Oceanic Wilderness

The alarm went off. Was the sky clear? Yes, the stars were out. We reached over and twisted our NeoAir tubes to deflate them, stretching in our sleeping bags and yawning. It was too early. After fumbling for our headlamps we started moving about, getting dressed, rolling up the air mattresses and stuffing our bags into their compression sacks. Sitting on the side of the tent platform at The Birches, Blue Rooster came by and said he was getting ready. Cubbie & Dilly Dally were in the other shelter getting their items together. We ate a few granola bars for the early morning breakfast and quickly put everything together in…

Since last leaving y’all we were in Rangeley, Maine. Now we have advanced forward to Monson, Maine, our last town stop on the entire trail. Everyone seems to be a little bit sad about this last town stop, reminiscing in the log books. It does seem surreal that we won’t be continuing our walk north towards a far off destination. We left Rangeley and got to the first shelter two miles out for lunch to find that our friends Moose & Tetherball had finally caught up to us and passed us. Drat! Merf’s friend Inferno had done the same. We climbed up Saddleback mountain and had a beautiful view. Supposedly…

We officially walked to Maine! It was very exciting to see this sign! The book said that the state line was this yellow paint spot but I wasn’t expecting to see a sign since the majority of our previous state lines didn’t have anything. There is a sticker that I see frequently at outfitters, one I will have to get, that says “Yes, I walked here from Georgia”. Yes, folks, I walked here from Georgia. Can you believe that? That saying comes because when you run into someone, usually a person who isn’t familiar with the trail, they are always incredulous that you’ve walked that far. Sometimes I think it…

The Whites -noun 1)a mountain range in N New Hampshire, part of the Appalachian Mountains. Highest peak, Mt. Washington, 6293 ft. (1918 m). 2)Ass kicker 3)Vermont + Pennsylvania combined. Mud + rocks. 4)Mileage reducer 5)Beautiful 6)Exhausting 7)Crowded Ahhhh….we’re done with the Whites!!! THANK YOU GOD! Ok…so I’m a touch dramatic, but wow, what a wipe out, tiring experience. After doing Moosilauke (which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be) and getting slowed down on the north side of Kinsman Notch we had to re-think our mental game in terms of mileage. Goodbye 15+ mile days. We couldn’t even think it. When you look at the book it seems…

the White Mountains are kicking their butts. Its cold and windy and they got some rain last night. Doing about 12-14 mile days.

My birthday dinner in West Hartford, VT. The General Store is right on the trail so stop in and have a sandwich, ice cream and pizza! Rock cairns. Clarendon Gorge. Worth stopping to swim! The climb out is a pain though! Little Pond See ya later Long Trail! (though I kinda want to go back and finish it!) Getting off the bus from Rutland and back onto the trail. Some southbounders, Birthday Suit, Ceviche and White Blaze. Yes, that is a pit bull!!

Some kind of purple fringe orchid near Griffith Pond on Vermont. Another orchid. Another? Maple syrup tubes! Ok, this doesn’t smell like wildflowers, but it was a really cool privy at Thistle Hill shelter. Finally, a privy that isn’t a dungeon! The ones in the south are usually open at the top so you can actually breathe!

We’re sitting at the very hoity-toity campus of Dartmouth at the moment. I certainly feel out of place, especially when we went to a college where flip-flops, shorts and pj bottoms were the haute-couture of the day and spending time between classes at the beach were the norm. Yes, my friends, we have made it to New Hampshire. We made a pit stop in the town of Norwich, VT, just on the other side of the Connecticut River to get some day old and free sandwiches from Dan & Whit’s General Store. Mmmm! We also benefited from two trail magic’s during our road walk from the trail head! Yes, my…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISTI. From, Your bro, sis-in-law, and your favorite niece.