Monson, ME (09/10) to Mt. Katahdin, ME (09/18)

Wow! Its so surreal to be done with the trail and look back on it all! Sorry to those that have kept up with the blog-- I know this last post took me a while, but it also took a while to get back home! :)

Eric and I fell in love with Monson! We ended up staying a couple extra days and we were able to slackpack our first couple days into the 100 Mile Wilderness. Slackpacking is when you hike a day's portion of the trail without a full pack and have rides to and from the trail. The 100 Mile Wilderness is a section (one guess as to how long) right before Baxter State Park... though it isn't really as remote as it sounds. A bunch of logging companies own the land around the trail, so there's a lot of logging roads and tote roads throughout that section that will get you back to civilization. I'm sure at one point, however, it was truly remote. We didn't see much wildlife in that section, though we did hear a couple of moose in rut at night.

Once we finished the 100 Mile, we entered Baxter State Park (our last 2 days). We had been hiking around a very nice guy named T Cat, who was from South Carolina as well, and his dad had come out to meet him for these last 2 days. His dad hiked out hotdogs and fed everyone at the campsite! We crossed over Abol Bridge, which is a famous bridge that Henry David Thoreau use to spend time at. It wasn't quite what I had thought it was going to be-- I had this romantic image of an old covered bridge or something. It was just an old, regular bridge... but it did have an amazing view of Mt Katahdin! Anyways, our last night camping was right at the base of Mt Katahdin. T Cat's Dad had gone out and bought us a bottle of champagne to bring to the top, and a couple of former thru hikers came to our campsite and grilled out for us!!

The day we climbed Mt Katahdin was perfect!! Clear skies, little wind, and not a cloud in sight! We didn't bring full packs to the top-- just some lunch and champagne! It was a 5 mile climb to the top, and it was rather challenging. I think we had so much adrenaline pumping through us though, that we pretty much ran all the way up! We spent a couple hours on top, celebrating and reminiscing of our five and a half month adventure... then made our way back down to the campground to be picked up.

Now that we're all done, there's a lot to figure out and do! I have loads of pictures (about 900-1000) and I really am going to load them onto the blog! I also kept a journal every day we were out on the trail, and am thinking about going back through the blog and filling in the gaps and details... or who know... maybe a book one day! (we'll see)

My mom and Bill picked us up and we went into NYC for 3 nights! Talk about culture shock!! Now, we're back in South Carolina and trying to get things in order for the next chapter of our lives. We definitely fell in love with the hiking culture and lifestyle though, so we're already planning some other long distance hikes we'd like to do- both in the states and abroad. Everyone keeps asking us how it feels to be back in reality, but the Appalachian Trail was one of the healthiest doses of reality I've ever had! Its as real as it gets out there! (Though it is nice to be back in a bed and have access to a shower on a regular basis!) :)

We had such a great support group throughout this entire experience-- from family to friends to strangers to trail angels! We certainly couldn't of had the experience we did without everyone, so I truly can't thank everyone enough! These past few months have been incredible, and its bitter sweet to be done... although, a certain amount of the lifestyle and culture will never fade!

From Caratunk, ME (09/08) to Monson, ME (09/10)

Well... here we are! The last trail town and the beginning of the end! We start the 100 mile wilderness tomorrow, which ends with Mt Katahdin! Not so much has happened since my last blog but I felt it would be appropriate to write one more blog entry! The next time I'm able to write it will be after everything is said and DONE!

We've really enjoyed the trail-- even the hard parts-- but I must admit, we are also ready to sleep in a bed every night and take shower on a regular basis and cook whatever meal we feel like eating instead of what is the lightest! :)

I also want to say that I have kept a journal everyday that we've been on the trail. I'm still not sure what I want to do exactly with all these documented memories, but the idea of a book has been implanted in my mind. Either way, once everything is said and done, I do plan on writing a more detailed description of our amazing journey! I can't wait to be done... and at the same time, I can't believe its almost over! Wish us luck on these last few days!

