The Cabin to South Arm Road

Had a nice breakfast to start the day with Earl and Marge. They are really wonderful people. 

There were lots of SOBO's (southbounders) at the Cabin with us last night. It's a an interesting dynamic between SOBO's and NOBO's. Everyone gets a little defensive I think when one or the other start throwing out advice on upcoming trail. I have decided the best way to handle it, is to wish them a great adventure and not offer any advice unless they ask. I guess unsolicited advice is never really that welcome :) 

Hiked over Wyman and Moody mountains and down to South Arm Road. It was raining and chilly when we got to the road and there is a campsite right there, which is where we planned on staying....but, it was early, cold and rainy and with Andover just a few miles away.... and a restaurant with hot chocolate there... we decided to hitch a ride in for a meal and then come back out to camp. Not much traffic on the road but my yellow rain coat is a good attention grabber :).

The first car that stopped was a Jeep Wrangler and they couldn't fit us all in with our packs, so they gave us beer instead. A few cars later and we were on our way. Had a burger and hot chocolate at the General store, before catching a ride back out to the trail to set up camp.

At the store we ran into several hikers we hadn't seen for awhile. Martial Arts, Mosey, and Jungle Jim. 

Camping by the trailhead tonight and Mayonnaise Pockets is here. Haven't seen him in quite a while and found out his hiking buddy, Texty, was off the trail. He quit at Manchester Center, VT. 1647 miles in. I can't imagine being so close (and yet so far) and stopping.

The mindset out here now that we are in Maine has totally changed. Everyone is ready to get 'er done. We are tired, we are wet, we are tired of being wet :) As Mambo said, he is a thru-hiker but he wants to be a through hiker. It has been fun, challenging, exciting, life-changing, hard, hilarious, and emotional. Looks like we have a good stretch of sunny days ahead. We are hoping to pound out some miles and enjoy camping and swimming by some of the beautiful lakes that we are coming up on.

Full Goose Shelter to Baldpate Lean-to

Yet another big check-the-box day. Beautiful day for Mahoosuc Notch. So grateful that it wasn't raining!! The notch was about what I had expected. A huge jumble of giant boulders. It was a total body workout. Legs, arms, core and brain!!! It's one slow, strenuous mile. But in a fun way.

There were several times when I had to take my pack off and shove it through some small opening and then crawl through after it. There was a lot of butt sliding today. Some planned and some not. No leg photos today but in referencing back to the photo of a few days ago.... those WERE pretty. Now they're just gross :)

After the notch comes Mahoosuc arm, which is not as fun. Basically, it's just like another steep, slippery, long, rock slab climb. I was happy to be done with it! 

It is nice to be putting some of these big challenges behind us. Probably another 80 or so really tough miles in Maine and then it levels out a little before the big 'un.

When I came to the shelter, I thought about pushing on another 3 miles to the next one, but decided against it. It was nice to be in by 6:00. Then I noticed the dark skies and the thunder started up. SO HAPPY to be in the shelter when the rain started!!! Doesn't usually happen that way. Sat in the cozy (not the word I would normally use to describe a shelter) shelter and ate dinner and watched the rain.

There is a youth group tenting here also. They are out on a three week backpacking trip. Many if them are city kids who have never camped before. They don't make town stops so they don't shower for three weeks! They stop at an occasional pond to get 'clean'. Wow! It's been four days for me and I am soooo ready!

Tomorrow, a much anticipated nero in to Andover, Maine. 

Baldpate Lean-to to Andover, ME

 Rained most of the night last night, so I was really happy to be in a shelter! Got up this morning for a short day in to Andover. It was gray and overcast, so as I came up over Baldpate Mountain, where I knew there were beautiful views, I saw .... whiteness. Up on these rocky exposed mountain tops, they use cairns as trail markers more than blazes. The  blazes wear off easily because of the conditions up there. I could barely make out the ghostly cairns through the clouds. A little eerie up there early this morning!

The climb down from Baldpate was rocky and slippery and steep. It was very hazy this morning and it was great to have fresh white blazes to follow through the mist. (Just sayin' New Hampshire)

 I passed Frye Notch Shelter, did a little climb and then the last four miles down to East B road were a walkable, gradual down. It's what Murphy and I call 'bull in a china shop' trail. There was a lot of wet plant overgrowth and you can either tip toe through and get wet at a slower pace, or you can charge right on through and get wet more quickly, but reach your final destination faster. It was a town day, so I was charging. When I passed a nice, clean family wearing cotton and smelling of fabric softener, I knew I was close. Called the hostel about a mile out to let 

them know I was near so they could come pick me up. 50/50 is having knee issues so he had to jump ahead a little bit so was with the shuttle driver when they came to get me. Came up to the road and this is what I saw....

