I am currently in Bangor, ME. I summitted yesterday with Rocko, Filadelfia Greenberg and Hangman. In keeping with the rest of the trip after gorgeous weather through the 100 mile wilderness we summitted Katahdin completely in a cloud. I will be driving back to NYC with my parents today and then staying in NYC for about 10 days. During that time I will update my blog on my travels from Stratton to Katahdin and add pictures.
Right now it just feels a little weird, like I am taking a zero day, but not really. I think in a couple of days it will sink in that I have actually finished. I have been hiking almost every day for the last 5 and a hlaf months and it feels a bit weird to stop. For the longest time Katahdin was this big thing, very fay away, then it was close, and finally I was on top. Now it is in the past. However while on trail I had been focused on finshing and being able to stop, I am still half thinking that I need to pack my bag and start hiking. Instead I will enjoy a continental breakfast and get in a car.
Now that I am back in the 21 century I would love to get back in contact, so feel free to email me at berlissj@hotmail.com or call at 305-360-1339, and I will actaully respond within a reasonable amount of time.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
The Hardest Mile
I am currently in Stratton, ME 1,987 miles from Springer and 187 to Katahdin. I am staying at a hostel with Rocko after having left Shadow behind this morning. It was a combination or personality conflicts finally going beyond the point of no return and him not being able keep the pace I now need to follow. So while I am showered and curently sitting in a towel waiting for my clothes to get clean, he is taking a zero day, recovering at the last shelter.
We got a late start in the rain from Gorham after taking care of mail and hiked 11 not too bad miles to the first shelter. This was one of the few shelters with a view. However it was raining. From there we went on into Maine. We were now in the promised land. However the milage was tough. We arroved at the shelter before Mahoosuc Notch and realized it had taken us until almost 3pm to hike 11 miles. We decided that with the rain we had seen we would not attempt the hardest mile on the AT. The next morning we went into Mahoosuc Notch and up Mahoosuc Arm. For the five miles from shelter to shelter we took 4 and a half hours with one major fall. Luckily it only resulted in bruised shins. Mahoosuc Notch is a mile of crawling over, around and under boulders and crevices. At that shelter I realized my water filter had fallen out during the traverse through the notch. I left a note in the sheter journal about it with my phone number. I just received a phone call from someone who had seen it 15 feet down an unreachable crevice. It is a sacrifice to the trail gods. Fortunately I had enough iodine to get to the next town. We then pushed on, but had to call it again after about 12 miles for the day. At the road before the shelter we were all feeling a bit down and we took a bit of a long break. Then the park ranger drove into the parking lot and offered us sodas. He told us about the wonderful trail magic that took place earlier in the day. We were a bit saddened, but then that church group came back and reheated chili for us and made the day all better.
The next day we saw something unusual, the sun. We went up and over the Baldplates and I was able to see Mt. Washington for the first time. We were now 70 trail miles away. I did not see it at all in New Hampshire, even when I went over it. It was gorgeous to be in the sun again and see the beuatiful Maine landscape.
The next day Rocko again had to go into town for a mail drop and Shadow and I continued on. Instead of coming back to the trail on the same road, Rocko went ten miles ahead so Shadow and I had to catch her. We were unable to that day. We had another tough 12.8 miles to the next shelter and when we got there Shadow took his pack off and immediately fell asleep. At this point I had slowed down too much to wait for him to get better. I needed to go further to be able to get in and out of Rangeley the next day to get back on schedule. So I needed to push on, and Shadow refused to stop despite his obvious need for rest. We camped that night near the next stream and I let him know that I could no longer afford to wait for him at any point. That night we recieved a couple of drops of rain to end my sunny day streak at 1. That is correct, only one day without rain since I crossed into Vermont.
