Yeah, it's that time of year. Exactly two years ago we set out on the Approach Trail to the Appalachian Trail from Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia. I wouldn't exactly say that I'd want to be out there hiking this year (I love what we're up to right now!), but remembering those first few weeks on the trail sure is enticing.
April 30th is, and I imagine will always be, a special date.
I like the new-ish feature on Google Maps that calculates walking routes and times between landmarks. Should take 18 days and 10 hours to walk from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. Could have used this and shaved about a thousand miles from our trip.
There you go. Now we know.
Just got a call from Matt a.k.a Hiking Matt, who is finally making his dream of an Appalachian Trail thru-hike a reality in 2009.
He's at Neels Gap in Georgia, after having set out from Springer Mountain Georgia on April 1st. Matt said that hiking this year might not be the most 'responsible' thing, due to his fledgling seasonings business, but he couldn't live with putting it off another year. Said something about life being too short to make excuses or worry about finances.
Amen, Matt. And safe journey to you!
For all those who competed in the 2007 Pee-A-Tree competition on the Appalachian Trail, here is the perfect urinal for your home.
You're welcome, Hey Man Crew.
If you're thinking about hiking the trail in 2008, you'll probably carry a data book to help calculate mileage and find services in town.
Most people carry the A.T.C. companion or the Thru-hiker's Handbook (formerly by Wingfoot, now published by Bob McCaw). I also heard a rumor that Whiteblaze is publishing a guide book, but was unable to verify that.
One very important factor to consider when purchasing your guidebook is what the cover looks like. I personally think that the 2008 cover of the A.T.C. companion looks the best, but maybe that's just me.
We carried the Wingfoot guide in 2007 and were happy with the data for the southern half of the trail, but it is common knowledge that Wingfoot has not set foot on the trail in over 10 years, and the northern half of the handbook was strewn with misinformation.
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UPDATE:
"A.T. Thru-Hikers' Companion" is published by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, however it is compiled, written, and edited by volunteers of the Appalchian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA).
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Good morning! Today is Thursday, September 20, 2007. We’re calling from the Monson General Store at a pay phone outside. We’re moments away from getting a hitch back to the trail. We’ve got probably seven or eight days of food as we are carrying all the food that we need to reach Katahdin and summit, as well as the night afterwards. We plan to climb Katahdin and Baxter Peak, one week from today, September 27, 2007. We’ve got one extra buffer day thrown in there in case of weather or anything else.
Lauren has a wrap on her ankle. A friend gave her some extra pain killers in case that she needs them (they would normally be behind lock and key, haha!) Our friends Josh and Sarah (aka He-Man and She-Ra) surprised us by catching up with us yesterday. We all stayed at the same lodging in town called Shaws.
Anyway, our packs are pretty much maxed out as far as capacity and weight. They have no frame in them so they feel quite heavy on our shoulders. I’m probably carrying about 35 pounds and Lauren is probably carrying 25 pounds. We’re hoping for a really great stretch here to finish out the trip strong! That’s the news from town, and we will probably not be in contact with anyone for the next week. Thanks to everyone for keeping up with us and for all the encouragement!!!
Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
It is Monday, September 17, 2007. It’s a little before 9:00 in the morning. Lauren and I are calling from the Harrison Camp. We just stopped by the Ken Harrison Cabin for a lumberjack breakfast of 12 pancakes, coffee (Lauren's Favorite!), and eggs. We’re sitting now, by the Pierce Pond Stream, looking out of the living room at the waterfall and early morning sunlight.
This morning we are at mile 2,019.2. We have about an hour long walk continuing northward to the Kennebec River. That river has the reputation for being the most formidable crossing on the trail where a canoe takes you across, leaving from two different schedules during the day. We hope to catch the ferry that leaves between 9:00am and 11:00am.
Lauren’s ankle is still painful but holding up okay. The terrain has leveled out quite a bit though. Yesterday, we came down from the Bigelow Range, which is the last significant mountain range until we reach Kathadin! It looks like we’re going to have another 150 miles of smooth cruising. And the weather seems as if it is going to hold out giving us sunshine and crisp temperatures for the rest of the week. We’re still doing well!!
