Mile 1997.1 Stratton, ME

Sun 8/17

After another zero day at the Yellow Deli, I took the town bus to Killington and hiked out 13 miles to "The Lookout." The Lookout is privately owned cabin that's left open for hikers to stay in. 

And the view from the top...

Mon 8/18

I had lunch at a local market with Songbird and Bypass, an older married couple I haven't seen since they started their flip-flop. A flip flop is when a hiker hikes north halfway and then south from Katadhin. Hikers will choose to flip flop if they can't make it to Katadhin in time. When I made it in to West Hartford, I crossed the bridge and the owners of this house across the street were sitting on their porch and rang a bell for me when they saw me approaching. Randy and his wife invited me in and cooked me dinner and I spent the night in their garage, furnished with a mattress and couches for hikers. 

19 miles for the day.

Tues 8/19

Randy and his wife made me breakfast in the morning. I hiked to meet Sloth and Southbound staying at a house in Norwich. In Hanover, there is a list of people that are willing to take in hikers. The house I ended up staying at was right there on the trail in Norwich, two miles before Hanover. The owners of the house weren't even home but their dog sitter agreed to take care of us. We walked into Hanover in the evening, crossing over the Connecticut River and the VT/NH state line. 

Hanover is a nice trail town and home to Dartmouth College. 

The movie Animal House with John Belushi was based on experiences from Dartmouth. 

Hanover had lots of free stuff for hikers. The pizza place gives a free slice of pizza to all hikers that stop in. Not only did we each get a free slice, we also got a whole pizza for free. Hikers get free donuts at the donut shop and free cookies at the convent store. 10 miles for the day.

Wed 8/20

I hung out in Hanover all day. Here was a farmers market on campus.

I hiked out 3 miles about and camped just past Velvet Rocks Shelter.

Thurs 8/21

I hiked about 6 miles and after taking a short side trail, I came upon this amazing lodge in the middle of the woods. I was at the Dartmouth Outing Club's Class of 66 Lodge. The DOC is the first and largest collegiate outing club in the nation. They are also responsible for maintaining over 70 miles of the AT. The Class of 1966 Lodge is pretty impressive. It has a kitchen, balcony, and a large fireplace. I was with Turbo, Pocahontas, Maverick, and Bushay. The front door was locked but the back door was open. We went inside and found a bunch of sleeping bags and gear laid out upstairs. People were obviously staying here and we probably shouldn't be in there. After awhile, the group hiked on and I called Sloth and Southbound to come check this place out. This was the best find on the whole trail so far and I didn't want them to miss it. Southbound and Sloth show up along with Trip and Balloo. We make ourselves at home eating dinner and playing the board game, Settlers of Catan. Eventually we went to sleep. Around midnight we were awoken by a group of Dartmouth students that made their way back to the lodge. We kept quiet hoping to go unnoticed, but after a while, one of the girls found a pair of trekking poles and a fuel bottle that wasn't there in the morning when they left. The longer we wait, the more awkward of an encounter we would inevitably have. Balu ran downstairs and introduced herself as a thruhiker and told them that we wandered in and had been sleeping here. They didn't seem to mind and even apologized for having made so much noise when they came in. 

Fri 8/22

Stardust and I hiked to Ice Cream Man, Bill Ackerly's home. Bill gives ice cream to all the thru hikers that come to his house.

The sign reads:

"BILL ACKERLY 

His ice cream brings all the hikers to the yard.

His water tastes better than yours

Damn right, his croquet game is better than yours

It's all FREE yeah there's NO charge!!"

We arrived to his house on a special day. Today is Bill Ackerly's 86th birthday. He shared cake with us all and we sang him Happy Birthday.

We camped on his porch that night. 8 miles for the day. Here is a view from Holts Ledge in the fog.

Sat 9/23

We played some croquet in the morning.

I hiked over Smarts Mountain and camped at Hexacuba Shelter. 11 miles for the day. Here is the Smarts Mountain fire tower on the top of Smarts Mountain.

