Total trail mileage: 1901.1 (approx)
Starting location: Dream Lake
Ending location: Before Goose Eye Mountain north peak
Weather: Thunderstorm last night. 68 - 76 degrees during the day.
Cloudy and rain in the morning. Partly cloudy and hazy the rest of
the day.
I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=44.504886,+-70.989318
Once upon a time I could predict how long it would take me to get
somewhere and a 12-mile day was considered a Nero. But then, New
Hampshire and Maine came along. I couldn't make my 12-mile target.
Yea, I slept in and got a very late start. But still, that shouldn't
have been a problem. The trail today was half hiking and half
climbing. The climbing part would have been fine but the rocks were
wet, I have a pack on my back, and I don't have my climbing shoes. I
was trying to be careful, so I was going really slowly. And then it
started to get dark and I was hearing thunder so I decided to stop.
Last night I thought something ran into my hammock. It felt like some
animal bumped into the tarp. What really happened is that one side of
the tarp was pitched too close to the horizontal so the rain water
accumulated until it overflowed.
My pack is falling apart :(. The zipper along the front pouch is
coming unstitched. I knew I put safety pins in my first aid kit for a
reason. Hopefully they hold until Katahdin.
These shoes let water flow through in the smallest of puddles and
streams. It isn't bad for this stretch as I was going to get wet
anyway (and being able to quickly dry is more important), but if I had
these shoes in March I probably would have had frostbite. The water
was cold at times and this is the middle of summer.
I HAVE NOW COMPLETED MY THIRTEENTH STATE. New Hampshire is done.
Only one state left! New Hampshire had a lot of rocky climbs and
descents, a lot of views, and a lot of hiking above treeline. So far,
New Hampshire was my most difficult state but also my favorite state.
Well, I told everyone that I was heading to Maine and now I have
reached Maine. So now I am done; mission accomplished. Wait, what?
There is almost 280 miles left? And these are the most difficult?
Well, I better get walking.
Tomorrow I go through the Mahoosuc Notch. It is considered the most
difficult mile on the trail and requires a lot of boulder scrambles
and crawling. Supposedly most people take 2 - 3 hours to do the one
mile. I hope the rocks are a little drier than they were today. If
not, I might need even more time to get through the Notch.
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