In Rangeley the next day we met up with Rocko and waited out a rainstorm while eating lunch. We continued out of town to the shelter sponsored by L.L. Bean. This shelter had a privy with two seats and a cribbage board between the two seats. Unfortunately no one else at the shelter knew how to play. I left last that morning and ended up at the next shelter before Shadow and Rocko. I got very worried and left messages with several southbounders for them. It turns out that they took a wrong turn and I passed them when they were off trail. Shadow came into the shelter in a foul mood and looking horrible so I left him alone for a while. Later we had our last blow up and we are now going our seperate ways. I left early the next morning without a goodbye and I am now listening to the rain outside while I am watching the olympics inside. Only one more town stop before Katahdin
We got a late start in the rain from Gorham after taking care of mail and hiked 11 not too bad miles to the first shelter. This was one of the few shelters with a view. However it was raining. From there we went on into Maine. We were now in the promised land. However the milage was tough. We arroved at the shelter before Mahoosuc Notch and realized it had taken us until almost 3pm to hike 11 miles. We decided that with the rain we had seen we would not attempt the hardest mile on the AT. The next morning we went into Mahoosuc Notch and up Mahoosuc Arm. For the five miles from shelter to shelter we took 4 and a half hours with one major fall. Luckily it only resulted in bruised shins. Mahoosuc Notch is a mile of crawling over, around and under boulders and crevices. At that shelter I realized my water filter had fallen out during the traverse through the notch. I left a note in the sheter journal about it with my phone number. I just received a phone call from someone who had seen it 15 feet down an unreachable crevice. It is a sacrifice to the trail gods. Fortunately I had enough iodine to get to the next town. We then pushed on, but had to call it again after about 12 miles for the day. At the road before the shelter we were all feeling a bit down and we took a bit of a long break. Then the park ranger drove into the parking lot and offered us sodas. He told us about the wonderful trail magic that took place earlier in the day. We were a bit saddened, but then that church group came back and reheated chili for us and made the day all better.
The next day we saw something unusual, the sun. We went up and over the Baldplates and I was able to see Mt. Washington for the first time. We were now 70 trail miles away. I did not see it at all in New Hampshire, even when I went over it. It was gorgeous to be in the sun again and see the beuatiful Maine landscape.
The next day Rocko again had to go into town for a mail drop and Shadow and I continued on. Instead of coming back to the trail on the same road, Rocko went ten miles ahead so Shadow and I had to catch her. We were unable to that day. We had another tough 12.8 miles to the next shelter and when we got there Shadow took his pack off and immediately fell asleep. At this point I had slowed down too much to wait for him to get better. I needed to go further to be able to get in and out of Rangeley the next day to get back on schedule. So I needed to push on, and Shadow refused to stop despite his obvious need for rest. We camped that night near the next stream and I let him know that I could no longer afford to wait for him at any point. That night we recieved a couple of drops of rain to end my sunny day streak at 1. That is correct, only one day without rain since I crossed into Vermont.
In Rangeley the next day we met up with Rocko and waited out a rainstorm while eating lunch. We continued out of town to the shelter sponsored by L.L. Bean. This shelter had a privy with two seats and a cribbage board between the two seats. Unfortunately no one else at the shelter knew how to play. I left last that morning and ended up at the next shelter before Shadow and Rocko. I got very worried and left messages with several southbounders for them. It turns out that they took a wrong turn and I passed them when they were off trail. Shadow came into the shelter in a foul mood and looking horrible so I left him alone for a while. Later we had our last blow up and we are now going our seperate ways. I left early the next morning without a goodbye and I am now listening to the rain outside while I am watching the olympics inside. Only one more town stop before Katahdin
Into the Clouds, Part II
My last entry on my saga through the white (or cloudy) mountains of New Hampshire ended with me, Shadow and Rocko at Zealand Falls Hut for the night. From there we went on to Mizpah Hut. Rocko did not make it that night since she needed to pick up a mail drop and ended up staying at the campgrounds. That day ended with one of the two climbs that I will absolutely never go down, and definitely not in the rain. The Webster-Jackson Trail was hard enough ascending in the rain, do not go the other way. Mizpah is a great hut for a thru hiker. They have a library. So Shadow, Dartman and myself hung out up there during dinner, out of sight and out of mind. We then had a lovely ham dinner with the croo before retiring to the library for bed. By sleeping up there we were also able to sleep through breakfast. That extra hour and a half of rest was well appreciated.
Our next day was the Presidential tranverse. This is the one day that we had been hoping for good weather on. At least we did not get rained on. We hiked in a cloud across all the southern Persidentials and to the top of Mt. Washington. We took lunch up there with all the people who drove and took the railway up the mountain. We even wrote postcards and mailed them. From there we went on to the Northern Presidentials. As we got into the cols between the peaks we finally dropped out of the clouds and were able to enjoy some of the lovely scenery. Suprisingly enough the AT does not go over the summits, except for Washington. But there are short side trails or loops to all of them. We chose to skip all of the optional peaks since they were in the clouds. As we approached Adams, I really wanted to go up, but I was hearing thunder, so we pressed on on Madison Spring Hut. This is the hut with the friendliest crew. I even went to Carleton with one of them. Although he was a freshman when I was a senior so I did not know him, but we had friends in common. There were four other southbounders at the hut that night, but our work for stay was a thru hiker program. So for about an hour we talked witht the guests and answered their questions. Then we went back to the kitchen and had a beer with the croo.
