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.
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.