That’s about it for now. Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is Monday, September 10, 2007. It’s the afternoon and I’m calling from Rangeley, Maine, mile 1,954. Yesterday, Lauren and I hiked through a lingering rain storm. It was a pretty chilly night and we were damp when we arrived into camp and we worked together to set up our tarp in the rain, climb inside, change into warm clothes and have dinner.
The terrain in this part of Maine is pretty unique to our trip. It seems that most areas have about 6 inches or less of soil and then beneath that it is solid rock. As it rains, there’s not much soil to absorb it and it all runs either into the trail or into a low lying boggy area. We were walking through quite a lot of slippery mud, exposed roots and “bog-logs.” After walking in the rain yesterday, it gave us quite a new appreciation for the geography that makes Maine so unique.
Today we are taking half a day off in Rangeley, Maine. It’s somewhat of a touristy town, vacation spot on a lake, quite scenic. We spent the morning sipping on coffee and catching up in our journals. This afternoon we are going to do some laundry and then we will be heading out of town, trying to make two more miles tonight before it gets dark. We’re having a great time. As of this moment we have 220 miles left to Katahdin and it’s pretty hard to believe! We’re coming up on two weeks left on our journey and I can’t quite fathom it.
One interesting thing that we’ve been noticing is that we can’t tell people that, “Oh, we’re walking to Maine,” which is what we’ve been doing. Lauren said that to someone already and they said, “Well, you’re in Maine!" Lauren commented in her journal that Katahdin is the new Maine. So that’s where we’re telling people that we’re headed now! We’re doing great.
That’s it for now. Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is September 5, 2007. I’m calling from the Carlow Col Shelter in Maine, on Sally's cell phone. We are at mile 1,893.1 and Lauren and I officially crossed into our final state: Maine. We were greeted by a sign that said, “Welcome to Maine, the way life should be.” So far, I can’t disagree with that.
We had a nice day of boundary trail work with Sally and Ellen. Lauren and I were responsible for what’s called swamping, where we pick up pine bowels and trees that were cleared and then Lauren followed up with nailing some boundary signs up along with some yellow paint. Anyway, we’re excited to be where we are! The temperatures are definitely beginning to be crisp, cool, and fall like. We’re looking forward to all of the great color and scenery that we have ahead.
Lauren’s ribs are still quite a bit tender, so she’s been hiking quite a bit slower because of that. Tomorrow we are headed through what’s known as the slowest mile of AT known as the Mahoosuc Notch. It’s about a mile of boulders and it’s kind of like a rubble field that we’re going to go through in the middle of the box canyon. I guess that’s the news from the trail. We’re excited to have less than 300 miles.
That’s it for now. Over and Out.
Today Lauren and I worked with a crew of two A.T.C. employees (Sally and Ellen) and 5 volunteers, including ourselves. We hauled supplies of paint, fuel and tools to a staging area where their team will be working from this month. I hauled a pack primarily of yellow paint that I estimate was around 60 pounds.
Later we learned the basics of boundary maintaining from Sally, who loves working with volunteers. Since the A.T. boundaries in this area have not been checked or marked in over 20 years, the neighboring logging operation might inadvertently clearcut right up to the trail.
The boundary must be located, the brush cut, and then trees painted with a system of yellow blazes that indicate where the line is.
We had a great day on the boundary and will stop to help them again for another afternoon when we reach their location in the Mahoosucs - a few days north of Gorham. Pictured left to right: Ben, Tom, Lauren, Emily, Ellen, Sally and Clearwater.
Sally and Ellen are keeping a blog about this trip called No Limits, Just Boundaries.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is September 1, 2007. It's 10:30 in the morning and Figgy and I just pulled into the Pinkham Notch visitor center which is an absolute zoo. I guess the Labor Day weekend day hikers are out in full force. I can’t remember exactly, but I believe we’ve covered about 1,850 miles now. We’ve had awesome weather through the Presidentials. We saw another 2 moose this morning on our hike into the visitor’s center!
