Day 126 - Hundred Mile Wilderness (August 12)

I'm finally in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. Although, I don't think its the same as it used to be. There are many logging roads through the Wilderness. I've heard there are people who will slack pack you through the entire wilderness. I also heard that it was expensive because you have to drive so far on logging roads.

I've always been interested in forests. I saw a sign earlier today showing the location of a 1949 / 1950 logging camp. I'm guessing this area was logged then. However, I see some large pine trees where I'm camping that are probably older than 60 years.

What seems to be missing from Maine is the forest diversity. It seems to be mostly a pine forest. I don't see any cedar or birch groves like there are in the Boundary Waters.

I got a late start from Shaw's Boarding House this morning. I got in too late to resupply at the grocery store last night. I was the last person served breakfast, and could not resupply before the shuttles to the trail left. I was fortunate to have someone drive me later.

I met Tiger Balm and Katahdin Kid at the store this morning. They were on the shuttle to Springer Mountain with Sonic and I. They also shared a trailer with Sonic and I at Cloud Nine hostile. They are a retired couple who were flip flopping the trail this year. It sounds like both are off because of injuries. It was nice seeing them.

They told me they read in a shelter register that Red Eyes was arrested for drugs in the Shanadoah, which is different than threatening people. Both might be true however. I'm sure Red Eyes would have had drugs on him at all times. If he were arrested for anything, he would also be arrested for drugs.

I met up with Stripe, Pipper, and Forest Gimp at the Long Pond Stream lean-to. I did not expect to see them today. Pipper and Forest Gimp seem too competitive for me. I would prefer they take the lead and do their thing so I can do my hike without distractions.

Rino and his dog are at the shelter too. Rino has brought no food for himself. He is only carrying food for his dog. He said he has fasted like this before. He also did the trail two years ago. None of us think fasting though the Wildeness is a good idea.

It is raining again. The trail was drying out and the stream levels were going down. This rain may make the streams dangerous to ford. I'm happy I only have 99 miles to go. I just hope the rain does not prevent me from getting through the Wilderness. At this point, I just want to be done.

The only reason I'm still on the trail now is because I'm currious about knowing what it will be like to actually see Katahdin getting closer and closer, and because I'm worried that I might regret leaving the trail in Maine. The first is a good reason to be here, and the second is not. I think I accomplished all I could have hoped for by early Maine. It was probably time to leave the trail then.

Day 125 - Monson, ME (August 11)

I'm staying at the Shaw's Boarding house in Monson. I camped with Pipper, Stripe, Forest Gimp, Memphis Tim, and Limeonaid last night at the Bald Mountain Brook lean-to. Memphis Tim, Limeonaid, and I seem to be slackers compared to the others. I think that is why we naturally started hiking together.

On the trail, you never really plan who you are going to hike with or have lunch with or camp with. You seem to just hang out with different people. Memphis Tim, Limeonaid, and I were all willing to give up our seats on a shuttle rather than fight with everyone else. Maybe its not surprising that we are hiking together.

I wrote early in the trip how very different people seem to get along very well on the trail. Sherpa and Low Impact are a great example. Sherpa was an older woman who is about to retire and Low Impact is a young man who recently graduated from college. They hiked together for hundreds of miles until Shepa had to go back to work. This has not changed the entire trip. The trail breaks down social barriers. You see and related to people based on their character rather than social expectations.

The trail was rather nice for a change. I suspect the Maine trail people don't have the money to relocated this section of the trail in a bog yet. Much of the trail ran along a very scenic stream.

We went over a mountain in the morning. The clouds were below us. A few mountain tops poked out above the clouds like islands in a sea. I took a lot of pictures. I hope some at least turned out well.

We heard of many people who are leaving the trail in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. We heard the Four Sisters who I never met but heard about left the trail 60 miles from Katahdin. I understand why they might have done this, and respect them for their decision. There is a time to get off the trail. A lot of things like your original trail expectations, your trail experience, trail conditions, and weather all determine that time. I'm probably staying on a little longer than I should.