This is a mushroom.

Sun 8/24

I hiked Mt. Cube in the morning and took in some nice views from above the clouds.

I camped out back at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. They had an outdoor shower out back and I was able to wash my clothes in the sink.

In the evening, we watched a movie about the PCT called The Wizards of the PCT (as if I need more motivation to hike another long distance trail in the future). 14 miles for the day.

Mon 8/25

Today's hike was up and over Mt. Moosilauke. I think this was the biggest climb of trail so far with over 3000 feet change in elevation. Lathe new tradition is to hike Moosilauke in a dress. I didn't do it. There weren't many dresses left for us at Hikers Welcome.

The hike down was difficult. It was steep and very slippery.

Atleast we had beautiful waterfalls and cascades all the way down.

At the bottom, Miss Janet was waiting for us with her van. We could hear the distinctive honk of Miss Janet's van from a mile away and started running down as soon as we heard her. Miss Janet drove us and a bunch of other hikers to Chet's Place and cooked for us. Chet's Place is a donation based hostel out of Chet's home but it's not listed in the guidebook. Chet wants only thru hikers staying at his house. Chet's personal story is pretty remarkable in itself. Chet was planning on thru hiking the AT many years ago. The night before he was to head out on his journey, he was testing his stove and it exploded leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, partially blind, and lucky to be alive. Chet received a settlement from the well known gear company and opened up his home for hikers. 

Here I am with Chet and Stardust.

9 miles for the day. Less than 400 miles remain.

Tues 8/26

I hiked 13 miles with Stardust from Kinsman Notch to Lonesome Lake Hut. The plan was to make it to Franconia Notch and go back to Chet's Place but there was an opportunity for work-for-stay at the hut. For a little work on our part, perhaps sweeping the floors or washing dishes, we get to sleep on the floor in the dining hall and eat their leftovers. Here is the view from Kinsman.

Might as well brush your teeth while you're up there too.

Look at all the leftovers we get.

I passed mile marker 1800 today.

Wed 8/27

We went swimming at Lonesome Lake in the morning. That's Franconia Ridge in the background. We'll be climbing that tomorrow!

After breakfast and sweeping the floors at the hut, Stardust and I hiked 3 miles to Franconia Notch. We met a nice girl in the parking lot as she was coming back from a day hike and she drove us back to Chet's Place. It started raining so instead of getting back on trail we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and spent another night at Chet's.

Thurs 8/28

I hiked Franconia Ridge today over Mt. Liberty, Little Haystack Mountain, Mt. Lincoln, and Mt. Lafayette. Franconia Ridge is one of the most epic sections of trail on the AT. 

I found Canyonman. Canyonman flip flopped after Harpers Ferry and I've been looking forward to meeting up with him since I saw him last time at Trail Days.

I spent the night at Galehead Hut. 13 miles for the day.

Fri 8/29

I ate breakfast at the hut and then went off to hike South Twin Mountain.

South Twin is another one of my favorite places on the trail so far with views of Mt. Washington.

I ran into Miss America on this summit. Here is another flip flopper that I haven't seen in forever.

I had some more sweet views today. I love the Whites!

I hiked down to Zealand Falls Hut but I had no cell reception there and my friend from home, Anna, is on her way to visit me on trail tonight. I ran back up the mountain a few miles until I was able to make a phone call and tell Anna to meet me at Zealand Falls. Anna showed up a few hours later with her friend, Chuck. We stealth camped on the trail just past the falls. 

Sat 8/30

I woke up early so I could hike the 8 miles to Crawford Notch. Anna and Chuck were going to meet me there with their car. 

When I got to the notch, a man was set up and doing trail magic, making hikers breakfast out of his truck and giving out food and supplies.

We hiked a tough 6 miles to Mizpah Hut where we ate soup from the hut. We the three of us got a work for stay at the campsite taking nails out of wooden planks.

