Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Friday, October 9, 2009
Favorites
Aside from being asked "How was your hike?", other FAQ's have been what were my "favorites". I've compiled a short list of these favorites below.
Favorite State: Maine (My second favorite was PA)
Favorite Hostel: Green Mountain House Hostel in Manchester Center, VT. The hostel was is run by Jeff Taussing, a former AT through hiker (2006). The hostel was so clean and comfortable; I felt like I was home. The hostel only takes 10 hikers which means it's quite, and for 15 dollars we get our own room, a shower, laundry, Internet, free long distance phone calls, ice cream, and a ride back to the trailhead.
Favorite Trail Meal: Angel hair pasta with Ragu pasta sauce
Favorite Shelter: Partnership shelter. This was the first shelter that we were able to order pizza at which made it especially memorable, but the two story construction also made this an interesting stay.
Favorite Hut: Mizpah Hut. Most of the huts through the Whites were unfriendly to thru-hikers. This was the only hut we were able to stay at that the staff was friendly, and accommodated all the thru-hikers that stopped in that evening. Other huts would turn thru-hikers away.
Favorite In-Town Resupply: Hanover, NH. There was a great little co-op grocery store that had a great selection of healthier, hiker friendly foods.
Favorite Piece of Gear: My sleeping bag. After freezing my ass off the first week on the trail I bought my western mountaineering versalite bag at Neels Gap and I never sent it home.
Favorite State: Maine (My second favorite was PA)
Favorite Hostel: Green Mountain House Hostel in Manchester Center, VT. The hostel was is run by Jeff Taussing, a former AT through hiker (2006). The hostel was so clean and comfortable; I felt like I was home. The hostel only takes 10 hikers which means it's quite, and for 15 dollars we get our own room, a shower, laundry, Internet, free long distance phone calls, ice cream, and a ride back to the trailhead.
Favorite Trail Meal: Angel hair pasta with Ragu pasta sauce
Favorite Shelter: Partnership shelter. This was the first shelter that we were able to order pizza at which made it especially memorable, but the two story construction also made this an interesting stay.
Favorite Hut: Mizpah Hut. Most of the huts through the Whites were unfriendly to thru-hikers. This was the only hut we were able to stay at that the staff was friendly, and accommodated all the thru-hikers that stopped in that evening. Other huts would turn thru-hikers away.
Favorite In-Town Resupply: Hanover, NH. There was a great little co-op grocery store that had a great selection of healthier, hiker friendly foods.
Favorite Piece of Gear: My sleeping bag. After freezing my ass off the first week on the trail I bought my western mountaineering versalite bag at Neels Gap and I never sent it home.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
How was your Hike?
Since I've been back, the question on everyone's mind has been "how was your hike?" How in the world do you sum up a 2,200 mile thru-hike from Georgia to Maine? How do you respond to that question? Don't get me wrong, I love that my friends, family, and even complete strangers are totally enamored by my experience and want to know more. But literally how do you even begin talking about the last 6 1/2 months of your life? I hiked. I hiked through sun and I hiked through rain. I hiked through snow and I hiked through mud. I hiked with biting bugs. I hiked with pain. I hiked during the day and I hiked at night. I just hiked. Yet I know that thru-hiking the AT was much more then putting on my pack everyday and moving forward. I still have yet to comprehend what I really did.So how do I answer this question? "Incredibly life changing." Before leaving on my hike I had a list of goals I wanted to achieve; getting fit, becoming more spiritual, becoming more confident.....the list went on. Nested within that nice neat printed list of goals was an idea of how life on the trail would be and how I would come to achieve those goals. Naive, yes. I admit that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Still, I knew I had the drive and passion to stand on top of Katahdin in the end. Did I achieve what was on my list? In many ways, yes, but more importantly I believe that I gained what I needed from hike. This experience provided me the opportunity to wake up to many things in my life that I had either been asleep to or to emotionally weak to let go of. For that I am extremely grateful. I will never look at the world the same as I did before nor will I ever view myself as the same as I did before.
