Rock Hoppin

July 30, 2014 at 7:41 pm · Filed under Pre-Hike

The rain certainly didn’t let up over night. At one point the lightening seemed like it was right outside the lean-to. The bright flash would wake you up and then the boom brought you to attention. Luckily we were tired enough for the most part to fall right back asleep.

We woke up to some light mist and cloud cover that was casting pessimism on the day. We only hoped that the clouds would clear by the time we reached the top of Katahdin. After some quick breakfast we set off on our climb. The hike started as it did 3 years ago, 1 mile of easy hiking up until the waterfall. At that point you went up and up… And Up. Imagine climbing stairs for about 2 hours and that is what the next part of the hike was like. Once we broke tree-line it was back to the hike that we remembered and loved from last time.

The rock climbing and bouldering was a lot of fun even though the clouds still had not cleared.

I don’t know if it was the excitement or the lure of the end of a long hike, but this certainly did not feel near as long the last time we hiked this behemoth. The top of the mountain is called the tableland and was just as much of a slow incline to the apex as I remember. It was cold, cloudy, windy and 2 miles of ankle-twisting stepping stones.

By the time we reached the top we were ready for one of the bud lights that we carried all the way up there. The clouds would clear every now and then to give you a glimpse of the world below. We had to re-live our hike by taking our summit photo again.

Here is the photo of all 4 of us in front of the Katahdin sign.

As we set off for our hike back down the mountain the weather was as miserable as the way up. Just when we thought that we were going to hike the whole 4 hours back down out of the clouds, the weather broke. In one strong gust the clouds washed over the ridge to reveal the endless mountains and lakes below.

Just to be able to see all of the beauty of world beneath us made the descent that much more majestic. The trail went from a knee-wrenching game of hopscotch to an old fashioned butt sliding.

Once we reached the bottom we hopped in the car and drove to the other campground for the night. This was of course after we stopped for some more beer and snacks. The rest of the night was spent sitting around the campfire, drinking ice cold Maine beers and eating an assortment of food.

Leak Out

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Rainy Night

July 30, 2014 at 6:20 pm · Filed under Pre-Hike

On our way into Baxter State Park we stopped by the Birches. This is where the thru-hikers stay the night before they summit their final climb of the trail. We walked into the shelter area to see if anyone was there and sure enough there were three northbounders hiding out from the rain. We brought a 18 pack of beer to share with them so they were more than happy to indulge.

After our quick detour we headed to our lean-to.

You can see that we have certainly made it home for the night. It was nice to be out of the rain as it didn’t let up all night long. The rest of the night was spent playing games, drinking a couple beers and eating a camp style Shepards Pie. We topped off the night with some pistachio pudding. If you remember from my trail blog, every time Derek had pistachio puddle and I had vanilla, jealousy was in the air. I made sure this time we had two packs of pistachio pudding and it was pretty good. Not as amazing as I remember but still a great trail desert.

Here’s to hoping we can get some decent weather tomorrow.

Cheers,
Leak

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Trail Shower Burger and Brews

July 28, 2014 at 7:22 pm · Filed under Pre-Hike

I think the title says it all. What else do you need. We woke up in the rain and hiked though the rain and mud the 4 miles back to Monson. After calling the hostel we were back to our starting point. Now it was time for a hot shower. Oh baby. How nice a hot shower can be after two days in the rain.

After the shower we found the only open restaurant in Maine and got some beers with a big ol burger. I just woke up from my food coma, so its coffee time. We are on our way to Baxter to spend the rest of the day in our private lean-to. Probably will result in a lot of lounging, some card playing, a bit of beer drinking and some more food gorging. Here’s to hoping for some good hiking weather tomorrow.

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

July 28, 2014 at 3:15 pm · Filed under Pre-Hike

Well, that was a true taste of thru-hiking. If Char and Liz had any glimmer of a thought that they may one day join us on another adventure that has probably all forgone now.

The day started out great. We woke up at cloud pond after a decent nights rest. We took our time getting out of camp and were hoping to see the elusive cloud pond moose but that didn’t happen. Oh well. Before we knew it we were on top of Barren mt. There were some spectacular views here.

We have a bunch more and I will post them later some time.

The climb down from Barren mt. Was a bit treacherous and you could tell it was starting to wear on Liz’s knees. The rest of the day had some smaller ups and downs with a few rivers, a dead moose and a waterfall or two.

Although there were a number of rivers that we crossed, only one or two required us to take off our shoes and ford the beasts. Boy, those were some slippery stones. It’s a bit like I’ve skating for the first time. You couldn’t determine if the river was refreshing on your feet or painful from the sharp rocks.

The original plan was to stop at the little Wilson falls for the night and by the time we got there it was already 6:30. Of coarse there was no decent campsite by the falls whereas there is almost always a campsite by amy water source. So, we pushed on. And on. And on. I also forgot to mention that it had been raining since about 2:00 pm. Minor details I suppose. It is funny how in the mud trudging you will find a moment of beauty when you hit a moss covered forest with the light shinning through the glistening trees. Char, said it was reminiscent of an enchanted forest. Or maybe that was Derek.

We pushed on. Before you knew it, it was getting dark and starting to get dangerous with all the rocks and roots. As we passed a north bound thru hiker he mentioned that the shelter was only 30 more minutes. We came to find out that was a lie. We finally found a decent spot to camp and swiftly setup the tents in the dark. Some quick chili Mac, mmmmm, and it was time for bed.

