Maine!
I’m currently at a Hostel in Andover, Maine, around mile 1950 of the trail. It’s starting to feel like the adventure is wrapping up. I’m happy about this at times, and upset by it at other times. I assume this will continue to some extent after the hike ends; I’ll appreciate being done, but will miss trail life tremendously.
The Om Dome Hostel is a cool custom building designed and built by a former thruhiker with the intention of being a hostel. This is rare; most hostels are setup in existing homes. The owner believes water is sentient and was on 5 seasons of Naked and Afraid. This is my first stop since arriving in Maine.
Things feel different now! Throughout the first 1600+ miles of the hike, there was always the approaching White Mountains of New Hampshire. They are unanimously considered to be the most difficult, technical, highest weather risk part of the trail. No matter how many miles I racked up, nothing would be the Whites. Even though I’ve hiked there before, doing so many mountains with a full backpack in all weather was a daunting thought. Now, they are behind me. I have a lot of new confidence that I can hike over anything (albeit very slowly). With them in the dust, I only have another 250 miles to go.
The Whites started off with Mt Mousilauke with Austin! Then had a night at a pond all to myself. Austin brought along a very helpful resupply in an area where grocery stores are hard to come by.
A fun new wrinkle is running into the southbound hikers. It’s refreshing to meet people that aren’t burnt out at all, and are excited about the huge hike in front of them. Plus, they are a wonderful source of information.
The most exciting part of the last few weeks was getting to hike with Dad. This hike has felt like the culmination of me falling in love with outdoor stuff. Much of this passion stems from the time we have spent doing similar things together over the last decade. In fact, this is our 10th summer of doing an outdoor vacation together (4 times in Colorado, Salt Lake City area, biking from NYC to Cleveland, 3 times in VT/NH). He scheduled his hiking section months ago, and it funnily enough lined up with arguably hardest miles of the trip; the presidential traverse. I adored the time we spent together, with the exception of the truly terrifying, slippery section of exposed rocks in 50+ mph winds. It was the only steps of the trail I felt genuine fear, so it was especially nice to have dad with me then.
Some favorite photos with dad including the summit of Mount Washington
I’ve also made a new friend on trail, who I’ve hiked with for the last 6 days, Red Panda. He’s a 59 year old father of 3, retired, and a highly experienced thru-hiker. He hikes his age in miles on his birthday (maybe I should do this). He’s hiked the PCT and CDT (the other 2 of the triple crown thru-hikes) and is currently not just doing the AT, but the iAT/ECT, so he started in Key West Florida, and is going all the way to Newfoundland. If he completes it in the year, he will be the 8th person to do so. We are parting ways tomorrow because he doesn’t want a rest day, but I’ve really enjoyed the time together. Our most noteworthy day together was an over 13 hour hike through Mahoosuc Notch (hardest mile of the trail due to “deranged” rock scrambles) and Mahoosuc Arm (steepest mile) with some beautiful bald mountains during sunset.
Red Panda!
I also had a really fun 4th of July weekend! I spent it hiking with Ankur and Güt in Vermont. Maddie picked us up, hosted us, brought us to fireworks, and hiked with us for a day. It was great to see Emily and Lily too. Barker and Adam also made a surprise appearance. In a moment of weakness, after saying goodbye to everyone, I walked by a hotel (literally on trail), and just went straight inside and got a room.
July 4th
Prior to hiking with Dad, I had a great reunion with him, Mom and Ilana in Lincoln, New Hampshire. We all got in my monthly 100 mile ride, and relaxed in an Airbnb together. They cooked some classic meals from childhood, which were a very welcome change.
Family weekend!
It’s crazy to think in a few weeks this will all be a thing. I‘ll be sure to take all of this in while I still can.