Day 124 - Stephen Catz (August 10)

I just found out that Stephen Catz from "A Walk in the Woods" is not a real person. No one saw Bill Bryson walking or camping with anyone while he was on the trail. Stephen Catz also has never been identiified in real life. I'm really disapointed. I liked the character of Catz.

I also hear that the movie "A Walk in the Woods" is probably not going to be filmed. Robert Redford had the book rewritten to be about two retired guys (Redford and Newman). A lot of people are very happy the movie will not be made because they do not believe it would capture the trail life. Based on my memory of the book, I do not think Bryson captured trail culture. Maybe its best the film is not made.

We got a shuttle around the Kennebec River today. Shilo's son, John, lives in Maine. He had a pickup truck we could all fit in.

At the start of the trip I knew there would be a natural end point. I did not ever make Katahdin a primary goal. It always seemed to be an artificial goal. I think a good end point would have been around the Mahoosuc Notch. I think I could have left the trail then without regret. I'm on the trail now only because I don't want to get off this close to the end. However, if this is a spiritual journey, now is exactly the time to get off.

I no longer find pleasure in walking the trail. It may be that Maine's trail is just too poorly constructed and maintained to enjoy. I read that most of the trail in Maine was constructed after 1968. The trail people in Maine write about the rugged nature of the trail. What they really did was create a poorly engineered and maintained trail. They are using the "rugged" to mean poorly constructed. I know of no one who enjoys this part of the trail.

Memphis Tim said he read one of Earl Shafer's books. He said Earl talked about how much he enjoyed Maine during his first thru hike in 1946 and how much he hated what happened to Maine's trails during his third thru hike in 1998. You can not look at anything in this state except your feet while you are walking.

I'm at the Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to tonight with Memphis Tim, Limeonaid, Stripe, Pipper, and Forest Gimp. What,s interesting is how we broke up in groups based on yesterday's shuttle. Pipper, Forest Gimp, and Stripe made sure they were on the first very over crowded shuttle. Memphis Tim, Limeonaid, and I were willing to wait. I think we are all slackers lacking competitive drive.

Day 123 - Pierce Pond Lean-to (August 9)

We got a late start because we could not fit on the first shutle. I think the first ones out stopped for breakfast because it took an hour and a half for Sue (hostile owner) to return. When we did get to the trail, we knew we would not have enough time to make it to the Kennebec River ferry before it closed so Memphis Tim, Limeonaid, and I decided to take our time to the shelter.

We stopped at the 2,000 mile marker in road to take pictures. This is a maker someone made in a previous year. We already crossed the 2,000 mile mark yesterday. I remember looking in the guide book at the mileage remaining when we had just passed the 2,000 miles to Katahdin mark. That distance was unimaginably large. Now the distance remaining is the same as the distance traveled to get to the 2,000 mile to Katahdin mark. I still can not imagine walking 2,000 miles even though it is something I already did.

It turned out the ferry was closed and will likely remain closed for days due to high water. The ferry is a canoe that somene uses to take hikers across the river. There is a hydroelectric dam upstream that releases water unexpectedly due to electric needs. People have drowned trying to cross the river so the ferry service was started.

We slogged out another 16 miles today. The terrain was relatively flat, but the trail is under water in many places. The trail is wet and slippey. It takes all of your concentration to keep from falling. Just another 155 miles remaining. I'm hoping to be at Katahdin in 7 days, and then take one day to summit. I don't know if this is possible with conditions as they are.

We had floating bog bridges to cross a one section. This seemed like it was something out of a tv reality show like Survivor. The bridges would sink to the bottom when you stepped on them, but you never knew what angle they would be when you finally put all of your weight on them. They were also very slippery.