I'm not sure if it would be correct to say I learned a lot about myself. Perhaps more appropriately would be to say I chose to get real with myself. It's easy to be honest with others, but many times it's not as easy to be honest with yourself. You don't want to admit to and examine your faults. Rather you like to protect yourself; to protect your ego. It's like when your best friend tells you that your butt looks big in your favorite pair of jeans; the honesty is embarrassing at first but if you care enough to listen and open your mind you can more easily see that shes right. When I chose to get honest with myself I was embarrassed and angry about many of the decisions I had made in my life, but after I sat with that honesty for awhile I began to appreciate the truth for what it was and felt empowered to change. I am a much stronger person then I had let myself be. I have spent much of my life striving to meet the expectations and desires of others and have almost always put myself at the bottom of the list. I blame no one but myself. I am the one who made the decision to place the opinions, wants, and needs of others above my own. This very decision has been a clear pattern throughout my entire life, including throughout much of my hike. It took nearly 1800 miles for me to wake up to the reality of my actions, but I woke up. I got real. I have no regrets. My hike was meant to be what it was meant to be for me. My hike was life changing.
"Do something everyday that scares you." ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Frequently Asked Questions about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail
What direction did I hike?
Northbound
Did I do the approach trail?
Yes. You are about to hike 2,170+ miles....hike the other eight. You won't regret it.
When did I start?
March 2, 2009. I had intended on starting on March 1st, but a bad snow storm blew through on the first. I waited the storm out at Amicalola Fall Lodge.
How much did I carry?
The weight of my pack varied. The most I every carried was around 36 lbs. coming out of Damascus, VA, but the average weight was somewhere around 30 lbs. You can find more information about what I carried here.
What Guidebook/Maps did I use?
I used AWOL's AT Guide. I loved the daily mileage breakdown and the profile views of the trail section I was hiking. I also really loved the perforated pages that I could tear out. I would tear out the pages I was hiking that day and carry them in my side pocket for easy access. It did a good job at covering town resupplies and overnight stays (hotels, hostels) as well. The trail is so well marked that I personally don't see a need to carry additional maps.
What did I eat?
In short, a lot of freeze dried foods and protein bars. I'm vegetarian and I had no problem eating along the trail. Below are a list of some of the foods I would eat for a given meal. The amount of food I ate changed along the way. Surprisingly, I had no appetite at the beginning of my hike and I had to force myself to eat, however, this didn't last long (thank goodness!). I went from being able to eat only half a Lipton rice meal or box of Velveta mac and cheese to devouring the entire portion and still being hungry. By the time I reached Maine, I was dipping everything in peanut butter because I was hungry all the time and I was hoping the fat in the peanut butter would help slow digestion and keep me fuller longer.
Breakfast
Pop Tarts mostly, but I also ate cereal, honey buns, and bagels. Lots of hikers also drank carnation instant breakfasts and added protein mix to them. I tried this but the carnation mix didn't agree with my stomach.
Lunch
Bagels or wraps with peanut butter and jelly; refried beans and cheese on a wrap, cheese and crackers
Dinner
Pasta (angel hair or vermicelli if available - think cook time and fuel usage!) with pasta sauce; Lipton rice meals; Mac and Cheese
Snacks
Protein Bars (Cliff Bars mostly); granola bars, trail mix; dried fruit
One of my favorite things to do was pack out an apple or two along with a Coke and save it until I had been back on trail for 2 or 3 days. Eating this in between town stops was such a treat!
Desserts
Candy bars; Jelly beans; Sour Patch Kids
I'd also pack out wine occasionally (after pouring in into a Gatorade bottle of course!)
Resupply: Town or Mail Drops?
I did both, but recommend resupplying in town over mail drops with a few exceptions. I had originally planned on doing all mail drops but quickly learned that my tastes changed dramatically on the trail. What I thought I would want along the trail was not really what I wanted to eat after a long day of hiking. If you are planning on mail drops, I highly recommend trying out your food ahead of time. Go for a long hike or go exercise and come home at eat a meal.
Places I would mail drop to:
Atkins, VA. I resupplied at a gas station here. Although I made it work it was an experience I would choose not to repeat. At the time of this post, hikers are able to send mail drops to the Relax Inn, which was right next to the convenient store but double check this with the current years data book.
