Heading home

New Hampshire, just south of the White Mountains. Packing up the Jeep and heading back to the Big Apple. May do some more hiking in the fall, but I think this wraps up the summer. Getting closer to the finish!

Zoom in...

In the distance, you can see Farsight and High Gear. Five years ago when we hiked  together, I simply slowed down to match pace with whoever wanted to hike in front and find the blazes. Now, I'm routinely left in the distant dust by my hiking partners. Luckily, they remember to stop and let me catch up before they get completely out of sight. Makes me proud.
Most times on the trail, I enter that state of 'being in the moment' where my focus and thoughts are consumed by my own breath, and the next few steps as I avoid the rocks, roots, and boggy slicks. Sometimes, though, the trail levels, opens wide, and the ground cover is a smooth duff of pine needles and leaves. This was one of those moments when I was able to look up, and let my mind wander.

2222 feet

Moose Mountain. More mountains, higher elevations, more climbing. So far, no live moose. Maybe soon.

Ivy and White Blazes

High Gear and Farsight tolerated one more picture for the blog after we finished our hiking for the day. The AT crosses the Connecticut River, rises up the hill to lively Hanover, and crosses the picturesque Dartmouth College campus.

The Dartmouth Outing Club is an official trail maintenance organization and their volunteers dedicate a lot of time to  maintaining many miles of the trail, and it's associated privies and shelters. Without volunteers, the Trail in most places would quickly disappear back under the forest duff, get engulfed by the quick moving undergrowth that covets the thin open sky where the trail has been cleared, or erode away in the next thunderstorm.

Welcome! Welcome!

That's the Connecticut River in the background as we finish up the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. Welcome to New Hampshire!
As I'm sure faithful readers have noticed, Farsight and I are joined again in our travels by High Gear. She finished camp and headed north to join us as we make our way through the Granite State. Welcome back High Gear!

Cloudland

Vermont pulls out all the stops as you head north. Here's a picture of Farsight in a bright, colorful meadow above Cloudland. You can imagine your own soundtrack, but if you're in the area then you might hear a bit of Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry jamming in the background. He has a farm in the valley at the base of the hill.

That's a big jump...

Luckily, the Green Mountain Club has installed a 10 foot step ladder to climb down. We are headed north-northeast now skirting the edge of the Les Newall Wildlife Management area. Wildlife report so far: 1 large toad, 2 18-inch snakes, birds of various feather, and one large pile of moose scat.

Killington Summit

We made it to the summit of Killington. After this, the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail divide. The Long Trail, the older of the two trails, continues north through Vermont to the Canadian border. The AT turns east and heads toward New Hampshire crossing into the Granite State at Hanover. We still have many miles to cover, but fewer every day!

Trail Art

On top of White Rock above the town of Wallingford, Vermont, is a sculpture of white rock in the middle of the woods. I thought it was a pretty cool discovery on the trail. Some people might see it as forest graffiti. In either case, it was unexpected and diverting!

Special thanks to the Foote family at Little Brook

We have had a great time passing through southern Vermont and a large part of that has been due to the generous hospitality provided by the Foote family. They graciously provided us warm beds, showers, shuttles, and family dinners which meant we were able to slack pack across several peaks. Awesome, and a huge thank you!
The picture above shows Farsight on Mount Baker. The beautiful white rock is mined from quarries visible across the valley to provide the famous Vermont marble in monuments and structures like the Jefferson Memorial, the US Capitol, and the the US Supreme Court.

Transported!

This beautiful scene is not the opening shot of a science fiction video where Farsight has emerged to save Earth from disaster, though that may appear to be his spaceship! We are actually on top of Bromley Mountain here in Vermont ski country, and that is the mountaintop lift. The AT passes over several peaks in Vermont with well known resorts including Stratton, Bromley, and Killington.

Trailheads

When you want to slack pack as much as possible, you need a vehicle that can climb the mountain forest roads that take you to the trail on the ridge line and deep in the woods. That's why we bought the "Trail Rated" Jeep. We got to try out some of the off road features today. Lots of fun!
Honestly, you can also pretty successfully slack pack with a Honda Civic or any other reliable vehicle, but it's still fun to own the Jeep and  imagine other cars can't get where we can.

