Allen's Adventures

Tuesday, 9/15

AT Miles = 22.2 / 2023.1
Other Miles = 0.3 / 63.0
Total Miles = 22.5 / 2086.1

Miles to Katahdin = 155.2

Yup, you read that right; 22.5 miles today. I don’t think I’ve done that many miles in a day since back in New Jersey somewhere! Basically, I hiked the 5 1/2 miles I had hoped to do yesterday, then I hiked the 17 miles I had planned to do today.

That first 5 1/2 were up and over Little Bigelow Mtn, and I took my time with them. Once I got down Little Bigelow, the terrain really eased up. There were a couple of hills, but they were just hills, not mountains. One of them had about a mile of steady uphill, and the next maybe a mile and a half.

I stopped at West Carry Pond Lean-to, 12.5 miles into the day, and felt good enough that I decided to try to crank out the 10 miles to here. I left West Carry Pond at 1:15, and arrived here at 4:45; 10 miles even in 3:30. Sorry if I sound like I’m bragging, but I feel so good knowing that I could do this.

Okay, there’s more to write about than just how great a hiker I am as long as the terrain is easy.

How about the weather? It was cool yesterday evening and I thought it was going to be a cold night. I rigged my hammock for frosty weather, and went to bed wearing my long johns. I got up about 11:30 to pee, and I was very overheated. I took off my long johns and crawled back into bed. A few minutes later it started to rain very lightly. There were very light, brief showers on and off during the night. It never did get cold, and in fact I think it was warmer when I got up this morning than it was when I went to bed last night.

It looked like we might get more showers all day, and in fact it still does, but so far no rain.

And how about water? It has been wonderfully dry weather for the last couple of weeks. That makes for great hiking. But it also means that the springs and small brooks that serve as the water source at many of the shelters and campsites are starting to dry up. At West Carry Pond, where I stopped for lunch today, there is a nice little spring that even has a spring house built over it. Only problem is, it’s bone dry. That left the pond as a water source. It has been quite breezy all day, and the lean-to is sited at the down wind end of the pond, so there were quite large waves crashing into the rocky shore. The waves were big enough that they acted like surf breaking against the rocks, and while I was trying to dip my water bottle into the pond to fill it, a wave broke and got me full in the face!

From where I am tonigth it is only about 3 miles to the Kennebec River. The Kennebec is quite a large river, and the official way to cross is by ferry. Now, we are not talking about some big car ferry. We are talking about sa canoe. The ATC contracts with an outfitter to provide ferry service for hikers during the season. Right now, that means from 9 – 11 in the morning, and from 2 – 4 in the afternoon. I intend to be at the river waiting to be the first passenger of the day at 9:00AM. If I can do 18.7 miles tomorrow, and 13 on Thursday, that will leave me just 9 miles shoirt of Monson. That means I can be in Monson by noon on Friday. I am hoping Jodi is not working on Friday, and can pick me up then instead of on Saturday. Unfortunately I can’t check her schedule, nor can I send this blog entry, as I have no cell service here.

Well, it is getting dark enough that I am having trouble seeing the keyboard, so I am going to go square everything away for the night, crawl into my hammock, and read for a while.

—
“Home is where I hang my food bag”

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Monday, 9/14

AT Miles = 10.4 / 2000.9
Other Miles = 0.3 / 62.7
Total Miles = 10.7 / 2063.6

Miles to Katahdin = 177.4

I was hoping, but not expecting, to make 15 miles today. That would have gotten me completely through the Bigelows, it would have positioned me to reach the Kennebec River in time for the morning ferry on Wednesday, and it would have gone a long way towards ensuring I reached Monson by Saturday morning, in time for Jodi to pick me up.

But my knees vetoed that plan, and I stopped here, at a campsite between Bigelow and Little Bigelow. That’s alright. I am happy having covered 10 quite tough miles up and over the multiple peaks of Bigelow Mountain. After slack packing 6 of the last seven days, today I put my pack on again; and it was a heavy pack with six days of food in it.

It is about 63 miles from here to Monson. Tomorrow morning I have to go up and over Little Bigelow. After that the terrain flattens out dramatically so I expect I will still be able to reach Monson on Saturday morning. There is a shelter 9 miles south of Monson, and as long as I reach that by Friday night, I can scoot the last nine miles to the road while Jodi is driving up from Boston on Saturday morning. At least, that is what I am telling myself today. 😉

It is quite chilly this afternoon. It is only a quarter to five now, and I am wearing my light weight silk shirt, my medium weight tops and bottoms, long pants, my down sweater, and a hat.