In Rangely, ME there is an IGA to resupply at. Here I bought enough food to put together a mail drop for myself and sent it to the Northern Outdoor Center in Caratunk. ME. Honestly, there are plenty of other places along the trail that I should have done this, unfortunately those places are eluding me at the moment. What I recommend is looking ahead when you're in a town with a good resupply point. What does your next resupply point look like? Is it a grocery store? A convenient store? Hostel? If it's not a grocery store I would recommend buying enough food at the good resupply point and doing a mail drop to yourself. This way you know you're getting a decent resupply.
When did I trade out winter/summer gear?
I sent home a pair of long johns, a long sleeve shirt, and my light weight fleece in Damascus, VA but I kept my winter bag (Western Mountainer Versalite 10 degree bag). I actually never switched out my winter bag for my summer bag because I had such a mild summer and I tend to sleep very cold. There was about 2-3 weeks that I was sticky and hot at night, but over all I was very happy with my decision. I do recommend hanging on to at least your winter bag until Pearisburg, VA. I remember the nights still getting pretty cold, even the night out of Pearisburg was chilly. I also carried my MontBell Thermwrap jacket the entire way. This came in handy on those chilly nights. Since I kept my bag and my jacket I didn't need to get a mail drop of winter gear sent back to me, but if I had needed it I would have gotten it sent to Glenncliff, NH before entering the Whites.
How many pairs of shoes did you go through?
Four (Keens, Montrail Hardrocks, and Vasque Trail Runners).only buy the pair you are starting with
and be sure to buy them big enough. Expect your feet to swell when you hike. You'll want your shoes to have enough room to accommodate swelling and you'll want enough room in the toes of your shoes that your toes aren't jamming into the foot of the shoe while walking down hill.
I bought my shoes at outfitters along/near the trail as I hiked. This is an approach that I highly recommend if this is your first time thru-hiking. I went from wearing a size 9.5 to a size 11.0. My feet flattened out and swelled a lot.
Did you have any issues with bears?
I did not have any issues with bears, although I had one heart-stopping encounter in Shenandoah National Park. In Georgia and North Carolina there were signs posted about high bear activity near some of the shelters. Take these signs seriously! Don't cook in your tent, and hang your food. Although I did not have any issues a few people did get there packs stolen by bears. Be bear smart.
What was the most surprising wildlife encounter?
I saw a HUGE coyote in Vermont one morning. Scared the snot out of me.
Did I hitch-hike?
Yes (Sorry mom and dad). I hitch hiked a lot, but always in the bed of someones truck.
Did you have any creepy encounters with people on the trail?
No, but I also used a lot of common sense while I was hiking. The biggest rule of thumb was not to camp within a mile of ANY road; go further when at all possible. After being out on the trail for awhile you will have no problems picking out thru-hikers from day-hikers and hikers from weird people. If something doesn't feel right trust your gut and move on.
How much did you spend?
I spent approximately $6,000. The break down essentially covered approximately $2500 in gear and $500/month on the trail (it took me 6.5 months). You'll want some extra money left over to travel back home. If you are not on a hard deadline I recommend trying to save an additional month of expenses. Unexpected events will happen all the time; your gear will break, the weather will be awful, you may get sick. All of these things may cause your hike to expend for a longer period of time then you originally planned. Its better to have to much money saved then having to end your hike short of your goal because you ran out of money.
Did you train for the hike?
A little, but not enough. Thru-hiking is tough on your body and while many argue that the only way to prepare your body for a thru-hike is to thru-hike, I disagree. The fitter and healthier you are before starting your hike the easier time you will have adjusting to trail life. I highly recommend getting in the gym to strength train 2-3 times a week and work on your endurance. If you are lucky enough to already live in the mountains, take your pack out on as many day hikes as you can. You'll be thankful you did later.
Northbound
Did I do the approach trail?
Yes. You are about to hike 2,170+ miles....hike the other eight. You won't regret it.
When did I start?
March 2, 2009. I had intended on starting on March 1st, but a bad snow storm blew through on the first. I waited the storm out at Amicalola Fall Lodge.
How much did I carry?
The weight of my pack varied. The most I every carried was around 36 lbs. coming out of Damascus, VA, but the average weight was somewhere around 30 lbs. You can find more information about what I carried here.
What Guidebook/Maps did I use?