I have never been so happy to see a diet coke in my life. After four days out through some rough terrain, I was feeling pretty lovely and it was confirmed when 50 laughed and told me how scraggly I was looking :) Brutal honesty out here!! But he also brought me a face-size whoopie pie, so all was forgiven. Whoopie Pies have a nutritional value of -1000 and about 1200 sugar-laden, teeth-rotting calories. Pure deliciousness.

Murphy caught up today. We are staying at 'the Cabin'. Another hostel tradition on the trail with Earl and Marge. They've been doing this for 20 years. Marge fixed shepherds pie for all and most exciting... fresh sweet corn! I've really missed that this summer!!!! It was amazing.

Tomorrow... we hike some more :) 

p.s. Thanks to my Uncle Sam for solving the bird mystery from the other day! It looks like it is a Canada Jay/Gray Jay. They hang around campsites looking for crumbs. Makes perfect sense!

Trident campsite to Full Goose Shelter

Woke up to the sound of thunder. Briefly thought about packing up to beat the rain, but was too cozy in my tent. Slept in a little bit this morning. It was awesome. Right as I got everything packed and my pack cover on, it started raining. Resigned myself to the fact that it was going to be a wet day because that was the forecast.  It rained for maybe 5 minutes and then cleared up and the weather was great all day!Got on the trail about 8:30. Big day!!!! Hiked for a few miles and came to....

Yep, that's 1900 miles spelled out in moose poo. Seemed appropriate for this part of the trail. And no, I did not touch it! Picture chopsticks which I'm not very proficient at. It took awhile!!

Hiked a few miles more and came to...... MAINE!!!!!!! I can't believe it.

The 14th and final state. Celebrated in fine style with a butterfinger.

I've heard that southern Maine is every bit as hard as NH and so far it's true. It's a wet place (sunk in muck up to mid calf at one point) and came to some interesting trail sections.

There were also some seriously steep descents and they were wet and slippery. I got in to the shelter late but there were some beautiful clouds tonight.

The shelter is full and everyone. Is ready for tomorrow. We come to the section of trail that is billed as the most difficult and possibly fun depending on your outlook. It's supposed to be the hardest mile on the trail and can take several hours to complete. A boulder jumble with rocks the size if cars. Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc arm. Should make for an interesting day!

Carter Mountain to Trident Col campsite

Nice stealth spot up on Carter Mountain last night, but lots of condensation made for soaked tents this morning!! 

We plan a lot of our days based on the info and trail profile in AWOL A.T. Guidebook. But sometimes it just doesn't tell the whole story! The profile coming down Carter Mountain didn't look to bad. Weeeell, although the steep section was relatively short, it was the most challenging I can recall. It was not only steep, but slick rock slabs that required some thought on the best way to maneuver them.

As I was heading down, passed several hikers heading up. The trail is usually more crowded on weekends. Then ran in to one that I recognized! Karl Meltzer. (If you recall, I him a few months ago down in Virginia. Ultramarathoner who is trying to break the supported thru hiker record.)

He's doing it southbound and had made it thru Maine and in to NH in 7 days. Around 300 miles so average of 43 miles a day!!!!! Wow. Very nice guy. Stopped and chatted awhile because he's a day ahead of schedule and had a short day of a mere 22 miles. Amazing! It will be interesting to follow his progress.

Hiked on down to the road and then stopped by the White Mountain Hostel again, which is right on the trail. Picked up some food that I had left there (and didn't want to carry over Wildcat mountain) I spent a few hours, charged electronics, hung my tent to dry, chatted with Marnie, the owner and then hit the trail again for another 7 miles. It's a really nice comfortable hostel so it was tough to leave.

The gang is temporarily split up. Mambo is about a day ahead. Murphy and 50/50 decided to stay in Gorham tonight to rest sore, weary body parts. Hopefully we will be back together soon.

We are officially through the White Mountains!!!! There are plenty of mountains still ahead, but it's a nice mental hurdle to have the Whites behind me.

Ten miles left here in NH, and tomorrow... Maine!! Can't believe it! 