I was just thinking today, while hiking, that at the beginning of this hike I watched spring creep up the mountains, and now at the end of the hike I am watching autumn creep down the mountains.

This campsite is rather spread out, and there is now somebody in another part of the site making all sorts of noise. I can hear things crashing and banging. I can’t imagine what they’re doing. It often surprises me how noisy some people are in the woods. To me it seems natural to be quiet when out in the woods.

Brr. I think I will be breaking out my down jacket tonight! It’s amazing how quickly I get chilled now that I am so darned skinny.

—
“Home is where I hang my food bag”

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Sunday, 9/13

AT Miles = 8.3 / 1990.5
Other Miles = 0.2 / 62.4
Total Miles = 8.5 / 2052.9

Miles to Katahdin = 187.8

I hiked a quick 8 miles over the Crockers today. 3 miles of uphill,
and 5 miles of downhill. I was at the Stratton Motel by 12:30. Even
with that short hike, after spending a couple of hours sitting on the
bed watching a movie streamed to my laptop from NetFlix, I could
barely stand. At least that reminded me to take some ibuprofen before
I go to sleep tonight.

When I got here today I found out that Gator and Tiger just left here
this morning, and so did Kiwi. I decided to skip stopping in Caratunk,
as from the book it looks like there isn't much resupply there.
Instead I will be leaving here tomorrow morning with six days' food in
my pack. I hope to get to Monson by next Saturday. I think I will
probably catch up with Gator and Tiger by Monson, unless they skip
ahead. They might do that because one or the other of them has a
deadline to reach Katahdin.

In any case, I have to get off the trail again next Saturday. I have
promised my daughter Anju that I will be somewhere with her on the
21st, and with Jodi's work schedule she will have to drive up and pick
me up on Saturday. I won't be able to get back up to Monson until next
Friday at the earliest, so I will be missing a full week on the trail.
That is a bit frustrating as I am starting to feel some momentum
towards the end of this hike, but that's life.

With the delay, that should put me starting the 100 Mile Wilderness on
the 25th, and at Katadin sometime around October 5.

So, does anyone want to come hike the 100 Mile Wilderness with me? Or
climb Katahdin? Jodi is going to drive up and meet me at Baxter Park,
but she has been battling running injuries all summer so she may not
be up to climbing the mountain with me.

Well, it's way past hiker midnight and I need to get some sleep. I
tackle the Bigelows in the morning.

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

I had been trying to get my photos uploaded for the three days I
stayed in Rangeley. I was using my cell phone as a modem for my
computer, but had only a marginal signal and a very slow connection.
Finally today, here in Stratton, I have a good WiFi connection and got
the photos uploaded. They can be found here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/affreeman1959/ATGorhamNHToRangeleyME#

—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Saturday, 9/12

AT Miles = 10.4 / 1982.2
Other Miles = 1.2 / 62.2
Total Miles = 11.6 / 2044.4

Miles to Katahdin = 196.1

It rained a little bit this morning before I was hiking, and it rained
a little bit this afternoon after I finished hiking, but it never
rained while I was hiking. I must be doing something right.

Yesterday I started hiking at the Orbeton Stream and went south. Today
I started at the same place and went north, It was a nice day to be in
the woods; quiet and peaceful. No spectacular views or prominent peaks
today, just some good, honest work climbing up and down the hills.

I made good time and knocked out the eleven and a half miles in about
6 hours, putting me at the agreed upon meeting place about 20 minutes
before Bob from the hostel was supposed to pick me up at 2:00PM.
2:00PM came and went. 2:15. I tried calling the hostel and got the
answering machine. I told myself that was good news, as it meant Bob
was on his way to pick me up and that's why he wasn't there to answer
the phone. Between 2:15 and 3:10 I called the Lodge 7 times. Finally,
one the 7th call, Bob answered.

"Bob, this is Monkeywrench, you were supposed to pick me up at 2:00 o'clock."

"Um, okay, Where are you?"

So, it turns out that Bob had not forgotten THAT he was supposed to
pick me up, but he had forgotten WHERE he was supposed to pick me up.
He had been waiting for me at an entirely different trail head.

