my dear hammy has so kindly posted ALL (or almost all…) of our pictures on his flickr site and since the link to said site is buried deep in this here blog, i thought i’d put it up here fresh in case anyone is still stopping by.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpk219/collections/72157604696027148/

we’re both adjusting to life off the trail, but i know i miss it terribly, as does the burglar. lucky for me, my work travels have enabled me to revisit the trail some — hiking on and around greylock, driving through southern vermont, stopping by bear’s den, and even a swing by the doyle. i’ve also been lucky enough to see stripe, peacock and daddy-o, and ms. priss these past few weeks. there really is nothing like talking to people from the trail when you’re missing it so much.

but soon my travels will come to an end and i’ll head back to minneapolis where i’ll be reunited once again with my hamburglar. it’s been strange not to be with him after spending almost 6 straight months of nearly 24/7 togetherness. and you’d think we’ve had enough of it, but what we’re really looking forward to doing when i return is getting out and hiking. day hikes in the minnesota woods can’t really compare to the trail, but it’ll definitely do.

(i know, i know, this has taken me a while — but with limited internet access and difficulty looking at a computer screen for an extended amount of time, it’s the best i can do. thanks for your patience!)

so, moving along….the big day finally arrived!!! we woke up around 4AM, stuffed some food in our mouths and chugged some cokes as we all piled into sailboat’s sister’s car. since we were outside of the park, we had to wait until the gates opened for the day, around 5AM, then wait in line to get through the gate and drive up to katahdin stream campground before we were really on our way. after quickly checking in at the ranger station, we were headed up the mountain by 6:20. already we could tell it was going to be a beautiful day and we were all happy we’d waited to summit when we originally planned. since it was a monday, we didn’t have to deal with the weekend crowds, but most importantly, the weather was perfect as the sun began to rise on a flawless blue sky. the burglar and i just flew over the first part of the climb — our emotions and energy were running high! the climb started out pretty easy, but we soon found ourselves climbing and crawling up and over boulders. one of my favorite parts was definitely the boulder field of the hunt spur. we were leaving tree line and every time we looked behind us, we were rewarded with a stunning view in the early morning sun. 

on the way up

boulder hopping fun

hammy on the tablelands

some clouds were starting to roll in and since the weather was calling for rain later in the day, we thought this was the beginning. so we hurried on up, wanting to snag some views from the summit before we were in the clouds. it was blowing like crazy when we got to the top and as soon as we took our summit photo, i quickly got into some warmer clothes and we found some rocks to shelter behind so we could be out of the wind as we waited for sage and sailboat. it seemed unreal that we really were at the top — this moment we’d been anticipating for months and months was finally here. but i don’t think it fully hit me until we got down to the bottom that we were really done. i think this had largely to do with our intended route down. most hikers take the AT back down the way they came up. however, on mouth’s recommendation, we’d decided to take the knife’s edge trail. though when we first saw it, both hammy and i were thinking “uh uh, no way!” perhaps you can see why:

the knife's edge

burglar just wants to sit!

weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

crossing the bridge, we finally got to see just how close to the big mountain we really were — it literally took my breath away.

katahdin from abol bridge

from there, we made a beeline for the camp store where we all proceeded to stuff our faces — chips, dip, hot dogs, donuts, soda, beer — so good!!

fooooooooood!!!!!

we got a slower start after that rainy night – everything was so cold and damp, making it very difficult to get motivated and moving. but as i said, things soon cleared up.

(i’m experimenting with pictures — hope this works…)

trying to avoid the muck...

we tackled a few smaller climbs (giving us some views – at last!!) and some more muddy, boggy areas. (our particular favorite was the crossing on the small, obstacle course style, slippery, rolling logs to avoid going knee deep in the muck.)we were joined by stripe at our lunch break – the rest of the crew, who had stayed in town when we left, had made it to the shelter before ours, planned to push on, but thought better of it as the rain started. we didn’t linger too long at the shelter for lunch. a southbound couple we met told us of some homemade whoopie pie trail magic awaiting us about 3 or 4 miles ahead. that was all we needed to make some quick miles!