Letter to New Hampshire below.

Dear New Hampshire:

Thanks for the great hospitality in your charming, friendly towns. Your White mountains were every bit as beautiful and challenging as I'd heard they would be.

Now... about this whole white blaze thing. The other 13 states in which the Appalachian Trail passes through, have embraced this method of marking the trail and it seems to be working seamlessly. It has enabled literally thousands of people to walk from Georgia to Maine. But, apparently you have not fully grasped the importance of the white blaze, as they are sporadically placed, at best, on many sections of trail here. You may think that we have become too dependant on 'the blaze' but hey, we've walked a long way to get here and are a little weary. They really do not mar the beauty of the woods and do no damage to the surrounding environment, so please NH, blaze the dang trail. 

Sincerely,

Many, many thru hikers

NH has been great! But just a little confusing :)

Gorham to Carter Mountain

On today's agenda... Wildcat Mountain. Another of those days that we've heard stories about, and from looking at the profile in the book, it looked like it was going to be a tough day. We got on the trail around 9:30. It is getting harder and harder to leave the comforts of (a) home. As a matter of fact, several hikers who had planned to hike today, opted to take a zero instead. Maybe it's our bodies/minds transitioning back to real life? Whatever real life is!! :) Most of what I miss about 'real life' (aside from family and friends of course) revolves around water and the conveniences that go with it. Drinking it, bathing in it, and flushing it.

Ran in to Oconee today climbing wildcat mountain. I had met him once way down in Tennessee back in April!! So weird how that works. And even weirder that I have been out here hiking since mid March! It's kind of surreal. 

Anyway, hiked about 6 miles and came to the last and oldest of the huts in the Whites. Carter Notch. I think the setting of this one is the most beautiful of all of them. Great little high mountain lakes. Perfect for swimming but a little too chilly today for that!

We got some great soup there and leftover chicken pot pie. I'm going to miss the huts!!

Anyway, back to hiking. Again, it was a tough day, but honestly it was no harder than any other day in the Whites. More tough days ahead, but there's only one way to get this done- keep walking! :)

Stopped on top of a mountain late in the day for a snack and got a nice early sunset pic.

Also had a visit from this interesting and curious bird. Anyone know what this is? He kept getting closer and closer to us. Pretty cool.

Mount Washington to Gorham, NH

Dragonlady and J5 picked us up this morning and we drove back up to the top of Mount Washington. This is a photo of one of the rare times the summit wasn't covered in clouds!

By the time we drove back up, a cloud was hanging over it again, so it was chilly! After about 15 minutes of hiking, we were out of the clouds and it was clear, crisp and sunny. Photo of the cog train tracks that bring lazy (aka - smart) people to the top.

Most of this mornings hike was above tree line. I actually like that. The climbs don't seem as steep.

We hiked about 5 miles before coming to the Mount Madison hut.

Stopped in and had a quick snack and hit the trail. The pointy mountain behind the hut is Mount Madison. We climbed over the top, and then started the long, steep descent down. We'd heard from lots  of folks who are ahead of us, that the climb down was brutally steep. We were SO lucky that it was a dry, sunny day! To me, it was one of those situations where I had heard so many terrible stories about this descent, that it just didn't seen THAT terrible. Just tough. Once we got below tree line, it was a little more challenging because it was steep, and the rocks were still wet, so very slippery. This was not a day for contemplating the meaning of life or how to end world hunger. This was a day to focus on where my feet were going each and every step. Lots of bruised and battered shins today. And mine were not the worst by far! Guess I won't be doing any leg modeling for awhile :)

This is looking back over at Mount Washington and then to the right, all the ridges we came across before Madison.

Did decent mileage today. As we got closer to the bottom, there were still lots of roots and rocks and muck. I am from Kansas. I am used to wide open spaces and expansive blue skies. I love the woods, but I was ready for some open air, so when we finally got some nice trail, I took off and literally ran off and on for the last mile or so. (that's right- Melody, Polly and Stacey- get ready because I'll be home soon and I hope you are ready to run!) It felt GREAT! A little bit of a boost at the end of a long day. 

Saw the first bear that I've seen since Virginia. He was just hanging out by the roadside as we drove to the hostel. 

Tonight we are staying at the White Mountain Hostel. Resupplied on food and a great package from home. Tomorrow, we start in to 'the wildcats', another section we've heard big stories about. Gotta get our game faces on.