From Gorham, NH (08/30) to Caratunk, ME (09/08)

Holy cow... home stretch! Southern Maine proved to be just as difficult as the Whites in New Hampshire! The trail was really tough for a while, and it started to feel as if it wasn't going to let up until the end! It did however! Maine has been absolutely amazing! There are sooo many lakes and ponds that the trail goes by! Plus, every time you summit a mountain, you get the killer view of the wilderness around you, plus huge bodies of water everywhere! There were a bunch of fun boulder scrambles in Maine as well! Mahoosac Notch was a mile long boulder field that was a lot of fun to figure your way thru!

We heard from the rest of Chicken Pot Pie... they're about a week or so behind us and might jump ahead and do the 100 mile wilderness with us. We've met a lot of really cool people lately though! We kind of made our way into a whole new bubble of people! Anyways, Caratunk is our next to last town. We'll be in Monson, ME in about 3 days... then we start the 100 mile wilderness (which ends with us celebrating on top of Katahdin!) We ended up pushing our finishing date back to the 18th. We had fallen behind schedule and there was no way to catch up without some serious injuries!

Its so surreal to have this trip come to a close! We're both pretty excited for a life that doesn't involve hiking 15 to 20 miles a day though! :) Well, I'll update in a couple days in Monson! We miss everyone!!

From Hanover, NH (08/18) to Gorham, NH (08/30)

Wow, it seems like so much has happened since we've been in Hanover! New Hampshire is a beautiful state as well! The first couple days of the state was very similar to Vermont- breath taking views on top of mountains that weren't too hard of climbs. Then, we started the Whites... our first mountain in this range was Mt Moosilauke, which so far is my favorite mountain! Most of the mountains we climbed in the Whites were above tree line on top, so there were basically 360 degree views on top of everything! (Having nice views all day really makes climibing 3000 feet more enjoyable and rewarding). After our first mountain in the Whites, we got into the town of Lincoln and stayed at a wonderful hiker hostel called One Step at a Time. It is ran by a guy named Chet and he is a really wonderful person! We had a blast there, and took a day off to prepare ourselves for the rest of the Whites.

Man... did the rest of the Whites kick our butts!! It was still amazing-- there were a ton of weekend and section hikers who were really nice. The mountains themselves however, are no joke!! We basically climbed up and down 3000+ feet everyday! The Whites also had huts that people pay too much to stay in, but the thru hikers can do work for stay and eat left overs... I might have actually gained weight in this part of the trail because of all the good left overs! The "croo" at the huts were also very cool people (for the most part... of course there's always at least one bad apple, but oh well). Mt Washington is the second highest peak on the AT and it took us about a day and a half to get all the way up and over it! We also hit most of the presidential peaks on the way- the AT doesn't actually go over all the summits, but there were plenty of side trails. We had some nasty weather our first couple days out, so we might actually come back and do the Franconia Ridge again so we can actually see what its like on top :) I seemed to have hurt my ankle coming down Washington tho... so we're taking a day off here in Gorham to see if it just needs rest or if its slightly more serious. It was swollen yesterday, but its going down so I'm just taking it easy!

In Chicken Pot Pie news... well, we don't actually know where the rest of the group is. After we left Lincoln, they seemed to seperate from us a little... and either decided they didn't want to hike the White or they're just taking their time threw these mountains- its hard to tell and we can't get in touch with anyone since we don't have a phone. Oh well! Hopefully they'll catch back up, but Eric and I have really enjoyed being on our own and pushing ourselves and meeting new people on the trail. Its been a pretty amazing experience to be on our own again :)

Anyways, we should be crossing into Maine when we leave this town! Only 298 miles left from here!! Its a bitter sweet thought to be so close to the finish. We've had so much fun out here that I don't want it to end too soon... however, I am really looking forward to the future (and regular showers, haha). Watch out Maine... here we come!!

From Dalton, MA (08/05) to Hanover, NH (08/18)

Wow! It seems like so much has happened since I last updated! We blew right through Mass it seemed-- though we found some very nice hostels to stay in. The trail was very nice, and we're back (officially) in a land with some views! Our group started to get spread out by a day or so for the last little bit of MA, but we managed to get back together by the time we were in Vermont.

