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Appalachian Trail

May - September 2017
A 133-day adventure by Mates on tour Read more
  • 134footprints
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  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    1
    Day 133

    Mount Kathadin 2189.8

    September 13, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We got up at 3 AM as planned and went directly on the trail. And the Appalachian Trail was just like always rocky, rooty and with lots of puddles. Just a usual hike except that it were our last miles before finishing. Before 7 we got to a small shop to have a quick breakfast and resupply on sweets for the summit. As we were about to hike on we talked to a group of hikers that we partly knew. One said at a point that we look familiar and I also recognized him but couldn't put the finger on it. It was "Hot legs", an ultralighter the we saw the last time in Neels Gap. He was pushing already more than 20 miles right from the start and the first time we met him he said "Make miles, not smiles". This got stuck in my head for the whole trail. Julia and I just talked about him a week ago and it was really nice seeing him again. He basically went two months off trail and now flipped up to Kathadin.
    We kept it short and moved on to the Ranger Station at the bottom of Mt Kathadin. There we needed to register ourselves to be allowed to go up. But actually nobody really cared for it, we still got it because it's free and looks fancy :D Then we packed everything we needed for the summit in another backpack and left ours back.
    Then it was time to go up that beast of a mountain. It's the highest elevation change on the whole trail. It begins with a gentle hike along Kathadin stream, then it turns to a steeper uphill in the woods. The last bit is just pure rock climbing right on the edge of a boulder field. You're basically crawling up the rock walls for an hour and a half. The last stretch is called "the tablelands" and pretty flat again. It took us way longer than expected and we were glad when we were up there. The sun was shining directly at us for some time but luckily some day hikers provided us with sunscreen.
    And at some point we just arrived at the summit. Nothing spectacular, just a wooden sign. That's it! We're done, no more white blazes to follow. There are a lot of mixed emotions about it. It will take some time to realize that we're done and until our bodies are recovered. But we're mostly now happy that it's over. Especially the last weeks have been tough on us and our bodies crave the regeneration.

    After we hiked down, we got a ride back to the Ranger Station and the offer for a place to pitch our tent. But we wanted to go to Millinocket for the night so we tried to hitchhike even tough it was already pretty late. There were no cars for about half an hour so we were about to go back and take the offer when a car pulled over. The parents of a thru hiker named "Sprinkles" are in the area to support her on finishing the Appalachian Trail. They were excited to take us with them to Millinocket where they stayed. We even got some snacks and water!!
    We got us two bunkbeds in the local hostel, enjoyed a long hot shower and then made some pasta sides from the hiker box. Then we went to bed and fell asleep after a crazy long day.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 132

    Camping Rainbow Ledges 2169

    September 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    After a slow morning hike it got better in the afternoon. But we still couldn't make up the missed miles from me morning. Right in the morning we got some trail magic from fellow hikers who heard that we were almost out of sweets. So they gave us a whole bag of M&Ms but as usually they didn't last very long. The hike was pretty scenic throughout most of the day with nice ponds, waterfalls and streams.
    It was definitely easier hiking there instead of just root scrambling for the whole day. Anyway we didn't have time to fully enjoy all of the views. Finishing the hike is our first priority now, even though people told us that it is very important to fully enjoy the last part of the journey. Good thing we stopped listening to "people", because "hike your own hike" :)
    This way we ended up at the "Rainbow Ledges" for a stunning sunset within colorful trees. We had it all for our own with just the sound of the birds. It was a magnificent moment and we kept going a bit further to a tent spot right on a granite area. It was a bit difficult setting up the tent there because it had just a mossy ground. Not too much of a problem for Julia :)
    As I said we're ready to be done and therefore we set the alarm to 3 AM to make it to the Baxter State Park and up Mount Kathadin. For dinner we had a speciality, instead of mashed potatoes, the expensive restaurant-quality potato soup. And as a treat for the good day and for finishing tomorrow, a big Snickers bar for each of us.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 131

    Camping Shore Nahmakanta Lake 2148.9

    September 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Today's height profile looked really flat so we wanted to push so we can probably summit Kathadin already on Wednesday. And it actually was a easy and fast hike for most of the day. We've already made 10 miles in the morning when we came to a gravel road crossing. It was unbelievable but halfway through the 100 mile wilderness there was trail magic!! A father was visiting his son who is hiking the trail and planning to summit at the end of the week. So he decided to do an amazing trail magic there. We were so happy as we didn't take enough snacks with us to get some sweet stuff. There was even a hiker box where previous hikers dropped food that they wouldn't need. So we were able to resupply a few things to make our life easier :)
    After getting some snacks there (amongst them even beef jerky and orange juice :)) we hurried to get back on the trail. We hiked another two hours to a pond to grab lunch. There we finally met "Juan Gone", a thru hiker from Mexico that we've been told about by "Stick in the woods" back in Massachusetts!! Julia was happy to speak some proper Spanish ;) He and his tramily is taking is slowly for summiting Kathadin so they were just going a few miles further to swim at another pond.