We hear that we have to ford a couple streams that will be very high. It sounds like the worst that can happen is you might have to swim. The water is cold, but maybe not cold enough for hypothermia if the weather does not worsen.

We went to Harrison Camp in the afternoon to let them know we wanted in on beakfast. We met Shilow's son there who has a truck and is shuttling people around the river. It looks like we have a way around the Kennebec.

The loons are singing tonight. The thru hiker guide book talks about how rugged and unspoiled Maine is. This area is filled with logging roads and cabins on all of the lakes. The Boundary Waters is unspoiled, not Maine.

The average

According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the average thru-hiker takes six months to finish. Joe has only been on the trail for 4 months and 8 days.
So what do you people want from him? I mean do you you really expect him to finish that fast? What is he Bionic? Did you want him to rush thru the end to hurry back to work for the man? He's probably taking his time observing the mating habits of the Moose. Or perhaps he has joined a pack and is living with them for awhile.

So you need not worry. Plus very few people fall to their death, click on the title for the list of fatalities in Baxter State Park. It's usually heart attacks or exposure or your co-hiker clubs you to death for eating the last granola bar and tries to say they though it was a bear charging them.

Caryn I finally finished painting the stripes in the bedroom. It looks awesome. Thanks for your tips.

Not that I'm trying to scare you, but look at this video.

Click the title to see someone elses video.
Look what Joe will have to do. Scary!

Are you all holding your breath?

Well are you?

Web cam of Mt. Katahdin

Just click on the title for the link.

Day 122 - 2,000 Miles (August 8)

I just did my first 2,000 miles today. Since I'm not planning on returning to Georgia, I'm also hoping this is my last 2,000 miles. There are only about 170 miles remaining between me and Katahdin. I've actually walked many more miles than 2,000. The 2,000 miles are just trail miles.

The trail conditions may be the worst that they have ever been. Maine has had record rain and cold temperatures. The trails are streams. We are walking in ankle deep muck and mud. Everything is slippery. Climbs up and down are very dangerous. Possibly everyone has taken serious falls that could have taken them off the trail if they fell wrong. The streams are no longer all fordable, but information on which streams are not fordable is not being disseminated. The ferry at Kennebec River may or may not be closed tomorrow. If it closes, we will be stuck with no way across until it opens again.

Stripe, New Guy, Memphis Tim, and I slack packed Bigalow Mountain today. We got a shuttle to the south side of the mountain, and walked back to the Straton hostile. It was nice not having to walk with a heavy pack. The only reason I did this section is because I was with three other people. Bigalow Mountain has ridges above the tree line. It rained all day. The temperatures felt like it was near freezing at the higher elevations, and the wind was very strong. It was very relieved to be off the mountain.

Limeonaid arrived at the hostile from Rangely. She said that Loafy is talking about leaving the trail. He hiked back to Rangely when he saw the stream we crossed yesterday. I think he made a very good decision not to ford that stream. It was waist high and very fast with rapids just below where we forded. Fording that stream was one of the most dangerous things I did on the trail. Cricket is still at the Poplar Ridge shelter waiting for the waters to recede. People are giving him food while he waits.

If visibility was clear, we should be seeing Katahdin from the higher peaks. Unfortunately, visibility is less than a quarter mile. We have had very few views since entering Maine.

I'm hoping to be in Monson in three days if all of the rivers are fordable. Monson is the last resupply before the hundred mile wilderness. It should only be five days through the hundred mile wilderness. Katahdin should be the final day. It should be really good to finally see Katahdin, and then see it get closer and closer every day. However, it's possible we will not see Katahdin once until we are there unless the weather clears.

The weather and trail conditions are so bad that we are all just looking forward to finishing. I would like to hike the remaining miles. However, there may be many streams that are not fordable. I think nearly everyone has decided that we will keep hiking, and will do our best to hike every remaining mile as long as its safe. Blue and yellow blazing may be necessary in order to continue our hike to Katahdin. The weather forecast for the next week calls for rain. Waiting for the weather to clear doesn't appear to be an option at this time. There is no break in the rain in the forecast.

