioned into rocks and climbing. Some sections had rebar hammered into the mountain to allow people to climb, and at one point, you had to do a pull-up (on a pull-up bar) to continue your climb. During all this time, there were gusts of up to about 40 mph. For those who hiked with me in Arizona, the terrain was similar to the rockiest sections of four-peaks and flat-iron, but lasted about 2 miles.

Once you finished the rock climbing, you climbed a false summit, and could finally see the top, or so I was told. The partly cloudy day I started with became a full-on cloudy day, and I couldn't see the top of the mountain, because the clouds were swirling around it (I got some pretty epic pictures on my now broken phone).

Once at the top, I got a picture at the northern terminus sign (though I lost the picture now because phone), took some pictures when the clouds slightly parted, and headed back down them mountain.

I booked it down the mountain and was having fun jumping down from rock to rock, when I reminded myself I was going to need to hike the next day, so tried to take it slow and not get hurt. I was successful. I got down the mountain just under 6 hours after I started (I was quite proud).

I considered going down the AT some more, and leaving Baxter State Park, but decided I'd stay with Casey and the Canadians, and just hike extra far the next day. So I set up my hammock and tarp and bugnet, made my Mac n Cheese n Tuna, and ate and hung out until they showed up. We got a fire going, and had a grand old time (until the Ranger told us we were too loud and there were families near by).

I believe the Canadians finished Katahdin in about 7 hours, and Casey and Caroline finished in about 13 hours.

Stats:

Miles walked: 11
Hours in boots: 6
Water drunk: 3 liters
Injuries sustained: 10? Mosquito bites
Food consumed: 5000 calories
Pot: burned Mac n Cheese scraped out of bottom, some residue left, hammered out with rocks
Stayed with: Casey and The Canadians (Tom and James)

Day 2: Solo Sobo

It rained in the night. Hard. Undeterred, Casey, the Canadians, and myself all got up early (4:30 AM) to start our hike. They were planning on hiking 13-ish miles to the end of Baxter State Park, and I was planning on hiking 21 miles to Rainbow Spring Campground.

I accidentally knocked over my boot in the night, so my right hiking boot was filled with water from the start. Fortunately, I have an extra pair of socks, so I just switched out my right sock after mile 3 and mile 7 to prevent badness. Unfortunately, my boots are nowhere near as waterproof as they were when I bought them 6 years ago, everything was wet, and my plans were too ambitious.

I made fairly good time at first, and got out of the park at noon (I left after the Canadians and Casey, but they got lost, so I wound up getting out first). Hiking on my own was nice, I got to set my own pace, stop when I wanted, see what I wanted, take pictures where I wanted. I eventually got to a fording, but upon seeing I couldn't safely rock-hop across it (I'd have needed to take off my boots to ford), I took the highwater bypass (which was also quite nice).

I met a couple people on the trail, but was largely alone. By a little after noon, I reached the end of Baxter State Park, which had a store (where I bought delicious calories in the form of a ham sandwich and a huge muffin). According to the campstore owner, there were a lot of SoBos this year, he estimated he'd seen about 50 pass in the past week (since people started being able to hike south). Apparently I'd be meeting some people.

I crossed the bridge and entered the 100 mile wilderness, passing a faded and worn sign warning hikers that there is no chance of resupply, and they should all have at least 10 days of food with them, and they'd better know what they're doing because help won't be on the way. It was a good sign. 3 miles down the trail, I met some people hanging out with their dog, taking a zero day (aka a day where you don't hike), and drying their gear from the night before. I stopped and chatted with them, apparently there was a huge group of SoBos here the night before and they had all left this morning, this couple had decided to stay behind today so they weren't caught in the huge group.

Moving down the trail, I met Dee Do It, a cancer survivor finishing his northbound thruhike (he was forced off the trail last year because of cancer, and now is back to finish it... then hike it all south). Once he hits Katahdin, his trail name will change to Dee Done It. I offered him some trailmix (he was low on food) and chatted with him a bit, when he was sad I didn't have a trail name, I offered Grizzly as my name, which comforted him a bit.

