| 8/18/01 - Stony Brook Campsite - 8.7 miles. Moon's Mom & Aunt
Blanche dropped us off back at the trail head this morning. Moon's Mom hiked 1 mile
to the Maine Junction with us. This is where the AT & Long Trail split. We
said our goodbye's & had a slow hiking day to this shelter. It always takes us a
day to get back "in the groove" after a day off. |
| 8/19/01 - Dan's Yard - 13.7 miles. It got pretty hot today and
practically no breeze. We had nice views from "the lookout". Now we
are camping about .1 miles from the trail at Dan's house. Dan is a guy who opens up
his barn & yard to hikers. A bunch of our friends are here & we are planning
to have a small BBQ. |
| 8/20/01 - Stealth Campsite - 15.4 miles. Today was overcast &
drizzle most of the day. The humidity was high & we were sweating buckets.
It did rain at one point but we were in a shelter. Tomorrow we head in to New
Hampshire! |
| 8/21/01 - Velvet Rocks Campsite - 7.3 miles. Crossed into New
Hampshire & the town of Hanover. We had a couple of town chores to do so we
spent most of the day there. Then we hiked to the 1st spot out of town where we
celebrated Mark's birthday (another thru-hiker). We hiked up beer, wine, Drakes
coffee cakes & candles. Johnny Steel presented Mark with a 2 1/2 lb can of Chef
Boyardee Ravioli! |
| 8/22/01 - Trapper John Shelter - 15.2 miles. Today was our 1st full
day in New Hampshire. We are going thru a drought area and there was only 1 place to
get water all day. That makes our packs pretty heavy because we have to carry extra
water. The situation doesn't look much better for tomorrow. |
| 8/23/01 - Bracket Brook Campsite - 15.2 miles. The water situation
was actually better today. We also had lots of great views from Smarts Mt. & Mt.
Cube. We are camped near a small brook, which is very nice. |
| 8/24/01 - Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff NH - 11.4 miles. Today
was gorgeous - nice & cool & sunny & clear. We walked to this hostel
& are spending the night here. |
| 8/25/01 - Wolf Mt. Campsite - 13.1 miles. We climbed Mt. Moosilauke
today, out 1st time above tree line on the AT! It was a perfect, clear day & we
could see for miles. Which means we saw what comes ahead - lots of big mountains!
The White Mountains of New Hampshire. |
| 8/26/01 - VISIT - Franconia
Inn, Franconia NH - 12.7 miles. We hiked past our first AMC Hut. In the White
Mountains the AMC (Appalachian Mt. Club) runs a series of huts, which offer bunk beds,
dinners, and breakfast. They are a little expensive ($60+) for thru-hikers to stay
every night, but we may splurge & stay at one along the way. We then hiked down
to Franconia Notch where we met my parents & they whisked us off to this lovely Inn
for 2 nights. |
| 8/27/01 - Franconia Inn - 0 miles. A nice day to be off - It was
raining in the morning & cloudy all day. We ran errands, toured Lincoln &
North Woodstock & relaxed w/ Mom & Dad. We also got our winter gear back, so
our packs have grown in size & weight. :( |
| 8/28/01 - Garfield Ridge Campsite - 11.7 miles. Today was awesome.
We hiked over Franconia Ridge, a section of rocky trail above treeline. The
views were great. We saw Mt. Washington, where we'll be in 3 days. We climbed
4 mountains that were 4,000 + ft! & we had a great time. |
| 8/29/01 - Stealth Campsite - 10.2 miles. It rained most of the
night & we woke up in a cloud. The rain made the rock scrambles we hiked over
pretty slippery. The day eventually cleared up, but remained quite cool. Had
some great views from Zeacliff. |
| 8/30/01 - Mizpah Springs Hut - 13.6 miles. Today was beautiful.
The day started out easy, but got progressively harder. We climbed up Webster
Mt. There are lots of rocky cliffs on the way to the summit, and the last mile or so
was a rock scramble. The views were terrific & made the climb worth it. We
had a very clear view of Mt. Washington & the Presidential Range. |
| 8/31/01 - Madison Hut - 11.8 miles. We climbed Mt. Washington in
the fog today. The rest of our hike was above treeline & in & out of clouds.