Once Bob drove out to Caribou Valley Road and picked me up, I had him
drop me off in town where I went to Sarge's Pub & Grub. I ordered a
beer and the bartender asked if I wanted a menu. I said yes, and told
her I would start with some of the beef stew they had listed on the
daily specials. A bowl of that went down fast and tasted really good.
I followed that up with a second beer, and a cheeseburger and french
fries. They have really good fries at Sarge's. When the bartender
asked me if I wanted anything else, I told her I'd like another bowl
of that beef stew. She came back from the kitchen with a cup of stew
and told me that was all that was left, and it was on the house.
Finally, I finished up with some apple crisp with ice cream and
whipped cream. That was about 2 hours ago, and now I am hungry again!

I called the Stratton Motel, which is in, of all places, Stratton.
They run a combination motel / hiker hostel. I reserved a room for
tomorrow night, and explained o them that I will be slack packing
tomorrow and made arrangements to drop off my backpack with most of my
gear there in the morning. At the end of tomorrow's hike I will be on
Rt 27, from where I will hitch into Stratton.

I asked Bob how I could get his daypack, which I have been and will be
using, back to him. He told me not to worry about it; that he has day
packs all up and down the trail. Apparently the hostels up and down
the trail get together once in a while and redistribute the day packs
that hikers use when slack packing.

—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Looking down at Caribou Valley Rd; today's destination.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Friday, 9/11

AT Miles = 13.5 / 1971.8
Other Miles = 1.0 / 61.0
Total Miles = 14.5 / 2032.8

Miles to Katahdin = 206.5

Arrghh! Still more than 200 miles to go. When I got back on the trail
last Friday morning in Gorham, NH, it was just under 300 miles. 8 days
of hiking later, it is still over 200. This is so frustrating!

As I mentioned yesterday, I am back to slack packing today. And I have
compromised another one of my self-imposed rules. I hiked north to
south today. It was the only logical way to hike this section, as I
started out in the middle of nowhere at the end of a rough dirt road,
and hiked back to Rt 4 east of town. But it still rankles. Oh well, if
these compromises — slack packing, southbounding — help me get to
the end of this hike, then so be it.

I hiked over the three peaks of Saddleback today. Since I was hiking
north to south I crossed them in the order of Saddleback Junior, The
Horn, and Saddleback Mtn.

The high point of my day was running into some hikers I haven't seen
in a long time. First, I met McBride. I last saw McBride at the Green
Mountain House Hostel in Manchester Center, VT. Jodi even met McBride
the day she slack packed me over Mt Greylock in Massachusetts. A few
minutes later I met Kiwi, hiking with Stud The Dud. I last saw Kiwi
way back at The Doyle in Duncannon, PA, the night she ate an entire
half gallon of sherbet and went off on a fantastic sugar high.Kiwi
told me that her Dad, Papa Kiwi, whom I last saw eating lunch at Ten
Mile River in Connecticut, completed his thru-hike on Sept 4.

I made pretty good time hiking today. but it would have been a very
different story if I had been carrying my full pack. Even without it,
both knees were pretty sore by the time I got down to the road.I will
be slack packing for sure tomorrow, and probably the day after as
well.

Once back to the road I stuck my thumb out and got a ride from the
first car that came by. I had the driver drop me off at the pub in
downtown Rangeley, and I had a beer and a decent dinner. Then I called
Bob at the hostel and he drove into town and picked me up. Now I've
showered and am doing my laundry. Since my shorts are in the laundry I
am walking around dressed only in my long johns. Fortunately, strange
clothing choices like this are acceptable among hikers.

—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Thursday, 9/10

AT Miles = 13.1 / 1958.3
Other Miles = 0 / 60.1
Total Miles = 13.1 / 2018.3

Miles to Katahdin = 220.0

Almost 90% done! 90% will be 217.83 miles, so I am only 2.2 miles shy.

I hiked with my full pack today. It was a pleasant hike, through the
woods on a pretty day, but nothing special. Fortunately, the terrain
was relatively mild. Still, walking downhill with my full pack is
tough on my tender knees.

When I reached Rt 4 I emerged right into the middle of a construction
site. In fact, they had even installed a huge orange "WORK ZONE AHEAD"
sign on the trail. The road was one lane with traffic controlled by
flagmen, and I thought it was going to be impossible to hitch a ride
there, but after about 10 minutes a really nice couple stopped and
gave me a ride. They told me they don't pick up hitch-hikers, but they
do pick up hikers. They dropped me at the IGA because I wanted to buy
a pint of Ben & Jerrys Phjish Food ice cream. They even offered to
wait for me and then drive me here to the hostel, but I told them I
would call the hostel for a ride.

