Well, I’ve been home for most of the week now. It sure has been nice
to shower every day, and to partake in this very strange custom of
wearing clean clothes every day!
My plan is to ty to slack pack (hike with only a day pack) as much of
the rest of the trail as I can. Towards that end, I have made a
reservation for Sunday night at Carter Notch Hut. Tomorrow I will drive
up to Gorham and stay overnight at Hiker’s Paradise hostel / motel. On
Sunday morning I will have them drop me off at Pinkham Notch, and make
the climb up the several summits of Wildcat Mountain and down to
Carter Notch and the Hut. On Monday I’ll hike the 15 miles to US 2.
Since I have a reservation at the hut I don’t have to carry my
hammock, tarp, sleeping bag, or food for dinner and breakfast. That
should make the hike easier and more enjoyable.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I will hike the ~31 miles to Grafton Notch
with all of my camping gear. This leg includes Mahoosuc Notch,
Mahoosuc Arm, and more of the Mahoosuc Range, so should be quite
challenging hiking. I was hoping to be able to slack pack this
section, but haven’t been able to find anyone who shuttles out to the
back roads in this area.
Once I reach Grafton Notch I will move my base of operations up to
Andover, Maine, where the folks at Pine Ellis Hostel will help me
slack pack for a few more days.
Once past this area I haven’t got definite plans, but if Jodi isn’t
busy with work she is going to drive up and join me, helping me slack
pack. I hope to slack pack most of the trail up to Monson, Maine. Once
there I will have just the 100 mile wilderness left between me and
Baxter Park.
Over the last few days I have heard from most of the group I hiked
with so much at the beginning of my thru-hike. Sir Richard is
currently in the midst of the 100 mile wilderness and expects to
summit Katahdin on August 24. Topofgothics is somewhere in Maine and
still heading north. Paulman and CuppaJoe are off the trail due to
Paulman’s knee injury and unsure if they will be back this year or
not. Spitfire and NoToyz are off due to knee injuries, and definitely
will not be back this year. It is sad to think how close they got to
finishing and serves to make me more determined than ever to finish.
I am totally unprepared to head back to the trail tomorrow. I have my
gear spread from one end of the house to the other. I have to pack
everything up tomorrow morning, and I hope I don’t screw up and leave
anything important behind.
—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com
