Day 113 - Family Dinner: Trail Tacos!

September 5 - Spaulding Mtn Lean-To to Horns Pond Lean-To - 18.6 miles

Had another one of those moments where I felt like my life was in danger this morning. The following video best describes my sentiments.



I've never crossed a ford before as fast as this one.

Got a hitch within 15 seconds of sticking out our thumb. The best part is that the road is completely shut down a mile back so if this van did not pick us up then we never would have gotten a ride.

Re-supplied and probably purchased too many candy bars, along with raspberry streusel bites and freshly baked cookies and Steve's Pumpkin Whoopie Pie. Oh the hiker hunger.

After a successful venture with Tacos about a month ago, we decided to bring it back. I started calling it our "Family" dinner as we would all be dining together, every carrying a portion of the meal. Here's what we had:
15oz chicken, 2 rice Knorr sides, 1 green bell pepper, 1 tomato, 1 can refried beans, 1 lb sour cream, 20 flour tortillas, 1 large bag of taco cheese.
It was definitely a gourmet meal, blowing the traditional ramen out of the water.

Day 112 - Cribbage in the Privy

September 4 - Rangeley, ME to Spaulding Mtn Lean-To - 18.7 miles

Our lovely hosts threw together a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, OJ and a raspberry muffin. It was a bittersweet departure.

The caretaker at the Piazza Rock Lean-To asked to take a picture of our beards - I was honored!

Samwise and I took a shit in the two-man privy today, primarily because the builder of the privy decided to install a cribbage board between the seats.

Avoided a torrential downpour with our impeccable timing. Thank you for the weather update dad!

Day 111 - Trail Magic in Rangeley, ME

September 3 - Sabbath Day Pond Lean-To to Rangeley, ME - 9.4 miles

It's astonishing how everything just falls in to place when you really need it to. That's exactly what happened in Rangeley, ME.

Mom, Dad, I know that you always taught me to never take candy from strangers but these "strangers" (soon to become amazing people) offered us laundry, hot showers and a hiker dinner. I, without hesitation, said yes.

Before I divulge into this outstanding trail magic experience, I need to mention a few other happenings that make Rangeley my favorite trail town.

After hiking 9.4 miles to the trail head, we found a quick ride in to town and immediately started looking for a diner for breakfast. A lady we met on the sidewalk suggested the BMC Diner, as she was headed there herself. We heeded her advice and gave BMC our business. When we were ready to pay for our meal, the waitress informed us that it had been taken care of. We were baffled. Who would buy us breakfast? The waitress told us of the lady who paid for our meal, which was the same one we met on the sidewalk. Bless her heart!

After breakfast we hit up the library to catch up on emails and to check our bank accounts so we don't run out of money. 11 blog entries later I needed a break so Samwise and I went to get milkshakes and fries. I love milkshakes.

Right before we made our way to the library we stopped at the Outfitter to get some fuel and a buckle for Samwise. It's a good thing we did.
Brian and Lourrie offered to give us a ride back to their cozy cabin on the lake where we could take a hot shower, do laundry and enjoy dinner and breakfast with them.
They even let us watch Aladdin on VHS! For dessert we had pie with ice cream... yum.

Brian and Lourrie - Thank you so so much for everything you did. We were in dire need of showers and laundry and even more so, a warm, comfortable place to relax and recharge. Your hospitality will go a long way, as well as the experience and wisdom you embarked upon us.

Day 110 - Food Management

September 2 - Hall Mtn Lean-To to Sabbath Day Pond Lean-To - 21.1 miles

Poor food management today - I was rationing my food to the last calorie. Knowing that I had to save my food was an elemental feeling of survival. I'll survive, heck, people have survived on a whole lot less (like potatoes or white rice) but all I know is that it's a frightening feeling.

Happy Feet saw two moose right before the shelter. Lucky him.

Day 109 - Lunch in Andover

September 1 - Baldpate Lean-To to Hall Mtn Lean-To - 14.0 miles

Southern Maine is difficult. Fact. The steep, slippery, bald-faced rock descents were not something to just galavant down.

Ran into Birch, Buscemi, Slider and Stroller at lunch. They are all slackpacking (having someone else transport your stuff so you can hike with a super light pack) to do some big miles due to their summit deadline.

Lunch in Andover consisted of a double bacon cheeseburger (loaded) with waffle fries, chocolate milk, a cinnamon twist pastry, mixed berry pie with butter pecan ice cream and an ice cream sandwich. It filled me up! Hah. I think I could have ate a bit more too...