Day 121 - River Fording (August 7)

Today may have been the most dangerous day on the trail to date. I keep thinking that conditions can not get worse than they already have been, but conditions keep getting worse. Wait until you see the pictures of the river we had to ford. You can not imagine how stupid it is to continue on the trail.

It rained very hard all night long. By early morning, the rain decreased to just a drizzle. Zak and Barbara had a friend take their car to the Caribou road just off the AT. However, they moved their car because of the rain. Their friends did not think that the stream by Caribou road was fordable. We had heard that this stream was waist high yesterday. We had heard that the next stream was ankle deep and rising by mid afternoon yesterday. Zak and Barbara offered to give us a ride out. The weather forecast called for more rain and thunderstorms for this afternoon. We did not have enough food to wait more than another day for the weather to break and the streams to go down. We decided it was safest to get out as quickly as possible.

When Barbara, Zak, Loafy, Stripe, and I got to the stream, it was waist high, and not fordable. There were rapids downstream, and a waterfall entering the stream. We decided to trail blaze upstream to look for a better place to cross. There was an AT sign about a half mile back up the trail that we thought might be at an old logging road. We went back up the trail, but could not make any progress down what might have been an old logging road. We then went back toward the stream and found a moose trail we were able to trail blaze until we found a place in the stream that seemed more fordable.

Loafy decided when he saw the stream that it was not worth the risk of crossing. He was going to walk back to Rangley. Cricket was going to see every white blaze regardless of the risk. We left him at the shelter with some extra food so he could wait out the high water. Loafy may have been the only one who made the right decision.

I was tallest so I volunteered to cross the stream with a rope. Stripe and Zak held on to one end. I thought that if I fell, they would be able to prevent me from going down the rapids before where we were crossing. I got most of the way across, but did not think I could make it any further. My feet were slipping. I felt like I would lose my footing at any time.

Zak said that he is heavier and decided to try. He made it across the stream. We tied a rope across the river, which made crossing much easier. We all got across without a problem. Zak took the dog across in his backpack.

Once on the other side, we needed to find either the trail or the logging road that was shown on our maps. We had to walk a while through the woods parallel to the stream before we found the logging road. We had to walk at least 5 miles on the logging road before we met a logging crew who gave us a ride to Zak and Barbara's car.

We met Chris the New Guy at the hostile. He told us about how he had to swim across the stream at Caribou road. He fell while crossing, but was able to swim with his pack to the shore. He thought this was the most dangerous thing he's done on the trail.

After a very long day, we finally made it to Stanton where we are staying tonight. I will continue on the trail when I feel it's safe. I will blue blaze anything I feel is too dangerous. I will yellow blaze when blue blazes are not possible. Maine does not use bridges. All streams need to be forded. This doesn't make much sense. I'm sure they have access to the same money every other state has. What they are doing here is extremely dangerous. It will kill someone.

I have less than 200 miles to go. We are planning on slack packing Bigelow Mountain tomorrow. I could be on Katahdin in 10 days.

Day 120 - Saddleback Mountains (August 6)

I made a decision today that I will not ever question. I will never go above tree line unless I know what the weather is going to be. I heard that there was going to be rain. I heard nothing about winds. The trails are completely flooded. I slipped on my way up the mountains and cut up my left leg. No one has been able to walk without falling. The trail conditions are often so bad that you fall hard several times a day.

The winds were at least 40 miles an hour. They were faster than they were on Mount Washington. I had a good rain jacket. However, rain would fall on my hands, and then run into my sleeves. When ever I lifted my arms, water would run down my shirt. I knew that if I kept moving, I would be ok. If I stopped moving, I would have hypothermia before very long. There was no way to completely get out of the weather until you made it to a shelter. The ground is saturated. If you set up a tent, you would be sleeping in a puddle.