I used AWOL's AT Guide. I loved the daily mileage breakdown and the profile views of the trail section I was hiking. I also really loved the perforated pages that I could tear out. I would tear out the pages I was hiking that day and carry them in my side pocket for easy access. It did a good job at covering town resupplies and overnight stays (hotels, hostels) as well. The trail is so well marked that I personally don't see a need to carry additional maps.
What did I eat?
In short, a lot of freeze dried foods and protein bars. I'm vegetarian and I had no problem eating along the trail. Below are a list of some of the foods I would eat for a given meal. The amount of food I ate changed along the way. Surprisingly, I had no appetite at the beginning of my hike and I had to force myself to eat, however, this didn't last long (thank goodness!). I went from being able to eat only half a Lipton rice meal or box of Velveta mac and cheese to devouring the entire portion and still being hungry. By the time I reached Maine, I was dipping everything in peanut butter because I was hungry all the time and I was hoping the fat in the peanut butter would help slow digestion and keep me fuller longer.
Breakfast
Pop Tarts mostly, but I also ate cereal, honey buns, and bagels. Lots of hikers also drank carnation instant breakfasts and added protein mix to them. I tried this but the carnation mix didn't agree with my stomach.
Lunch
Bagels or wraps with peanut butter and jelly; refried beans and cheese on a wrap, cheese and crackers
Dinner
Pasta (angel hair or vermicelli if available - think cook time and fuel usage!) with pasta sauce; Lipton rice meals; Mac and Cheese
Snacks
Protein Bars (Cliff Bars mostly); granola bars, trail mix; dried fruit
One of my favorite things to do was pack out an apple or two along with a Coke and save it until I had been back on trail for 2 or 3 days. Eating this in between town stops was such a treat!
Desserts
Candy bars; Jelly beans; Sour Patch Kids
I'd also pack out wine occasionally (after pouring in into a Gatorade bottle of course!)
Resupply: Town or Mail Drops?
I did both, but recommend resupplying in town over mail drops with a few exceptions. I had originally planned on doing all mail drops but quickly learned that my tastes changed dramatically on the trail. What I thought I would want along the trail was not really what I wanted to eat after a long day of hiking. If you are planning on mail drops, I highly recommend trying out your food ahead of time. Go for a long hike or go exercise and come home at eat a meal.
Places I would mail drop to:
Atkins, VA. I resupplied at a gas station here. Although I made it work it was an experience I would choose not to repeat. At the time of this post, hikers are able to send mail drops to the Relax Inn, which was right next to the convenient store but double check this with the current years data book.
In Rangely, ME there is an IGA to resupply at. Here I bought enough food to put together a mail drop for myself and sent it to the Northern Outdoor Center in Caratunk. ME. Honestly, there are plenty of other places along the trail that I should have done this, unfortunately those places are eluding me at the moment. What I recommend is looking ahead when you're in a town with a good resupply point. What does your next resupply point look like? Is it a grocery store? A convenient store? Hostel? If it's not a grocery store I would recommend buying enough food at the good resupply point and doing a mail drop to yourself. This way you know you're getting a decent resupply.
When did I trade out winter/summer gear?
I sent home a pair of long johns, a long sleeve shirt, and my light weight fleece in Damascus, VA but I kept my winter bag (Western Mountainer Versalite 10 degree bag). I actually never switched out my winter bag for my summer bag because I had such a mild summer and I tend to sleep very cold. There was about 2-3 weeks that I was sticky and hot at night, but over all I was very happy with my decision. I do recommend hanging on to at least your winter bag until Pearisburg, VA. I remember the nights still getting pretty cold, even the night out of Pearisburg was chilly. I also carried my MontBell Thermwrap jacket the entire way. This came in handy on those chilly nights. Since I kept my bag and my jacket I didn't need to get a mail drop of winter gear sent back to me, but if I had needed it I would have gotten it sent to Glenncliff, NH before entering the Whites.
How many pairs of shoes did you go through?
Four (Keens, Montrail Hardrocks, and Vasque Trail Runners).
and be sure to buy them big enough. Expect your feet to swell when you hike. You'll want your shoes to have enough room to accommodate swelling and you'll want enough room in the toes of your shoes that your toes aren't jamming into the foot of the shoe while walking down hill.
