Maine Really IS Beautiful

We woke up this morning and it wasn't really raining so we headed out hoping the rain would hold as long as possible. We climbed Saddleback Mountain, and as we climbed, clouds started to surround us. We were so bummed. 

But then, as we started to get off Saddleback, the clouds started to thin. 

We had heard how beautiful Maine was, but due to our recent weather, I couldn't see it myself. It turns out, they were right!

We hiked 19.9 miles today and we're staying in an abandoned ski chalet on top of Sugarloaf Mountain. It's got some awesome views too!

Also, we don't always get incredible food. We really do cook cheap pasta sides. 

Walkin in the rain

If you wanna walk to Maine you gotta walk in the rain. Well we already made it to Maine and it is still raining. The trail is basically a mud lake. But we are doing it! We made it to Rangley today and got in to resupply and eat. I was running low in food the past couple days, so by the time I got to town my food bag was completely empty. That made these lobster rolls so satisfying. 

Gotta love those Maine lobsters. 

We have been running into a bunch of southbound hikers which has been fun talking to them. 

We got a sweet hitch into town. A lady had to go to a wedding in an hour, but she still gave us a ride! As we were hitching, Ayce said, "I'm feeling this one," and sure enough, that lady picked us up. It was awesome!

 Also we have had to ford a few rivers. We are heading back to the trail tonight.

Welcome to Maine

We've walked from Georgia to Maine! 

Two nights ago we stayed at Gentian Pond Shelter. Then yesterday morning we left at 6:45 to make our way over to Maine. After the 5 miles to Maine, we walked about 6 more miles to Mahoosuc Notch, the most time consuming 1.2 miles on the AT. The 11 miles we did before it though, had to have been the hardest and most stretch we've done on the AT. It's been raining every afternoon for the past few days which made the rocks and roots that cover the trail super slippery. Many times we would had to walk either up or down a slanted rock face. About 300 yards before the Maine border, my shoes completely lost there grip and I went airborne but fortunately landed on my backpack. I thought I wasn't gonna make it. 

We all made it to Mahoosuc Notch though to take on the longest mile of the AT. Michael, Ayce, Chino, and I all did it together so it ended up taking us 2 and a half hours with about a 10 minute break. It was so much fun! We had to navigate our way over and under boulders. Sometimes we would have to take off our packs to fit through cracks. To make more interesting, the rocks were really slick, and it rained some. At one point, it started to pour, but thankfully the trail took us underneath a big boulder, so we just waited it out for ten minutes. Another cool thing about the notch was that in some lower places, it was probably 20 degrees cooler and there was ice! It felt great. 

Many times we had to use our arms and hands to get us through the notch. That was a nice change. 

We ended up only doing 12.3 miles yesterday, but it was fun and we survived. 

We've now walked over 1,900 miles and have less than 280 miles to go to make it to Katahdin!

This morning we woke up to rain, but it soon stopped and after a few hours the sun came out! We climbed Speck and Baldpate Mountains and it has been beautiful. We are going to try and get 23 miles in today to make up for yesterday and take advantage of this good weather. 

Last Day in the Whites

We did a short day over the five Wildcat peaks today. Fortunately the rain held off. It was partly cloudy and really windy. We saw some cool views of Mt. Washington and the Presidentials, but the clouds never really lifted above them. 

We headed over to the Carter Notch Hut where we got ate lunch, got some 2 day old bread, and one of the crew members played the banjo for us. 

We met about 7 southbounders today. It's kind of weird to see other thru-hikers going the wrong direction. Also, my other trekking pole broke today. It got wedged in the ground and snapped. I guess the 1,500 miles put on it have weakened it. Hopefully I can get them fixed in Gorham tomorrow. 

Ayce went on to Gorham tonight to watch the Bruins, but Michael and I are here with Chino and a southbounder at Imp Shelter. 

Up in the clouds

Yesterday we woke up at the hut and decided to stick around for breakfast and chores in hopes that the clouds would lift. Well by 9 it was the same so we just left and started climbing Mt Washington, the tallest mountain in New England and the only one over 6000 feet. We got to the top and there were big winds and zero visibility. 

There is a visitors center at the top because it is such a popular mountain, which was so weird because all sorts of people could drive up or take a train up and were just sitting at the top of this huge mountain that we just climbed. We heard comments like "Look the actually hiked up here!" The way down was very rocky, wet, and steep. We all took a couple spills, but Matt had a bad one and it broke one of his hiking poles unfortunately.  We had to come over Mt. Madison and were on an exposed ridge when a thunderstorm rolled in. So we booked it as fast as we could over the rock scrambles to try to get below tree line but we didn't exactly make it in time. The rest of the day we got poured on too. 

But luckily we were able to get a bunk and get dry here at Pinkam Notch and today we are going to keep hiking in the rain!

Great Service

Last night we weren't able to work for stay at the Zealand Hut so we stealth camped about a quarter of a mile farther down the trail. Unfortunately three section hikers lied and said they were thru-hikers so they could work for stay. They said they were doing a big section. They started in Glencliff (we left there Wednesday morning). It was frustrating that they took our opportunity to stay in the hut especially since we did 10 more miles than them, but it's alright. It all worked out. 

Today's been great! We got to Crawford Notch at ten this morning where one of Ayce's friends, Paul, met us. He brought a bunch of things for us to eat and drink including ice cream! He then drove Ayce, Michael, and Chino to a store to resupply while I stayed back and watched everyone's stuff. I did my best to stay mosquito free. Thanks so much Paul for all your help! That was some incredible trail magic!

We then started the hard part of the day. We climbed up Mt. Webster and then started to go through some of the Presidentials. We were at Mizpah Hut and there was a chance of rain and thunderstorms, but we decided to push to Lakes of the Clouds Hut. It was clearing up a little and luckily it pretty much held off. We saw some pretty sweet views, and we were able to get work for stay tonight! We basically sat around and waited for all the guests to eat; then we ate as much turkey and mashed potatoes as we wanted! Then the crew told us they had no work for us. So now we got free food and a warm, dry place to sleep!

Hopefully tomorrow morning will be clear for Mt. Washington!

P.S. Andrew says hi and TA. 

Great day to be alive

Today has been amazing. We have had perfect weather and have hit the most beautiful stretch of trail on the whole AT yet. This morning we woke up and did Franconia Ridge, which was all above tree line. 

Then we climbed Mt. Garfield. 

And now we are sitting on South Twin Mnt. 

It has just been an incredible day. We are heading down to Zealand Falls Hut to try and work-for-stay so we will hopefully have a place to sleep tonight. Last night we stealth camped around Liberty Spring.