08/26/2017
Made it to Ohio, visiting son, seen the grandkids... great!! Still in the recovery mode, seems as if it has been weeks now that I was on the trail, one week today.... my body has done some strange withdrawals, of course the knees hurt but feel much better today... the eye is still sensitive to light, so no contact to see what I am typeing.... and then being tired... just now able to keep my eyes open, felt like I was in a trance or a walking zombie...yet it is hard to sleep....believe this will be the last update, may work on photo identification but that is it
Made it to Ohio, visiting son, seen the grandkids... great!! Still in the recovery mode, seems as if it has been weeks now that I was on the trail, one week today.... my body has done some strange withdrawals, of course the knees hurt but feel much better today... the eye is still sensitive to light, so no contact to see what I am typeing.... and then being tired... just now able to keep my eyes open, felt like I was in a trance or a walking zombie...yet it is hard to sleep....believe this will be the last update, may work on photo identification but that is it
08/14/2017
Monson Maine, lovely town... looks like one would imagine a small town in Maine should look like, lots of old buildings/homes... it is on a busy 2 lane highway... it also has a restaurant calked Pete's Place that happens to have pancakes lol... they have dining on the open back porch overlooking a small lake... also have a bakery... I hitched into town, thought I was going to have trouble but it worked out just fine... This town is on the edge of the 100 mile wilderness so I have 115 miles to go... still hard to believe...
08/13/2017
What a finish to my day, tired, wet shoes from crossing a river knee deep, muddy from slipping and falling into a d--- mud hole and out of the blue a cooler behind a boulder with ice cold mountain dew in it... oh my my my... :-)
Hiked 19 today, got rained on this morning but not before i got a beautiful view from a bald... picked several handfuls of wild blueberries, normally they are small compared to what you get in the store but today, on the bald I found a patch of big ones, delicious they were... Usually pick some every day, they are plentiful up on the open mountain tops... not sure if I will see very many more now that I am hiking at a lower elevation? Knee was stiff this morning, really slowed me down... add to that a sore tendon behind the same knee and you have a hobbling old man with two walking sticks... sticks did not do me any good when I slipped and fell in that mud hole, good thing about the mud is my knee stopped hurting... imagine that... makes me think I am a tad bit crazy... lol
Hiked for about six miles along a river, so beautiful, at times it looked like a sheet of glass with the sun reflecting off of it... hiking along it slowed me down even more, kept wanting to look at it, with high hoped of seeing a moose, only thing I saw was tree roots, rocks and mud... had two river crossings today, the first one I did in socks, carried my shoes, put dry socks on after the crossing... the second one I wore my shoes and left my pant legs down so I could get some of the mud off of me... tomorrow I hit Monson Maine... 2075 miles into my trek which means I will have 115 miles to go, have 121 left now or right around that... resupply in Monson, last resupply for 100 miles, thus the 100 mile wilderness as it is known... not sure what time I will get out of Monson, need to stop at the visitor center and register to camp in Baxter State Park, sign up for my expected date to summit Katahdin... the number of hikers allowed on the mountain is really controlled... tourist from all over the world visit it every year... even limit the number of thru hikers... if I miss my date then I have to wait for an opening... check in with the rangers each date and see if they have any vacancies in the tourist slots...
I have high hopes of finding some pancakes tomorrow when I get to Monson, if not pancakes then maybe a burger... really should find a hostel to shower at... :-) keeping a set of clean clothes for my trip to Richmond, or what I hope is my trip to Richmond... may have to walk there, have not gotten that far in my planning... I know someone coming to Maine in October, might be waiting for a ride lol
08/12/2017
This morning I got up, sort of rushed the first 2 miles thinking I was going to get some pancakes... this little place out in the woods that caters to fishermen served meals, come to find out you need to place your order the night prior... figure that one out... I camped on an old logging road two miles away with no phone service lol anyway I got a cup of coffee and moved on to the ferry crossing which consisted of a three person canoe... after that I stopped at a B&B and got a few supplies, milkshake and pulled pork sandwich... ended up doing a hard 17 miles... my knees were played out by the end of the day but tomorrow is another day so I shall see how it goes... 149 miles left I think... next town which is 25 miles away is my last resupply prior to the 100 mile wilderness...
08/11/2017
Rained yesterday some, certain areas received hail, I lucked out, it missed me... only did 12 miles, trails were slippery which contributed to several falls, combine that with the five I had today and I can just say I have fell over fifty times on this trip... playing heck with my knees... really sore. Good thing is the trail has gotten a little easier, did 20 miles today. My morning started with a thunderstorm, I had to drop over the side of the ridge I was hiking for safety reasons... sat on the side of the mountain and let the storm pass... I walked in mud today, more mud than I have seen in a long time... shoes and socks are black... tomorrow I catch a ferry sometime between 10-2 to cross the Kennebec River... put in extra miles today so I would be in position to get to the river in time to cross it tomorrow... if I do not make the 10-2 I will have to wait another day or pay $50. to cross... Think I will make the window.... around 154 miles to go
08/09/2017
Did 8 miles today, stopped in Stratton Maine, town of about 550 people. Resupply here and then one more major resupply prior to finishing I hope... soaked in the tub with hopes of getting the swelling in my knee under control again... even took motrin in the evening lol... think this is a ski town with Sugarloaf Mountain being so close... one more major mountain to summit here and then I will see the lowlands for a while...
