End of MA

Hello readers, Daystar here on a computer in Rangeley, Maine. I was up at 5am this morning to hike the 9 miles into town. After a big burger & lots of fries, and a quick stop at the grocery store, I'm now parked at the library for the afternoon to do some catching up on the blog.

I believe I last left off in Dalton, MA. We ended up taking an unplanned zero that day after being tempted by popcorn & AC while watching Batman in the next town over. Six hiker bums tried hitching back all together, which rarely works unless you come across someone friendly with a pick-up truck. We all split up and lo & behold, Tatertot & I quickly got a ride back to Dalton (I hear girl hikers have better luck hitching than guy hikers :) Back in town, we decided to have just one beer while waiting on the boys. As often happens, one beer turned into a few beers which turned into orders of nachos, and then the next thing we knew, the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics came on, and what do you know, USA was almost last in line for the parade and at that point we just HAD to stay to watch USA! Needless to stay, we ended up staying another night...

That next morning was rough leaving and then it started pouring rain.. not fun.. We slowly made our way to Cheshire, MA. The trail runs through town and there is a nice Catholic church has a small room for hikers. We were so grateful to have a space to dry off. Tatertot & I walked down to a pub for burgers. Because it was Saturday night, Gribely decided to stay the night so he could attend church in the morning. Pants & Tater hiked about three miles out of town. I was so tired, I only made it about a mile outside of town before calling it a night. 

My little stealth campsite off the trail



My life in stuff sacks


Sunday morning, Gribley caught up with me and we hiked up Mt. Greylock - our first mountain over 3,000 feet since the Shenandoahs in VA!


Mt. Greylock



View from Mt. Greylock

After a long lunch enjoying the gorgeous view, we headed down into North Adams. The trail sort of runs through the town. We crossed a river and camped just on the north side of town. In the morning, we ran back into town without our packs to get enough food to make it into Bennington, VT - our next planned resupply.



Crossing the river north of North Adams, MA

 Soon after, we hit the Vermont border!

"These miles won't hike themselves...."

Cloud Ocean

Daystar checked in with her mother this morning.  Maine has proven to be as difficult as advertised.  They left Andover on Saturday and hiked essentially straight up and down over huge boulders, many so difficult to climb the local trail clubs have installed iron handles and foot steps to assist hikers in the climb over the boulders.  Our merry band of trekkers used to knock down anywhere from 15 to 22 miles in a day, but the new normal is 10 miles due to the incredibly challenging terrain.  They camped near Old Blue Mountain yesterday and have passed cloud ocean (see pic).  They need to stop and take a dip in the ocean as they haven't done laundry in two weeks and it's getting, how can I say this delicately, ripe.  They hope to make Stratton by the weekend.  Stay tuned.

Macon makes it to Andover Maine

Earth Station in Andover ME

Macon called this morning to tell us she has made it to Andover and will do a small re-supply before they head back out this afternoon.  Interestingly enough Andover is home of the Andover Earth Station built in 1961 to communicate with Telstar 1.  Macon communicates with TelMom1. Today the signal was clear,  she sounded great, and ready for the final 256.5 miles of this trek.  Hopefully she will send some more pictures to us to post.

Daystar reports "We made it" Mahoosuc Notch

Daystar texted early this morning that she and Gribley would be hiking what's considered to be the 5 hardest miles on the AT. What's a parent to do but pray all day for their safety!  Here's a description:

Mahoosuc Notch is a deep gap in the Mahoosuc Range of western Maine. The boulders on this mile-long section of trail present obstacles that must be climbed over and sometimes under, creating a unique hiking experience. There are occasional ten-foot drops, and places where packs must be removed to squeeze beneath a boulder.  Many thru-hikers call this stretch one of the slowest on the  trail. This so-called "killer mile" or the "Toughest Mile" is a very tough section that can cause even the most experienced hikers to slow down.

Around 8:30 pm, I got this text:  "We made it!!  Lots of fun, crazy climbing.  Definitely not the hardest part of the trail for me.  Coming down Moosilauke and that terrible rocky day in PA were way worse."   She and Gribley hiked Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm, and they were at Speck Pond Shelter for the night.  Speck Pond is the highest body of water in Maine.  They're shooting for Andover by Saturday morning.  Here are two pics of Gribley on the rocks of Mahoosu Notch.

 

It's Official, Maine!!

Macon makes Maine the evening of August 29.  Here are some other pictures in case you missed them on Facebook.

Hiking at dusk through the Presidentials in the White Mountain Range

Looking at Mt. Washington from Lake of Clouds

Maine Tomorrow

"They were all terribly footsore. No spring or rebound was left in them. Their feet fell heavily on the trail, jarring their bodies and doubling the fatigue of a day's travel. There was nothing the matter with them except that they were dead tired. It was not the dead-tiredness that comes through brief and excessive effort, from which recovery is a matter of hours; but it was the dead-tiredness that comes through the slow and prolonged strength drainage of months of toil. There was no power of recuperation left, no reserve strength to call upon. It had all been used, the last least bit of it. Every muscle, every fibre, every cell, was tired, dead tired." - Jack London, Call of the Wild


I've been reading Jack London's Call of the Wild lately on the trail and that passage really hit home when I read it. Of course London was writing about a team of sled huskies, not hikers, but I feel like it accurately describes how we are feeling these days. My legs have become slender, muscular, and strong, but with every step uphill, I can feel the 1900 miles behind me and my legs are dead tired.

We will cross the border into Maine tomorrow and with it signifies the beginning of the end. Maine itself has been a goal this whole trip, and to make it there means there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. This has been the BEST thing I have ever done, and it's starting to hit me that it's almost over.

Tonight I'm camped by a beautiful lake with Gribley & White Wolf. Everyone picked up their poison of choice for the big border party, and Gribley packed in a package of boxed wine - 3 liters/4 bottles/6 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon for us to share. We've tapped into it tonight & built a campfire, toasting each other to all that's behind us and everything yet to come. Cheers!

The main thing is to keep the Maine thing the main thing

 

Macon texted her mother yesterday evening to report she is almost to Maine.  She had a couple of days in NH with a tummy bug but she is back to 100% and is hoping to complete the trek sometime mid September barring accident or injury.  She has a post that is lost in the ether, but hopefully the tech crew can find it and get it posted in the next day or so.  Stay tuned!