Tag: Maine

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Biggest hike…ever

June 27 Hedy and I leave for Portland, Maine, and should arrive there before noon. Our daughter Vivian will be accompanying us on the flight and the plans are, for now, that she will be hiking this final stretch of the AT with me. That’s a bonus for me. Vivian hiked the Escalante Route with me in the Grand Canyon this past March and is a solid companion for this sort of thing. In the early morning, Sunday, June 28th we will leave the Caratunk trailhead and head for Monson.

This final section hike will take 3 parts. The first part is Caratunk to Monson = 36.7 miles. We will have two nights out and Hedy will pick us up at Maine 15.

The second section will be Monson to Abol Bridge = 99.4 miles. This is called the 100 mile wilderness. We will be out for 7 nights and Hedy will pick us up at Abol Bridge and take us into Millinocket for the night.

The final section will be Abol Bridge to Katahdin (Baxter Peak) = 14.5 miles. We will be out for one final night and make the assent in the early morning from the Birches facilities. We’ll return that afternoon and Hedy will take us back to Millinocket. It is possible that Hedy might join us for the final assent which would be pretty cool.

Of course, this is all conjecture. We don’t really know what is going to happen. I have a few days “wiggle room” built in and Hedy and I plan to stop by Lincoln, Nebraska to celebrate with my mother and sister.

I call this the Biggest Hike Ever because it has been very challenging to prepare myself for each section hike the last 11 years. It has been wonderful to have the challenge though, as each summer I have had to prove to myself that I can do this. Eleven years in a row. Imagine that. Now is my chance to finish…hence my biggest hike ever.

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151.3 to Katahdin

Saturday, July 19, I arrived back from my 11th year on the Appalachian Trail. Going into this section I did not know how difficult it was going to be. I had hoped that I had the worst behind me but actually this section was harder than last year’s. The hike began at the summit of Mount Washington on June 26, about 9:00 am. Hedy and I arrived in Portland the day before, picked up our rental car, and then found HQ in Gorham, NH. It rained the entire day and well into the evening. I was uncertain if I would be able to set off on the morning of the 26th but the weather had cleared and we were the first ones to enter the auto road for Mount Washington.

The starting point was 332.5 miles from Katahdin. I crossed into Maine in the early morning of July 2 (281.4 mile mark) and stopped at Caratunk, Maine, July 17 (151.3 mile mark).

Appalachian Trail 2014
New Hampshire/Maine state line, on the Mahoosuc Trail, on the AT.

Every day was a tough hiking day. I took a zero day after perhaps the most difficult stretch of hiking in my life. This was the final New Hampshire section (HY 2) to Grafton Notch in Maine. This stretch was 31 miles and I divided it into hikes of 12, 9 and 9. The last hike included Mahoosuc Notch, Mahoosuc Arm and Speck Mountain. I was exhausted when I exited the trail and thankfully it rained all night and the next day and gave me a perfect excuse for a zero day. This was July 4th. I took a second zero day on July 8th. I had broken my pinkie on my left hand on the first day hiking (Mount Washington) and Hedy and I drove into Rumford, Maine to have it checked. We picked up Vivian and Andrew at the Portland Airport that evening so it seemed like another good excuse for a zero day. Other than that, it was hiking every day. Most of it very challenging.

Like last year I found that while the trail was extremely difficult that the experience and beauty offset that. This was my best section yet, even better than last year. I am nicely positioned to complete the AT next year, which was my goal. Over the next few weeks I will be working on my page providing details of this 11th year and uploading photos.

 

 

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Four more hikes

I realized, in anticipation of the upcoming hike on the AT, that I have a few key hikes left to complete two major hiking milestones in my life. One major milestone  is the completion of the Appalachian Trail and another that I have not been consciously working toward, would be the completion of all hikes on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Here’s how I hope it plays out—

Hike 1: June-July, 2014, 11th section of the AT. I am currently at the summit of Mount Washington and should set off June 26, 2014. I will hike as far into Maine as I can manage, understanding that the situation is much more difficult than in previous sections. The hiking last year was hard fought and I expect more of the same the final two years.

Hike 2: March 2015. I plan to do the Escalante Route with Vivian. I had hoped to do this in 2012 but was not able to get the permits. This will be a challenging hike and I’ve asked Vivian to join me for this as it involves some route finding and common sense. This is not a hike I would want to do alone.

Hike 3: July, 2015. This should be the final section of the AT to Katahdyn. I’m hoping the milage will be low based on the 11th section endeavor. Certainly this could be an emotional moment in my life.

Hike 4: March 2016. The final gap for the south rim trails is the Tonto Trail from Horseshoe Mesa to the South Kaibab. This is a contour run along the Tanto plateau with a stiff hike out the South Kaibab. The completion of this hike will fill all blanks on my South Rim map. And, most of the trails I have hiked multiple times, i.e. The Royal Arch Loop 3 times, Bright Angel and South Kaibab 5 times, Hermit Trail 3 times, Grandview Trail 6 times, South Bass Trail 2 times.

Right now my mental and physical preparation is for the Whites and Maine. I am really looking forward to this one. Hedy and I plan to fly into Portland, Maine, rent a car, and headquarter somewhere near the border where the AT crosses, probably on the Maine side.

I continue to hike in Government canyon on weekends.

 

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AT 2013 Posted…

From June 30th to July 15th Hedy and I explored new territories, experienced adventure and created memories. This was my 10th year hiking on the Appalachian Trail and it was easily the most rewarding one. This section began  at Stony Brook in Vermont and is approached by a rough access road. Fortunately we had a local map with a place listed on it called Notown. It does not show on the official AT map but is very close to the marked parking area. Notown happened to be in our Tom Tom  so we were able to arrive without problems and get off to a quick start.

Appalachian Trail 2013
Common hairmoss (Polytrichum commune).

The posted page for AT 2013 details the hike. I did better documenting this section then any of the previous 9 hikes. Photos are posted in Flickr and some thumbnails appear in daily entries—just to provide a flavor for the hike.

July 15th I arrived at the summit of Mount Washington. That is where I will begin the AT2014. I will try to squeeze out a few extra days for the 2014 hike. Once I hit the White Mountains things really changed—the trail was so difficult there were days I only managed 8 to 10 miles. The views were spectacular and other-worldly, especially above the tree line. I rued having to stop at Mount Washington. Four more days I could have completed the Whites and been at the border with Maine. I had a rhythm established, my confidence was high, Hedy and I were working well together in planning pick up and drop off points. I was a good 40 miles below my expectations for this hike due to the Whites. Looking ahead, 332 miles to Katahdin, I don’t really see much relief—no easy days that’s for sure. So, divide 332 by 10 and that’s 33 more days on the trail. I really need to get well into Maine in 2014 to complete this in 2015.