Probably the last blog update before I finish the trail. I am now in Monson, Maine only 115 miles from the finish line. The last hundred miles or so have been really slow mainly because I want to drag out this experience for as long as I can. I have been hiking mainly with King of the Hill (see other blogs), Canecutter and EZ Nomad and we've been pretty much stopping at every town along the trail so Maine has been expensive for me (but a lot of fun!).
An interesting place I stayed in was Rangeley. I stayed there 3 nights because I liked it and I hiked ahead of the other guys for a little bit so this was the perfect chance to let them catch up. The first night I stayed outside of town close to the trail at a couples summer cabin which was very nice (see pic below of building with sunflower). The second and third night I stayed with the other guys in town in a cheap motel (the way all motels should be) next to a nice lake.
Besides the town stops Maine had a lot of nice hiking to offer. The views where spectacular and the climbs where impressive. The last part of Maine has less climbs and the trail is very wet and there are some spots where you have to ford rivers that can get waist deep. Luckily we had nice weather (no rain!) so the rivers where not waist deep when we had to go through them. Here are some more pictures of the mountains we climbed in Maine.
With only a little bit more then a hundred miles to go I am looking forward to finishing the trail. There are two parts of the trail remaining now, the first of which is the so called hundred mile wilderness. It's the longest stretch (100 miles) without a chance to go into town and resupply. I have about 5 days worth of food to get through them which should be enough now. After that it's only 15 miles to the finish line, which is on top of Mount Katahdin. Katahdin is probably the most talked about mountain on the trail. It's considered the hardest individual climb and for people going north (me) it's the dramatic end to an unbelievable adventure.
Anyway that's all to come in the next week or so. Here are some more pictures of the trail.
An interesting place I stayed in was Rangeley. I stayed there 3 nights because I liked it and I hiked ahead of the other guys for a little bit so this was the perfect chance to let them catch up. The first night I stayed outside of town close to the trail at a couples summer cabin which was very nice (see pic below of building with sunflower). The second and third night I stayed with the other guys in town in a cheap motel (the way all motels should be) next to a nice lake.
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| the view from outside our room |
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| We where seriously considering hijacking one of these |
Besides the town stops Maine had a lot of nice hiking to offer. The views where spectacular and the climbs where impressive. The last part of Maine has less climbs and the trail is very wet and there are some spots where you have to ford rivers that can get waist deep. Luckily we had nice weather (no rain!) so the rivers where not waist deep when we had to go through them. Here are some more pictures of the mountains we climbed in Maine.
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| Canecutter manages to smile after a hard climb |
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| Amazing sight of one of the last big peaks of the climb |
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| The last mountain above 4000 feet we have to climb (expect Katahdin of course) |
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| The view from the top of that mountain |
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| Still same mountain |
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| Morning clouds |
With only a little bit more then a hundred miles to go I am looking forward to finishing the trail. There are two parts of the trail remaining now, the first of which is the so called hundred mile wilderness. It's the longest stretch (100 miles) without a chance to go into town and resupply. I have about 5 days worth of food to get through them which should be enough now. After that it's only 15 miles to the finish line, which is on top of Mount Katahdin. Katahdin is probably the most talked about mountain on the trail. It's considered the hardest individual climb and for people going north (me) it's the dramatic end to an unbelievable adventure.
Anyway that's all to come in the next week or so. Here are some more pictures of the trail.
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| The unofficial 2000 mile marker on top of Avery Peak, where as you can see I was completely fogged in |
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| Very low visibility in the morning |
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| Taking a break at a shelter |
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| A nice view to finish another day on the trail |
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