June 29, 2010 ; Peaks and Valleys

I'm almost through the wilderness, about 20 miles from Monson, Maine, I'm hoping to do about 10 miles today (Tuesday). I called the family from the top of Barren Mountain, Maine (2434 feet), which is about 7.5 miles from Greenville, Maine. You can probably locate that on Google Earth for an idea of where I am. Here's an interactive map of the Appalachian Trail (below). Click on the Shelter option to see the shelters along the trail, I'll try and provide the name of them in my updates so you can track my progress. You'll have to zoom in on the map to get to Maine so the shelters don't appear all bunched together.


http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4850633/k.9733/Interactive_Map.htm

Monday I did about 17 miles and 4 summits and it was a bear! The trail can be as wide as 10 feet and as narrow as about a foot and a half. One mountain had an ascent of about 1000 vertical feet per mile, the other 3 were about 500 vertical feet per mile. There was a lot of boulder scrambling and hand over hand climbing. To top it off, it had to rain as well, I had mud up to my knees by the end of the day and water up to my shins at times, not much fun....

I've been able to sleep in shelters every night except last night and I've been comfortable. Most of the shelters sleep 6 people, some 8, and since I'm with a large group of people, and others beat us to the site, I got to sleep "under the stars". I didn't sleep as well last night.

I've been hiking (off and on) with Nick aka "Butter" from New York City, Chris aka "Bread" from Maine, both attend Hamilton College near Syracuse, N.Y., Chris aka "Weatherman" for his weather predictions, is from Georgia, he's laid off from his construction management job, I met him on the Greyhound ride. And finally Stump, his trail name according to him, (he didn't tell us his real name). I guess Stump has already completed the Pacific Coast Trail and the Appalachian Trail before. He's hiking with us to "warm up". They're calling me "Skittles", because I'm trading my skittles for noodles from the other hikers to give me some variety in my diet.

I only did about 10 miles on Sunday, I deserved a day of rest.

June 25, 2010; Update

I've been passing through the "Wilderness", it's about a 100 mile journey where there's little civilized contact other then the hikers.

At the moment, I'm eating a hamburger in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, 25 miles from the closest town. This place, White House Landing, sits in the middle of the wilderness about a mile from the trail at the edge of Pemadumcook Lake. It's a wilderness get-a-way and they provide services for the hikers. One of the hikers I'm with is from Maine and knew about it. To get to it, you have to blow an air horn from the other side of the lake where the trail passes. Check out the pictures at their website below. Click on the Photo Collection link on their home page.

http://www.whitehouselanding.com/

Today the weather is nice, but it has rained the last two days. I met up with a couple hikers and even had a moose follow me down the trail yesterday for about half a mile, it was apparently heading to a water hole at the end of the trail, so there are definitely signs of life out here. The guy from Maine said he's lived here his whole life and hasn't seen one, so I guess I'm lucky. Moose are BIG !

As for the trail itself, it is quite rocky and rooted, generally in the woods, so no sunburn to speak of. Insects haven't been a big issue lately, (unless I stop moving) and I've been sleeping in the 3-sided shelters thus far up off the ground and sheltered from the rain. I'm about 70 miles from Monson, the end of the "wilderness", and have been averaging about 15 miles a day (give or take a few), yesterday we did 20. Yesterday we had to cross a stream that was about mid-thigh in depth. I was walking on rocks until it became slippery and I went for a little deeper swim. Luckily I was able to keep my pack dry.

That's it for now. I've taken pictures, but I'm technologically challenged so I haven't figured out how to send them from my phone to my brother to be posted.

June 22, 2010; Ascent of Katahdin

Well, my hike begins up Mt. Katahdin (5268 ft), it's more like bolder hopping than hiking. At one point there was about a 100 foot drop, I've never been so scared in my life. I ran out of water by the end of the day but I think I did about 12 miles today.

Mt. Katahdin

June 21, 2010; Arrival

I arrived in Millinocket, Maine around 7:30 PM and met two hikers that will start the trail in the morning as well. Dad bought me a package deal where they pick me up at the bus station, take me to a "bed and breakfast", where I get my last night's sleep in a bed and feed me breakfast in the morning. They will also take me to Baxter State Park in the morning to start the Appalachian Trail.

June 20, 2010; Packing and Departure

Here are some pictures of me before I leave today on my Greyhound trip to Maine to start my hike. If I make it all the way (or when I stop) I'll take a picture to compare my appearance.

(He looks very enthused to say the least.)

June 20, 2010; My Adventure begins on Sunday

I will be leaving from Cleveland, OH via Greyhound Bus on 6/20/10 to begin a southbound thru hike of the 2175 mile Appalachian Trail. I should arrive in Millinocket, ME, around 7:30 pm on 6/21/10, and begin by hiking 5 miles from the Katahdin Stream Campground to the northern terminus of the AT, Mt. Katahdin, on 6/22/10.

Depending on my cell phone service, I will be sending my brother texts on my status along with pictures (maybe) to post on this blog.