We are headed over some very challenging terrain as we go over Wild Cat peaks A, B, C, D, and E. It looks like we’ll be headed into Gorham NH by tomorrow night. That’s where we plan to take a couple of days off to do some trail work with our friends Sally and Tom from the ATC. We are doing well. We’re just having a blast and are so thankful to be over the extreme peaks and the harsh weather of the high Presidentials. That’s about it for now. By tomorrow evening we will be so close to Maine it’s not even funny!
Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is Thursday August 30, 2007.
I am calling from above 5,000 feet on the flanks of Mount Washington in the presidential range of the White Mountains. Today was an extremely exciting day for us! We got off to a great start and we saw our first moose of the trip near Ethan Pond. After that we hiked several miles and met up with our friends Josh and Sarah (aka He-man and She-ra). That was completely unplanned. We knew they were ahead of us, but it was great to see them again! 
Together we climbed up the steep climb into the Presidentials and made it Mitzpah Hut. We made it there by lunch time and we knew that there were afternoon storms approaching but we decided to push on to Lakes of the Clouds Hut so that we could have an early start over Mount Washington tomorrow morning.
We made it most of the way to the hut before we were pelted by the brunt of the storm… including hail. We were pinned down for several minutes with no shelter in site, while we were being beaten by hail probably ½ inch to ¾ inch in diameter. We did make it to the lake of the clouds hut about 20 minutes later where we are staying now. We’re cozy warm, drinking coffee and out of the stormy weather now.
We are going to be doing a work for stay this evening and in the morning we will summit Mount Washington, which is well above tree line. It should be a gorgeous day tomorrow and we hope to be through the rest of the Whites in the next couple of days. Anyway it’s been a fantastic day and we’re having a great time out here.
That’s it for now. Over and out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is Tuesday August 28, 2007.
It’s 11 o’clock in the morning, and Lauren and I are calling from the town of North Woodstock, New Hampshire. We just picked up the next 5 or 6 days worth of food which we will be carrying out shortly. Our climb this afternoon is up a steep ascent to the Franconia Ridge which is reported to be the highlight of the entire trail. So far in the Whites, our mileage has dropped quite a bit.
Yesterday it took a good 12 hours to cover right around 14 miles. Lauren and I hike just about the same pace on typical trail, but we’ve been climbing up miles of vertical rock shoots and vertical rock walls for hours at a time and it really slows her down. So we’ve been really just trying to take our time and adjust accordingly.
It looks like we’re just about 6 days away from Gorham, NH. Between now and then we’ve got some amazing trail and amazing scenery. At least for the next few days it looks like the weather is going to be quite cooperative. We can look forward to sunny blue skies, and I think traveling way up above tree lines is going to be quite enjoyable. Our packs are loaded down quite heavy with 6 days of food and all of our colder weather gear.
That’s about it for now. Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is Saturday, August 11, 2007. Lauren and I are standing in North Adams, Massachusetts. I’m looking at East Mountain ahead of us, which is the border of Massachusetts and Vermont which we will hit in just a few minutes when we leave town here. It’s also the southern terminus of Vermont’s Long Trail which the AT coincides with for the next 100 miles. 
Yesterday, it poured on us all day long. It was cold and rainy, but things cleared up in the evening and we were greeted with an amazing view and sunrise on top of Mount Greylock, which is the highest point in Massachusetts. Since then, temperatures have been amazingly comfortable; we’re looking at low 50’s at night and high 70’s during the day, without a cloud in the sky. It’s been quite ideal hiking conditions. 
We’ve met up with our friends He-Man and She-ra, and we’ve been enjoying the morning walking with them. Life is good, and we’re happy to be out here. I guess you wait all summer for days like this! It’s hard to describe but everything is clicking and we’re feeling good.
Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Hello. Today is Thursday, August 9, 2007.
It’s about 8:30 in the evening here as Lauren and I are calling from mile 1,554.4, Dalton Massachusetts, We entered Massachusetts a few days ago after leaving Salisbury. We’ve been taken aback by some beautiful sights the past couple of days. 
