Mahoosuc Notch ...

Koopa making her way...


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Mahoosuc Notch ...

Big Ooh and Koopa make their way through the Mahoosuc Notch ...


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Andover, Maine...

Shortly after leaving Andover, Maine (over a week ago) my Verizon HTC Imagio died ... AGAIN! I'm now on my fourth Imagio. Ugggghhhh....

Luckily, the camera feature worked (most of the time) and I was able to record several photos to the expanded 16mb chip (which is now plugged into my "new" phone).

This photo of Andover makes the town look bigger than it really is. To be honest the town is a block long and consists of a small general store, breakfast restaurant, a beautiful park and this town hall building.

Rollin on,
Yahtzee

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Dinner Treat...

Most dinners are freeze dried (since they're light weight) but this was a special treat I served up for myself recently. Mmmmmm.... Ravioli. Cooking it directly in the can saved me from having to wash my cook pot.

Sometimes it's the small things that can make a tough day bearable.

Rollin On,
Yahtzee


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The Beauty of Maine...

While Maine represents a very difficult section of the AT it also contains some of the most visually stunning sights. This small, trailside, waterfall is another example of the treasures I pass daily.

Rollin On,
Yahtzee

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Mud, Bogs and Logs...

While Maine may not have bridges spanning all of the rivers and streams, that cross the AT, it does offer plenty of log bridges. This is a photo of a relatively new log bridge construction, note the duel planks, lack of moss on the walking surface and considerably level nature of the platform. This walkway went on for approximately an 1/8 of a mile before plopping hikers back onto more solid terra firma.

Without these log bridges the trail would be impassable in places, especially the bogs. Big Ooh recently pressed his hiking pole into the muck, to a depth of over three feet, and still didn't touch the bottom. This makes it pretty important to keep one's balance when traversing the log. This can be made much more challenging with the presence of moss growth, broken planks, single log bridge construction (of which there are many) or washed out underpinnings which cause the bridge to sway, rock and sometimes pop up like a teeter-totter.

Not all log bridges span bogs ... some simply provide a pathway over notoriously muddy sections of trail, which the beautiful state of Maine has plenty of. In fact, Maine seems to have more mud diversity than I've had the pleasure of experiencing anywhere else in my life's travels. There's sticky mud, slippery mud, watery mud, hard mud, deep mud, quicksand style mud, stinky mud and, of course, dried mud (which isn't just regular old dirt, since it retains foot, hoof and paw prints ... which are pretty cool).

Yes, mud is part of a hiker's daily existence up here. Ahhhh Maine. Thanks for the mud memories...

Rollin on,
Yahtzee



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Friendly Faces ...

One benefit of flip flopping is the opportunity to reconnect with people who I haven't seen in months. Today (8/26/10) I was taking a short break on the peak of Spaulding Mountain and who walks up? Chopsticks (aka: snakebite). He's a super nice guy who is hiking to raise funds and awareness for abused children. We met way back down south and got to know each other due to the fact that, back then, he would take zero days ... which would allow slower hikers, such as myself, to catch up. Since Chopsticks can hike 30+ miles a day it didn't take too long before he put in more mileage than I could make up.

He said he met up with Boston Dan, in Boston, and the two of them went to the racetrack. No surprise since Dan used to discuss his love of all things racing, especially cars. According to Chopsticks, Boston Dan might actually do a section of the Whites this year so who knows ... I might run into him too.

Well, back to the trail. I've achieved my planned stopping point for the day but it's too early to stop so I'm going to press on. Another three miles should get met to a better stopping point.

Rolling on,
Yahtzee



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Top of Avery...

The view from the top of Avery Peak wasn't much to write about. The winds were sustained at 30MPH and were gusting anywhere between 40-50MPH. I stopped to put my fleece on (which I held onto for dear life) and snap a couple shots before heading back down the other side to the scrubby treeline where there was a windbreak.

As I walked across the open expanse I noticed Big Ooh taking video with his camera. If we can figure out a way to post it I'll put it up. There was some leaning going on to stay upright...




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Map of Yesterday's Hike...

Hello from Stratton, Maine! Yesterday Koopa, Big Ooh and I hiked from Safford Notch Campsite to Maine Highway 27. It was "only" ten miles but it was a challenging ten miles nonetheless. The picture above is of the elevation profile for that section of trail.

Our first two miles went straight up the side of Bigelow Mountain, a 2,000 foot climb to Avery Peak.

We then descended to Bigelow Col. Thank goodness for that, since it provided a brief rest from the bone chilling cold. That said, it was our first real "down" and with the previous night's rain everything was slippery. Oy vey! Slow going...

Next was West Peak, more steep, slippery rock and high winds. Good times. After a few more quick photos on top we descended down West Peak, about 650 feet, to a rocky, rooty ridge walk.

The weather remained somewhat cold but it only threatened rain. My internal mantra of "sunny skies, dry trail" seemed to be unrealized but at least the clouds held the water fast and off of us. We climbed the South Horn and descended to Horns Pond, where we met the summer caretaker who was doing a bit of trail maintenance.

After that we climbed up and over another bump of mountain to start our 2,200 foot descent to Maine Highway 27. The going was slow during the first two miles down. The afore mentioned wet rocks, mixed with mud, slick roots and rock scrambling (actual climbing) put us somewhere around one mile per hour, a painfully slow pace.

Fast forwarding to our eventual arrival at the highway I stuck out my thumb and was surprised to get a hitch from the very first truck that drove by. Koopa, Big Ooh and I hopped in the back sweaty, tired and chilled but grateful for the ride. Dennis, our driver, opened the split window and, from the cab, offered us ice cold beers which were in a cooler in the bed of the truck. Since riding in the open bed of a pickup is questionable already, we decided to pass on the offer and save ourselves from a visit to the town jail. Then we smelled it ... hummmmm is that pot? We all looked at each other and then into the cab of the truck, where we saw Dennis drinking a beer and smoking a bowl. At the excessive speed of 75 miles per hour we made it into town in no time. Dropped safely at our destination Dennis wouldn't take no for an answer and drove away with each of us holding an ice cold Geary Maine brew. I almost kissed the ground.

Another day done. Another ten miles accomplished ... good food, hot showers and dry beds called.

Rollin in,
Yahtzee







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Me On Top Of West Peak...

Just as cold and windy as Avery, here I am on top of West Peak. Thanks to Big Ooh for snapping this pic.



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