I will be back to slack packing tomorrow.

—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Wednesday, 9/9

AT Miles = 13.3 / 1945.2
Other Miles = 0 / 60.0
Total Miles = 13.3 / 2005.2

Miles to Katahdin = 233.1

Man, oh man, what a perfect day today was! Today was the quintessence of early fall in New England; a cold crisp morning followed by a day just warm enough to work up a sxweat while hiking hard, but cool enough that it felt good to sit in the sun when stopped. The sky was a deep blue, the air was dry. The light had that crystalline quality that comes in the fall when all the summer humidity is gone. The landscape is beginning to take on the look of autumn, although if you look you can't find any particular item that singly looks like it.

I saw a moose early this morning. I was hiking north on the trail, and a bull moose was walking south. When he saw me, or more likely heard one of my hiking poles strike against a rock in the trail, he spun around and took off at top speed into the forest. He whirled so fast that he actually left a divot in the trail. It was amazing to see such a large animal move so quickly through the tangle of trees.

Later, while walking along the ridge that connects the three peaks of Bemis Mountain, I was reveling in the whole atmosphere of the place. The colors in the lichen and mosses on the rocks were amazing. The foliage of the evergreens was set off by the deep blue of the sky. I was walking along thinking how quiet it was, and a bird started signing. It was just such a perfect moment I actually got choked up a little bit.

And at the end of my hike I came out onto Rt 17 and the road was half way up the hill with an amazing view down across Mooselookmeguntic Lake. It was SO beautiful. Somebody has installed a bench there and I thoroughly enjoyed sitting there taking in the view for a half hour or so while I waited for my shuttle to arrive.

A good day, well done.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Tuesday, 9/8

AT Miles = 10.1 / 1931.9
Other Miles = 0 / 60.0
Total Miles = 10.1 / 1991.9

Miles to Katahdin = 246.4

Ah, what a lovely day to be hiking in Maine! I set off early this morning and had a wonderful time slackpacking along easy trail through the cool of the morning. I covered the 6 or so miles to Hall Mountain Lean-to quickly, so ended up eating my lunch there at 9:45 this morning. It was so nice to just cruise along enjoying the forest instead of fighting for every foot of forward progress.

After lunch I did have to climb down into Sawyer Notch, and then make the steep climb up Moody Mountain. The trail up Moody Mountain washed out (last year, I believe) and there is a temporary reroute while a permanent reroute gets built. As I was starting up the climb I saw some blue falgging tape and followed that. It was quickly evident that the trail was a work in progress, with stone steps here and there and trailbed leveled in some places but not others. For much of the way the trail was just a new, raw scar which presented very challenging going. Then I got to the top of the relocation where it joined back to the existing trail, and I noticed two routes, one flagged in blue, which I had followed, and another route flagged with orange tape. There was also a sign here for southbound hikers which said to follow the orange flagging and not to follow the blue flagging until there were white blazes on the trail, which would indicate that the relocation was completed. Oops! Well, I never saw any orange flagging as I approached from the bottom of the hill. I don’t know why that is; whether I just mised it, or whether it was absent.

Tomorrow will be my last day slackpacking from here. I have really enjoyed my time staying at Pine Ellis. Ilene (I misspelled her name in a previous blog entry) and David are wonderful hosts. Tomorrow I will slackpack from South Arm Rd northward for 13.3 miles to ME 17. On Thursday I will start at ME 17 with my full pack and hopefully hike the 13 miles to ME 4 and then get a ride into Rangeley. I hope to base in Rangeley and slackpack a couple more days until I get through the Saddleback Range.

—
“Home is where I hang my food bag”

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

From today's hike:

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

This is a photo taken with my cell phone camera showing the map and elevation profile for some of the terrain I have been hiking the last few days.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Monday, 9/7 Labor Day

AT Miles = 10.3 / 1921.8
Other Miles = 0.1 / 60.0
Total Miles = 10.4 / 1981.8

I haven't slackpacked since those two days back in Massachusetts when Jodi came out and slackpacked me. Boy, is it nice!

I had arranged for a 7:00AM shuttle from the hostel back to Grafton Notch, so I set the alarm on my cell phoneto go off at 5:15. By 5:30 I was seated at the counter of the local breakfast place ordering up a hot, cooked breakfast. So much better than the cold cereal or instant oatmeal I eat when I am camping.