Leak

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Like Riding a Bike

July 27, 2014 at 1:56 pm · Filed under Pre-Hike

It’s funny how you get remotely close to the trail and the concept of sleeping in becomes somewhat nonexistent. It probably didn’t help that the sun was beaming in the windows at 6:00am, which subsequently became the time to rise. After we packed and re-packed our packs it was breakfast time. We went with a number 2. This means 2eggs, 2 bacon, 2 French toasts, sausage and potatoes. You see they are use to catering to thru-hikers.

Now that we filled up it was time to grab a shuttle with A girl Named Sue. Sue drove up to the trailhead and we immediately started going up, and up and up!

This is about how the day went. We went up and then we went down and then we went up to go back down. It is kind of like riding a bicycle in that we fell right back into our natural pace. This would have been fine under thru-hiking conditions, but we were back to our green selves and the roller coaster of a day didn’t exactly help. Either way there were some great views and we couldn’t have asked for better weather.

Since we got somewhat of a late start it seemed like we were never going to get to the shelter. It’s funny how I can vividly remember a lot of the twists, turns and bends of the trail, but really couldn’t fathom how the shelter just wouldn’t reveal itself around the next bend. We had a rough climb up the base of Barren mountain and after a snickers and a partial cliff bar we finally made it. Speaking of snickers, my brother and I packed in 12 king size snickers to give out to the thru hikers. We only donated two to the cause, but they were quite excited so it made it worth-while. If we have to eat the rest I suppose it won’t be so bad.

Once we got to the shelter at cloud pond we quickly donned a swimsuit and slipped gingerly into the frigid pond. It was a bit slimy, extra slippery and certainly cold, but also refreshing and much needed after the sweaty climbs we endured throughout the day. Next it was onto pad Thai for dinner, another snickers for dessert and hot coco with a side of bourbon for a night cap. Oh yeah!

We are breaching the hour of hiker midnight seeing as the sun is now down, so until tomorrow.

Loving Life

Pictures didn’t drop in where I wanted them but that’s alright. Enjoy!

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All Packed Up

July 26, 2014 at 11:14 am · Filed under Pre-Hike

It’s a bit weird to be typing blog posts again on my tiny phone screen. After three years away from my nightly ritual it’s become somewhat foreign. I almost feel as if I just fall asleep mid-post for old times sake.

We just got into Bangor Maine and are driving up to Monson. We made sure that we weighed our packs at the airport and here are the current stats:

Jeremiah: 20 lbs
Char: 23 lbs
Derek: 23 lbs
Liz: 17 lbs

We still have some shuffling around to do, but we should all be sitting around 20 lbs before water. Not too shabby I suppose. I am actually finishing up this post as we are getting into Monson, so here is a pic of us in our sweet digs.

It is pretty cool being back at Shaws and seeing where we stayed in our last trail town. I tried to get Char and Liz to go put on some loaner clothes for the night but they weren’t having it. I guess you need to be a bit more desperate. You can definitely tell it is past hiker midnight here. Everyone is tucked in for the night. On that note it’s time for a couple beers and then sleep. Until tomorrow.

Loving Life

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7-17-11 How About A Float

July 17, 2011 at 3:30 pm · Filed under Pre-Hike

Shelburne Falls: ZERO DAY

Ahhhh. Feels good to take a day off now that we have Maine in our sights. We have been pushing pretty hard lately and it is quite nice to take a little break. Jeff and Cindy have truely taken care of us and have made our stay amazing. We woke up and decided to hit a local river for a relaxing float. Here is a picture of Chutes reading his kindle on the river. Kindles are waterproof right?

The river ended up being somewhat low and took a lot longer than we originally thought. We have a lot of fun though and we all got good and sunburnt!! Come Monday we will be back on the trail trekking our way to Maine. We plan on summiting Mt Katahdin on August 26th. The flight home is booked and our minds are in the right place, so we should be good to go. I am really excited to get into the White mountains. We have some big climbs coming up, but we also have some big views and true beauty to be seen. Can’t wait. Loving Life.

Check out the new pictures I put up in Flickr as well as a video of Derek getting scared by a bear!

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5-30-10 Ramming Speed

May 30, 2010 at 11:03 pm · Filed under Pre-Hike

After a seven mile day and some vine swinging we made it back to the NOC. What a great hike. And what made it better was a dragon burger with some micro brews. Half pound burger with pepper Jack cheese and jalapenos. Mmmmmm.

After rocking the food down we hit up the white water rafting. Since we had 8 people I had to guide our boat which was awesome cause we got to do whatever we wanted. We hit a lot of rapids backwards. Oh yeah. I think everyone thought our boat was crazy cause I would yell “everyone paddle” and then they would repeat as loud as possible. Good times.

We just set up camp and now it’s time for more food. Man I love food.

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5-29-10 Mac N Cheese

May 30, 2010 at 12:44 am · Filed under Pre-Hike

It is the last night on the trail so I figured I’d eat most of my food. Mac N Cheese with some bag o chicken and then all stuffed in a pita. Oh yea.

Well, it’s 845, still light out and everyone is laying down for the night. Were staying in the Sassafras shelter because there’s no one here and it sucks for tenting. Someone remind me to get a hammock.

We will be walking up early to hike the last 7 miles to the NOC for some white water rafting. Oh and that hiker burger with bacon and fixins is calling my name. Throw in a couple beers and tomorrow should be a great day.

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