We were first greeted by Sage’s Ravine, which is a clear brook that cuts through some deep canyons. We’ve hiked past some amazing beaver dams and beaver lodges, and have endured some of the buggiest conditions of the trip. Two days ago we scampered as quickly as we could through the mosquito valley near Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
That same night we camped at an old Shaker settlement, another example of how the human history has been quite an integral experience to our trip! Yesterday we made a short day to Upper Goose Pond Cabin and after a ten mile walk we were overjoyed to have swimming and canoeing available to us. 
We canoed into the evening. This particular cabin is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club of Massachusetts. There were a total of 15 other hikers there, half of which were south bound. In the morning the tradition is to have a big pancake breakfast which I partook of. The south bounders were kind enough to bring along some blueberries for our pancakes.
Today we stopped by the cookie lady’s house. Her house is 1/10 of a mile from the trail and she brings out 3 freshly baked cookies to any hiker who stops by.
Tonight we’re staying in the town of Dalton with Rob Bird and his house known as “The Bird cage”. He’s a manager at the Shell station in town and extends an invitation to any hiker who stops by the station. Rob will be here shortly to pick us up and we will proceed from here. It looks like we will be closing out Massachusetts in the next few days and will hit the Vermont state line shortly.
That’s it for now. Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Good Morning! It’s Sunday July 29, 2007. Lauren and I are calling from a pay phone in New York at mile 1,370. We crossed into New York yesterday morning and it’s kind of hard to believe that we’re even here. We were looking at the data book and we have just about 800 miles left of the Appalachian Trail, which just blows my mind. 
I didn’t know what to expect, but so far New York has been stunning. The rock formations have been big slabs following the ridge. Today the rocks took us by surprise, we’ve had to climb up and down and up and down and quite a few rock falls and it’s been very challenging. The weather is humid and hot and for this reason Lauren wishes she had packed her hair dryer, jokingly, so that we could finally get dry! We’ve been wet for basically the last 48 hours at least! We expect to be in New York through the end of the week and probably reach Connecticut by August 1.
That’s it for now. Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is Thursday, July 26, 2007. 
Lauren and I took off from the Delaware Water Gap on Tuesday morning and my hand was doing markedly better so we felt confident in the trail again. Actually, I was so excited to get back on the trail that I neglected to call or family to let them know what was going on or post a message, so, everyone who was concerned, yes I am doing GREAT! 
I am calling from mile 1,321.9 and we’re more than halfway through New Jersey in High Point State Park and we’re looking to hit Vernon New Jersey by tomorrow morning. Supposedly we’ve reached the end of the rocky stretch and we’re going to be going through farm land and swamps and we’ll be in New York by Saturday morning. That is the news from the trail.
Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Today is Wednesday July 25, 2007 and we are at mile 1,307 near Branchville, NJ. My hand began to show signs of improvement on Tuesday, so we hiked into New Jersey from the DWG. We’re doing well and hopefully will hopefully check in with more news soon.
Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Update from Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania.
Today is July 21, 2007. Lauren and I arrived in water gap in the early afternoon and we’re enjoying the accommodations at the Church of the Mountain which offers a nice place to stay for hikers. We are extremely proud of ourselves because we reached the Pennsylvania border today! That means that we are nearing the end of the rocky portion of our trip. 
The last few days have been ridiculously rocky at points causing us to laugh a bit. There were several points were Lauren just about lost it, but we supported each other and we helped each other get through this time.
On another slightly disappointing note, my left hand is very swollen; I most likely have Lyme disease which is a serious but not urgent condition. We are going to be taking Sunday and Monday to rest and visit a family doctor and hopefully I’ll be able to start up on the antibiotics on Monday. I did have a deer tick on my hand one day, and that’s the spot where my hand is swelling up. My fingers look like sausages.
Chalk that up for an additional inconvenience but it’s not anything that feels like a major setback at this point. I don’t exactly remember the mileage at the gap but I believe that we’ve covered roughly 1250 miles of the AT this far and we are happy to be taking a zero day at the cute town of Delaware Water Gap.
The weather has been surprisingly cool and mild providing gorgeous hiking conditions making it pleasant to hike this portion of drought and limited water. I’m feeling tired, it’s a little after 9:30 pm, and I’m looking to get some sleep. I appreciate everybody’s concern and I hope to post once I know the diagnosis.
Over and Out.