By 7:45 I was starting my hike up the south side of Baldpate Mtn. With only a light day pack on even climbing a mountain was almost a joy. I stopped at Baldpate Shelter to look through the shelter register and see when some of the people I know came through here, and to refill my water bottle. Pushing on, I got to the summit of Baldpate around 10:00. The mountain is aptly named as the top is mostly a dome of naked rock. It was fun walking up it on this nice dry day, but it surely would be a different story in wet weather, or something like a freezing fog! That would make it suicidal.

Somehow I ended up being the only person at the summit and I stayed there for about an hour. It was wonderfully quiet. All I could hear was the wind blowing, and the occasional fly buzzing around. I could hear no cars, no trucks, no lawnmowers, chainsaws, or airplanes. How wonderful!

I took advantage of the cell phone reception up there and spent some time talking to Jodi back home while lazing in the sunshine, then I called the hostel and told them I estimated I would finish the hike by 3:00PM and arranged for them to pick me up at that time.

Leaving the summit of Baldpate I had to negotiate a few tricky sections going down the north side, but mostly I was actually hiking on a normnal hiking trail. How refreshing!

I soon reached Frye Notch Leanto and stopped there for lunch. Lunch was a ham & cheese grinder I had ordered while I was earting breakfast this morning. Yum! It was now 12:30 and I had 4.6 miles left to hike. Based on my experience over the last few days, there was no way I was going to make it in time. But those standards didn't apply here. I made great time on the relatively easytrail, and by 2:00PM I had reached the stream crossing in Dunn Notch. At the same time, I caught up with another hiker staying at the hostel, and since he had a car parked at the road I called the hostel and canceled the scheduled shuttle. Half an hour latedr we were at the road, and another half hour after that we were back at the hostel, I was showered and changed into (relatively) clean clothes, and I had walked to the general store to buy beer and Ben & Jerrys ince cream.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the front porch chatting with some of the other hikers, and with David, one of the proprietors.

As a sideline, David makes jewelry out of moose droppings. Anybody out there want a nice pair of moose pellet earrings? David tried to convince me to buy a pair for my wife, but I am quite sure Jodi would not appreciate them.

Maine is really beautiful, especially with the ideal weather we have enjoyed lately. I am afraid my fixation on my physical difficulties is overshadowing that and I am not giving youy a fair picture. In spite of all the difficulties, I do appreciate the beauty all around me. I guess I just wish it didn't hurt so much to get out there sometimes. Slackpacking takes a good deal of the physical difficulty away, and let's me appreciate it all the more. I expect to stay here at least another two days and get about 24 miles of trail done by slackpacking. I could keep slackpacking from here beyond that, but the shuttles get more and more expensive as I get farther away. I'll figure that out when the time comes.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Sunday, 9/6

AT Miles = 9.7 / 1911.5
Other Miles = 0 / 59.9
Total Miles = 9.7 / 1971.4

Miles to Katahdin = 266.8

Whew! What a day!

The weather was perfect today. It was cold last night and I slept SO good all snugged down into my down sleeping bag. I was awake a few minutes after six and after packing up and eating some hot oatmeal (first time in months), I was hikin a few minutes after 7:00.

A mile and a half into the day's hike I reached the south end of Mahoosuc Notch. Mahoosuc Notch is a tight notch between two mountains that has filled up with gigantic boulders that have come down from either side. The trail winds around, over, and under these jumbled boulders for a mile. It is known as the toughest mile on the AT. It took em 2 hours and 10 minutes to make my way through the notch. Several times I had to take my pack off and either push it ahead of me or pull it behind me as I crawled through some tight passages. It was actually quite fun although I was getting tired of it by the end of the second hour.

After the Notch the trail climbs very steeply up Mahoosuc Arm, and by the time I gbot to the top of that it was after noon. 5 hours for 4 miles of trail! From here I climbed down to Speck Pond, where I stopped at Speck Pond Shelter to get water and eat lunch. While here I finally got a cell signal and called Eileen at Pine Ellis Hostel in Andover to ask about getting a shuttle from Grafton Notch and a bed for the night. Eileen told me to call her again from the summit of Old Speck Mtn, which I did when I reached there at 2:30. I told her I expected to be at Grafton Notch by 5:00, although to be honest I had doubts that I could make it. It is 3 1/2 miles of downhill from the top of Old SPeck to Grafton Notch, and after the terrain of the last couple days I envisioned myself climbing down ledges and over cliffs for 3 1/2 miles and thought I might never make it down. Much to my surprise and delight, the trail down was actually a regular trail and I made it down by 4:40. It was still 3 1
/2 miles of downhill and it took a toll on my knees, but all in all it was a pleasant way to end the day.

