Rangeley, ME on the Appalachian Trail

Clear Rock

Mahoosuc Notch (see Wikipedia)

 

Rain, rain, rain in Maine.

The rain in Maine falls mainly on me.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahoosuc_Notch

 

June 26, 2014

New Hampshire on the AT: What Mountains???

Mt Moosilauke, NH

June 21, 2014
New Hampshire  started out with the river crossing into Hanover followed by a burrito.
Leaving town I loaded up on some quality food at the co-op and took off into the night. I wasn't planning on night hiking but there wasn't much for good water, so my day ended a little later than usual.
The next night I met Jukebox and Jackrabbit at the Hexacube (six sided) shelter. Best shelter so far in my opinion. The weather got pretty rough on the way to the hikers welcome hostel in Gorham. After drying out there I headed into the White Mountains and up Mt. Moosilauke. The weather was still burning off and the good views turned out the next day after I left the town of Lincoln, thousands of bikers, and Chet the trail angel. My day over the famous Mt. Washington was the crazy weather that mountain regularly sees. Apparently, it broke it's previous record for the highest wind speed at 231 and something miles per hour. I guess it broke the wind recording machine. When I was up on top, there were 80 mph gusts and not much visibility, so I don't think I even found the mound that marks the top.
The next day the weather cleared up and it was "motorcycles only" on the road that goes to the top. I was over on the next set of mountains at least 10-20 miles away and all I heard was glug glug glug (the sound of big boy motorcycles). "Thunder in the Mountains" they call this week. I pulled up to a very nice hostel in the town of Gorham, NH for a nice day off and some rest for my knees. The White Mountains were great but for all the traffic they get, it seems like they would improve the trail system. All you do is go straight up and straight down. Toss in a switchback here and there.
I can now cross off my list "seeing a moose." It was a mama moose and her baby. Also, I scared a ferret up a tree. At least I think it was a ferret. I had a lot of people asking me if Big Hungry could handle herself in the crazy White Mountains. What they didn't know is that Big Hungry is a beast and if she could talk, she would say, "What mountains???" She was running up and down those hills like a wild animal while her owner huffed and puffed his way along. She still has done every step of the AT with her own four feet!!!

Dinner

Just High

Trail

Hexacube Shelter

VA or NH? Pictures on the AT, June 2014

 

June 16, 2014

I'm in Lincoln, NH.

Going over to Mt. Washington tomorrow.

 

Some pictures from the past.

 

Mushroom Flower...

Rock Piles

Some lake...

 

Watchtower

BellaBigHungry Slept Too Long on the AT

June 2014

Vermont to New Hampshire on the AT

Misty Vermont

Moose Tracks and other stuff

June 2014

Vermont started out with the joining of the AT and the Long Trail.
At the first shelter I met up with Ironman and ended up going about 100 miles to the end of the LT with him. There was a good amount of swimming holes and decent size hills to climb. It seemed to be the place in New England where every day gets better, and I think it's gonna keep getting better until the White Mountains.
Once we hit the end of the Long Trail, the AT turned east and started getting very rough, lots of steep ups and steep downs. Vermont ended with a burrito in Hanover, NH. There were a few hikers that seemed to cluster in town because of all the rain, so at least I'll have a few new buddies to hang with for the remainder of the hike. Got the White Mountains coming up!!!

Lady and the AT Tramp

June 2014

Massatussess AT 2014

Beaver and BellaBigHungry

Doug hiding from beavers

 

June 1, 2014

The great state of Massatussess.
We were welcomed by some busy beavers. They did a good job of clearing the trail of all the unwanted trees. Big Hungry wanted to meet them but couldn't muster up the courage to jump in and swim after them.
From there we walked over some rolling hills until we came upon Mt. Greylock. The first real mountain we have climbed in a while, I'd say... Probably since Mt. Rogers in early Virgina. It was nice and humid so the climb was a little sweaty. After the sammich lunch we headed down to Williamstown, MA for a motel stay. Right when we got our hitch into town, it started pouring buckets. It lasted about an hour with heavy rain. Nice to be out of it.
Goodbye, Mass!!!
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-west/mt-greylock-state-reservation-generic.html

Connecticut to Massatusess 2014 AT

View from Bear Mountain

 

 

Find the porcupine.

 

 May 2014

 

For about 50 miles in Connecticut, it seemed like I was walking through rainforest. The birds were chirping and the green was dense. Connecticut went by pretty fast.
The next thing I knew, I was at a nice creek that was the entrance to Massatusess. As for the wildlife... There was an electronic bird that we kept hearing that sounded very cool. It was like a synthesized bird call. Climbing up a hill, Tilt-a-Whirl was walking as we saw a rattlesnake that did some good tail shaking. About a mile into Mass, I saw a porcupine on trail that turned around and slowly climbed up a tree. Both instances, Big Hungry got the sense that these were animals that don't want to say hello and she kept her distance. What a good dog!
As for me, I got about 700 miles remaining and four more states to cross. It's nice to be in lush New England for the start of summer. It's been very rainy but at least it's not cold. The rain isn't that bad because it's usually just a quick, harsh T-storm where the sun pops out after it's all said and done.

New York, Hiking the 2014 AT

Mayish 2014

First thing in New York was possibly the best town food I've had so far. Mangos Tortilla Grill Restaurant in Greenwood Lake, NY, did it right. The price was good and the food was better.
The next day we hiked to a boy scout camp and no one was there, so we made ourselves welcome and camped on the giant trampoline in the main area and stayed out of the rain that night. That was nice because the rain came down pretty hard that night.
The next night was at a state park on the beach of a lake. They must have stolen some sand from Miami because it looked way too good to be from NY.
The next day it rained most of the day as we reached the Hudson River. The bridge toll guy said there is a great spot under the bridge to stay out of the rain, so we got some beer and slept under a major road bridge along the Hudson. (Big Hungry loves living the lifestyle of a bridge bum.)
The next day we had lunch at a deli and got some meat, cheese bread, and condiments for our dinner. To finish NY my friend that I hiked with on the 2013 PCT, Dora the Explorer, met us at a road crossing and took us around town for some shopping. We had a great stay at her place, followed by a visit to a local beach.
So, thank you Dora, Dora's Mom, and Tilt-A-Whirl, Dora's hiker friend, for the best trail magic. Connecticut is next!!!