Did 8 miles today, stopped in Stratton Maine, town of about 550 people. Resupply here and then one more major resupply prior to finishing I hope... soaked in the tub with hopes of getting the swelling in my knee under control again... even took motrin in the evening lol... think this is a ski town with Sugarloaf Mountain being so close... one more major mountain to summit here and then I will see the lowlands for a while...
08/08/2017
Great day of hiking... trails were a little harder than I had hoped for but they were still good... did 16 miles, went under 200 miles remaining and tomorrow I should go over 2000 completed... stopping at Stratton Maine for resupply... the 100 mile wilderness is rapidly approaching so I need to start thinking of what I need to get me there and how much to carry while hiking it... I have two more mountain ranges to cross and then things ease up for a while... no more 4,000 plus until Katahdin, my final destination... Monson Maine is in 80 miles, last town prior to the wilderness I believe... do not expect to make much distance tomorrow with the stop for supplies which is ok, had 3 days of 16+ which were not expected, after the 4,000 peaks yes... should reach the 2nd of those around noon on Thursday...
Until I get wifi or better service I will post photos on FB if anyone wants to see those just friend me... my blog just gives me fits saving photos... post some of them several times before they save...
Getting dark here, sitting on a boulder in a mountain stream with a cup of tea writing this... makes me appreciate what I have seen... going to be hard to let it all go... but I always have 2018!!!!
08/07/2017
Had a good day of hiking... the weather was perfect until about 6:00pm, I could watch the rain move in... no lightning so I was able to make it over the summit of The Saddle and The Horn, both are above the tree line which is not a very good place to be in a storm... suppose to have light rain for a few hours, it is doing exactly that right now... hope to be in Stratton Maine sometime Thursday morning... used an atm in Rangeley Maine, dang if it didn't forget to spit the money out... bank said I had to wait and see if my account is credited back the funds, if not then they can do something... I have 212.5 miles left, should go under 200 tomorrow the 8th, after 38 more miles the trail looks like it may get a little easier, less deviation in elevation changes... hope that is the case... not sure how it will be tomorrow, trail will be wet part of the day...
Great day of hiking... trails were a little harder than I had hoped for but they were still good... did 16 miles, went under 200 miles remaining and tomorrow I should go over 2000 completed... stopping at Stratton Maine for resupply... the 100 mile wilderness is rapidly approaching so I need to start thinking of what I need to get me there and how much to carry while hiking it... I have two more mountain ranges to cross and then things ease up for a while... no more 4,000 plus until Katahdin, my final destination... Monson Maine is in 80 miles, last town prior to the wilderness I believe... do not expect to make much distance tomorrow with the stop for supplies which is ok, had 3 days of 16+ which were not expected, after the 4,000 peaks yes... should reach the 2nd of those around noon on Thursday...
Until I get wifi or better service I will post photos on FB if anyone wants to see those just friend me... my blog just gives me fits saving photos... post some of them several times before they save...
Getting dark here, sitting on a boulder in a mountain stream with a cup of tea writing this... makes me appreciate what I have seen... going to be hard to let it all go... but I always have 2018!!!!
08/07/2017
Had a good day of hiking... the weather was perfect until about 6:00pm, I could watch the rain move in... no lightning so I was able to make it over the summit of The Saddle and The Horn, both are above the tree line which is not a very good place to be in a storm... suppose to have light rain for a few hours, it is doing exactly that right now... hope to be in Stratton Maine sometime Thursday morning... used an atm in Rangeley Maine, dang if it didn't forget to spit the money out... bank said I had to wait and see if my account is credited back the funds, if not then they can do something... I have 212.5 miles left, should go under 200 tomorrow the 8th, after 38 more miles the trail looks like it may get a little easier, less deviation in elevation changes... hope that is the case... not sure how it will be tomorrow, trail will be wet part of the day...
08/05/2017
Less than 250 miles to go, approximately 60 of that is with peaks of 4,000 plus and the rest is under 3,000... my hope is to be done in 3 weeks and then try and find a way back to Virginia... no Amtrak out in these woods... small buslines... get a bus to a larger city and see what happens... took tine of for weather, winds, hail and rain in the forecast... did some laundry, met some great people, a couple that are 85 years old run this hostel and they are wonderful people... the type who understand that money is not happiness... i am staying in an old truck bed camper...
Less than 250 miles to go, approximately 60 of that is with peaks of 4,000 plus and the rest is under 3,000... my hope is to be done in 3 weeks and then try and find a way back to Virginia... no Amtrak out in these woods... small buslines... get a bus to a larger city and see what happens... took tine of for weather, winds, hail and rain in the forecast... did some laundry, met some great people, a couple that are 85 years old run this hostel and they are wonderful people... the type who understand that money is not happiness... i am staying in an old truck bed camper...
08/01/2017
In Bethel Maine, small quaint town, some really old homes turned into B&B's, one of which I am zeroing in... The mountains are fantastic, i have seen larger ones but these are special... the trails go straight up one side and straight down the other... hard on the legs and knees...
In Bethel Maine, small quaint town, some really old homes turned into B&B's, one of which I am zeroing in... The mountains are fantastic, i have seen larger ones but these are special... the trails go straight up one side and straight down the other... hard on the legs and knees...