This area is absolutely beautiful, and we were hiking late in the day with the sun hitting everything just right. We spent most of that time on balds going up and away from mountains. The next shelter was right on the trail so they figured every step would be a step toward Katahdin, even it were 4 extra miles!) And to be perfectly honest, God really blessed our endurance, because while the extra 4.4 miles we did were not easy by any means, they were absolutely stunning. (note: she explained that since this shelter was 0.3 miles off the trail, that would be 0.6 miles that wasn’t taking them toward Katahdin. Anyway, the shelter we had planned to stay at was 0.3 miles off trail, and we were a little worried about tomorrow. Tomorrow we had only planned about fourteen miles to Mommy, but one of those miles was through Mahoosuc Notch, the hardest mile on the AT. But we kept chugging and were doing pretty well. As well as finding our way up and down steep segments. It quickly turned into a mud stream our feet were wet and we spent a lot of time rock hopping. But the first few miles of the day were a pretty good path and so we felt good and made pretty good time. The terrain has been pretty tough, and Maine wasn’t supposed to be any better. We’d planned to do about 17 miles, and we were a little apprehensive about that plan. That might be a small exaggeration but it’s pretty close. Well, we decided to be super humans today. They had accumulated so much mud, they no longer velcroed. 18 is not the same as 55! You can’t see it in this picture, but their gaiters are sparkling clean. Perhaps Meredith is happier than Robby he is still exhausted. We’re all ready to be done although I’m very glad to see that they are much happier and more relaxed. I’m praying for no more injuries or illnesses. Meredith and I have now made pretty concrete plans for the next two to two and a half weeks and we’re excited. I only discovered it a couple of years ago when we explored the beautiful waterfalls (Maine folks…you have to visit!) I shared some with thru-hikers I met at Grafton Notch. I’m glad it wasn’t raining and they had a fun time making their way over, under, and through the boulders.Īmanda and her boyfriend, Elias, another MD/PhD student drove up and spent the afternoon and evening with us.Īmanda made her famous “hamburger cookies” for the Fourth, a 24 year tradition. There are a lot of pictures here of Mahoosuc Notch but I found them fascinating. This is a breakfast picture from the last RV meet up. The hikers declared the pool “too cold.” You never know what you are going to find when you pull up to a campground and this was one of the most pleasant surprises. A truly beautiful place with nice showers and laundry. I can see the end.” This is Stony Brook campground in Hanover, Maine, about 13 miles from Grafton Notch. Meredith even did one of her “hand flutter things” and said, “I’m so happy. But when I picked them up, they were exhausted but confident and happy. They were both worrying about Mahoosuc Notch and the muddy, wet trail. When I left them two hiking days ago, Meredith had a stomach ache and we were concerned she was sick. And I am mostly staying at our Maine house. A happier day.Ī short passage, but that is just the way the mileage works out since there are limited road crossings in Maine. Meredith said she didn’t feel well but “she had to hike.” We reminded her that it is easy to throw up in the woods….The picture on the right is a pole high five from when I picked them up. The picture on the left is when I dropped them off last time.
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