    In the afternoon we slowed down because the terrain got more rooty and uneven. After 25 miles we reached a pretty large campsite right next to a big lake.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 130

    Camping Mountain View Pond 2123.9

    September 10, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    First thing in the morning was another river fording :) It didn't rain much the last days, so it was more a nice refreshing foot bath to get our blood circulation running. Afterwards we started almost running because the terrain flattened for a stretch of five miles. I even missed a moose in a pond right next to the trail but Julia saw it. It walked through the pond, occasionally going down and eating something. When I tried to go closer to get a good picture I made some noise and it looked straight at us but didn't really care. We watched it for a couple of minutes before moving on. Now we just have to see a baby moose and a beaver to fulfill our wildlife spotting dreams ;)
    Then we reached the uphill of the first peak and surprisingly it continued to be a nice hike. The same was for the other three peaks. On the last one we met Jim, a retired diplomat from the US. It was such a pleasant conversation that we forgot the time and spent a whole hour on top of White cap. Hopefully we'll meet again with a bit more time to chat...
    Nevertheless we needed to do some more miles, which actually went pretty well and we arrived earlier at our planned destination. So we decided to go another hour up to a little pond to camp there for the night.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 129

    Camping Pleasant River 2105.6

    September 9, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Julia felt better in the morning and we both were pretty hungry after missing out the dinner last night. But it took us a while to get moving and my clothes were still wet. There were some tough mountains to climb so I produced enough body heat to dry them out in the morning. This also meant that we just moved slowly and barely made any miles. Our initial goal was a shelter after about 20 miles, but around noon there still 14 miles to go. So we re-adjusted our plan to go to a campsite 8 miles later.
    Shortly after we had lunch we reached the last milestone before Kathadin, the 2100 miles marker. For the past few days we started to count down the days and mountains that are left... We are exhausted and tired and in need of a break. Especially today has been hard with lots of rocky up and downs. There is barely any trail left to hike on, it's either rock scrambling, tripping and slipping on roots or avoiding mud ponds. So in conclusion, it's been an annoying day on the trail. But not just for us, everyone we met seemed to be frustrated.

    Imagine climbing down huge scattered rock boulders where a wrong step means at least a serious injury while the thunder is rolling frightening close by. Rain would mean an additional challenge because the rocks would be more slippery. In that state between concentration and pace we noticed a lightning strike just behind the summit we just left. The following thunder startled us, hurt our ears and left us with a bit of a tinnitus for some minutes. Luckily it didn't start to rain and we arrived late at the campsite at a nice spot right next to the river.
    Today it just wasn't possible to hike more miles, so we have to do more tomorrow. But there are the last higher mountains waiting for us so we are ready for another tough day...    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 129

    Camping Barren Ledges 2091.7

    September 9, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    After a nutritious breakfast with omelette and hash browns we went back on the trail. We hit the "100 mile wilderness" today - a stretch where there is no possibility to resupply because there are no road crossings. Besides that it's mainly just Maine: Roots, rocks and rain. The resupply didn't make much of a difference for us as we were almost always carrying supplies for about five days since the beginning. But we simplified our menus now until Kathadin and just have "Ramen bombs" for lunch AND dinner. Which means that we are carrying around 35 packages of ramen soup and 12 packages of mashed potatoes :) Yummy :D
    In the afternoon we encountered what "mixed weather" means in Maine when we got into an hail storm. It really hit us by surprise because it wasn't that cold and there were only a bit of sprinkles during the day. Luckily it didn't last long but I was already soaked wet again and started freezing. As Julia wasn't feeling well we set up our tent at the next opportunity. I wasn't able to get warm and feared to get sick.
    We took a nap which extended to the night and next morning, we didn't even eat anything for dinner.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 127