The next day from Madison to Carter Huts was another rainy miserable day. We had debated not staying at Cartern Notch Hut since we had been hearing that they were very unfriendly to hikers. However we were able to get a note of introduction from the Madison Croo, so we decided to chance it. First we had to go over the Wildcats. The Wildcat Ridge trail is the other trail I will never go down. Especially not in the rain. There is a gondola, if you have the choice this is a much better option. When we got to the hut we handed our letter to the hut master and we were let in. Although the hutmaster did live up to her reputation of not being friendly (the ice queen), and it was the worst food of all the huts. It is amazing how far a little salt can go in making food edible.
Now we were out of the whites and had a relatively smooth ride into Gorham. We did not go all the way at once since we needed to pick up mail and we wanted to avoid two nights in town. We stopped short and the next day strolled into town and a day of watching the Olympics and drinking beer.
Our next day was the Presidential tranverse. This is the one day that we had been hoping for good weather on. At least we did not get rained on. We hiked in a cloud across all the southern Persidentials and to the top of Mt. Washington. We took lunch up there with all the people who drove and took the railway up the mountain. We even wrote postcards and mailed them. From there we went on to the Northern Presidentials. As we got into the cols between the peaks we finally dropped out of the clouds and were able to enjoy some of the lovely scenery. Suprisingly enough the AT does not go over the summits, except for Washington. But there are short side trails or loops to all of them. We chose to skip all of the optional peaks since they were in the clouds. As we approached Adams, I really wanted to go up, but I was hearing thunder, so we pressed on on Madison Spring Hut. This is the hut with the friendliest crew. I even went to Carleton with one of them. Although he was a freshman when I was a senior so I did not know him, but we had friends in common. There were four other southbounders at the hut that night, but our work for stay was a thru hiker program. So for about an hour we talked witht the guests and answered their questions. Then we went back to the kitchen and had a beer with the croo.
The next day from Madison to Carter Huts was another rainy miserable day. We had debated not staying at Cartern Notch Hut since we had been hearing that they were very unfriendly to hikers. However we were able to get a note of introduction from the Madison Croo, so we decided to chance it. First we had to go over the Wildcats. The Wildcat Ridge trail is the other trail I will never go down. Especially not in the rain. There is a gondola, if you have the choice this is a much better option. When we got to the hut we handed our letter to the hut master and we were let in. Although the hutmaster did live up to her reputation of not being friendly (the ice queen), and it was the worst food of all the huts. It is amazing how far a little salt can go in making food edible.
Now we were out of the whites and had a relatively smooth ride into Gorham. We did not go all the way at once since we needed to pick up mail and we wanted to avoid two nights in town. We stopped short and the next day strolled into town and a day of watching the Olympics and drinking beer.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Into the Clouds, part 1
I am currently in Gorham, NH 1,878 miles from Springer and only 297 to Katahdin. This leaves me with 19 days to do the 292 miles to Baxter State Park and summit on the 30th. So I need to average 15.5 miles a day for the next three weeks. Hopefully it should not be too hard, but the weather recently has been awful. I have been rained on everyday since I got into Vermont. Through the White Mountains we were either getting rained or, or walking in a cloud or both. Very few mountains gave us any kind of view. It also looks like the rain will not be stoppping any time soon. So I am ready to get wet and stay wet.
Update on Shadow Cast. He ended up spending two full nights in the hospital in Plymouth, and then we spent the next night in town to rest up a little more (John and Cathy, thank you very much). He left with a presciption for an anti-biotic which is messing with his stomach, and a steroid, which is messing with his mood. He has been able to make the miles we need to do, but is slower than his normal self. He is almost finished with the medications, and he hopes to be back to full speed in a day or two.
When we left Plymouth we took an easy day to the base of Mt. Moosilauke. This was our first big climb since Virginia. The next day we went up the easy side and had some views, but we also saw a big rain cloud moving in and did not stay too long. Coming down we had our first taste of wooden steps attached to the rock face. This was the first of many horrible descents in the Whites. We then puched on through Kinsman Notch and over the never ending Mt. Wolf before stopping at Eliza Brook Shelter. It had been raining the last two hours of the hike. After we arrived several more Southbounders showed up and we had 7 in a six person shelter. Then the heavens opened up.
