Day 120 2,100 Miles

Today we crossed 2,100 miles and had an amazing sunset to end the day. 


I slept really well last night. We were next to a large stream that gave excellent background noise. We woke up at 6:30 AM and we’re hiking just after 7:40 AM. 


We began the morning by climbing Barren mountain. At the beginning of the ascent, we crossed the 2100 mile mark. It’s crazy that this is our last 100 mile marker.



There was a short fire tower on the top of Barren Mountain with only a ladder. They had removed the top structure due to safety concerns. We climbed about halfway up the ladder and enjoyed a nice view. Unfortunelty I forgot to take pictures.


After Barren mountain we walked a ridge that had great views of the 100 mile wilderness around us. The woods between the views were very nice as well.




We walked through a bog that was notable for containing a carnivorous flower called a purple picture plant. The bog itself was a cedar bog, which was pretty cool.


                                               


We were surprised to pass a plane crash. It was a smaller plane that crashed back in the 80s. I believe both people in the plane survived. 



Before dropping down off the ridge, we had a couple more good views and cool forests. It’s cool being reminded of how remote this section of Maine is, there isn’t a house in site.




Then we dropped down to our only ford for the day, the West branch of the Pleasant River. It was an easy crossing. We got here around 5:30 PM, so we decided to eat dinner.




To finish off the last 7 miles of the day, we gradually hiked up Gulf Hagas Mountain. At the base of the mountain was a stand of old growth, pine trees. They are supposed to be around 200 years old and can reach up to 100 feet tall.


We reached the top of Gulf Hagas right as the sun was setting. The summit tree covered, but we could still see the incredible sunset.


We got to camp late just after Gulf Hagas, around 9 o’clock. Today’s 24 miles weren’t particularly hard, but it still took us a while. Tomorrow we will hike our last mountains before Katahdin. 


Good night, 

Walker 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 0 Good Beginnings

Image
Four years ago Tyler and I woke up at Amicalola Falls: at the start of the Appalachian Trail. I nearly froze during the night. I had a fresh buzz cut that didn’t suit me at all. We were excited but in a lot of ways had no idea what was actually ahead of us. Over the following 40 days we had an incredible journey and covered over 600 miles. Ultimately we failed our goal.   I want to apologize for ending my last blog without updating everyone on what happened and why we got off trail. I spent multiple hours agonizing over an entry but couldn’t bring myself to post it. The post was too sad and angry and bitter. I didn’t have the mental energy to revisit our reasons for quitting. It took me months to come to terms with the fact that we had gotten off trail. To be honest the thought still tortures me. The goal of hiking the entire length of the AT stuck with me, strengthened by the fact that we had covered a third of the trail but hadn’t finished.  With that behind us, I am currently sittin
Read more

Day 8 Siler and Wayah

Image
Writing from another shelter, after hiking another 18.5 miles with excellent weather. Listening to barred owls in the distance.   I slept fine last night. Not good, not bad. But to be honest, for as cold as it was I’ll count that as a win.  The only other person in the shelter was a lady who was planning on getting off trail due to an Achilles tendon issue. We hung her food bag for her since she wasn’t planning on hanging it herself. I understand being injured but I still think bear safety is incredibly important. You know what’s worse than an Achilles strain? Being mauled by a bear. Now as I’ve previously said, bears are not a serious danger in the northeast but that doesn’t mean you should increase your chances of a negative bear encounter. Especially not at a shelter where you aren’t the only person staying.  We had a slower start to the day, only really getting on trail at like 8:30. The morning was very cold, and was below freezing until almost noon. However, we really appreciated
Read more

Day 1 The First of Many

Image
Writing from my tent at the end of a long but incredible day.   Didn’t sleep too well last night. Between the strong wind, getting used to sleeping outside again, and the animal that stomped past us at 2 AM it was tough to stay asleep. However, after getting in my tent around 8pm last night and only getting out around 6am, I still probably got 5 to 7 hours of sleep.  We woke up feeling pretty good, none of us slept great but we also weren’t sore from the day before. We were on trail before 8, all wanting water since our campsite hadn’t had any. It did have an incredible sunrise though. I always love watching how a sunrise or sunset evolves. We pretty quickly covered a mile and stopped for water at the first stream. After eating a little and drinking plenty of water we began the ascent of Springer Mountain, the start of the AT. The ascent went smoothly and we summited the first mountain of the trip. Many more to come.  We actually got to see the view this time and were able to really ta
Read more