Sun 8/31

Anna and Chuck were hoping on getting to climb Washington but the weather report wasn't great and Anna had a return flight to catch. So they did Eisenhower with me and went back down on their own.

I hiked on to Lake of the Clouds Hut by myself. When I arrived here, I was in a cloud. 

I went inside the hut and got a bowl of soup and asked the croo member if I can have a work for stay. I arrived around 2 and the girl said they don't start taking hikers in until after 3. I asked if I could stay in "The Dungeon" where thru hikers can stay for $10. I was told that they don't send people to the dungeon until after they fill their work for stays. I was being forced to hike on to Madison Hut, up and over Mt. Washington. I wasn't happy about it. I really wanted to stay at the Lake of the Clouds Hut and didn't want to hike Washington in bad weather. Mt. Washington is known for having the worst weather in the country. The highest wind speed recorded on earth was from Mt. Washington at 231 mph. The book, Not Without Peril, tells the stories of death and misadventure on this mountain. At over 6000 ft, Mt. Washington is the highest mountain in New England and the second highest point on the AT.

Well, I did it - in heavy fog, strong winds, and rain!

Mt. Washington is weird. The summit was filled with people, very few of whom actually hiked there. Mt. Washington has an auto road where people can pay to drive up as well as a cog train taking people up the mountain. People drive up the mountain, go inside a building with a gift shop and concessions, and watch the view from the mountain on a big screen. I hiked down to Madison Hut and didn't get in until after dark. I was miserable. Normally, I love hiking in extreme conditions - the dark, rainy, windy, and cold. But not tonight, not after getting rejected at the hut and forced to hike on. And I fell a few times too. These rocks were slippery. But then, when I finally arrived at Madison, I was welcomed in by the amazing croo members working there and I got to hang out with my friends at Madison. Sloth, Southbound, Skippy, Didgeridude, and Voodoo were all there. 12 miles for the day.

Mon 9/1

I walked over to Star Lake in the morning.

Here is Madison Hut.

Then I spent time on Madison with Sloth and Southbound.

We hiked down and stealth camped at Pinkham Notch, just past the visitor center. 8 miles today.

Tues 9/2

We hitched into Gorham and took a zero day. We ate breakfast at a coffee shop and hung around until they asked us to leave. We sat around outside one of the hostels/motels in town until they shut down the wifi on us. Loitering is what what hikers do best. In the evening, I washed my clothes in the bathroom of the Dunkin Donuts and then we hung around there for a while. We hitched back and stealthed, this time just south of the visitor center. 

Wed 9/3

We were woken up in the morning by a trail crew coming through with brush saws. Quietly, we packed up and snuck out of there. I hiked up and over the Woldcat Mountains and camped up on Carter. Night hiking alone above treeline is pretty awesome. Nice sunset too.

10 miles today.

Thurs 9/4

We hiked into Gorham and met Southbound's parents. They took us out to dinner and got us a cabin for the night. 11 miles for the day. Less than 300 miles remain.

Fri 9/5

Another zero day. Thanks to Southbound's parents for taking us to breakfast and resupplying us with food. There was a waterfall where we were staying. We cooked out there, sang songs, and got a little wet under the waterfall.

Sat 9/6

We were treated to breakfast again and then had to say goodbye to Sputhbound's parents, John and Sam. 

We hiked out a couple miles and set up camp in the middle of the afternoon. We didn't have water with is but it rained and we used a tarp to collect water for ourselves.

Sun 9/7

Today I hiked about 14 miles and camped right before the Maine border. Here was another sunset hike above treeline, this time on Mt. Success.

I passed the 1900 mile mark tonight.

Mon 9/8

We made it to Maine!!

We hiked Mahoosuc Notch, described in the guide as being the most difficult/ fun mile of the entire trail.  It's a 1 mile long boulder pit. It took a us a couple hours. 

We camped just past the notch with Skippy, Stardust, and Didgeridude. 8 miles for the day.