The next morning Eliza Brook was a hip deep ford. The night before it had been a rock hop. We hiked over the log bridges that take you over mud pits where our ankles were under water. We then continued over the Kinsmans and past Lonesome Lake Hut (great pancakes) and into Lincoln for a night at Chet's Place. Chet hosts through hikers in his garage and is one of the nicest people around. He was injured in a stove explosion the day before he was going to start his thru hike, and has made an amazing recovery. At Chet's we met back up with Rocko who had been instrumental in convincing Shadow to get medical help.
From Franconia Notch we started our hut to hut trip. The huts in the White Mountains are run by the Appalchian Mountain Club (AMC), and offer food and lodging. They will also let two or more thru hikers to "work for stay." We then get leftovers from dinner and breakfast and sleep in the common room. Our first stay was at Greenleaf Hut. We went up and over the Franconia Ridge in a cold, windy cloud and then went the mile off the trail after Lafayette down to the hut. Although we were too early, they kindly let us stay. Normally they want you to arrive after 3, we were there at 1:40. We did not know what to expect, but the food was good and plentiful, and they kept looking for more work for us to do. In the morning we finally had to say that we needed to hike and had to leave.
That day we decided to skip Galehead and go on to Zealand Falls. The first 7.7 to Galehead was very tough and cold and wet and we were behind schedule when we arrived at Galehead for lunch. Their soup was not hot, so I passed and just had my own snacks. From there we cruised to Zealand and arrived at 5:55, when dinner is served at 6. They said their bosss was there that night and they are only technically allowed to have 2 thru hikers, and we were numbers 6 and 7, but they don't want to turn anyone away, so they let up stay
To be continued when I have more time.
Update on Shadow Cast. He ended up spending two full nights in the hospital in Plymouth, and then we spent the next night in town to rest up a little more (John and Cathy, thank you very much). He left with a presciption for an anti-biotic which is messing with his stomach, and a steroid, which is messing with his mood. He has been able to make the miles we need to do, but is slower than his normal self. He is almost finished with the medications, and he hopes to be back to full speed in a day or two.
When we left Plymouth we took an easy day to the base of Mt. Moosilauke. This was our first big climb since Virginia. The next day we went up the easy side and had some views, but we also saw a big rain cloud moving in and did not stay too long. Coming down we had our first taste of wooden steps attached to the rock face. This was the first of many horrible descents in the Whites. We then puched on through Kinsman Notch and over the never ending Mt. Wolf before stopping at Eliza Brook Shelter. It had been raining the last two hours of the hike. After we arrived several more Southbounders showed up and we had 7 in a six person shelter. Then the heavens opened up.
The next morning Eliza Brook was a hip deep ford. The night before it had been a rock hop. We hiked over the log bridges that take you over mud pits where our ankles were under water. We then continued over the Kinsmans and past Lonesome Lake Hut (great pancakes) and into Lincoln for a night at Chet's Place. Chet hosts through hikers in his garage and is one of the nicest people around. He was injured in a stove explosion the day before he was going to start his thru hike, and has made an amazing recovery. At Chet's we met back up with Rocko who had been instrumental in convincing Shadow to get medical help.
From Franconia Notch we started our hut to hut trip. The huts in the White Mountains are run by the Appalchian Mountain Club (AMC), and offer food and lodging. They will also let two or more thru hikers to "work for stay." We then get leftovers from dinner and breakfast and sleep in the common room. Our first stay was at Greenleaf Hut. We went up and over the Franconia Ridge in a cold, windy cloud and then went the mile off the trail after Lafayette down to the hut. Although we were too early, they kindly let us stay. Normally they want you to arrive after 3, we were there at 1:40. We did not know what to expect, but the food was good and plentiful, and they kept looking for more work for us to do. In the morning we finally had to say that we needed to hike and had to leave.
That day we decided to skip Galehead and go on to Zealand Falls. The first 7.7 to Galehead was very tough and cold and wet and we were behind schedule when we arrived at Galehead for lunch. Their soup was not hot, so I passed and just had my own snacks. From there we cruised to Zealand and arrived at 5:55, when dinner is served at 6. They said their bosss was there that night and they are only technically allowed to have 2 thru hikers, and we were numbers 6 and 7, but they don't want to turn anyone away, so they let up stay
To be continued when I have more time.
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