The real danger was not the wind and the rain. Nor was it the really bad trail conditions. The real danger was the combination of both the wind and rain, and the trail conditions. The trail conditions are so bad that if you break a leg or sprain an ankle, you will likely die of exposure. This is danger way beyond what I and most others on the trail think is reasonable.

I made it to the Poplar Ridge shelter by early afternoon. Stripe was already there. A couple (Zak and Barbara and their dog) from Baltimore was there as was a Southbounder whose name I did not get. Later Loafy and Cricket came in. I met both on my way to the shelter. I was really worried about Cricket. He was wet coming up Saddleback Mountain. He came in very late. I was hoping he turned around, but he came in safe. We were all packed in very tight for the night.

It poured all night long. I stayed in my sleeping bag almost the entire time I was at the shelter. I just ate a few snacks and never made dinner. A guy with a dog showed up late. We offered to make room, but it would have been hard with his dog. He decided to tent.

A rare glimpse of Rabbit

This is a photo from Certain's trail journal. It's our Rabbit, V8 and Auntie Mame when they were at lonesome lake hut in NH.

Day 119 - Rangely (August 5)

Stripe, New Guy, and I made it into Rangely early this afternoon after a fairly short 9 mile hike. We all needed to resupply here. Stripe is staying with a friend of his mom, and New Guy is heading back to the first shelter from the road. That shelter is only about a mile from the road so I decided to stay in town tonight. The next 35 miles to Straton will be very difficult miles. The mountains are high with peaks above the tree line, and the trail is nothing but muck and water. Rain is forecasted every day for at least the next 5 days.

Hitching with two other people was not a problem. We have all discussed hitching techniques. Some people believe its easier to hitch when you are with someone because the driver sees you are not a friendless loner. Others believe its easier to hitch alone because the driver will not feel out numbered. Stripe likes to give people a friendly wave as they pass to let them know we are friendly and its ok to stop. I think trying to get as clean as possible might help a lot, but I mostly get rides from guys in pickups who probably don't care about a little dirt.

I still have to find a place to stay. There is a hostile fairly close to town for $20. There is also Riff Raff's friendly about 4 miles away. They will come and pick you up if you call. I hear that Riff Raff's place is a good place to go if you like to stay up late. A friendly is usually someones house. They can not charge you to stay there, but a donation is accepted. I think a hostile has state established rules cooking and beds and stuff like that. Friendlies are usually much cheaper and often accept work for stay.

Trail conditions are so bad that I really don't want to get back on the trail tomorrow. I've just been thinking about doing the miles. I calculated that I may be able to finish with 12 more days on the trail. There are about 220 miles left. Those miles can be done in 12 days if all goes right. It might take longer. Those miles are all underwater, and we will be walking in ankle deep muck the entire way. It's supposed to rain every single day so we will be wet all day too. There are low clouds so there will be no views either.

I think the one reason that I'm staying on the trail now is that when ever it rains or the weather is bad, it will feel so good knowing that I do not have to walk hundreds of miles in it. There was a really interesting chapter in Moby Dick about how you can not know pleasure until you know discomfort. I agree. While the next 12 days will be mostly unpleasant, I think they will make all of the days I'm sitting at home while its raining outside that much more pleasant.

Day 118 - Slogging it out in the Muck (August 4)

The muck and rain is awful. The trail is underwater. The trail is a stream in many places. The muck is ankle deep with unseen holes that are knee deep. I stepped in one hole, and jammed my knee into a fallen log. Words can not describe how awful the trail conditions are here. What's worst is going up and down slopes. The rocks are wet and there are no rock stairs. One slip, and you can be off the trail for good.

Maine is getting record rainfall. Its been raining every day since I got into Maine, and the forecast calls for rain every single day. We are wet. Our feet are wet. Our shoes are soaked and very heavy. Walking is very difficult.