So I have gotten a shower, walked to the general store / diner for a bacon cheeseburger and fries, and will sleep in a bed tonight. Tomorrow I will slack pack from Grafton Notch back here to Andover, and over the next few days will continue slack packing sections northward. Hopefully that will make things easier on my knees.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Saturday, 9/5

AT Miles = 9.6 / 1901.8
Other Miles = 0.8 / 59.9
Total Miles = 10.4 / 1961.7

Miles to Katahdin = 276.5

9.6 miles. That must sound to you like I had an easy day. Ha! It took 9 hours to cover those 9.6 miles. I said the terrain was going to get tough, and it seems I am quite prescient. I'm not complaining; at least not much. It was a gorgeous day, and the views when I was above timberline were awesome. A cool front moved in today, sweeping away the lingering humidity and treating us to a dry, cool breeze. It is a bit after 6:00PM as I write this, and it is actually quite chilly. I am wearing long pants, both my lightweight and my medium weight thermal shirts, my down sweater, and a cap. It should be glorious sleeping weather; the kind of weather where it feels so cozy to snuggle down into the warmth of the sleeping bag.

Tomorrow morning I will go through Mahoosuc Notch, known as the hardest mile on the AT. I've no idea how long that is going to take. Someone fell in the Notch last month and broke a leg. I don't want to do the same, so will be moving slowly and cautiously. After Mahoosuc Notch comes the climb up Mahoosuc Arm, which is suposed to be very tough.

My plan for tomorrow is to hike the ten miles to Grafton Notch, then get the folks at Pine Ellis Hostel in Andover to come pick me up. I'll get them to shuttle me back on Monday morning, then I will slack pack the next ten miles north. I plan to base there for 4 or 5 days and slack pack all of the trail up to Rangeley, where there is another hostel and I may just repeat the same process there.

Oh, my knees. Thanks to the wonders of ibuprofen, my knees felt good this morning. I continued to baby them as much as possible all day, and they fared pretty good. The last couple of miles they were starting to hurt, but considering how tough the climbs and descents were, I was very pleasantly surprised. Here's hoping they continue to do so well!

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Friday, 9/4

AT Miles = 11.8 / 1892.2
Other Miles = 0.2 / 59.1
Total Miles = 12.0 / 1951.3

Miles to Katahdin = 286.1

First, a word about the mileages given above. You all know that I skipped about 15 miles of trail between Carter Notch Hut, where I got off the trail a couple of weekends ago, and US 2 where I started this morning. You know I missed that section, and I know I missed that section, so I am not pulling the wool over anybody's eyes. But those miles are included in the mileage totals I keep, as that is the only way to keep the mileage synced to the guidebook. To do otherwise would leave me in a constant state of confusion.

Jodi and I were on the road a few minutes after 5:00 this morning, and I was on the trail at 9:15. Skipping the section over Carter Dome was definitely the right decision. Today's hike was, for New Hampshire, an easy section. There was plenty of ascending and descending, but it was hiking on a trail, not climbing up and down rocks. Even so, it was a tough workout for my knees. The braces help A LOT, but I still move rather slowly, and even more so on the dowwnhills. I think I am moving at a normal pace on the rare flats and when ascending, but on the downhills I guesstimate I am making slightly more than 1 mile per hour. It took me 7 1/4 hours to reach this campsite today. With a 45 minute break for lunch, that makes it 6 1/2 hours hiking for 12 miles. I can live with that.

I spent the day telling myself that as long as I can cover 10 or 12 miles per day, I am fine. At ten miles per day I will cover the 300 miles in 30 days. That's doable.

But I am not out of the woods (metaphorically) yet. The terrain is going to get a lot tougher in the next couple of days, and it is going to stay that way for quite a while. I am still estimating that I have a 50/50 chance that my knees are going to stand up to the abuse.

I felt like I was moving oh-so-slowly today, but there are lots of weekenders out for the long holiday weekend, and I passed several of them. That just serves to remind me that I am not moving as pitifully slowly as I imagine I am. I hike slowly, but I still have great stamina and instead of taking all those frequent breaks that weekend warriors have to take, I move along steadily for 3 or 4 hours at a time.

I have my hammock hung over a tent platform here tonight. Just across the way is a large group of college kids from Colby College, on a freshman orientation trip. I am getting a big kick from listening to them play silly games while seated in a circle.