now, to those who aren’t familiar with whoopie pies, allow me to educate you on these tasty little delicacies. these little gems, apparently originating in maine, are two round blobs of cake batter (usually chocolate), baked to perfection, then stuck together with a liberal amount of frosting (usually white). in fact, it just hit me that they are basically huge oreo cakesters – my other weakness. no wonder i love them!

one last ford...

anyway, trail magic in the 100-miles was pretty unexpected so we were very happy to have some homemade goodness to help fuel the last few miles of the day. we had one last ford to get across, but it was only about shin high so we crossed with no trouble. the skies started to look threatening once again so we hurried on hoping to make the shelter before the skies opened this time. but we needn’t have worried – it was smooth sailing over some pretty nice terrain, and the rain never amounted to more than a short-lived light drizzle. our tent spots that night were not the finest and we most likely would have been sleeping in pools of water had it rained, but we woke up high and dry and ready to tackle whitecap mountain – the last climb before katahdin.

our first glimpse

we made it to the top in good time and got there just before the day’s clouds rolled in, allowing us our very first glimpse of katahdin! after the descent down the other side, the trail really flattened out and we passed through some beautiful woods with soft, pine needles padding our weary feet as we hiked. the weather couldn’t make up its mind that day and kept spitting rain on us for a bit, then giving us some beautiful rays of sunshine.

dark clouds approaching

we got a bit worried though when some dark clouds started rolling in as we passed a lake, and thunder began to rumble ominously.

but again, the rain never amounted to much and we were able to set up a dry camp once again at the cooper brook shelter. it was a beautiful spot and we found great tent sites. had it been a teensy bit warmer, the brook would have been the perfect place for a dip, but we were just thankful that the skies cleared completely and we stayed dry!

the next morning, as i awoke around 5:30, i simply could not believe my eyes. there, outside the tent, greeting me, was nothing but pure, blue sky and early morning sunshine!! i couldn’t even remember that last time we hadn’t woken up to gray, misty, foggy, cloudy yuck in the morning. even if the day had then improved, we were still waking up to wet and cold. this was amazing. the kind of day when you can tell there won’t be a drop of rain and it’s just going to be beautiful all day long. it really does wonders for the spirit.

we had a full, ~21 mile day ahead of us, with a side trip in to white house landing to resupply, so we took full advantage of the great weather and got an early start. we needn’t have worried though. about 8 miles in we got to one of the jo-mary lakes – one of the most beautiful lakes of the whole trip. this campsite is also home to one of the nicest, some might even say the quaintest, privies on the trail. named ‘fort relief’, it even had a little wash basin and a cute curtain in the window.

fort relief

it was here we met some former thru-hikers who were out canoe-camping for the week and invited us to take some of the extra food they had packed. the timing could not have been better. we were able to get enough to skip white house landing and take our time enjoying the rest of the day. the trail continued around the lake and just a mile or two from the campsite, the burglar and i found a sandy beach that we couldn’t resist, not far off the trail. the sky was blue, the sand was soft, and the water was just the perfect temperature for a swim. we could have stayed all day.

the perfect spot

katahdin!

but onward we went and after our lunch break, we came to another lake which gave us a fantastic view of katahdin, towering in the distance. it really is the only mountain for miles around so it’s quite impressive to see it standing so tall above everything else. we kept a good pace the rest of the day, hiking along a beautiful river, and made the waufield shelter in good time, despite stopping to break with pipper, stripe, and forest gimp at yet another lake . the numerous lakes were definitely a highlight of this last section of trail. we had a great campfire that night and we settled in for our last night a shelter, getting ready to hike the last 23 miles of the wilderness.

