Friday, September 3, 2010

Day 143: MAINE !!?!




Woke up and got out early, but we were the last the leave. That's ok. Big day ahead. No rush. The first mountain to climb was called Mt Success, and it didn't give up. I ate a lot for breakfast, and maybe all my energy was being used for digestion, but I was feeling pretty slow. Climbing and climbing. There were a whole bunch of cliche sayings that popped into my head while trying to get to the summit. "Success is never easy." "Just when you think you've attained success, there's still a bunch more work to do." "Success ain't easy, but the view from the top is great." ...and so forth. We got up there and took a short break.


A few more miles of climbs and descents (it was like a mini roller coaster), and we came to the New Hampshire - Maine state line. Wow. Maine. There is was. I was in it. The last state of fourteen states, and more than 1800 miles walked. I felt powerful and happy and excited and a bit sad and a bit shocked. I had done it. I had walked to Maine from Georgia!? The journey, of course, has not ended, but to be in the final state just seems crazy right now.




Boss and I took a short break, but pressed on to get needed water at the next shelter. Unfortunately, it was .3 miles off the trail, downhill, but when you need water, you need water. It was still pretty warm out, and we were both sweating a lot (as we do). We got water and had an early lunch at the nice shelter. A sobo named Abel showed up abs ate with us. Then Prophet caught up right before we left. He said that Deetz/Power Pack/Miles, Rorshach, Neutron and Xan all stayed at Trident campsite last night with him. We missed a party! Hopefully we'll get to see them all very shortly.




Back to mountain climbing. The miles were passing slowly, and we were tired. Couldn't figure out what it was. I guess the mountains were not small, so maybe we were just pushing too hard...? Technically, we are still in the White mountains - just no longer in the White Mountains National Park. Maybe I just had it in my mind that I should be faster. Oh well...




We made it to the Full Goose shelter and had a last snack before hiking down into Mahoosuc Notch. It's been called the most difficult mile of the trail by many, but I think it's probably just the slowest. Boulders all around and tough tight spots to squeeze through. It was a lot of fun, and there were crazy cold air pockets down in there. I'd be walking in 85 degrees then catch a cold pocket that shot the temperature down to 60 degrees. It felt good.




It was a fun mile and took us a little over an hour to complete. We didn't rush and we stopped to take a few photos here and there. After we were done, we saw that Backwards had set up camp at a stealth site right off the trail. There was plenty of room for more, so Boss and I set up camp, got water, ate dinner, and hung out with Backwards whose birthday is today. Happy Birthday, Backwards!!

Tomorrow, we should roll into Andover and maybe a shower. Would be nice, especially if the rain that's forecasted comes round...
(12.2mi 6st)

Location:Campsite at the east (north) end of Mahoosuc Notch

1 comment:

Shane from PA (Fresh) said...

Stucco! Congrats on making it to Maine! Wish I could be out in the woods instead of writing papers and studying. You are almost there. Probably don't have to say it at this point...but keep your spirits high!
Say hello to Neutron, Xan, and Little foot(if you see him) for me.
And good luck to all the other hikers.
-Shane (Fresh)