I continued hiking, climbed a mountain, and saw Katahdin in the distance (still behind clouds), when a ridge-runner met me. A ridge-runner is apparently someone who works on a section of the Appalachian Trail. They hike the same section over and over cleaning up the shelters people stay at, fixing up the privies, taking junk people leave on the trail off, and taking care of people. She was very nice and sociable, I left her on the mountain and continued on to my campsite, which was 5 more miles away.

I should note right now: my feet were in pain. I've done hikes this long before, but did them in Arizona, where my boots were dry. At this point, I'd been hiking for 12 hours in wet boots, and had not taken my socks off since I got to Baxter State Park (an INCREDIBLY bad decision). I could tell I had some sort of blister thing on almost all my feet, and also on the balls of my feet. Even the tops of my toes hurt. Every step was agony.

Eventually, I could take it no longer, and changed into my flip-flops 2 miles out from the campsite. I figured I've hiked long distances in my flip-flops before and my feet were killing me. When I took my socks off, my feet were very happy about that, but still hurt. Also, I did not account for something: Maine. The AT in Maine can be fairly well summed up by three words: Rocks, Roots, Mud. Everywhere on the trail had plenty of each. So, within about 0.2 miles, I took a step across a boggy section and broke my left sandal. By this point the Ridge runner had caught up with me, so I changed my left sandal into my left boot and kept going (with one boot and one flop). About 1 mile out from the campsite I slipped (it's really hard to keep track of which foot has traction and which doesn't), and ripped my left armsleeve of my shirt. It was unfortunate.

Eventually, I stumbled into camp, washed my foot-sores, cooked food with a headlamp, hung my bear-bag, begged off some duct-tape from a hiker staying at the site, and stumbled into my hammock. Moxey suggested I sleep with my socks to dry them. I also hung my boots under my hammock tarp so they wouldn't get wet if it rained. I was exhausted.

Stats:

Miles walked: 21
Hours in boots: 13
Water drunk: 6 liters
Injuries sustained:
30? Mosquito bites
Unknown swollen paper-like skin condition on both feet
Blisters:
Left heel
Left pinky toe (bottom)
Left fourth toe (bottom)
Ball of left foot
Left big toe (bottom)
Right heel
Right pinky toe (bottom)
Right fourth toe (bottom)
Ball of right foot
Right big toe (bottom
Bleeding Sores:
Left pinky toe (top)
Left fourth toe (top)
Right pinky toe (top)
Broken equipment:
Shirt (left arm ripped)
Left sandal strap broken (temporarily fixed with a strand of duct-tape)
Food consumed: 7000 calories
Pot: burned Mac n Cheese on bottom, gave up as tired and threw in food bag
Stayed with: Moxey (trail runner), Noah (gave me duct-tape), Unknown NoBo

Day 3: Join the Group

The next day, I was hurting. My feet still looked like I'd been in a Jacuzzi too long, my blisters were popping, my sores were bleeding, but I wasn't going to take a zero on my second day alone! I'll just hike a little bit. Maybe 12 miles? So I spent about 30 minutes bandaging up my feet, then put them back in my boots, packed up and left. Though I slept in, so everyone else had already left, and I hit the trail about 8:30 AM.

The first couple miles were pretty good, I made good time, and got the the Rainbow Stream Lean-to, where I could tell Moxey had her work cut out for her cleaning up after some SoBos (a big group had stayed there the night before). I just kept going, I'd only gone about 3 miles, but my feet were starting to hurt.

I made it another 5 miles, and I met people on the trail! I was super excited because they were the first people I'd met going south on the trail, so I stopped and said hi to them and their dog. They were planning on going to the next shelter, where I was considering stopping (if my feet continued to hurt).

Eventually, I passed another 3 or 4 people, but my feet were beginning to really hurt, so I slowed down and some of them passed me. I finally hobbled into the shelter at about 3 PM and decided I'd stay there the night -- there were about 15 people there, and they had fire. The fire was made by a hiker named Pyro (apparently not the first fire he made), who turned out to be the same Alex who had given me a ride from Baxter! It was fun to see him again.