i know, i know, can you ever forgive us??? yes, we realize it’s been over a week since we posted our triumphant summit picture, promising to update soon. and we’ve meant to update, really we have. things just seem to have happened so quickly since finishing – it’s been a lot to take in. i’m writing this from the safe haven of my family’s cabin in northwestern wisconsin after leaving my dear burglar in cleveland with his folks. it took a while to get here from katahdin, but this is exactly where i want to be right now, just trying to fully take in all that we’ve experienced over these past five months. there are still so many thoughts swirling in my head right now as i try to process everything, but for now i’ll just update ya’ll on how the last bit of our trip went. it was quite a ride and there’s much to tell so i’ll do this in parts. my eyes can’t look at a computer screen for very long!so when i last posted, we were in caratunk, me, having just shuttled around the kennebec river. it had been raining for most of the summer up in maine, leaving everything just saturated and the rivers at unsafe and often uncrossable levels. the forecast facing us was of even more rain – no end in sight. folks, we were defeated. at this point we considered just packing it in, heading directly up to baxter state park, climbing katahdin, and either calling it a hike, or hiking south from there – pulling a mini “flip-flop.” we had contacted the hostel in monson (the last town before entering the 100-mile wilderness) and they informed us that the only safe trail at that time was about halfway through the wilderness. therefore, they were shuttling hikers up further north so they could climb katahdin and then hike south. it looked like our best bet so we headed out to the road to hitch to monson. it took three rides, but we got there. and who should we see sitting outside the corner store but sage, sailboat, and ginger. we’d been hoping to be with these guys at the end, but figured with everyone hopping around so much and things being such a mess, the chances of seeing them again were pretty slim. we had another happy reunion when we found stripe at the hostel – yet another of our favorite hikers we didn’t expect to see again.

well, from there things pretty much started to look up for us. some southbounders had recently come out of the 100-miles and reported that since it hadn’t really rained for the past two or three days, water levels had dropped and the fords were doable. things were still pretty muddy and wet, but it wasn’t as unsafe as it had been earlier. after some discussion, we decided to just go for it. right away. it was already almost 5:00 but we just wanted and needed to get moving – too much sitting around was making us crazy. so we bought a few more food items, stuffed them in our packs, got a quick hitch along with sage and sailboat, and hiked about a mile into the woods and found a spot for camp. we were officially in the 100-mile wilderness, it wasn’t raining, we were reunited with friends, we’d packed out a few beers, things felt good!

(not sure if hammy explained previously, but the 100-mile wilderness is the last section of trail before entering baxter state park, home of the much anticipated mt. katahdin. it is the most remote section of the trail and as there are no towns to hitch to for resupply, hikers are advised to carry enough food for the entire section (anywhere from 5-10 days’ worth). there is one place to resupply, but it requires some extra hiking and a $3 boat ride to get out to a small wilderness “resort” with a camp store. we were hoping to avoid it, but glad to have it in case we needed it.)

so, moving along, our first day out was mostly dry, with the sun even greeting us throughout the day. we had three fords and made it safely across them all. the water was never higher than mid-thigh and though it was flowing pretty fast and strong in spots, we were careful with our footing and made it without any spills. though it was a bit nerve-wracking to watch little ginger bravely swimming her way across, trying to not get pulled too far downstream – that dog is a wonder dog! and while the trail was still wet and mucky at times, and still gave us some steep climbing challenges every so often, it felt good to be hiking on an actual trail and not just a series of roots, rocks, streams, and sheer rock faces. we no longer had to choose between the oh so tempting options of  sliding down on our butts or slipping down on our feet every 50 feet along the trail when we came to yet another steep drop-off.

yessir, things were improving. after a quick break at a shelter about 15 miles out, we decided to push on just 4 more miles to the next shelter. as we climbed to the top of the mountain (forgotten the name…) we were greeted with clouds and rain, just starting to spit on us. and with just about one mile left to go before the shelter, the skies opened up. and just when we thought maine was going to play nice! instantly, the trail was a muddy river yet again and we were soaked. ah well, it was a full night in the shelter, we had to once again don our drenched duds in the morning, and the trail was a mess once again, but the sun soon burned through the clouds and we had another decent day ahead of us…

(wait for it…)

Us atop Katahdin

Updates coming later!