The shuttle driver told me this morning that he is taking northbounders off the trail now. They are quiting because of the rain and trail conditions. I've heard of other northbounders who are so disgusted with the weather and trail conditions that they are hitching to Monson to start the 100 mile wilderness. I think the trail gets a little less dangerous after Mount Bigelow. I still have about 60 miles of this stuff. After Bigelow, the trail will still be wet and mucky. I'm just hoping it will be less dangerous.

We had to ford a very fast moving stream today. Fortunately, there was a fallen tree across the stream. We sat on the tree and pushed our way across. If it wasn't for the tree, I have no idea how we could have safely crossed the stream. I was hiking with Stripe and Limeonaid at the time.

I'm at the Sabbath Day Pond lean-to with Stripe, Limeonaid, Cricket, and New Guy. We were talking about the danger level on the trail. The danger level is much higher than we expected or think is reasonable. The trail is very poorly maintained in Maine. Cricket wants to write letters to trail people letting them know how dangerous sections of the trail are here. I don't think anyone cares. It would have been nice to have had better warnings before starting the trail. There is a difference between physically difficult which is how this portion of the trail is usually described and physically dangerous which is what this portion of the trail actually is.

I noticed that I am hiking a lot slow lately. It helps to hike with others now. I can't seem to get into the same rhythm that I used to have. I think I'm getting burned out on all of the dangerous stuff we have to do on the trail, the awful trail conditions, and the weather. There are no views. Everything is wet. Walking is extremely difficult. Our shoes are very heavy with water and muck. I calculated that I can be on Katahdin 12 days after leaving Rangely, which I should be at tomorrow. I'm just slogging out miles now.

Day 117 - Landslide on Moody Mountain (August 3)

I did a section of the trail with a level of danger much greater than I want. I'm both angry about the lack of warnings and relieved to to have done it safely. I had even thought about walking off the trail I was so angry. However, there should only another 70 miles of this crazy stuff.

What happened was a landslide took out part of the trail leaving slick sloping muddy rock with a drop off at the edge. A thunderstorm developed after I left the last shelter. I was within a couple miles of a road and wanted to go to Andover to resupply. The best way to minimize my exposure to the lightning was to move quickly and get off the mountain.

The trail was a very steep incline up with several places with wooden and rebar ladders. At one point, a landslide took out the trail leaving a sloping and slick rock surface to cross. My options as I saw them at the time were to cross the landslide area to get out of the lightning as quickly as possible or walk 10 miles back to the last road.

I wanted to get out of the lightning so I crossed the landslide area. If I slipped, I would likely have fallen off the edge and dropped about 10 feet. The fall would not likely have killed me, but I doubt I could have continued on the trail. Bones would have snapped.

What made me really angry was the sign on the north side of the mountain warning people of the danger. A sign should have been posted at the last road south so that people would have the option of skipping this section. I was so angry with the trail people for not posting a second sign that I wanted to walk off the trail for good. Posting one sign is like warning people on only one side of a bridge that is out. This is not why I'm here. If I wanted to rock climb, I would have brought a rope and climbing gear. I do not want to take this level of risk.

This section of the trail has the most dangerous stuff than any other portion of the trail. There is often little attempt to make the trail walkable. The trail goes straight up and down mountains. If the bedrock is a smooth steeply sloped surface, it doesn't matter. The trail goes right up and over the mountains with no attempt to make it walkable.

There is a difference between physically difficult and physically dangerous. Several places in the trail have rebar ladders. More sections need rebar ladders or wooden ladders. Maybe Boomer can tell us how much effort is required to install climbing bolts. I would think that while this might take some time, rebar or wooden ladders would really help in places.

I met Brian today on his way back on the second portion of his yoyo. I first met him on Blood Mountain when Sonic and I were driven from the mountain by those unruly kids. It sounds like his hike is going well. He is dating Liz who stayed at the first hostile with Sonic and I.