Day 108 - Mahoosuc Notch

August 31 - Carlo Col Shelter to Baldpate Lean-To - 16.4 miles

Tackled the infamous "Mahoosuc Notch" today. It will usually take an average hiker about one hour to complete this 1-mile long section. It is a difficult leg of the trail but also a ton of fun. The deep gap is peppered with large boulders and crevasses that seem impassable but you will eventually find yourself on the other side, though it may take 10-15 minutes. There were a few spots where we had to remove our packs to squeeze through a narrow hole!

Check out this video of me, almost falling on my face in the notch:

We ended up running the last 2.5 miles to the shelter. I was hungry and really couldn't wait for dinner so I entered Beast Mode and kicked it up a few notches. It was great.

Day 107 - Maine!!

August 30 - Gorham, NH to Carlo Col Shelter - 17.0 miles

Today was a tough day for me. I fell twice. Hard. One of the falls was a 25ft slide down a bald rock face. That was scary. I am definitely taking it slower from here on out.

Entered Maine today! We're finally here!!! Our 14th and final State.

Ran into Birch, Slider and Stroller at the Shelter and had dinner with them. Birch, Slider and Stroller all took some nasty falls too.

Day 106 - 2nd 0 in Gorham

August 29 - 2nd 0 in Gorham, NH - 0 miles

Spent another day watching TV. Sweet Tea and I found ourselves laughing out loud to Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry. Yeah, we're pretty cool.

I eventually made my way out of the hotel room to the public library, where they charge $1 for 30 minutes. What!? Well, I jumped on for a bit but could not get myself to fork over another dollar.

Hit up the Chinese AYCE buffet for dinner. Definitely ate too much again, but it was worth it. Right as we were about to leave they brought out a tray of freshly baked sugar donuts. I grabbed three then decided I was done.

Day 105 - 0 in Gorham, NH

August 28 - 0 in Gorham, NH - 0 miles

Yes, we are not hiking again. This is our third 0 (non hiking day). It's actually kind of funny. Legally we cannot hike. Due to hurricane Irene, the White Mountain National Forest has been closed, including any trails that run through it, such as the AT. We only have 15 more miles in this National Forest but are forced to wait a few days.

Our gracious hosts at White Mountains Lodge provided us with a shuttle to Walmart so we could stock up on food for the war (our two days in Gorham).

Ran into So Far again, Slider, Stroller, Birch, Como and Elbe again! It was great meeting up with our friends. So Far crashed with us in our hotel room, making it a total of six stinky hikers.

Basically we sat around all day, watching movies, eating donuts and not hiking. It was awesome.

Day 104 - White Mountains Lodge and Hostel

August 27 - Height Mountain to Gorham, NH - 13.0 miles

Made it 40 minutes before Sweet Tea realized that he forgot his camera at the top of Height Mtn... that sucked. We told him to drop his pack and run back to save time. 25 minutes later he returned. He covered 80 minutes of walking in 25 minutes? Damn kid. He is pretty quick but it turned out that another hiker grabbed it and brought it along, saving him some time.

Our destination for today: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel. Lunch was from Mr. Pizza. 1/3 lb Bacon cheeseburgers with a half pound of fries, lemonade and sweet tea. I love bacon cheeseburgers.

Samwise and I threw together his signature Guacamole and a large cherry tomato, craisins, walnut, balsamic vinegrette, spinach salad.

Day 103 - Height Mountain.

August 26 - Pinkham Notch, NH to Height Mtn - 8.1 miles

Had a great conversation with Hippy Kippy over breakfast about his career as a professor and his travels throughout the world. He told us of a piece of literature/work he is currently writing, analyzing the dichotomy of the AT to the Camino de Santiago. From our conversation he has invoked a flame within me to traverse this spiritual path. There are actually a few different routes, all varying distance and direction. The Northern Route is 512 miles and travels along the coast, though can be more difficult with the terrain and elevation.
The Camino Frances is the most popular route, traveling from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela at 484 miles. This particular route, described to us from Hippy Kippy, is completely different from the AT. First, you are a Pilgrim when you are on the trail. Second, there are some towns more frequently on the trail, literally on the trail. Each town usually has a church/hostel to provide accommodations and a cafe for coffee and churros. I cannot wait to get out there.

The most beautiful view on the AT thus far - Height Mountain. Absolutely gorgeous 360 panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, including the Presidential Mtn range. We decided to make dinner, watch the sunset and then star gaze afterwards. It was a very romantic setting for four dudes on top of a mountain.