I bought my shoes at outfitters along/near the trail as I hiked. This is an approach that I highly recommend if this is your first time thru-hiking. I went from wearing a size 9.5 to a size 11.0. My feet flattened out and swelled a lot.
Did you have any issues with bears?
I did not have any issues with bears, although I had one heart-stopping encounter in Shenandoah National Park. In Georgia and North Carolina there were signs posted about high bear activity near some of the shelters. Take these signs seriously! Don't cook in your tent, and hang your food. Although I did not have any issues a few people did get there packs stolen by bears. Be bear smart.
What was the most surprising wildlife encounter?
I saw a HUGE coyote in Vermont one morning. Scared the snot out of me.
Did I hitch-hike?
Yes (Sorry mom and dad). I hitch hiked a lot, but always in the bed of someones truck.
Did you have any creepy encounters with people on the trail?
No, but I also used a lot of common sense while I was hiking. The biggest rule of thumb was not to camp within a mile of ANY road; go further when at all possible. After being out on the trail for awhile you will have no problems picking out thru-hikers from day-hikers and hikers from weird people. If something doesn't feel right trust your gut and move on.
How much did you spend?
I spent approximately $6,000. The break down essentially covered approximately $2500 in gear and $500/month on the trail (it took me 6.5 months). You'll want some extra money left over to travel back home. If you are not on a hard deadline I recommend trying to save an additional month of expenses. Unexpected events will happen all the time; your gear will break, the weather will be awful, you may get sick. All of these things may cause your hike to expend for a longer period of time then you originally planned. Its better to have to much money saved then having to end your hike short of your goal because you ran out of money.
Did you train for the hike?
A little, but not enough. Thru-hiking is tough on your body and while many argue that the only way to prepare your body for a thru-hike is to thru-hike, I disagree. The fitter and healthier you are before starting your hike the easier time you will have adjusting to trail life. I highly recommend getting in the gym to strength train 2-3 times a week and work on your endurance. If you are lucky enough to already live in the mountains, take your pack out on as many day hikes as you can. You'll be thankful you did later.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Returning Home
Despite our late night both Grom and I were unable to sleep in. Like clockwork we were up at 6am, and my legs were itching to move. Little did they know they would be jailed up in a car all day. Eventually we made our way to the Boston airport thanks to Twix and we picked up our rental car. By 9am our journey began, our very long, long journey. Grommet had to make it to North Carolina to be at her job the next morning. The drive should have been 14 hours. The drive was actually 18 hours thanks to a flaming car on some toll road in New York. Fun times. Still, we made it to North Carolina and Grom made it to her job on time.I took that Monday to recover and catch up on some seep before finishing my journey home to my parents house the following day. My car ride home was almost as adventurous. I downloaded directions from google maps and didn't bother to double check them before leaving North Carolina. Big mistake. I drove 60 miles out of my way, fantastic. Still yet again I arrived at my parents before midnight and was welcomed with huge smiles and big hugs. It was really great to see both my mom and dad after being away for so long.
I spent the next two days with my parents, taking time to catchup on the past 6 1/2 month of my life and theirs. On Wednesday, they took me their favorite Chinese restaurant in Tampa (P.F. Chang's). Fabulous. Get those images of the all you can eat Chinese buffets out of your head peeps, this place is fine dining at its oriental best. If you're ever in Tampa check it out.
On Thursday my mom planned a day of pampering for the both of us. After breakfast we headed down to the spa for manicures and pedicures. I laughed when she told me because I was immediately reminded of a conversation myself and the divas had somewhere in New York about getting a pedicure by a small Vietnamese women. "No help for you" we joked about our calloused, dirty feet. Yet there I was soaking my feet in some kind of mineral bath, relaxing in a massage chair as this little Vietnamese woman worked her wonders. The callouses are still there, but my toes are clean and pretty :)After our manicures and pedicures we headed off to do the next obvious pampering event; getting ourselves stabbed a million times with a needle. Yep that's right, my mom and I went and got tattoos together. Never in a million years would I have thought that this is what I would be doing when returning home from the trail. And not only was I getting a tattoo with my mom but she helped me design mine. I would have thought that it was all a dream but the million needle stabs in my arm were way to realistic.