I met a section hiker today who tried to tell me the last 20% of the trail takes 80% of the effort. I tried to tell him that if that were really true, then all of us Northbounders would only be doing 4 or 5 mile days. We are putting in the same level of effort we did over much of the trail, but that effort is only getting us about 75% of the miles we did in the middle states. We were not in good enough shape at the beginning to compare those miles. I think the Southern states took just as much effort as New Hampshere and Maine, but without as much danger and spread out over more miles. He also did not think there was any dangerous sections of the trail except in NH and ME, but those were the only sections he hiked.

I'm staying at a hostile in Andover. I'm getting good at hitching. A couple of guys in a pickup picked me up. I was very wet on a road with very little traffic. My cell phone had no signal and it was 9 miles to Andover. I was wondering how the day would end.

Day 116 - Mahoosuc Notch (August 2)

This was possibly the hardest day of the entire trip. I started at Carlos Col shelter. The trail went up and over mountains with no attempt at making any switchbacks or even finding a walkable route. I was going very slow watching my step, but even then I kept falling. I fell twice hard enough to break something. I also slipped off a boardwalk knee deep into a bog. Everything was mucky and muddy.

The Mahoosuc Notch was as hard as its reputation. It is a jumble of boulders that you have to climb over, squeeze through, and climb around. There were several times I had to take my pack off to get through a tight crack or hole.

The climb out of Mahoosuc Notch was very difficult. The climb went straight up over very slippery rocks.

There were times today that I did not know if I could go on much longer. I kept thinking about having to do this for the next 100 miles. There is really nothing I can do except to keep going and hope nothing breaks.

The trail got much better after Speck Pond. It looks like this section is maintained by the Maine Appalacian Trail Club. I hope they continue their good work for the next 100 miles. I'm at the Baldpate Lean-to tonight.

Day 115 - Georgia to Maine (August 1)

I stopped a just before the Maine border in shock that in a few feet I would have walked from Georgia to Maine. I sat on a rock and had some snacks as I looked aat the sign. After about a half hour, I got up, took some pictures, and walked into Maine.

The terrain is very difficult again. There were many places I had no idea how to get down. The rocks were often slick granites with no fractures or just a jumble of large boulders. I would eventually pick my way down.

The next 100 miles will be just as difficult. Many people believe these will be the hardest of the trail. I will go through Mahoosuc Notch tomorrow. Nearly everyone agrees this is the hardest mile of the entire trail. I'm just going to take it slow and be as careful as I can be.

I'm at the Carlos Col shelter. There are a bunch of Southbounders here. They have such a different attitude than we do. They are just like we were in Damascus. We thought we had walked such a long distance. We wanted to stay up late talking about the trail. Us Northbounders just want to eat, talk a little, and go to sleep.

I suppose its like getting a cool new job. You want to talk to your coworkers about work and just about anyone else who will listen. After a while, your job becomes just a job. My job is walking.

There is a Southbounder (Tea Bag) here tonight who walked from Key West to Alabama to Springer Mountain, which is about 1900 miles. He then went to Katahdin to walk back to Springer. He wants to do the international AT that goes into Canada. I think its about 4500 miles.

I gave up any thought of having dry feet with all of the rain. I've been walking in muck to my ankles.

The Hikers Paradise was not really a paradise, but at least it only cost 18 dollars. It was kind of run down. It was run by Bruno and his wife who I only briefly met. Bruno I think was from Russia and was kind of cheap. I had breakfast with 7 or 8 home fries.

Mahoosuc Notch, click this for better pictures.

This is said to be the hardest mile.
To get a more accurate idea click on this guy's link. It shows him crawling between boulders. Joe made it through but was angry that they didn't post a sign going north bound saying how dangerous it was. They posted a sign for the south bound people. He had to go thru in a storm and you can imagin how slippery those boulders would have been to navagate across.
Click on the title above.