At Cave-girl's suggestion, I put my feet up by the fire for a couple hours because she thinks the wrinkled paper-like skin condition I have is from my feet being wet. It felt very good, so she was probably right. I stayed and chatted all night.

Stats:

Miles walked: 12
Hours in boots: 6
Water drunk: 4 liters
Injuries sustained: 20? mosquito bites
Injury status change:
Unknown swollen paper-like skin condition on both feet identified as probably from wet feet.
Feet still hurt.
Food consumed: 6000 calories
Pot: third layer of burned Mac n Cheese on bottom, realized my pot will never leave my food bag
Stayed with: Big-ole group of SoBos

Day 4: Burgers and Pizza!

That night around the fire, talk was had about a place called "White House Landing" on the trail. Apparently it's a place you can stay on the trail if you want to be in a cabin, and they also serve food --> giant burgers and pizzas. We all hiked the next day with "Burgers and Pizza!" as our chant.

I again slept in, bandaged my feet, and hit the trail around 8:50 AM. I think I was the last person out of the campsite. That said, although my feet may be killing me, my legs are still in good shape from the preparation I did, so I passed about 10 people in the first couple hours. Unfortunately, after about hour 3, my feet started demanding I do something (preferably take them out of boots), which slowed me down substantially. I managed to motivate myself with the promise of burgers and pizza (and somewhere dry I could have my feet out).

At mile 8, we hit the sign for White House Landing, it was just 0.2 miles off the trail: totally worth it. So we hiked down the mosquito infested marshy path to the landing, where we promptly found out we needed a reservation. Apparently the owners live in Bangor and only come out occasionally (they weren't out today), so we had no chance of getting anything from them. It was a disheartened and saddened group which returned to the AT and sat in the mosquito hunting grounds and ate our trail-mix (or re-bandaged and socked our feet in my case). Then continued on the 2.6 miles to the next shelter.

By the time we got to the shelter, my feet were on fire, and I switched into my camp sandals. Eventually, someone took pity on my zombie-shuffle and re-duct-taped my sandals more securely (I regret not bringing duct tape).

That night, several other hikers came and passed our group, including the Canadians who had caught up with us. They decided to go swimming in the creek (after all, the outside temperature was about 40 F and the water was maybe 45 F). We all decided they were crazy, though one of them earned the trail-name Aqua (by this point, my trail name had been established as Grizzly).

I dried all my footwear (boots and socks and feet) by the fire, and suddenly it didn't hurt to walk anymore! This was excellent news, and I decided I'd take advantage of it the next day by hiking with the earlier (and probably faster) hikers. I talked with Pyro and some of the other faster hikers in the group, I wanted to get up early, and heard some people describing themselves as "the badass squad." Turns out, they were all sleeping near where I'd set up my hammock, so we all decided to go together (Moose, Elsie, Peaches, Karate-Kid, and myself) at 6 AM the next day. We planned to go farther than the rest of the group was planning on going.

Stats:

Miles walked: 10
Hours in boots: 5
Water drunk: 3 liters
Injuries sustained: 60? mosquito bites
Injury status change:
Swollen paper-like skin condition on both feet treated successfully with fire
Blisters on toes, balls of feet, and heels gone with paper-skin condition, open sores remain
Feet still hurt.
Food consumed: 5000 calories
Pot: Hammered out burned Mac n Cheese with a thick stick, only has one layer now (and many scorch marks)
Stayed with: Moose, Elsie, Karate Kid, Peaches

Day 5: The Badass Squad

The Badass Squad consisted of three groups. Kayla "Moose" and Elsie (no trail-name) are two recent college graduates who decided to hike the AT together --> Moose had basically asked a bunch of people and Elsie decided she wanted to do it. Cannon "Karate-Kid" is a 19 year old guy who had just finished community college and was about to go into a four year college for his B.S. Andrew "Peaches" is a 23 year old guy who, like me, had just quit his job and wanted to do something fun, so went on the AT. Aside from Moose and Elsie, they were all solo, and had just met days earlier and hiked together.