Once I was newly decorated and clean it was time to pack up the car and head back to Gainesville. I couldn't wait to see Jasmine, my 7 year old cocker spaniel. As I approached the back door I could hear her familar bark. It took me a minute to get the door unlocked but soon enough she was darting out the back door, tail wagging. Oh how I missed her! For the next few hours I spent the evening with her and my cat, Grey-Grey (who made it very clear that she was unhappy about my long departure). Its hard to believe I'm actually siting in my house. I still haven't comprehended that I won't be hiking anymore. I'm not sure if I ever will.
Today's Video's:
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What Did I Carry?
My gear list constantly evolved throughout my hike. The list below is what I ended with. I did not go through the pain-staking process of weighing each item. I had a general rule of thumb; if the item weighed more then 2lbs., then I needed to seriously reconsider its existence within my pack. In the end I weighed my entire pack. My pack weight varied throughout the hike depending on how much food, water...and wine I was carrying, but it ranged between 25-35 lbs, with an average of around 30 lbs. I also refused to sacrifice comfort for weight (within reason). For example, a frameless light-weight backpack like a granite gear or a go-lite pinnacle certainly weighed less then my Osprey Aerial 65, however, the Aerial carried the weight much more efficiently and comfortably.
The Big Four
Backpack: Osprey Aerial 65Pack Liner: Contractor Bag
Tent: Big Agnes Seedhouse UL2
Ground Cloth: Tyvek
Sleeping Pad: Thermorest Prolite Plus (Women's)
Sleeping Bag: Western Mountainaring Versalite (10 deg) - I sleep cold and took this the entire way
Winter Clothes
2 pairs REI long thermal underwear1 Long sleeve, REI dry wick shirt
1 Mont Bell Thermawrap Jacket
1 Cabella's Lightweight Fleece
1 pair Colombia Titanium Fleece lined pants
1 REI fleece lined beanie
1 pair of black diamond gloves
Summer Clothes
(Note: I also carried summer clothes during winter)1 pair New Balance Running Shorts
2 short sleeve dry wick shirt
3 pairs smart wool socks
2 pairs patagonia underwear
1 sports bra
1 pair REI gators
Shoes
Keens (Started with these)Vasque Trail Runners
Montrail Hardrocks
Crocs (Camp-Shoes)
Rain Gear
Go-Lite Rain PantsMarmont Precip
Sea to Summit Pack Cover
Kitchen
MRS Kettle PotPocket Rocket
Canister Fuel
Titanium Spork
Cleaning: small piece of a towel, camp soap, and scrubby pad
2 Stuff Sacks - one for kitchen supplies, 1 for food
lighter
Bathroom
Stuff SackTravel size toothbrush
Travel size tooth paste
Wet-wipes
Handkerchief (Pee-Rag)
Travel size shampoo and condition
Razor
Hair Comb
Extra Hair-Tie
First-Aid
Stuff SackVariety of Pain meds (vitamin I, tylenol, aleve)
Band-aids (about 2-3)
Mole-skin
Benedryl
Athletic Tape
Miscellanous
Trekking PolesiTouch (music and jounaling) and charger
Cell Phone and charger
Headlamp
Camera (Sony cybershot) and charger
Extra batteries for headlamp
Buff
Bear Rope
Carabeaner
Duct Tape
Water bottles were empty Gatorade bottles
Aquamiria
Watch (cheap one from Wal-mart)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Day 202 - I Made It
Day 202
Saturday 9/19/09
Weather:
Light rain in the early morning, high winds (gusts 50-55 mph), ice and snow
Today's Hike:
Birches Campsite to Katadhin (Baxter Peak) and back - 10.4 miles
If I had to sum up my final day on the AT in a single word I think it just might have to be "insanity". Grommet and I were both up at 4am. Actually I never really slept. I just laid in my sleeping bag all night listening to the wind howl and praying to the weather gods that today would still be a beautiful day. It wasn't until 4am that I actually sat up and packed my bag. After packing up we made our way back to the ranger station to get water and make breakfast. This morning it was oatmeal and coffee, a first for me (well the oatmeal anyway). The wind was still howling and in the midst of boiling water the sky started to spit on us. Are you freakin' kidding me? Really? Today it's gonna rain? Of all the days days it was gonna rain today? No, no, no, no, no. This would only be temporary. It had to be. We at breakfast and drank our coffee under the shelter of the ranger stations front porch. We didn't say much but we were both thinking the same thing; this sucks.
