Call of Adventure

After a short day into Abol Bridge campground I had another short day into Katahdin Stream campground. There were more hikers than spot at the Birches campsite so a trail family and I camped at a spot that the ranger opened for us. I got an early start up Katahdin. The mountain makes its own cloud but I just barely made it up before it obscured the view. On the way up I was able to send text messages to the AT Lodge in Millinocket. I am glad I reserved a bunk because they were booked up by the time I made it down Katahdin. The folks there were super helpful both in getting out of Baxter Park with the shuttle, the shuttle to catch a bus to the airport, and with information to help plan the tickets home. Then I managed to see Biscuits and Hot Sauce who I met on day one of the trail! My legs did not like being forced to sit still for hours at a time. After a day in buses and planes I finally arrived in Dallas and got to go home and sleep in my own bed.

Time to cruise! Folks said that I would cruise after White Cap Mt, but Little Boardman still wore me out. After that it was relatively flat. I felt like could have gone faster if the trail, rocks, roots, and mud would allow me to take more than a couple steps in a straight line. The last spots I had service was Little Boardman and the Rainbow Ledges. I had a random flash of service on Abol Bridge, but was u able to find it later. The next time I had service with Verizon was 1.1 mile north of Katahdin Stream Campground at the Owl trailhead.

The first half of the Hundred Mile Wilderness wore me out. I was concerned with the low mileage I was doing. Rain, it turns out, is a motivator. No looking at my phone. No sitting down for breaks. Just hike. My feet are soaked so I don't take the time to try to avoid puddles!

I got a slow start into the Hundred Mile Wilderness. The weather was wet and cold so staying in a shelter and having a fire was too good to pass up!

The White mountains are kicking my butt.

Made it to the whites! These mountains are no joke.

Vermont was nice, but I was ready for New Hampshire. I had a reservation for a hotel with a hot tub and I was hungry! Sunset on Bromley Mt was amazing. Sunrise was underwhelming d/t fog.

I got lost between Great Barrington and Bennington VT!

Left the city park in Unionville, NY. You can see that I hang with Hot Mess Express when I can keep up. Stayed the night at Warwick drive in theater, for free! Hot Mess and I were the only hikers that wanted to watch the Minions movie so we had the radio for sound to ourselves. The news said we were going to get storms/tornadoes so we stayed at the Tuxedo Hotel. Got to the Hidson River, now looking for wifi to upload this.

Struggling with poor wifi. Sorry it took a while to get this vid up.

I had way too much food because I kept buying burgers and sandwiches at shops and not eating out of the food bag. When I got my resupply box in Duncannon it just added to the problem!

Walked through Boiling Springs, stayed a night in Carlisle PA, and stayed at the historic Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA.

Got off at Waynesboro, PA to resupply and happened to dodge some stormy weather.

Huge thanks to Vibissa Brewery and the outfitter for providing laundry and showers at Basecamp! I was able to get laundry and resupply done and out of town before dark. Hiked a few miles and made camp. There I met Jerry and his dog, Goofy. That lovable pup is a big morale boost every time I see him because he'll run over for pets and snuggles. Hiked a section of trail call "The Roller Coaster." It was aot of steep up and down, but plenty of water. What really slowed me down were all the days hikers, they were everywhere! Most of these folks would stay shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the trail and wouldn't move. Trail etiquette is uphill has the right of way. These folks won't even move to the side regardless of going uphill, downhill, or just standingin the middle of the trail, the trail was 6ft wide at this point. 😠 Went to a gas station .3 miles from trail on my way to Harper's Ferry. I was able to consume and pack out some extra calories. It's good because resupply in Harper's Ferry is extremely limited so now I can stretch the food I have to get to the next town.

I'm through the Shenandoahs! It's been either hot, rainy, or sometimes both. I finally saw a bear, it wasn't as impressed with me as I was with it.

Short trip, I've got a side adventure to go on. New tent, New shoes, New gloves, New Blanket. I did the Mau-Har trail, definitely worth losing 3 miles if you aren't a purist. I also got some rain!