There is no cell reception here, so you won't see this for a while. Hopefully I will have reception somewhere tomorrow and I will get to send this. But I will say "Goodnight from Gentian Pond" anyway.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Well, everything* is packed and ready to go. I made a trip to the grocery store this morning and spent $70+ on food for 8 days. That’s 4 days in my pack, and another 4 days of food in a box I mailed to Pine Ellis Lodging in Andover, ME.

When I think about it I think I have about a 50/50 chance that my knees are up to the hike. Until today I haven’t felt a lot of confidence or anticipation about getting back on the trail, but now that my backpack is packed and I’ve been finalizing the logistics for the rest of the trip, I’ve started feeling and talking about it all much more positively. Instead of saying “If I get to Monson,” I’ve been saying “When I get to Monson.”

The weather for southern Maine looks great for the next week (see below). I think if I get through the next week or so I should be all set. That will get me through the toughest terrain, then things will start to ease up.

My plan is to get up at 0400 tomorrow, and be on the road by 0500. With a stop somewhere for breakfast that should get me on the trail by 1000 at the latest. Ideally I would like to make 12 miles tomorrow, but there is a shorter option. I’ve given up trying to estimate how many miles I can hike in a day anymore.

I will not be picking up exactly where I left off. I am going to start at US 2 near Gorham. This works out better logistically as far as getting to the trailhead, and it also allows me to avoid hiking up and over Carter Dome on my first day back, which is ridiculously steep and difficult. I do have a pretty good sized chunk of guilt in my stomach over missing the few miles from Carter Notch to US 2, but it might be the difference between completing my hike and not, so I think it’s a fair trade-off.
—
Monkeywrench

* I just realized I am short one pair of socks. Looks like I need to do some laundry this afternoon.

Forecast for Northern Oxford

Updated: 10:14 am EDT on September 3, 2009
No Active Advisories (US Severe Weather)
	This Afternoon Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. West winds around 10 mph. » ZIP Code Detail
	Tonight Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows in the upper 40s. Light and variable winds.
	Friday Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Light and variable winds…becoming northwest around 10 mph in the afternoon. » ZIP Code Detail
	Friday Night Partly cloudy in the evening…then becoming mostly clear. Lows in the upper 40s. Light and variable winds.
	Saturday Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Light and variable winds…becoming northwest around 10 mph in the afternoon. » ZIP Code Detail
	Saturday Night Clear. Lows in the lower 40s.
	Sunday through Labor Day Mostly clear. Highs in the lower 70s. Lows in the lower 40s.
	Monday Night through Tuesday Night Partly cloudy. Lows around 50. Highs in the mid 70s.
	Wednesday Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

I went for a little walk in the Blue Hills Reservation today. I can
report that hiking on a flat, smooth trail, with no pack, wearing
Cho-pat braces on both knees, and using my trekking poles, my knees
felt about 98%. How that translates into carrying a full pack up and
down mountains and over rough terrain, remains to be seen.

And James, you’re right, I do miss sleeping in my hammock!

As for kicking the AT’s ass, Ken, there is no such thing. Hiking the
AT is like climbing a big mountain. Nobody conquers a mountain,
they just climb it, or not. I’ll either finish the trail this year, or I
won’t.

—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Jodi just got a job for Thursday so she can't drive me to New
Hampshire that day. Plans are pushed back one day to Friday.

Geez, it's September already! How did that happen?
—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Si I've decided: I will be heading back up to New Hampshire on
Thursday to try to complete this darned hike.

I wish I could say that I am excited to be heading back to the trail,
but it's not quite true. I certainly am not yet ready to give up my
life as a thru-hiker. It is, after all, a pretty sweet way to live.
You hike. You camp. You see new places and meet new people every day.
You eat as much of everything as you can possibly get your hands on.
You breathe fresh air. You exercise your body. You have time to le
your mind wander where it may.

But my hike should be finished by now, or at least close to being
finished. The people I hiked with way back at the beginning of my
thru-hike have all either completed their hike, or have gotten off the
trail. It is no longer summer. The cool weather of fall is arriving in
New England. It is 65 degrees here in Quincy this morning. The days
are shortening rapidly. It is strange being here at home now, since I
left here last March when winter was just winding down. It feels like
I somehow missed summer.