    ME 15 / Monson 2075.3

    September 7, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    First thing we had to do is to ford the Piscataquis River. But we took it slowly and had our breakfast in the tent because it was still raining. That was actually the first time on the whole trail that we did this... And it was pretty uncomfortable but still better than sitting in the rain ;)
    So afterwards we put on our crocs and walked the few meters from the campsite to the river. Because of the rain in the last few days its level was higher than usual so we had to ford it. There was additionally a rope to support the crossing and the water barely reached our knees. Everything went fine and we were able to make good miles on a flat terrain. The next river fording was easier and we reached Monson shortly after noon.
    There we went to the "John Baptist Mission" which we thought is a church. But it's a private house, owned by an older woman named Bett. She participates in the church and her mother and grandmother teached her to always have an open door for everyone. We first took a shower and then did laundry, afterwards we headed out to town.
    Our first stop was the local Appalachian Trail Information Center where we planned our visit to the Baxter State and summiting Kathadin. Then we went to a gas station, Pete's Place (a bakery) and the general store for resupply. Back at the mission "Sunny" showed us the sauna and Bett told us that she will cook dinner. The rest of the afternoon we rested and watched a bit TV.
    The dinner was excellent... Steaks, potatoes, salad, a vegetable mix and peas. We both ate a huge portion and then relaxed for another hour or two before going to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 126

    Camping near Piscataquis River 2063.3

    September 6, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Well, our superb construction didn't work THAT well... Most of our stuff got wet or damp but at least not soaked. The forecast said that it was supposed to rain the whole day and night but it just started a while after we headed out. But it really rained all day, most of the time just sprinkling, yet too much for our backpack covers.
    The rain also influenced our pace today because the roots and rocks were super slippery. Julia fell two times and I slipped several times.
    In the morning Julia got lost again. I was a bit ahead of her and she missed a sign. So she went straight uphill while I took a turn to the left. "Luckily" both ways merged and I didn't notice that she was missing. So I kept on going and eventually she showed up ahead of me :D First I was wondering if it's really her, then I thought that she was ahead of me all the time... Good thing that this time the situation resolved without running through the woods ;)
    The detour also didn't make any difference time wise but we still didn't make all of the planned 22 miles. Still the 19 miles were more than we need to average for making it to the festival. We sat up our camp right before the river we need to ford tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    1
    1
    Day 125

    Camping Pleasant Pond Lean-to 2044.3

    September 5, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    We got up at 3, had a quick snack from the trail magic and then hiked on. Even though it was in the middle of the night we had some light from the moon and we pushed hard to make it worth getting up that early. Tired and exhausted we reached the Kennebec River about 10 hours later to get on the ferry.
    A few years ago someone died fording this river because there are unpredictable currents due to a dam. So they needed to figure out a safe way to cross the river. A bridge would cost a lot because it would need to withstand the ice in the winter. So ultimately they decided that the best option is to hire someone to maintain a ferry service for some hours a day. Those hours are currently from 9 AM to 2 PM. Outside of these hours you can either ford the river or pay 50$. So this ferry is a canoe with three seats, the captain and two passengers. The river is crossed within less than a minute so it seems like a bit of exaggeration to sign a release form and wear life jackets...
    Afterwards we treated ourselves with a milkshake, burritos and our usual lunch at a nearby Hiker B&B. There was supposed to be a thunderstorm incoming later in the afternoon so we just had a quick stop there before moving on. Luckily the last bit was a gentle uphill and we reached the Lean-to before it started raining. But the Lean-to was already full so we sat up the tent & tarp construction and fell asleep after a crazy long day.    Read more

  • TravelerAppalachian Trail
    Day 124

    Camping East Falstaff Rd 2018.3

    September 4, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    We started the day motivated as there aren't many mountains left overall on the trail and we'd tackle one right in the morning. But after about an hour we realized that the Bigelow Mountains are tough. And so we only had made 6 miles for lunch.
    That's the problem with using all your energy vertically instead of horizontally. After the last peak - Mt. Avery named after one of the main initiators of the AT - the terrain looked like it's going to flatten and and allow to do more miles. Maybe it was the weather or just a general exhaustion but this section was super hard on us. Especially because the Junior Bigelow Mountain didn't have anything of interest, just a sign. Julia also had some trouble and fell several times because of the slippery Salomon boots.
    At the end of the day (7ish) it finally got flatter and we pushed hard to make it to a campsite near Lake Falstaff.
    But on the way there we came by a road crossing and got some incredible trail magic. It was already dark so we decided to set up our tent there. They gave us beer, sandwiches, pasta salad and sweet goods!!! We couldn't get enough and we ate a huge portion each. They are coming there every year on the labor day weekend, feed hungry hikers and have a reunion. In our tent we made a plan for the next day to catch up miles and get to the ferry (more about it tomorrow). So we set the alarm to 3 in the morning :D    Read more

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