Day 102 - Mt Washington / WWJD?

August 25 - Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Pinkham Notch, NH - 14.9 miles

Left the hut early today to avoid a potential storm coming our way. A quick 1.5 miles from Lakes of the Clouds Hut we summited Mt. Washington. Apparently you can see the ocean from up here, on a clear day. For us, we could barely see 10-15 feet in front of us. Easily the worst visibility we have had on the trip thus far.

The harsh elements we were exposed to actually made me fear for my life for the first time on the trip. It wasn't the bears in SNP or the rattlesnakes in Virginia but the raging 50mph winds over Mt. Washington that had me worried about craping my pants.

Upon arriving at Pinkham Notch we were faced with a 10 mile hitch in to Gorham, NH. After brainstorming different ideas for our cardboard sign, Sweet Tea suggests "WWJD." It worked flawlessly.

Day 101 - Lakes of the Clouds Hut

August 24 - Dry River Campground to Lakes of the Clouds Hut - 11.1 miles

Casually got back on the trail this morning as we had a fairly large climb awaiting us. Much to our surprise we dominated the mountain and found a gorgeous rock outcropping.

Had some phenomenal views of the Presidential Mountain Range. These pictures do not do the mountains justice. Mount Washington is the tallest peak in the range.

Arriving at Lakes of the Clouds Hut. This Hut easily had the most spectacular views.

Day 100 - Dry River Campground

August 23 - +Galehead Hut to Dry River Campground - 14.7 miles

Got an early start today as the Hut Crew had to prepare breakfast for the "paying" guests ($85-90/night) so they kicked us out at 6am. We made out way to Zealand Falls Hut, where we lounged around, made lunch (with fresh spinach from the hut) and were given gingerbread/cinnamon cake bars for free.

Eventually got a hitch to Crawford Notch Campground. I was astounded at how long it took to get a hitch, especially with what we were pulling off.

Ecstatic at riding in the bed of another truck

Before any of you make the same mistake, let me vent about Crawford Notch Campground. This private campground screwed us over. They were charging $0.79 for one pack of ramen! Who does that? They then tried charging the five of us $56 total to camp there. $56! Are you kidding me? Fortunately we thought to head back to the State Campground where we only had to pay $5 per person. Thank you Ranger John.

Day 99 - Fording rivers and descending waterfalls

August 22 - +Lonesome Lake Hut to +Galehead Hut - 15.9 miles

Within minutes of leaving Lonesome Lake Hut we found ourselves faced with a treacherous river crossing. It was so dangerous that it took us nearly 30 minutes to safely ford.

With our luck we encountered yet another raging river that we were forced to cross. How lovely.

Shortly after the duo of fords, we stumbled upon a waterfall. Not just any waterfall, but one that lay on the trail, forcing us to climb down at least 100 feet. I am thankful that we all made it out alive today.

Today we all came to the same conclusion to cut back our mileage in the Whites, for a few reasons:
1) The Whites are gorgeous and we do not want to blow through them.
2) The Whites are tough. 5000 and 6000 ft mountains remind you that you are not invincible.
3) Hiking less miles will allow us to ensure out stay at the huts and consume the delicious leftovers.

After crunching some numbers, our estimated finish date will be 9/12/11!

Day 98 - Lonesome Lake Hut

August 21 - Lincoln, NH to +Lonesome Lake Hut - 13.4 miles

Picked up a new pair of new shoes today! The Merrell NTR Seismic, my 6th pair of shoes. It's a good thing too since we had to climb Kinsman Mountain today. The ascent was pretty tough... it was extremely difficult to use trekking poles for about 50% of the climb.

We heard that a storm was brewing and would probably hit the mountains around 6:00pm so we made it our goal to hit the first hut before then. That didn't happen. It started pouring while we were making our final climb on South Kinsman. Ridge-walking in an intense lightning storm is not fun.

Samwise was able to secure us work for stay at Lonesome Lake Hut, partly due to the Jubilee effect and that the hut master loves Lord of the Rings. The employees of the hut are recent college graduates, like ourselves, who are in complete charge of running everything. Our work for stay consisted of cleaning the stove, scrubbing a drink dispenser and sweeping the spider webs. For the food we eventually received, it was probably not enough work but we did not say anything.

The Hut Crew of Ben, Brian and Mary were stellar! Brian told me about one of this feats of carrying 121 lbs from the road to the hut. They "brag" about how much they can carry, which is quite the opposite of our ultralight philosophy.

Had a gorgeous view of the lake!

Day 97 - The Whites!