We all got up in the morning, and things started to go south about 5 minutes before we hiked. I decided to wash my bandanna, but slipped and stuck my left boot right into the river. Peaches gave me his towel, and I dried it as best I could, and changed into a dry sock, but I was terrified my foot my get whatever it was again.

Undeterred, we set off about 5 minutes late, with Karote Kid leading, and myself right behind. Eventually, I took the lead (there were a bunch of rocks when I love going fast on). Eventually, I realize I can't hear their trekking poles (everyone aside from me had a pair of hiking poles), so go back to look for them. Moose had taken a fall and hit her elbow pretty bad, but they were going by the time I got to them.

After about a mile, we realize Moose's arm is really messed up. She couldn't feel it below her elbow, and it was getting red and swollen -- most of the time she was using her other arm to hold it in place rather than use her hiking pole. We made a makeshift sling for her (none of us actually knew how to make one) out of two bandannas and made her take a bunch of Ibuprofen (she had never taken it before and didn't want to take any medicine).

Two miles later, we got to where Karate Kid had a food drop (he took half his food with him, and had a company put it in a bear canister about half-way through the wilderness). Unfortunately, the food was not there, and he had no way of contacting the company (since nobody had any reception). We also gave Moose 8 more Ibuprofen before climbing the mountain.

Then we climbed a mountain for about two miles, where Karate Kid finally got reception. He called the company, which apologized and told him they gave him the wrong directions. They texted him the new directions. It was 3 miles back down the trail (and down the mountain we had just climbed). Karate Kid went back down to get his food, and we continued on.

Peaches and I were in the front, when we realized we couldn't hear Elsie or Moose behind us. Eventually we hear Elsie shouting for Peaches, and we go back. Moose had fallen on her elbow again. We gave her a couple more Ibuprofen, and each took about 5-10 lbs from her pack so she didn't have to carry as much. We then continued our decent to the next mountain climb.

Eventually, we hit the shelter which was supposed to be half-way to our minimum goal. Peaches and I started to set about setting things up for Moose and Elsie so they could stay as we pushed on, but Moose decided she wanted to come with us. Since we had some down-time, I found some good wood and made a make-shift splint for her (again, none of us knew what we were doing), which was marginally better than the make-shift sling we'd made (it kept sliding off).

We got back on the trail.

1.5 miles from our goal, Peaches realized he ran out of water --> also, by this point, I was the only one in the group who still had a functioning water filter (their pumps had clogged and broken). We found what appeared to be a sewage pipe, and filtered and medicated it (put purification tablets in it) and hoped it wouldn't kill him, then continued our climb (it was 1.5 miles with a 1000 foot elevation increase).

We eventually made it into our shelter. A couple people from the big group had gone on, one (Tarzan) was still there, and most hadn't gotten there yet. As we were the first ones there, we took our hiker rights and slept in the shelter like lazy people. It felt good to be lazy. I was just glad my feet hadn't gotten any of the problems they'd had for the days before.

Stats:

Miles walked: 10
Hours in boots: 10
Water drunk: 6 liters
Injuries sustained: 30? mosquito bites
Blisters on heel of both feet
Feet still hurt (but not as much).
Food consumed: 6000 calories
Pot: Elsie made Mac n Cheese. Burned Mac n Cheese on bottom, threw pot in food bag after others figured out they couldn't clean it
Stayed with: Moose, Elsie, Karate Kid, Peaches, Tarzan

Day 6: Good Views and Climbs

With the next day, Moose could now move her elbow about 10 degrees without pain, so she decided she wanted to press on. So we did. We climbed the 1200 feet over 1 mile that was right after our shelter, and then the mountain range after it. It was finally not cloudy for once, so we got some pretty great pictures at the top. We also met the New Yorkers (Joey and Ivan), and Joey had wilderness survival first aid, and knew how to make an actual sling! So we made a sling for Moose's arm, which seemed to help. Though she was worried because we had heard there was rock climbing we'd need to do the next day, so she decided she'd take it off to try to get more range of motion.