folks, it’s wet. rainy, muddy, sloppy, slippery, wet. we’re trying to keep our spirits up, we really are. and everyone we’ve been in contact with from home has been wonderful in their support and encouragement. again, we thank you so very much!! before i go into what’s happening right now, here’s a few high points from the whites. 1) we saw a moose!! we were heading up the trail behind several of our hiking companions on a rare flat section, when we noticed them waving at us. it took a moment to realize they were not merely saying ‘hi’, but motioning to us to slow down and proceed quietly. i think we were both silently saying to ourselves, “please, bear or moose, bear or moose!” we wanted some excitement. sure enough, not far off the trail, was a very large bull moose. unfortunately, it sauntered off soon after we got up to it, before we had a chance to get a good picture, but it was pretty thrilling to see it nonetheless. two others, sailboat and bear trap, were shortly behind us and noticed us all stopped. sailboat leashed his pooch, while bear trap grabbed the camera and hurried up. the moose had just vanished as he got up to us, but he was undeterred and declared “i’m going in after it!” and tramped off into the woods. he didn’t find it, probably for the better, but the whole exchange still makes us chuckle. i dunno, maybe you had to be there. anyway….

2) we didn’t die on mt. washington!! in fact, we were some of the lucky few who had a good day up there. we headed up from mizpah hut, still in the clouds and foggy mist as we climbed above tree line. but as we approached the lakes of the clouds hut, just ~1.5 shy of washington, things started to lift and we had some spectacular views. as we began our climb, we could even see the black smoke of the cog train as it chugged up to the top. and even though at the very summit we couldn’t see much due to the cloud sitting on top of us, the weather was relatively calm and, almost immediately as we began our descent, we were rewarded with some amazing views of the northern presidential range. the clouds rolling in and out really added to the drama of these impressive peaks. rain started right as we reached the madison springs hut and since they agreed to let us do a work-for-stay, there we stopped for the day. but we were incredibly grateful to have a dry day to navigate the rocky trail up and down the big mountain. some of our friends were not so fortunate and reported the going to be particularly treacherous and slow.

3) we reunited, if only briefly, with some of our favorite people on the trail — sage, sailboat and ginger, bear trap, downstairs, singer, landsurfer, willie boy. it was great to see some familiar faces amongst the masses of tourists, dayhikers, and southbound hikers.

which brings us to now. i’m typing this from the northern outdoor center outside of caratunk, me. technically, we should have hit the 2,000 mile mark hiking here — but things haven’t gone as planned. as the burglar said in his last post, we were planning to get a ride up from andover to rangeley. well, we decided to push it a bit further and head to the town of stratton, hopefully missing some of the nastier river crossings right before andover. while in stratton, we learned that the kennebec river was raging extremely higher than usual. this crossing is an incredibly dangerous ford and therefore has a canoe ferry set up to shuttle hikers across at set times everyday. apparently, things are so bad right now, that the ferry isn’t even running. no one can get across. so we were faced with the decision of heading out anyway and hoping the water levels dropped by the time we got there, or else camp out and wait there until they do. or we could get a ride from stratton to caratunk. we opted for the latter. again, not an easy decision since we’ve been looking forward to maine since we started almost 5 months ago. but we just figure that now we’ve got a really awesome section to come back and hike, hopefully next year.

so we’re here at the outdoor center, staying in a cozy little cabin tent by the river (which yes, is VERY high). there’s a restaurant and microbrewery here, and if it stops raining, we’re going to park our frustrated fannies in the hot tub with some beers. but word is from those heading south, that it’s just a mudfest ahead of us on the trail. it didn’t rain for most of the day today, but it is now, will tonight, and most likely storm tomorrow as well. there are more tricky river crossings coming up (none like the kennebec, we hope), but hopefully the terrain won’t be as tough as in southern maine. we want to push on tomorrow, but we’ll see.  our goal right now is just to enjoy our last bit of time out here together as much as we possibly can, knowing that we’ll soon be done and missing this whole experience so much. so though our spirits are faltering at times, we’re focusing on how incredible this experience has been and how lucky we are to have been out here together.

with that, i’m done, and it’s time for a beer.

Rumor has it that we arrived in Maine recently, though I’m not so sure. I mean, the sign said we’re there but with the rain/fog/clouds lately, we haven’t been able to see anything. Tonight we’re staying at Pine Ellis (a “B&B”) in Andover, ME and we couldn’t be happier to be indoors and dry.