After breakfast we made our way down to the trailhead and signed in at the base of the mountain. We were the first two on the trail that day. No one else was ambitious enough to start before 5:30am. At least we had motivation on our side. After registering we continued up the mountian. The first 2 - 2.5 miles were pretty easy going. The rain let up and the sky remained overcast but the high winds kept the clouds moving quickly. We were hoping they were moving away from the mountain and lending way to clear blue skies.
Somewhere around mile 2.5 we reached treeline where we were presented with enormous boulders. Holy cow...we had to climb those...for like a mile...straight up......and it was windy....really, really, really windy. Good times lay ahead. We packed away our trekking poles and began our rock climbing ascent toward Baxter Peak. The wind was insane, very remenscent of my first wind storm over Max Patch. Not so strong that I couldn't move (like the wind storm over the humps) but strong enough to knock you around a little. I could totally handle this. Then came mile three on our ascent; three miles down two to go. It was around this point that ice began appearing between boulders, then as we continued to move up in the windy, bouldery terrain the ice between the boulders spread to being on the boulders. Great. Then the ice on the boulders gave way to snow and ice covered boulders. Freakin' fantastic. We took shelter behind a boulder and took a minute to add another layer of clothes. It was then that Grom and I also had a fairly serious come to jesus meeting with the current situation. Keep going up or turn around and go back? This was nothing we haven't been through before, but it wasn't ideal either. If it started to rain, sleet, or snow we would be in trouble. But this was it. This was our one shot at summitting. We had to leave town that night. It was now or not at all. The clouds were moving fast. The forecast called for the skies to clear up as the day progressed. We were going up.
The last two miles were slow going as we fought against the wind and maintained careful footing up and over the icey rocks. As we neared the summit of Katadhin, the sun was fighting to shine through. We could see the clouds parting way. It was clearing up, but the winds weren't dying down. Still, something was better then nothing. Ahead of me I could see the summit sign. It was covered in snow and ice. We would be the first to summit that day. We reached the top around 10am and sat down. We had the mountain to ourselves. Grom looked at me and asked if I thought we were "badassess" for continuing our summit. I replied that I thought we were "dumbassess." We both laughed. At that moment the sun came out and the clouds behind us parted offering a clear view of the Knifes Edge and surrounding mountains. Incredible.
We took only a few moments at the summit. The winds were still to high, and sitting still for to long was cold and uncomfortable. We stayed long enough to take our pictures and enjoy a sunlit view of what at the moment felt like it could be the top of the world.
Our hike down the mountain was incredible. The winds were still ridicuously high but the views were amazing. The sky had completely cleared up and we had nearly 360 views the entire way down. Absolutely breathtaking.
When we reached the bottom, Grommet's friend Twix (SOBO 2007) was there to pick us up. We hopped into her car along with Hobbit, Nickers, and Shark who had just completed their slackpack from abol bridge to the birches and headed into Millinocket for food and showers. We at lunch/dinner at the AT Cafe. Round one for me was a veggie Burger and french friens and round two was the Cafe's famous 14 scoop Sunday. Ok, so I didn't eat the whole sunday by myself, I shared it with Grom and Twix, but still, thats like eatting almost a 5 scoop sunday all to myself. Yummy! We also added our signatures to the 2009 ceiling tiles while we were there and had fun checking out who else had finished their through hike at the Cafe.
After eatting we headed over to the AT Lodge for a quick shower. By 7pm we were on our way to Boston, MA. By midnight we were at Twix's apartment and by 12:30am I was out like a light. What a day.