Vermont = Ver-mud

Farsight successfully negotiated the latest in a long series of famous mud slides, pits, and holes throughout Vermont. Luckily, we are here in later summer when the ground is dryer, and it's been a reasonably dry week until the afternoon thunderstorm today. For those readers who really enjoyed learning about healthy soil at Farm Aid, or anywhere else for those who didn't go to Farm Aid, I will say the mud is impressively black and rich. If the soil on the farms is like the soil in the forest, it makes sense that Vermont is so fertile!

Stratton Mountain

From the peak of Stratton Mtn, you can hike a short side trail to the Stratton ski resort scenic gondola ride down to the village and various lodges where you can eat, shower, go to a concert, play cornhole or ping pong, frisbee, get an iced beverage, and sleep in a bed! I'm here with Farsight ready to head up to the mountaintop and our hike on the AT.

Switching to Vermont

We decided to flip direction after it became apparent that bug season (and tough mountain climbs and descents which will take more than a day or two of conditioning) wasn't quite over yet in Maine. The drive took almost 8 hours and would have taken a shortcut through Canada if I'd brought my passport. Maine is a big place. We took advantage of the downtime to see a few local sites, and to visit friends near the trail. This included a great time in Bennington  sharing dinner with the Foster family!

Beaver Dam!

Engineering is just plain impressive, especially when you are terraforming with your teeth. Maybe we need to figure out how to adapt beavers to Mars?

White Sandy Beaches

Litchfield Beach, South Carolina won't be the only white, sandy beach that we visit this summer. The AT through Maine offers some great swimming along the ponds. From the air, and I guess from the right height in Google Earth, you can see just how much water there is throughout the truly vast forests in northern Maine. The day before this hike, we took a swim with half a dozen loons. Unfortunately, we have to skip this nice sandy beach on East Carry Pond to continue to the next lean-to and get our tent pitched. Later that night, we heard the loons on West Carry Pond calling to each other in otherworldly clarion songs.

Then, we heard the thunderstorm beating down on our tent for several hours. We were dry, and continued southbound the next morning.

Official AT canoe trip

Of all the rivers, streams, and muddy puddles that seem as wide as rivers, only one truly requires a boat - the Kennebec River south of Caratunk. Farsight utilizes his rowing expertise to power us across the current.

A bit of rain for our start in Maine...

For those following the blog, you realize by now that a section hike (particularly my section hike) can jump from one area of the AT to another and switch directions like the wind. Unlike a traditional thru hike which begins at one end of the trail and ends at the other. However, most thru hikes don't even follow this purist approach for a variety of reasons. At some point in a 2200 mile journey on foot, you end up slack packing south back into Hot Springs, or leaving a section of trail for later so you can catch up with your crew after you took 6 days off to go to your cousin's wedding. The only official acknowledgement goes to those designated as a '2,000 Miler'. This is someone who as a matter of honor confirms that they have walked the entire trail. The long distance hiker motto is, "Hike your own hike."

With that brief explanation,  Farsight and I are now in Maine southbound for the Massachusetts border after passing through New Hampshire and Vermont along the way. That's our hike!

Farsight in Saint Anthony 's Wilderness

Despite the wilderness name, Rausch Gap was a bustling town of over 1000 people in the 1800's and still an active village only 100 years ago. As we spend hours walking through forest passing only northbound hikers, it's hard to believe that generations of people once lived on the rock and dirt paths we follow through what we naturally assume is the deep woods. Then we encounter an old cemetery, a crumbling stone wall, or a rusting iron machine part abandoned long ago as not worth the effort to move.
Now, the only way to get to many of these places is on the Appalachian Trail. It's a good way to encounter a bit of forgotten history.

2015 Hiking Season begins!

Out with Farsight, who is now much stronger and taller than when this adventure began. Southbound from Pine Grove, Pennsylvania.