Doing MA from Sheffield to CT border in August and Bennington VT to Stratton in Sept.
Chris
[email protected]
978-804-1131
Shuttle services to/from Boston Logan or Manchester, NH airports to/from all points in MA, NH, VT, and ME.
I just got home from the airport, and proud to say I finally completed the AT. My last section was from Rt. 4 near Rutland VT. to Katahdin, June 22 to August 7.
Two thinks I'll say about Maine,
1) My god it was hard!
2) It was spectacular, especially Katahdin!
I met some great people along the way. Twice I crossed paths with Rick Marks and family, the gentleman hiking with ALS. Hiked with a lot of great people including Soul Flower, Mix, Trail Snail, Moving Target, and hiked with Medicine Man the last two weeks.
Also ran into Astro, from this site, in New Hampshire.
Good for you Deacon! And your list of two "thinks": yes, and yes!Originally Posted by Deacon
Congrats! Do you have a journal or blog somewhere where I can learn about your sections, schedule, etc?
Trailjournals.com/deacon
Planning a section from Pearisburg VA to Harpers Ferry WV during the month of September.
Leaving NC on 9/16 heading to Killington Vt and hiking to Franconia Notch. Can't wait! This trip will put me at exactly 2/3's of the total length of the trail. Anything I need to know about this section? Any tips or suggestions are welcome
Section hiker on the 20 year plan - 2,078 miles and counting!
finishing all but the last 17 northern most miles of MA this year (unless there's an unseasonably warm weekend in november) and starting NJ. Next season we will finish NJ and MA and start either MD or PA
Doin' the trail one section at a time
You can read about my adventures at http://happyonthetrails.wordpress.com/
CONGRATS, Deacon!!!
I did have a question about weather. I was going to do a section from Rt.12 Vermont past Killington. This would be around early November. How bad will killington be? I do not plan on camping there, but walking through it. I know descending will help conditions, but I imagine it could get nasty up top. Anyone with experience, advice, all will be appreciated. Thank you.
Got back from this trip late last week. Did Crawford Notch to Pinkham Notch in the Whites over a 3 day period, and then did Dream Lake (came in on Peabody Trail because I had gone up to that point last year) to ME 4 (Rangeley). So now I have 80 miles in VA, 90 miles in PA and ME 4 to Katahdin left to do.
The trip went well overall, but it was another beating like last year...don't know if I'm just getting old or what, but this stuff up in NH and ME is just tough. So I had this split into 3 segments. The first one was the piece in the Whites. I stayed at Lake of the Clouds the first night and Madison Spring the second night. Carrying a small pack with just clothing and lunches was awesome (I carried a full pack through most of the Whites last year). The weather the entire time I was up there was fantastic, and the 1 night it rained I was in a hotel. So the hike up to Lake of the Clouds was pretty neat with a lot of nice clear views. The next morning Mt Washington did "Mt. Washington stuff" and was in a cloud. So didn't see crap up there, but on the way to Madison it cleared off and the rest of the day was clear. Sat at Madison and watched the eclipse, which was pretty neat. The lighting dimmed for a while and it got cool, and then it brightened back up and got warm again. My buddy had the glasses so I could actually look at it too. The next morning was clear, and the hike from Madison down to Pinkham Notch on the ridge was probably one of my favorite parts of the Whites. Also got to see the Top of Mt. Washington unobstructed (albeit from a distance) finally.
The 2nd segment was Dream Lake to Grafton Notch SP. This one roughed me up pretty good. Part of it was my own fault though. The first day was just a short hike up the Peabody Trail to Gentian Pond. Then the next day was to Full Goose with the 3rd day being the hike to the car. I had a lot of anxiety over Mahoosuc Notch because of everything I have heard about it, and it turned out to be super cool. The only mistake I made is that I blew through there like I was still in my 20s, and I think that got me later in the day. I actually made it through in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. What I didn't know was the "treat" awaiting me on the other side...the arm. That's hands down the toughest climb I have ever done. It's just so dang steep with so much hard angled rock slab. My knees where toast when I got to the top, and I still had 5 miles to go to get to the car. So got to the car and took a zero the next day.
The 3rd segment was supposed to be Grafton Notch SP to ME 4 (Rangeley), but I mixed it up and day hiked ME 17 to ME 4...I can't believe it, there's actually stuff you can walk on in ME that's not a rock scramble. So then the next day I went in at Grafton and really enjoyed getting to the summit of Baldpate as the weather was literally perfect that day...low 70s, very light breeze and a few puffy clouds with sun...absolute bliss. The rest of this section was neat, but the cumulative wear and tear just got to me by the end and I was super happy to get to the car at ME 17. Part of the problem was I did from Sawyer Notch to the road all in one day, which is 15.8 miles per AWOL's guide.
So anyway, a great trip and I got done what I went up there to do. Now I just need to figure out how to break up this next piece as I plan to go from ME 4 to Monson in 1 trip, and it looks like there's still a good 40 miles of tough stuff at the beginning of that...was hoping I was already done with the toughest of the tough stuff, but apparently not.
AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
JMT: 2013
Awesome job, congratulations!
In response to #1, not only ME but the Whites too! Can't fully respond to #2 yet.
AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
JMT: 2013
Did Simmons Gap to The Pinnacles parking area in SNP last weekend, and had a great time. It was an interesting contrast going from doing some of the Whites and the first part of ME back in late August to hiking in SNP...went from the hardest to the easiest. I couldn't believe I was hiking 12 miles in 5 hours, it was awesome
Anyway, the weekend was bookended with some weird weather. Friday was super foggy and then a front blew through Sunday night cooling it way down. Saturday and Sunday during the day were clear and warm. Got to see an inversion to the West on Saturday morning that was absolutely phenomenal. Then there was another one to the East on Sunday morning. I'll try and post a pic of it at some point if I remember.
AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
JMT: 2013
Finished Shenandoah National to Pen Mar the past three weeks. Have also completed Springer to Damascus in one outing. Also . about 50 miles around Perisburg.
Plan to leave Pen Mar as early as possible and attempt to go north to Katadin.
Then come home during July and August.
Then go back to Rockfish Gap to Perisburg during the fall months.
Finished Shenandoah National to Pen Mar the past three weeks. Have also completed Springer to Damascus in one outing. Also . about 50 miles around Perisburg.
Plan to leave Pen Mar as early as possible and attempt to go north to Katadin.
Then come home during July and August.
Then go back to Rockfish Gap to Perisburg during the fall months.
As promised here's the inversion. The picture was taken a little North of High Top Hut and is looking out West towards Harrisonburg. The ridgeline way in the distance is the one near Massanutten, so yeah that entire valley was filled with clouds...it was freakin' sweet!
AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
JMT: 2013
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