Today's Video's:
Saturday 9/19/09
Weather:
Light rain in the early morning, high winds (gusts 50-55 mph), ice and snow
Today's Hike:
Birches Campsite to Katadhin (Baxter Peak) and back - 10.4 miles
If I had to sum up my final day on the AT in a single word I think it just might have to be "insanity". Grommet and I were both up at 4am. Actually I never really slept. I just laid in my sleeping bag all night listening to the wind howl and praying to the weather gods that today would still be a beautiful day. It wasn't until 4am that I actually sat up and packed my bag. After packing up we made our way back to the ranger station to get water and make breakfast. This morning it was oatmeal and coffee, a first for me (well the oatmeal anyway). The wind was still howling and in the midst of boiling water the sky started to spit on us. Are you freakin' kidding me? Really? Today it's gonna rain? Of all the days days it was gonna rain today? No, no, no, no, no. This would only be temporary. It had to be. We at breakfast and drank our coffee under the shelter of the ranger stations front porch. We didn't say much but we were both thinking the same thing; this sucks.After breakfast we made our way down to the trailhead and signed in at the base of the mountain. We were the first two on the trail that day. No one else was ambitious enough to start before 5:30am. At least we had motivation on our side. After registering we continued up the mountian. The first 2 - 2.5 miles were pretty easy going. The rain let up and the sky remained overcast but the high winds kept the clouds moving quickly. We were hoping they were moving away from the mountain and lending way to clear blue skies.
Somewhere around mile 2.5 we reached treeline where we were presented with enormous boulders. Holy cow...we had to climb those...for like a mile...straight up......and it was windy....really, really, really windy. Good times lay ahead. We packed away our trekking poles and began our rock climbing ascent toward Baxter Peak. The wind was insane, very remenscent of my first wind storm over Max Patch. Not so strong that I couldn't move (like the wind storm over the humps) but strong enough to knock you around a little. I could totally handle this. Then came mile three on our ascent; three miles down two to go. It was around this point that ice began appearing between boulders, then as we continued to move up in the windy, bouldery terrain the ice between the boulders spread to being on the boulders. Great. Then the ice on the boulders gave way to snow and ice covered boulders. Freakin' fantastic. We took shelter behind a boulder and took a minute to add another layer of clothes. It was then that Grom and I also had a fairly serious come to jesus meeting with the current situation. Keep going up or turn around and go back? This was nothing we haven't been through before, but it wasn't ideal either. If it started to rain, sleet, or snow we would be in trouble. But this was it. This was our one shot at summitting. We had to leave town that night. It was now or not at all. The clouds were moving fast. The forecast called for the skies to clear up as the day progressed. We were going up.
The last two miles were slow going as we fought against the wind and maintained careful footing up and over the icey rocks. As we neared the summit of Katadhin, the sun was fighting to shine through. We could see the clouds parting way. It was clearing up, but the winds weren't dying down. Still, something was better then nothing. Ahead of me I could see the summit sign. It was covered in snow and ice. We would be the first to summit that day. We reached the top around 10am and sat down. We had the mountain to ourselves. Grom looked at me and asked if I thought we were "badassess" for continuing our summit. I replied that I thought we were "dumbassess." We both laughed. At that moment the sun came out and the clouds behind us parted offering a clear view of the Knifes Edge and surrounding mountains. Incredible.
We took only a few moments at the summit. The winds were still to high, and sitting still for to long was cold and uncomfortable. We stayed long enough to take our pictures and enjoy a sunlit view of what at the moment felt like it could be the top of the world.
Our hike down the mountain was incredible. The winds were still ridicuously high but the views were amazing. The sky had completely cleared up and we had nearly 360 views the entire way down. Absolutely breathtaking.
When we reached the bottom, Grommet's friend Twix (SOBO 2007) was there to pick us up. We hopped into her car along with Hobbit, Nickers, and Shark who had just completed their slackpack from abol bridge to the birches and headed into Millinocket for food and showers. We at lunch/dinner at the AT Cafe. Round one for me was a veggie Burger and french friens and round two was the Cafe's famous 14 scoop Sunday. Ok, so I didn't eat the whole sunday by myself, I shared it with Grom and Twix, but still, thats like eatting almost a 5 scoop sunday all to myself. Yummy! We also added our signatures to the 2009 ceiling tiles while we were there and had fun checking out who else had finished their through hike at the Cafe.
After eatting we headed over to the AT Lodge for a quick shower. By 7pm we were on our way to Boston, MA. By midnight we were at Twix's apartment and by 12:30am I was out like a light. What a day.
Today's Video's:
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