Nan's 2014 Appalachian Trail Journal

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October 11, 2014

9/26 Only 100.9 miles to go. Hiked 13.6 miles after getting a lift to the trail head. We had breakfast at Shaw’s with Bud and Route Step. Bud was going to take a zero day to nurse a bruised knee and Route Step was getting a lift 50+ miles ahead to hike back to Monson so he could fly home to Florida for his son’s graduation. He will then fly back to Maine and finish the 56 miles he has not completed.

Today was a lot of little ups and downs. Some nice trail, some not so nice. There was a big ford at Big Wilson Stream. The water was high enough to get my shorts wet and pretty pushy. I was glad that it wasn’t any higher. We hiked past the highest waterfall on the AT although you can only see the top part before it falls into a deep cut.

We are camped on a woods road after almost giving up hope of finding a level spot. The shelter was still 1 ½ miles further and it was getting dark. There was a possible ford at Long Stream so we stopped for the day.

9/27 90.2 miles to Katahdin. 10.7 miles today with a big climb over Barren Mtn. and then Fourth Mtn. then Mt. Three and a Half. No kidding. What a silly name for a mountain. And then there was Third Mtn. It was a very tiring day with steep climbs and rocks, rocks, and more rocks, and roots, lots of roots. It is hard to make any mileage. The weather was great again. Sunny and warm and the views were fabulous. I think the leaves are at peak or close to it for fall color. It is just beautiful with the leaves and range after range of mountains as far as you can see. Many lakes, all just begging to be paddled. We are camped at a small flat area with Zig. There was just room enough to get three tents set up. It was getting late and Freckles and I were tired so we squeezed in. Zig, or Zag, I’m not sure which, used to hike with his dog. I never knew who Zig was and who Zag was. He had to take his dog home to Louisiana. It had sprained a leg hiking through the Whites in New Hampshire so now he is hiking alone. He is the only other hiker that we saw today except Route Step heading south. I wonder when everyone else is.

9/28 Only 76.8 miles until Katahdin. 13.4 miles today. Sunny and warm in the 80s but it is supposed to get cooler tomorrow and maybe rain on Tuesday. We continue to hike thru beautiful forests, bright with autumn color. There was a big climb today over Columbus Mtn. and then over Chairback Mtn. Chairback has a real long steep rocky descent but I think that this is the last of the real steep cliff climbing until Katahdin. There may be a little on White Cap which we will do tomorrow. There was one river ford of the West Branch Pleasant River but the water was only knee deep and not pushy. There was a Ridge Runner at the ford. She told us Puzzle, who we had been hiking with, had to get a ride to the hospital to be treated for a bad infection on his leg. He got a ride from Miss Janet, the trail angel. He is the second person in less than a week that Miss Janet has shuttled to the hospital. Nice that she is following the hikers along, helping when she can.

9/25 with 62.5 miles to go. 14.2 miles today. We are camped in the woods across the trail from Crawford Pond. Camping is not allowed on the sandy beach but we saw several tents. We have seen very few hikers since leaving Monson and I know there were lots of hikers at Monson. Zig is the only north bounder that we had seen until this evening when Bama, Iron Cheeks, WiFi, Blazer, and Sockless came by.

There are two attitudes on the trail this last 100 miles, or so. Those who are ready to be done with it so they try to make big miles daily. And then there are those who, like Sassafras says, “The last one on Katahdin wins!” Freckles and I are in the first group. We are ready to be done.

Today we had the last big elevation gain until Katahdin. White Cap Mtn. is 3,650’ elevation and has an amazing view. On a clear day, you can see Katahdin. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a clear day. It was completely socked in with clouds, very cold and windy. In 2010 I had great views from the top. Other than that, it was a great hiking day. The woods are so colorful and there are ponds and beaver dams everywhere. So far I have not seen any moose, just moose scat. It has started to rain so I am in my tent for the night.

9/30 Just 44.5 miles to go with 18.5 miles hiked today--you see what we can do with a good trail. The hike was great today. Just what I had signed up for! No horrible climbs, still lots of rocks and roots though, but mostly nice trail.

We picked up our resupply bucket at Jo-Mary Road so, we once again, we have heavy packs. Groan. There were about 20 buckets there waiting for hikers. Buckets are usually shared by two or three people so we know there are a lot of hikers behind us. We have been seeing some of our old friends logged into the Lean-to journals. They are several day ahead of us so I don’t think that we will get to see them again. Oregon and Little Bit and HoBo and Cadi, I really liked all of them.

We stopped to camp along Nahmakanta Stream, just ½ mile short of the AT camp site, but I was tired and decided to save the river ford for tomorrow.

10/1 Camped tonight at Rainbow Stream Lean-to, mile 2,155.2 and 30.1 miles to Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. We hiked 14.4 miles today for a great hike. The Main Wilderness is one of the AT highlights and is a great way to finish.

Today we saw many more north bounders. All young men who have caught up to us. They hike faster and further each day than Freckles and I hike. We met a south bounder, Nikie, actually a flipper, who told me that a picture that she took of one of the balds is on the cover of this month’s AT Journal, which is the AT magazine. She was very happy and excited.

Tomorrow we have 15 miles to hike to Abol Bridge, then nine miles to Baxter State Park, and then five miles to the top of Katahdin at 5,268’ elevation. Hard to believe that we are here. A few weeks ago it seemed so far. I felt like I was hiking on a treadmill and getting nowhere fast. The weather continues to be mild--high 50s to low 60s--great for hiking. It was cloudy all day, the sun never showed its self. There were several opportunities today to see Katahdin but it was too cloudy. We are hoping things clear up before Saturday, the day that we hope to summit.

10/2 with 15.1 miles to Katahdin. Another beautiful mild sunny day. We hiked the 15.0 miles to Abol Bridge where we were met by Rich, Freckles’ husband. Bud was also there with his parents who drove in from Indiana to pick him up.

Today the trail followed Rainbow Lake for miles before the climb to Rainbow Ledges and a view of Katahdin. Wow! What a view. The ledges are a wonderland of alpine plants. We drove into Millinocket to find a motel then we went out to eat at the AT Café where we met Bud and his parents for dinner. Overall, a nice day.

10/3 After Rich dropped us off at Abol Bridge, we hiked the 9.1 miles into Baxter State Park where we are camping for the night to get an early start tomorrow morning for the climb and summit of Katahdin. Another nice hiking day with water falls, ponds, and nice views. When we come into Baxter SP, all hikers sign in. I was number 774 to arrive hiking north from Springer Mtn. in Georgia. We have 5.2 miles to go.

10/4 Up at 5:00 a.m. to be on the trail by 6:15 for the climb and grand finale to our hike. It was misty in the morning and we had hoped it would burn off but that did not happen. As we climbed, we saw some patches of blue but the higher that we got, the worse the weather got. Anyway, we made it to the top dripping wet, blown to and fro by the wind, with no view. But, hooray, we did it!!!!!!!!!!!! The summit was crowded with people, some thru hikers, some groups from schools, and some just out for the day. The summit looked about the same as when I went up in 2010--gray and foggy. It was still a great feeling and Freckles and I felt very proud that we had finished. We are ready to head south in a car! We will have a stop in New Hampshire to finish a section that we skipped. We will then hike the final miles in PA with some friends ending up at Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

This is Drag’n Fly.
I’ll see you in PA.

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