June 27, 2008
Moosilauke was tough! The elevation doesn't tell the story - the descent down the north side is strenuous! And we added two more substantial climbs for a total of over a vertical mile, 5300 ft or so.So...
View ArticleJune 28, 2008
Today was supposed to be a quick walk out to the road and a long rest day in town. But the AT didn't cooperate. Wolf mt. got in the way. What a muddy rocky brushy mess. But it got better for Kinsman Mt...
View ArticleJune 29, 2008
We awoke to the heavy drumming of rain on the roof of the inn. A look out the window confirmed a flash flood-type of rain, we're glad for the roof. We left in clearing weather mid-morning and had great...
View ArticleJune 30, 2008
Triple Crown! Wow, what a day! Exhiliarating and exhausting at the same time. Great weather, mostly decent trail, high ridges and views, not to mention attaining the Triple Crown!At 1700 hrs after...
View ArticleJuly 1, 2008
I forgot to mention yesterday that for the second time on this trip, we hiked most of the day with other hikers, Cookie and Kirby. Cookie is a retired firefighter with 32 years experience. I enjoyed...
View ArticleJuly 2, 2008
Some advice from a brand new Triple Crown hiker--never assume you've seen it all. Today we added a new experience to our lives--a flash flood. Right now we're safely camped in the middle of the Trail...
View ArticleJuly 3, 2008
Whew. After a couple of attention-getting fast water fords of the Rattle River, we made it safely out to US 2 this morning. We checked in to Bruno's Colonial Fort Inn by 0900.The mid-Trail campsite...
View ArticleJuly 4, 2008
Tough day, but we got into Maine! We left town mid-morning after I ate two breakfasts. We got a ride from triple-crowner Kevin who was staying at the same motel--it was nice to trade a few stories on...
View ArticleJuly 5, 2008
We did "The Notch" and managed to tally nearly 20 miles. Great day, tough day, we're tired.We walked on snow pack from last winter in the Notch. I was wondering if we'd get to do that before it all...
View ArticleJuly 6, 2008
I got the best sleep in a while last night. We were finally able to find some dirt to set up camp on, not a platform floor. I was in such a good mood I made a smiley face out of moose droppings on the...
View ArticleJuly 7, 2008
It's wonderful to walk on trail again, after the rocky mess of the Mahoosucs. Pickle was dragging a little today, but I felt great, really enjoying the trail and being in Maine. We're in pond country...
View ArticleJuly 8, 2008
Saddleback Mountain nearly broke my back--figuratively, that is. It was a long series of hard climbs, it seemed. Pickle had more energy today, but we both dragged into our planned campsite with no...
View ArticleJuly 9, 2008
(Parental alert--today's entry may not be suitable for younger audiences. The young Cheese should be OK, though.)I made two wildlife sightings today, a moose and a bare. Yes, a bare, not a bear. First...
View ArticleJuly 10, 2008
Wow! We're almost at mile 2000! Today was a short day, though because we left town late and decided to take our time climbing our last 4000 ft peak (until the big guy at the end). The Bigelow range is...
View ArticleJuly 11, 2008
Pretty fantastic day today. We crossed the 2000 mile mark by 0630. It was another perfect weather day, cool and breezy, which kept the biting bugs at bay. (My only problem was that for some reason the...
View ArticleJuly 12, 2008
What an over all excellent day today. We started with a fantastic breakfast at Ken Harrison's camp, 12 fruity pancakes and two eggs - yes 12 pancakes. Five hikers were there and there wasn't a scrap...
View ArticleJuly 13, 2008
Today's 18 miles went quickly - we got to Monson by about 2:00 and got a private room at Shaw's. The Piscataquis River, which we forded twice, provided most of the day's entertainment- some nice white...
View ArticleJuly 14, 2008
We left Monson in a great mood and well-rested, quite different from our tired, aching arrival yesterday. We've been getting good rests in towns on this trail, the only exception being Erwin, TN.We're...
View ArticleJuly 15, 2008
We hoped we'd make 24 miles today, but at noon we really doubted it. The morning was really tough going, rocky, muddy and rooty, very slow and fatiguing. By noon we'd only had 10 miles and we were...
View ArticleJuly 16, 2008
Today was a classic case of perception vs. reality. Usually it's a case of expecting a pleasant little cafe at a road crossing and getting a filthy convenience store instead. This time, as we headed...
View ArticleJuly 17, 2008
Unbelievable! Dry feet all day! The mud is really drying up quickly in this warm sunny weather. The quicksand consistency is now more like thick clay, much more pleasant to walk on. You don't worry...
View ArticleJuly 18, 2008
No more 20 milers, I realized last night. Today's 13 miles got us in position to summit tomorrow. Weather is sketchy, rainy today, showers forecast for tomorrow. But it's not awful.We got food at Abol...
View ArticleJuly 19, 2008
Finished! At just before 1000 this morning, Pickle and I summited Katahdin in blowing misty rain and claimed our 2008 through hike. Since we started from Springer at 1000 on April 4, I'm claiming 106...
View ArticleJuly 23, 2008
Garlic here. I'm making my way slowly home to Colorado, visiting family along the way. The hardest part of the trip home so far was parting company with Pickle in Portland, ME, as he headed south to...
View ArticleJuly 27, 2008
Garlic here. I just uploaded a few more photos, including some summit shots.Everyone has been asking, "What's next?" I don't know. Pickle and I had made concrete plans for the AT hike just a couple of...
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