Eventually, our group separated slightly (Karate Kid got to our destination about 2 hours before the rest of us). Peaches and I kept waiting for Elsie and Moose (Elsie was having a hard time with all the elevation gain, and Peaches and I don't trust Moose's evaluation of her own well-being). Somewhere along the line, we met Tazer and Firehugger, a couple hiking the AT which is going for longest thru-hike (they've been in the 100 mile wilderness since May 22). They were taking a zero since Firehugger had popped her knee out of place, but she'd just popped it back in and was chucking trees around making a fire and cooking bread (it was very impressive). She was also a wilderness first responder, which means she knew even more stuff about what our problems were. She identified the foot problem I'd had as Trench-foot, a WW1 disease which soldiers get which causes permanent nerve damage to your toes. Fortunately, I can still feel my toes (unlike Moose and her arm). She also took a look at Moose's arm and basically said, "That's weird. You should definitely see a doctor when your out, but we can't really do anything. Try not to move it." At this point, there's just a section of her forearm she can't feel, and it hurts to move her elbow. She started using her hiking poles.

We eventually reached the end of our hike late (about 5 or 6 PM) and had a river to ford (about 150 feet of walking barefoot across the river) to get to our campsite, where we all sat in a circle and cooked our food. By this point, my pot has become an inside joke as the mac n cheese I cook is almost literally impossible to remove from the bottom, and I carve a stick each night to stir it. That said, nobody else has had any luck when they've tried to "show me how to cook." I traded Elsie some Mac n Cheese for some Ramen. We met up with the New Yorkers at the campsite.

Stats:

Miles walked: 11
Hours in boots: 10
Water drunk: 3 liters
Injuries sustained: 20? mosquito bites, 5? fly bites
Feet hurt a little
Food consumed: 6000 calories
Pot: Additional layer of burned Mac n Cheese on bottom, threw in food bag, offering mac n cheese to friends as a joke.
Stayed with: Moose, Elsie, Karate Kid, Peaches, Tarzan, New Yorkers

Day 7: Here Comes the Rain (Again)

After decided we'd get up early to try to go over the entire next mountain range, I was the only one who got up at a decent time (i.e. before 5 AM). So I started taking down my hammock. Now, I have two ways I take down my things: when it's raining (leave the tarp up until the end) and when it's not raining (taking everything down at once then pack --> it's significantly faster). As it wasn't raining, I just untied everything and started packing. About 1 minute after I packed my tarp, it started raining HARD. As my sleeping bag, hammock, and bugnet were out, and my bag was open, everything got wet except for the things I keep in ziplock bags (which included a pair of socks), my boots (which I threw underneath my pack at first sight of rain), and my food (which is ALWAYS in a dry-bag, because wet food is disgusting). Everyone else was happy in their tent.

When it became apparent the rain wasn't going to stop, I continued packing things up in the rain (and everyone else started packing in their tents). Today Elsie and Moose split ways (Elsie wanted to take a zero day, Moose wanted to continue on with us). We climbed in the rain. Everything was wet. Karate Kid and Peaches both snapped a hiking pole. Everyone fell several times (though there were no serious injuries, just bruised hips and knees). We got to the second shelter, but didn't make it to our third and down the mountain, because we didn't want to go over the ledges Tazer warned us as slippery while there was a deluge of rain. Instead we stayed at Cloud Pond --> which was a pond, in a cloud.

It was cold (my thermostat read about 40 F, gusts must have been at least 40 mph, and it kept raining). We slept in the shelter because we were lazy, and met up with the Canadians.

Stats:

Miles walked: 8
Hours in boots: 10
Water drunk: 2 liters
Injuries sustained:
Blisters on hips from pack
Food consumed: 5000 calories
Pot: Tired and cold and didn't cook. Internally given up hope on ever having a clean pot again.
Stayed with: Moose, Karate Kid, Peaches, Tarzan, New Yorkers, Canadians

Day 8: Almost..... There.....

