Hit the road jack.

Halloween!
6:20pm @ Morgan Stewart Shelter
mi 751.4

Was sad to leave Bay Ridge today. My father took me out for sushi last night (my favorite!) and drove me to the trail bright & early today. He as been a rockstar of support. Can't thank him enough.

Today on the trail is what I've been looking forward to all along. Fall in the maple & oak forests. It's maybe 1 week past prime colors and the leaves are falling.

The trail is slightly hard to walk on because the leaves are hiding the roots & rocks from view. The acorns roll under feet like marbles on a hard wood floor.

The sun sets so early now.

Had dinner with a couple out for the weekend. I made us all a nice fire at the shelter. It is unseasonably warm right now. 60 degrees today. with 70s predicted later in the week. Tonight will drop down to around 40 degrees. Not too cold. I remember the warm summer nights, resting without a sleeping bag:)

I think I'm going to stick to my original plan & pop off the trail Nov.15th, no matter where I am.

So, two more weeks on the trail. That feels manageable. 3 weeks was going to be a logistical nightmare getting back to Canada by the 23rd.

Smokey fire gave me the sniffles.

Gosh. Compared to Maine, it is sooo warm tonight! What a gift.

Northern Terminus.

8:20pm @ AT Lodge
mi 0.0

Summited Katahdin today. Was a hell of a day to climb to mountain.
About two thirds of the people who attempted turned around at tree line. The wind, ice, and temperatures were intense. The thru-hikes and I were not so worried. We've climbed these types of scrambles already, in these types of winds. The only new thing was the temperature, and we all had tones of cloths. Each article of clothing carefully selected and chosen for it's purpose. So we ventured above tree line and as soon as you reached the ridge-line, the wind stopped and we were bathed in sunlight. Maybe only 1 mile of the windy / slightly dangerous stuff to get to that point. So even thought it was sunny Sat, there were few people at the summit.

I was so happy to get off that mountain. Don't get me wrong, the view was great. But my heart / spirit were done hiking for a while. 750ish miles. Nothing compared to the 2,000 mile thru hiker gang obviously. But I have been hiking for 3 months, and it is enough for me.

Maybe I'll try for Harper's Ferry before returning to work....maybe not.

I want to write more. While it's fresh. About the woods. The trails, the towns and peoples. But I am sooooo tired right now. Been up since 5am. Didn't sleep last night much at all in anticipation for today's summit. Felt like a kid waiting or Christmas morning. Woke up every hour.

Tomorrow my body stays in motion as I begin my trek back to NYC. Can't even understand what that city will be like after this trip?!
Who knows. Maybe tomorrow night I'll sleep in NYC.

There is no spoon.

9:20am @ AT Lodge & Inn in Millenocket

Made it to Baxter State Park today. Got to the ranger's station at 2:30pm. 1 hour early for the shuttle into town. It's going to be rainy and cold tomorrow so a Katahdin summit is not a good idea.

Today would have been ideal for a summit. But alas, my legs could not have made it here any sooner. A zero here in town sure beats a cold zero in a shelter at Baxter.

The MTN looks huge & scary. Hard to believe I'll get up an down it in a day. The weather for Sat is predicted to be nice & sunny again (if not a bit cold)!

Met Winston here at the Inn. She was writing post cards at the table when I walked in. Nice to see her at the end. She was the first person I met on the trail...750 miles ago!

She scoffed at my nonchalance and not doing a thru hike, I guess it's simply not that important to me to walk the whole trail. I only wanted to be in the woods and remember the trees for a bit.

I like the way I walk the trail. Thru hikers shun me. One even aggressively said to me the other day: "Hike your OWN hike man!" which is a strange thing to say to a super laid back slow moving guy.

When I am alone in the woods I feel great, at home, peaceful & happy to be there. But the other hikers make me feel bad frequently. Because I walk less miles, I don't deserve to be out there with them or something. Because I am not strong or traveling 'ultralite' I'm not a backpacker somehow.

Maybe they are correct. Maybe not.

Nothing is perfect. I made compromises on the trail to accommodate my body (which is not fond of backpacking). All those small concessions were not weakness or failure as maybe it appeared, but choices I made so that I could keep walking. Keep moving forward. Keep enjoying the forest, and mountains and the peace they had to offer.