Tues 9/9

In the morning, I climbed Mahoosuc Arm. This was my favorite climb of the trail. Exposed rock slabs made it possible to run straight up the mountain. I made it up Old Speck Mountain and then got some trail magic at Grafton Notch. A 2012 hiker, Brawny, was coming back from a short section hike and overheard me mention that I was out of food. He just gave me a bunch of his food. I ate about half of it right there on front of him. I was pretty hungry. And then I got an even better suprise, No Parents No Bedtime caught up to me! NPNB is a group I was hiking with for a while at the beginning but haven't seen in over a thousand miles! I contined on, night hiking Bald Plate Mountain and camping at Fry Notch Lean-to. 13 miles today.

Wed 9/10

I hiked 4 miles with Skippy and Stardust and tried hitching into Andover. We waited a couple hours by the road. It's hard getting a hitch when you're at a road with no cars driving by. We walked a few minutes down the road where we got cell service and called for a shuttle.

We stayed at the Pine Ellis hostel.

Thurs 9/11

We hiked 10 miles through the rain with NPNB and stayed at The Cabin, the other hostel in town. 

Pine Ellis was nice, but The Cabin was even better - perhaps even my favorite hostel so far. 

Fri 9/12

I slackpacked southbound 13 miles with NPNB and spent another night at The Cabin.

Honey and Bear, the owners of The Cabin, make dinner and breakfast for all their guests. Baltimore Jack has been staying here for a few days and made us dinner tonight, relieving Honey and Bear of their duties for the day. The relarionship between Baltimore Jack and the hostel go back to 2001 when Jack was doing one of his thru hikes (he hiked 9 times). When the attacks of September 11th happened, Honey and Bear knew that hikers were coming into Grafton Notch that day. They sent out shuttles and picked up the hikers, bringing them back to their hostel and letting them stay there for a few days. Baltimore Jack was one of these hikers.

After dinner, something special happened. They flipped the table over and we got to sign the bottom of the table.

This is a very rare event at The Cabin. The table hasn't been flipped for a couple years. If you look closely, you'll I'm signing the wrong year. You really do lose track of time out here! And here is the signature of Earl Shaffer, the first person to thru hike the AT.

Shaffer thru hiked three times. He hiked in 1948, making him the first person to thru hike the AT. In 1965, he hiked southbound, making him the first person to thru hike both directions. And then in 1998, at age 79, he hiked again, becoming the oldest thru hiker at that time. The age record has since been broken, but his feat is still pretty remarkable. 

Sat 9/13

I hiked 15 miles to Piazza Rock Lean-to. I saw Kwamp along the way, another flipper I haven't seen since the beginning of Virginia. Piazza Rock has this privy- a 2-holer with a cribbage board in the middle.

Sun 9/14

I hiked 9 miles and stayed at Poplar Ridge Lean-to with NPNB. I hiked Saddleback Mountain today and a couple other peaks as well- Horn and Saddleback Junior.

The seasons are changing and it's starting to get cold out.

Mon 9/15

I hiked today with Turtle. We hiked the section where a woman disappeared last year. Geraldine Largay, a 66 year old long section hiker went missing and was never found. We skipped a side trail that I had been looking to hiking since I talked with Gut Hook about it when were in Virginia. Mt. Abraham is the 1.7 mile side trail that Gut Hook recommended. But I was tired and at this point in the journey, even a 0.3 side trail is way too far. We camped at the South Branch Carrabasset River. 13 miles for the day.

Tues 9/16

We hiked Crocker Mountain and hitched into Stratton. 8 miles for the day. I shared a motel room with Turtle, Didgeridude, Buchanan, and Bikini. Here, lunchtime with Hawkeye, Bekini, and Buchanan. 

Wed 9/17

Still in town. I resupplied and ended up sharing another room at a motel- this time with Rock Sloth, Simba, and Blue Bird. It feels great just to sit in town and do nothing!