The next day, the Canadians left early (about 4:30), but the rest of us slept in (it was cold). Eventually we left the shelter around 9:30 AM to go down to mountain. Peaches' feet were getting infected, so he said probably bye to us when we left (since he was going to need to take it slow).

On the top of Barren Mountain, I managed to find a cell tower for the first time and called my parents and posted a ridiculous selfie on Facebook (ridiculous because it's like <40 F, gusts of 30+ mph, and I'm in the middle of a cloud). I suspect this may have been what ruined my phone. The next time I pulled my phone out to take a picture, it had a blue downloading screen, and was non-responsive. Since I've been in town, it's been unable to charge. But here's the one picture I have from the 100 mile wilderness.

Top of Barren Mountain, right before my phone died. It's cold.

Turns out, Moose, Karate Kid, Peaches, and myself each gave up at the same spot at 2:30 PM, about 10 miles away from the exit of the 100 mile wilderness, so we wound up spending the night in the shelter there: though at the New Yorker's suggestion from the night before, I set up my hammock in it (sleeping in a hammock is far more comfortable than sleeping on a wood floor). A couple SoBos passed us, and continued on, but we hadn't met any of them before. Eventually, a father-son pair of weekend hikers came to the shelter, we offered them a spot. After failing to set up their tent in the rain, they decided to take us up on that offer. They were fun, and we eventually gave the son the trail name Ice Hot.

Stats:

Miles walked: 8
Hours in boots: 6
Water drunk: 3 liters
Injuries sustained: 10? mosquito bites
Deep scratch on left hand from fall
Bruised right hip from fall
Food consumed: 6000 calories
Pot: Cooked Ramen in Karate Kid's pot. Trying to ignore my pot's stench.
Stayed with: Moose, Karate Kid, Peaches, Ice Hot, Ice Hot's dad

Day 9: Monson!

This was the day! We were going to make it to Monson and civilization, we only had 10 miles to go, and we got up early to make it. We woke up at 4:30 and left the shelter by 6:30 (we were delayed because we had to filter all our water through my filter and we tried not to wake up Ice Hot or his dad). Unfortunately, this was also the day all our injuries flaired up. Karate Kid was largely fine, his knees hurt and he'd broken a hiking pole, but he was ok. Moose wasn't using her left arm and had broken a hiking pole the day before. Peaches' heels were a mess of blood and infection. I was fine to start.

While it was only 10 miles, there were two fordings we had to do (I fell into the river on one of them). Also, about 5 mile in, I either pulled something or got a terrible cramp (never figured out which) in my left foot which made each step agony. But, we all eventually made it (with a couple more falls a scraps --> I now also have two shallow cuts on my left hand), and hitched a ride into Monson.

We had a nice supper, where Peaches and I each had a burger as appetizers and then split a large pizza. After that, we chilled in our respective homes (Peaches and I are staying at the Lakeshore Inn & Pub, most of the hikers are staying at Shaw's --> I picked the Pub because they have a loaner laptop).

Stats:

Miles walked: 10
Hours in boots: 6
Water drunk: 3 liters
Injuries sustained: Twin scratches on left hand from fall
Food consumed: 6000 calories

Pot: In trash can.

Stayed with: Civilization and bedsheets 

Zero Day!

Today, we've taken a zero day, which means no hiking. All our sores are healing, Moose's elbow is just about fixed (she decided not to go to a doctor), Peaches is limping less (his heels are still a bloody mess, but at least they aren't infected), and the New Yorkers have basically said they want to hike with us (they decided to take a zero today when they heard we were). We've done our resupply (I got a new pot and different food and a rope (I lost my old one), seen how much weight we've lost (Peaches lost 21 lbs, I lost 15 lbs (though I gained it back after my first meal, so I'm mildly suspicious I just misread the scale)). We've heard news about other groups we met who are ahead and behind us, have relaxed and had fun and are ready and excited for our continuing adventures tomorrow.

Blessings,
David "Grizzly" Martin