The winds were 40+ mph! It was actually pretty cool. We got to this hut
and scored a 'work for stay'. Each hut allows a certain number of thru-hikers stay
for free & we help them out. We helped clean dishes with 2 other hikers. |
| 9/01/01 - Pinkham Notch - 7.8 miles. We woke up to the end of a
storm. Conditions at Madison Hut were 50+ mph winds/ light rain/ ice / fog. We
hung out until 10 & decided to leave. Going was very trecherous - a thin
film of ice was on the rocks & winds were pushing us around. We took the bad
weather route around the summit of Mt. Madison but were still above treeline & very
exposed. The trail down was the steepest we had been on but a least we were quickly
in trees, and buffered from the wind. We got to the notch & were exhausted so
quit for the day. The weather there was sunny & cool, but we could see the
mountain tops were still in the clouds. |
| 9/02/01 - Zeta Pass Campsite - 8.5 miles. Got a late start &
climbed up Wildcat Mt. We were pretty slow today because I (Honey) banged up my knee
yesterday during our descent. Today was nice though. We will hike into Gorham,
NH tomorrow & take a much needed rest day. |
| 9/03/01 - Hikers Paradise Hostel, Gorham, NH - 12.6 miles. We had a
nice hike today. We stopped at the shelter right before town where there was a
birthday party for a fellow hiker, Mala. They even had hiked up a full keg of Samual
Adams! We also reunited with our friends Hipbone & Mt. Goat! We are
staying with them at this Hostel. |
| 9/04/01 - Hikers Paradise Hostel - 0 miles. We took the day off
doing town chores & another couple we haven't seen in awhile caught up to us -
Litefoot & Featherweight. We spent some time catching up & went out to
dinner together. Still feeling pretty tired but hoping to get out of town tomorrow. |
| 9/05/01 - Hikers Paradise Hostel - 0 miles. We took another day off
because I (Honey) have a cold. I was feeling abit better, and we are anxious to be
back on the trail tomorrow & heading towards Maine. |
| 9/06/01 - Gentian Pond Campsite - 11.8 miles. Headed out of town,
finally! Going was slow since I was still feeling a bit run down. My head is
stuffy & makes it hard climbing hills. The day was gorgeous and it felt good to
be out hiking towards Maine! We are camped 4.7 miles from the border. |
| 9/07/01 - Full Goose Campsite - 9.6 miles. We crossed into Maine
around noon today. I don't think it has sunk in that we are in our final state -
~276 miles to go. The trail today was pretty rocky, getting us ready for tomorrow
when we go through Mahoosuc Notch & Arm, the 'toughest part of the AT'. We are
ready! |
| 9/08/01 - BaldPlate Lean To & Campsite - 12.0 miles. We made it
through the Notch no problem! It was fun scrambling over & under bolders, then
it was a tough climb up Mahoosuc Arm. The weather has been pretty hot so far in
Maine - 80's during the day! Most of the views are hazy, but still pretty. |
| 9/09/01 - The Andover Guest House, Andover, ME - 8 miles. Hiked
into our first Maine town today. It's pretty small & about 8 miles off the
trail. We got a hitch pretty easily at the trailhead to this Guest House & are
getting all our town chores done. Moon now has my cold so we may take tomorrow off
or make it a short day. |
| 9/10/01 - Andover, ME - 0 miles. We decided to take off to let Moon
get over the cold. Lots of hikers have been sick - probably from going through the
huts in NH & coming into contact w/ lots of people & kids. |
| 9/11/01 - South Arm Rd. (Andover) - 10.1 miles. Moon was feeling
better so we hit the trail. It was a gorgeous day for hiking - cooler temps &
breezy. We are planning on camping out, but when we got to the road the guy from the
guest house was there & we decided to head back to hear the news - NYC & Wash D.C.
were bombed by terrorists! Aweful news, but we wanted to hear what had happened.
We'll head back to the trail tomorrow. |
| 9/12/01 - Bemis Stream Campsite - 12.5 miles. It was another great
day for hiking. We climbed Old Blue - which had nice views of the Maine countryside. |
| 9/13/01 - Piazza Rock Campsite - 15.7 miles. We passed lots of
ponds today - but didn't see any moose. Saw lots of tracks & poop, though.
We hiked most of the day with our friends Litefoot & Featherweight. They
are a fun couple to hike with & have really lightweight gear, which they made. |
| 9/14/01 - Orbeton Stream Campsite - 11.8 miles. We finally got our
wish - cooler weather! It was cold most of the day - we hiked with our jackets,
gloves, & hats on. The views from Saddleback Mt. were great & the wind gusts
were too! We were above treeline a couple of times today and had good views of our
upcoming mountains. |
| 9/15/01 - Crocker Cirque Campsite - 11.3 miles. It was another cool
day, and the skies were clear. We got to camp a little early for a change &
played cards with our 'neighbors' - Barry & Tommy. Tomorrow we are heading to
Stratton to EAT. |
| 9/16/01 - WhiteWolf Inn, Stratton, ME - 7.3 miles. We awoke to
another brisk morning. We climbed South & North Crocker Mts (both 4,000
footers), and then made our way into town. There are a lot of hikers at this Inn
& the hostel next door. |