This is wonderful weather for hiking of course. If the weather holds
fair I will be treated to the full glory of New England's autumn. But
in a big way it feels like this is going to be a lonely hike. That is
strange, since I have by choice hiked most of the trail alone, but it
feels lonely I guess because everyone I know is done, or at least well
ahead of me.

Anyway, this will be my last shot at finishing my thru-hike this year,
so here's hoping my knees are up to the task!

—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

So, I am home again. I walked out from Carter Notch Hut along the
easiest route, which was down the 19 Mile Brook Trail. Boy, what a joy
that was! Apparently, there are 'normal' hiking trails in the Whites.
Instead of scrambling up and down rock ledges and giant boulders, the
trail simply followed along beside the brook for 4 miles until it
reached the trailhead at Rt 16. There were a couple of rocky places,
and I did feel my knee when stepping down from rock to rock, but all
in all it was a comfortable walk.

It is getting close to the end of August now. There is probably 7
weeks left in the thru-hiking season; that is, there are about 7 weeks
left before snow and ice descend on Katahdin and the Baxter Park
rangers will no longer allow hikers to make the climb. I am trying to
figure out if it is worth making one more attempt to finish this hike.
I could take as much as another two weeks off to rest up my knees, and
assuming my knees are back in hiking shape should still have enough
time to finish the hike well before October 15.

Pushing my hike into the end of the season does present some
challenges. It gets cold in northern Maine in October, so I will have
to carry my heavier sleeping bag, and warmer clothes. And the days get
shorter, whivh means less hours and thus fewer miles in a given day.
But cold weather also means fewer bugs, and fall in New England is
glorious; at least, it is if it doesn't bring day after day of cold
rain.

It also means breaking my promise to Jodi to be finished hiking by the
middle of September. She says she is willing to make that sacrifice
for me. She's a pretty great wife, isn't she?! And I have promised to
be somewhere with my daughter Anju on September 21, so that would
necessitate another break from the trail.

Nothing has been decided yet, but these are the things I am thinking
about today. These last weeks sure have been frustrating. This is not
at all how I envisioned my hike ending. All this starting and
stalling! I keep thinking back to Virginia, when I could get up in the
morning, walk for 8 hours, and chalk up another 20 miles. It was all
so easy then!

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Sunday, 8/23

AT Miles = 5.9 / 1865.2
Other Miles = 0 / 58.9
Total Miles = 5.9 / 1924.1

Miles to Katahdin = 313.1

Good grief, Charlie Brown! It took me 5 hours to hike less than 6 miles today, and that was carrying a pack barely heavier than a day pack. My knees hurt just as much as they did when I hobbled in to Pinkham Notch last Monday. Six days of rest seem to hqave dome absolutely nothing for them. I can barely walk now.

My plan for tomorrow was to hike 15 miles from here to Rt 2. There is no way that is going to happen. I've got to find the easiest way out of here and take that tomorrow.

Unless some miracle happens while I sleep tonight, and I wake up with healed knees, this is it. My thru-hike is over. I can't believe I even typed those words. I just sat and looked at them for a few minutes. I'm so damned close! But my knees have betrayed me; or maybe it's that I have betrayed them. But whichever it is, there is no way I am going to hike the last 313.1 miles to Katahdin this year. 5+ months of effort down the toilet…

I know that in the great scheme of things this is no big deal, but it sure feels like it is right now. Not a good day today.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

See that big backpack? Well, that one is not coming on this next leg
of the hike. The big pack will be spending the next couple of days in
the trunk of my car here in Gorham. Instead, I will only be carrying
that little backpack, with just some warm clothes for the evening, and
some snacks for lunch today and tomorrow. Yee-haw!

—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

I am in Gorham, NH tonight. I left home after lunch today and drove up
here. It sure was hard saying goodbye to Jodi!

I am staying at Hiker's Paradise here in Gorham. Tomorrow morning I
will leave my car here tomorrow and take the bus to Pinkham Notch,
which is where I got off the trail on Monday. All I have planned for
tomorrow is to hike the second half of what I was supposed to hike
last Monday; the six miles from Pinkham Notch up and over Wildcat
Mountain and on to Carter Notch Hut. I have a reservation at the Hut
so will have a bunk there, which will let me hike with a small, light
pack. On Monday I'll hike the 15 miles from Carter Notch to US 2, then
will call and get a ride back to Hiker's Paradise for the night.

I am looking forward to hiking without my full backpack. It should
also be good for breaking in my third pair of boots, which have
exactly zero miles of hiking on them so far.
—
~~~~~
Monkeywrench
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com