One time I was lamenting my plight to an older hiker. A day hiker. Telling him how I was on my own. Thru hikers looked at me like a reject, and abnormality or basic failure.
He says to me. "Is there prize when you reach Katahdin?"
"uh...no." I replied.
"Well, if there is no prize, then there is no winning or failing is there!? Enjoy your woods and don't give a damn what they think." He finished.

Scary and far away.

6:25pm @ Hurd Brook Lean-To

mi 18.6

Hiked nearly 20mi today! My biggest day on the trail. The terrain was relatively flat compared to the previous 700mi or I would not have attempted it. My feet HURT by the end of the day. 8-13 mi days are perfect for me. No more is required.

But today I wanted to see if my body could. Also, Friday is predicted rain. I might zero at Baxter (is that allowed?!) then summit Katahdin on Saturday.

Had a few sneak peeks at the mountain at the northern terminus of the AT. That thing looks scary big! Who can summit and return that in a single day?! Seems impossible from a distance.

All the thru-hikers blew past this shelter. Wonder what they know that I don't? Abol Bridge is still 3 something miles away. I got here and said: "Fuck it." and was not moving another foot. Maybe a decision I will regret...?

I'm fed. Bear bag is hung. Chores are done. 6:35 I'm laying down to sleep.

I always feel like I should write something about the woods and how pretty they are, and how deeply moving the smell of the forrest is, or about a cascade of water that changed my life forever....
Meh.
There are loads of folks who have already done that, and did a great job too!

There continues to be a thought that comes to mind. If one wants to know what it is like out here....the best way to experience it is to get outside and see it all for your self.

The AT has been harder physically that I imagined, but it has been more wonderful than I dared dream.

Mountain. Y U so far?

6:25pm @ Wadleigh Stream Lean-to
mi 38.2

Today was going beautifully until dinner time. I spilled the tuna juice on my coat, and the fancy dinner (mountain house or something) given to me by the indian guy yesterday was full of cream which I only discovered after opening it! Grrr.

So now I smell like bear food & I'll be farting with cramps all night. Yeah hiking the trail.

The day was beautiful though. Want to try for a bigger mile day tomorrow. I saw Katahdin today. It looked HUGE and very far away still.

Don't rush it.

6:45pm @ Antler's Campsite
mi 51.8


Met Dawn, the previous owner of Shaw's at Jo-Mary RD today. Overly hansom John & I were there to receive our food drops. After packing that huge box of food into my bag I felt like the king of the world again. I'd finished my last energy bar when they showed up. But, now my back is too heavy to go fast, so only 13 mi for me tomorrow. Maybe more the next day

This camp site is awesome. Watched the sun set on side of the lake. Will watch the sun rise from my tent on the other side in the morning. Also, Shaws brought me a new pair of super warm thick socks! I'd asked them via text from the top of White Cap. They actually put them in my food box! The socks are super warm & toasty. No more sleeping with cold feet for me!

Speaking of sleep. It's nearly dark and time for bed. Wonder why there are not more campers here? Seems too lovely a spot to pass up!?

The thru-hikers have the Katahdin Fever. I'm taking the advice of a NOBO who flip flopped (Cindy Lopper). She told me to take my time & enjoy the 100mi. She wished she had. Thanks Loppers for the great advice!

I found the flat AT!!

7pm @ Cooper Brook Lean-To
mi 59.7

The AT is flat! Cruised 4 miles in 2 hours today! I've not walked that fast since NY when I was strong and not injured. Cold morning but became a perfect day for hiking. 45-60 deg. Ponds and rivers. Part of me wants to get the hell off this trail. Another part wants to hike in the Autumn forever. I fall in love with the forest every year about this time. It's the small of the leaves & and the gentle breezes that carry them. Time to sleep. Pick up / meet up with Shaws tomorrow to get my food drop.

Ice Cap Mountain!

6:30pm @ East Branch Lean-To

The trees were covered with ice that the wind rained down on us at the top of White Cap Mountain. For most of the day the temp hovered around 35 deg.

Even at that temp I still needed to take all my outer gear off to keep from sweating on the accent.

All the true NOBO thru-hikers are racing toward Katahdin. Just little old me going slow through the 100mi wilderness.

Strange to think all the mountains are behind us now. Only one big 40mi valley walk to Katahdin.

The trail was beautiful today. I think that is the extent I will ever explain the visage. If you want to know what it looks like, go on an adventure (unless you can't, then I apologize).