August 20 - Ore Hill Shelter to Lincoln, NH - 17.0 miles

Finally! The day has come, after weeks and weeks of anticipation. We have entered... the Whites!

Our first climb in the Whites is Mt. Moosilauke (4,802 ft), one of the longest climbs at 3.9 miles, from the base to the summit. It took us only 86 minutes.

Homemade block of caramel from Laura. I wish I had more.

The descent was not as easy though. We had to use rebar (short for reinforcing bar) to climb through some treacherous spots.

Found lodging at Chet's place tonight, with about 20 other hikers. Chet is an outstanding guy, opening his home to hikers and building bunks in an extension of his garage.

Day 96 - sleeping in

August 19 - Trapper John Shelter to Ore Hill Shelter - 19.1 miles

Slept in today - until 7:30am. Alarm went off at 5:30am but we all felt the same about getting out of our warm sleeping bags.

Had two big climbs today, one had a cool fire tower at the top where we took a short break.

Day 95 - Hanover, NH

August 18 - Hanover, NH to Trapper John Shelter - 16.7 miles

Hanover is known for its "free" stuff. Really only geared towards thru-hikers, the town has a handful of restaurants, bookstores and cafes that provide a free sample or slice of what they have to offer. It is customary to take advantage of everything.

We hit up the Bagel Basement for a cinnamon raisin bagel with cinnamon sugar cream cheese, a free slice of pizza, a free snickers, free coffee (we didn't get the coffee) and a free bus service.

Day 94 - Short n' Sweet

August 17 - Winturri Shelter to Hanover, NH - 26.2 miles

First actual AT Marathon today - 26.2 miles.

Samwise was itching for a run so he took off five miles before Hanover at a brisk pace. Sweet Tea and I did not feel the same urge, and entered into a casual Beast Mode.

As Sweet Tea and I were strolling into today we picked up our pace due to a hill that carried us down swiftly. We were cruising at such a quick clip that we almost missed Short n' Sweet talking to us from her yard. If we had been moving any faster I'm not sure if we would have heard her and then would have missed out on many wonderful things.

Short n' Sweet's son thru-hiked the AT a few years ago and now her philosophy is all about pay it forward. She is a runner and a hiker and shared a lot in common with us. She invited us into her home, let us shower, do laundry and sleep in her basement. We had no where to stay in Hanover and would be faced with a super expensive hotel or stealth camping somewhere... Short n' Sweet saved us. Thank you Betsy for everything you did!

Day 93 - Sweet Tea stuck in the mud

August 16 - Rutland, VT to Winturri Shelter - 19.9 miles

Woke up at 5:00am today, left the shelter by 5:35am. It was our earliest start yet on the trail.

Sweet Tea got stuck in the mud. Almost had to put him down.

Day 92 - Rutland, VT

August 15 - Inn at Long Trail to Rutland, VT - 6.3 miles

Hiked back up Killington Mtn, via a hiking trail through one of the ski slopes. About 1,700ft over two miles. We would have taken the gondola back up but it has been closed for three days for maintenance... bah.

We then rode a free public bus into Rutland and stayed at the Yellow Deli Hiker Hostel.

Caught a movie in theaters! 30 minutes or less. It was worth our time.

After the movie, Como, Elbe, Birch, Sweet Tea, Samwise and I all made our way to a local bar. We asked some kids where a good place to get cheap beer is and they directed us here. $1.25 Busch pints! :p

Day 91 - Inn at Long Trail & Long Trail Brewery

August 14 - +Little Rock Pond Shelter to Inn at Long Trail - 23.7 miles

Ever have one of those days where one series of events leads to another, which then leads to something extraordinary? Today was one of those days.

We broke camp a little later than usual, with 23.7 on the schedule we knew that we could sleep in a little.

As a result of sleeping in, we ran into Slider and Stroller (Aussie's) at a shelter. They are very legit people, in fact they have the same mindset as us, which has been rare on the trail.

After talking to Slider for a bit, he outlines his elaborate plan of getting to the Long Trail Brewery tonight (before they close at 7pm). Immediately after hearing his intricate scheme, we decided to execute it.

We booked the 23.7 miles by 4:30am to catch a gondola ride down Killington Mtn (a ski resort) to the lodge down below. From the lodge we jumped on the free bus that gave us a ride directly to the Inn at Long Trail. This only took about 35 minutes. A quick hitch from the Inn had us drinking a sampler at the Long Trail Brewery by 5:50pm (thank you Tulio for the ride!). Where there's a will, there's a way.