We're headed out in less than an hour for some fresh air, adventure and refreshment in the Sierra. Looks like the weather is going to be 70s high /30s low. Alrght!
Here's a interactive map from NOAA where you can click on the exact spot you'll be for a local forecast;
I'm grinning ear-to-ear... right now, it's “snailing” outside!
What's that you ask?
Why snow-hailing, of course! In Los Angeles, California.
October is here, and it was 99°F yesterday in SoCal. I'm dreaming about those fall colors, and the crisp air of the northeast.
(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.
After drying out in Rangely on Monday, the following two days en-route to Stratton have been the most challenging conditions we've faced on the trip.
Our 9am climb over the Saddleback Mountains on Tuesday (9/11) was above treeline and consisted of several hours of slippery steep rock slabs in howling wind. We hiked through rain-laden clouds that deposited their moisture as they whipped past. In such conditions we struggled to make more than one miler per hour. Although the temperatures were probably in the high 40s, the wind chill numbed our hands and reminded us to keep moving to retain our body heat.
I did not bother with a photo during that stretch, in the interest of the camera's and our own well-being. All told, we did hike a surprising 15 miles that day and saved our insulating clothing for camp, where we were cozy through the night.
We heard later from our friends Josh and Sara (aka He-Man and She-ra), that by time they arrived at the same summit 4 hours later, the gusts were strong enough to move a 175lb person (maybe 70mph). They retreated to treeline where they huddled in their tent for 18 hours, before heading 6 miles back into Rangely to regroup.
The following morning was difficult mentally to put our toasty feet into cold, wet socks & shoes and then head out into the same blustery and soaking conditions. Fortunately our day was entirely below treeline and we were pleasantly surprised when the sun pierced the clouds by 10am. By the afternoon, the winds were strong and the clouds had broken up allowing views from the Crocker Mountains. With that encouragement we continued on all the way into Stratton by 5pm where we found a comfy hotel room at the White Wolf Inn.
It's been almost three weeks since we took a complete day of rest (our "days off" doing trail work didn't count...) and we've been feeling the effects. Lauren's right ankle has been increasingly bothering her with an overuse injury that is probably a shin splint.
Yesterday it took her an above-the-doctor-recommended dose of Advil to make it into town. Today she is completely off of her feet resting in our hotel room. We may take another day off tomorrow for good measure, but will make that call in the morning.
Now that the rain has passed through, our skies are clear blue and the temperatures distinctly crisp. Fall is upon us in the northeast, and the first changing colored leaves are beginning to poke through.
It is difficult to believe that we are now 187.8 miles from the northern terminus of the trail, Katahdin.
(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.
(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.
The miles out of Hanover have been interesting walking through pioneer homesteads, old sugaring farms and the great summits of Smarts Mountain and Mt. Cube. Heat and humidity are back up, but we don't care - we're having a great time!
Last night we met up with Tom W., a trail maintainer with the DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) and the ATC. Tom will be also be working on the trail boundary project in the Mahoosucs that we are volunteering for once we hit Gorham next week. Tom brought us back to his home near the trail where he prepared dinner for us, told us a bunch of fascinating tales and showed us a film about hiking in Scotland (wow!).
We begin the Whites today with our climb up Mt. Mousilauke, our first above treeline walk of the trip.
It is said that when you reach New Hampshire, you've done 80% of the A.T.'s miles, but only 20% of the work. We're approaching the section where there are 3,500 foot drops and then gains at each "notch" and 360 degree views for miles at a time.
It feels good to be dropping our miles so we can soak it all in.
(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)
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)
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.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
It’s a little after 5 o’clock and Figgy and I are taking a break at Caledonia State Park, mile 1,068. We entered Pennsylvania this morning and have been making great miles despite the punishing heat.
We just saw a thermometer that said 106 degrees Fahrenheit! It sounds a little hotter than what my impression is, but regardless we are feeling it today. As a result we haven’t seen much wildlife at all. The only wildlife we have seen have been chipmunks that seem to scold us as we walk by, probably for hiking in such hot weather!
I have never been to this part of my home state, so we have been pleasantly surprised at how beautiful Pennsylvania is. There have been an abundant amount of hemlock trees along with beautiful rocky bluffs and boulder fields. We’ve also been surprised at the amount of state parks along this stretch. We have been in 6 State Parks in the last three days through Maryland and Pennsylvania. We are hoping to make a few more miles tonight which should put us in good shape to walk into Pine Grove Furnace State Park tomorrow where we will end our day, hopefully, a little early. Right now we are going to catch up on some journaling and wait out some of the last of this heat before moving on to camp.
That’s it for now. Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
It is Friday, June 29th a little before 9:00 in the morning. Lauren and I have just crossed the 900 mile mark! We are at the Lewis Mountain Camp Ground store in Shenandoah National Park right now. The last couple of days we have had big rains and thunderstorms as we have been crisscrossing back and forth along Sky Line Drive. Sky Line Drive actually intersects the AT 28 times through this stretch in the park. So, for much of this we are close to the road or within ear shot of it.
We’ve had a ridiculous amount of bear sightings these past couple of days as well. Yesterday, we saw 7 including: a mother bear and 3 cubs, and another mother bear with one cub. It was really neat to watch the mothers interact with their cubs. At one point the mom sensed us coming and she snapped her jaw three times and sent the cubs running for a tree. All of the sightings except for one have been off trail by at least 100 feet so we have given the bears their space but have certainly enjoyed the spectacle.
Tonight we are going to celebrate our 900 mile accomplishment by going to a white tablecloth restaurant at Sky Land. We’re looking forward to celebrating with some good food and a bottle of red wine. We’ll be a couple of dirty hikers among a crowd of the upscale, I guess! Anyway, we have a few more days of the park and we’re getting very close to the northern border of Virginia and we’re still having a good time!
Over and Out.
(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)
Good Morning! It's Wednesday, May 2, 2007. It's about 11am here. We rolled into the Walasi-Yi Center at Neel’s Gap. We’re having a blast and and are just amazed that we are finally doing this. We’ve got about 30 miles of the Appalachian trail under our belt so far, and we're doing great. The weather is warm and sunny and the skies have been blue. The trees are budding green, and new life abounds.
We are making great progress as we are enjoying the wildflowers in bloom during the season. Things couldn’t be better. We just re-supplied with seven days of food as we get ready for our next destination, the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We are going to be leaving here shortly.
As far as thru hikers go, we haven't seen too many. There are less registered hikers than normal this year. We signed in at the register at the Walasi-Yi and our numbers are 570 and 571, which is about a few hundred less than usual. We’ve had the trail to ourselves and we’ve been enjoying every bit of it. I had no idea that Georgia would be so beautiful. We’ve been taking some great pictures of the trail, and I hope to post some of those the next time we have an internet access.
Alright everyone thanks for your interest and support! We look forward to relaying some more details as they come. I guess that’s about it for now. Talk to you later.
Over and Out.
The Miami Herald said today that a 'very active' hurricane season is predicted for 2007. It looks like this year might be a wet one on the trail.
NEW ORLEANS -- Taking another toss at the tropical weather dart board, a group of university forecasters Tuesday predicted ''a very active'' hurricane season. They expect 17 named tropical storms that grow into nine hurricanes, in cluding five intense hurricanes with winds above 110 mph.I'm not sure how this will play out, but I suspect that every bit as important as the rain gear will be remembering to bring along our positive attitudes.