Ah, Vermont... this was DEFINITELY my favorite state so far. We're getting back into some real mountains (the Green Mountain range was beautiful). The people were awesome, there were once again a few hostels that were really perfect for hikers, and there was Ben & Jerry's everywhere!! The ice cream was also super cheap, seeing as B&J is made in Vermont. It is really a lovely state. We have also been running into more and more south bounders who are thru hiking the AT. Its very intersting to get a glimpse of what is to come and to meet people with a totally different look out on the trail (they're at mile 500 or so, while we're at mile 1700+). There weren't any major wildlife encounters in Vermont-- though I'm pretty sure I heard a moose snorting the other day, which was kind of scary. I really want to see a moose... but I'd rather there be a pond or lake inbetween it and me :)

Anyways, we crossed into New Hampshire yesterday and we're currently in Hanover, though we'll be hiking out later today. Hanover is a interesting town. Dartmouth (the ivy league school) is in the middle of town... so needless to say, the town is rather expensive and not your typical college town. It is, however, a very pretty town. Supposedly Bill Bryson lives here... let's just hope we don't run into him-- after hiking this much of the trail, most thru hikers have lost a lot of respect for his Walk in the Woods... it is a great story... but a real thru hike is drastically different :)

Well, we've showered, done laundry and I personally just stuffed myself at Dunkin Donuts, and now its time to pack everything up and keep on going! We have less than 450 miles left and less than a month! New Hampshire will, I'm sure, prove more difficult than what we've been doing, but we're all looking forward to the Whites! Hope to update again soon!

From Kent, CT (07/28) to Dalton, MA (08/05)

Well, here we are, yet another state down! We're about 1559 miles into the trail with about 619 to go! Everyone feels much better than since the last time I wrote. We all caught the viral-stomach thing, but everyone recovered just fine (though it did slow us down a bit). Claire is also feeling much better! The vet gave her the antibiotics for Lyme's Disease, and its working fantastically!

Connecticut was a very nice state for us! The views were incredible, and the trail wasn't too hard. It was, however, a very crowded part of the AT on the weekends... which sometimes made finding a campsite a little harder for us. We've encountered some very hiker friendly towns lately. Lee, MA was probably the best so far! Everyone talked to us and wished us luck... we even had an older guy buy us some strawberries and he drove around town until he found us to give them to us! Apparently, from here on out, the towns are much more welcoming to hikers (and probably a little more outdoorsy than the NJ/NY area).

Not really much else to report from this week. We're very close to the Vermont border. After that, the trail is suppose to become a little more difficult again with the Presidentials and the White Mountains. :) We're very excited though. We're hoping to pull out some big miles again until then, so we can slow down and take our time through the more difficult sections.

We miss everyone and we're just over a month from being done! That realization hasn't completely sunk in yet... its going to be a little odd readjusting!

From Culver's Gap, NJ to Kent, CT (07/19-07/28)

Alright!! We're in our final 5 states!! We blew through New Jersey and saw A LOT of bears. We saw 2 adults and I'm pretty sure we walked by a bear den with 4 cubs one day... we ran out of that area tho in case mother bear came back while we were around! New York was incredible, but a little harder than most of us expected! The trail thru PA and NJ was mostly rocky, but they were little rocks that really hurt the feet. The rocks in New York were huge, and you were pretty much rock climbing up and down them. It was actually a fun change of pace on the trail.

Jesse (i.e. Mr. Tea) is back on the trail, so the five of us are together again! We just got into Connecticut yesterday and got into town today! I got really sick a few days ago on the trail (luckily we were taking a zero day, which is a day that we do zero miles, haha). And yesterday, Eric seemed to get the same thing. We think it is just a viral bug tho and not related to water or food (otherwise it would have been way worse and lasted longer than a day). Hopefully he feels better by the end of today, and we're not hiking which should help. Claire, Laura (i.e. Speakeasy)'s dog, seems to have fallen a little ill as well. We're taking her to the first vet clinic we find (which should be tomorrow) and getting her tested for Lyme Disease. :( I hate to leave everyone hanging on that note, but we'll know soon enough, and luckily there is a treatment, so she'll be alright.

Well, that's all for now! I've got to get off the library's computer and finish laundry! :) Miss and love everyone!

p.s. Sandy! We realized Kim had left her headlight. She already replaced it, so she should be fine, but I'll double check with her and see if she wants it mailed out... otherwise, its all yours!