Before we set out on this trip, the two things we were told were:

1. Be safe

2. Have fun

We tried to argue these points, but realized it was good advice; safety before fun. Well, constant rain for nearly 2 weeks along with temperatures hovering between the 40’s and 60’s has left everyone on the verge of hypothermia for days. Couple that with the incredibly slick rock surfaces (and the upcoming chest high river fords – again, all this due to the record rains) and safety has been a legitimate concern lately. In the interest of finishing this hike in the same number of pieces in which we started and with our desire to have fun, we’ve decided that jumping up to Rangeley, ME looks like a great option right about now.

We’re still doing our best to have a great time but we miss some of the people who have gotten ahead of us and it’d be more important to us to finish with friends, having a great time instead of sluggishly plodding though Maine just to say we’ve done every mile. We’ve got some great pictures from the Presidential Range in New Hampshire but USB ports have yet to be introduced in New England. Oh and hey, we went through the Mahoosuc Notch yesterday, allegedly the toughest mile along the entire AT but unfortunately were unable to pull out the camera due to the moisture – go to YouTube and search “Mahoosuc Notch” and you may get a small sample of the thrill. Actually, we enjoyed it. All the way up until the trail was under two feet of water. Wish us luck as we head on, the forecast is calling for 10 straight days of rain.

Well, it has taken a while but we’re finally moving again. After starting the meds for lyme, we’ve knocked out a 17 and a 20 back to back in New Hampshire, which isn’t too bad. We’re staying the night at the Hikers Welcome Hostel in Glencliff, NH and out back there appears to be one huge hill! Mt. Moosilaukee, as Pippi previously said was the first time we’ll pass 4,000 since Virginia awaits us tomorrow morning and we’re looking forward to it.

Even with all our distractions and hurdles lately, we’ve still been driven to fight through everything, I mean with everyone that’s been cheering us on and helping out any way possible, how could we not? Having been sick with what looks to be a touch of the lyme has been quite frustrating since about an hour in to the day I’m totally wiped, but getting the treatment seems to have been a huge boost already. Imagine not being able to even walk around a small town to run “errands” without needing to sit down, that’s been me – extremely fatigued. Thankfully Pippi has been incredibly patient and so many people have gone above and beyond to help us out. Thanks so much to everyone, we appreciate the well wishes and the support and our spirits are high again, we’re ready to hit the Whites.

The weather may not be so great from what we’re seeing, which is the concern in the White Mountains, but we’re ready – the boots are already wet so that won’t be too different, but we’re just hoping to be safe. By the way, we have less than 400 miles to go! Somehow, we’ve hiked almost 1,800 miles this summer! Holy crap! It’s about time for me to shower, but thanks again to everyone, we’re going to make it.

ok, so we’re FINALLY done with vermont and into new hampshire. since our last post, things haven’t been quite as sunny, literally or figuratively, as they’d been before. rain has been a relatively constant companion, and we’ve had to deal with illness on the trail — neither of which has been fun! right now we are just a tad north of hanover, nh where we spent a large portion of the day yesterday at the ER trying to get an antibiotic prescription for hammy. we’re pretty sure he has lyme disease. we took time off in vermont when we thought he’d come down with a bug, but things didn’t really improve so we figured we should get this looked into before venturing into the white mountains. so our mileage has been way down the past week or so, but we’re still optimistic and plan to finish in about a month or so. we’re taking another day off today and staying at a nearby hostel, tigger’s treehouse, to give the meds another day to start working. hopefully it will also give the weather a chance to ease up a bit too — the rain has been intense! today is supposed to be one of the worst. we’d really love to have some views as we head up into the mountains again — in a few days we climb mt. moosilauke (sp?), the first time we hit 4000 feet since virginia, then on to mt. washington a few days after that. the terrain will be much more rugged, but we’re looking forward to the challenge!

also wanted to send a huge thanks to wendy and john davis, the crew that so kindly fed us a huge meal at a campground in shenandoah. we received a surprise package when we went to pick up our mail drop in killington, vt. thank you so much — all the treats were promptly enjoyed!

and with that, we must log out and be on our way. our ride to the hostel will be here shortly. we’ll update again as soon as internet access allows. thanks for all the comments and well-wishes — we’re still hanging in there!