Appalachian Trail - Day 131 - Day Off in Rangeley

Day: 131

Date: Saturday, 02 September 2023

Start:  ME Route 17 (AT Mile 1964.9) but staying in Rangeley.

Finish:  ME Route 17 (AT Mile 1964.9) but staying in Rangeley.

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her walk this afternoon.

Total Kilometres:  3195.9

Weather:  Mild and sunny

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos

  Lunch:  Steak & cheese sub & fries/Chicken & bacon salad & fries.

  Dinner:  Nachos/Burger & fries, ice-cream & peach pie.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - stiff neck and swelling and bruising on forehead from fall two days ago.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A lazy sleep-in morning followed by some time working out a revised schedule for our remaining 2+ weeks hiking, before we walked downtown for an overpriced breakfast at a local cafe.

After that, we wandered along to the Rangeley Trail Festival which was pleasantly low-key with a few stalls, some entertainment and speakers in the morning sunshine.

We picked up some supplies there along with replacement shoes for Julie (last pair didn't last long) then walked to the town supermarket and bought our supplies for the next few days and some lunch.

In the afternoon, Julie went for a walk around the nearby lake while Dave did some admin with track and field from Zurich and college football games on TV in the background.

Our French-Canadian thru-hiker friends arrived in town late in the afternoon and checked into our motel and later we walked downtown to the pub for a very pleasant dinner with them.

Appalachian Trail - Day 130 - Bemis Mountain to ME Route 17

Day: 130

Date: Friday, 01 September 2023

Start:  Bemis Mountain (AT Mile 1960.1)

Finish:  ME Route 17 (AT Mile 1964.9)

Daily Kilometres:  8.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3195.9

Weather:  Cold night then mild and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Trail mix

  Lunch:  Toasted Reuben sandwiches & fries, ice-creams.

  Dinner:  Pizza, Peach pie & ice-cream.

Aches:  Dave - still struggling with painful left knee and the usual niggles; Julie - emerging large lump and bruise on forehead and stiff neck from yesterday's fall.

Highlight:  On a perfect sunny calm morning with great visibility, we had expansive views in many directions while crossing the open rock ledges on the Bemis Mt Second Peak.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

When going to bed last night our intention had been to make an effort to put in an 18 mile day, hopefully on less mountainous terrain, to reach a road that gave easy access to Rangeley, where we have a room booked for two nights.

Our alarm woke us at 5:00am on a very cold morning and we quickly decided that Plan B would be better than Plan A.  That is, hiking 5 miles to an earlier road crossing where we could get more indirect access to Rangeley.  The "cons" were that it would cost us the best part of a day in our schedule and cost us more dollars for a shuttle.  The "pros" were that we would get comfortably to Rangeley in daylight, have a less stressful day's hiking (where would have been watching the clock all the time), and we could sleep in for another 90 minutes and wait for the sun to hit our tent.  The last argument was the clincher.

Having made the decision, it was a nice change to have a leisurely pack-up on a beautiful sunny morning amongst the pine trees.  We were camped near a shelter (lean-to, in Maine) but, apart from the South African/Swedish couple who arrived half an hour after us last night, there was no one else camped within the vicinity of the shelter or staying in the shelter.  Very unusual and, perhaps, indicative that all of the late-starting southbound thru-hikers have now passed us.  Anyway, it was a lovely spot and nice to have it to ourselves.

We started hiking around 8:00am following a mostly rock-shelved ridge northwards to the North Peak of Bemis Mt with lovely views along the way.  Occasionally there were mud bogs and small technical ascents and descents, but generally very pleasant hiking.  In the distance we could see the highway which was our goal, but first we had to descend to cross Bemis Stream far below.  The descent was slow and taxing in parts, but we made it safely then had to carefully cross the stream on a logjam upstream from the trail crossing to avoid getting our feet wet.

There was a final longish climb up to the road where we waited for our shuttle driver, who had texted to say he was late (price reduction confirmed), at a scenic lookout with dramatic views over some large lakes and back to Bemis Mountain.

We were dropped off at our motel at 1:00pm in the cute little outdoors/tourist (and upmarket …. with prices to match) town of Rangeley, which lies scenically on a peninsula between two large lakes.  

Our room wasn't ready, so we left our packs and wandered into town for a relaxed lunch and a look around capped off with a large ice-cream by the lake.  We have discovered that there is a Trail Festival in town tomorrow, so our timing is good.  It's a long weekend in the US (Labor Day), signifying, unofficially, the end of summer for many and the town is busy with tourists.

On our return to the motel we checked in and did the usual chores before returning downtown for dinner.

So far, Plan B seems to have been the right choice.

Appalachian Trail - Day 129 - Hall Mountain to Bemis Mountain

Day: 129

Date: Thursday, 31 August 2023

Start:  Hall Mountain (AT Mile 1947.3)

Finish:  Bemis Mountain (AT Mile 1960.1)

Daily Kilometres:  18.9 (Ascent 4656', Descent 4465')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3195.9

Weather:  Cool and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - left knee sore and other niggles; Julie - head and neck injuries after she slipped going downhill and fell head first into a tree trunk driven by the weight of her pack resulting in a goose egg lump on her head, a bloody forehead and sore neck.

Highlight:  None really

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got away at about 6:45am with a wet tent from rain overnight.  We were hoping to cover about 16 miles today but after the first 4.5 miles took nearly four hours we became more pessimistic.

We had two slow, steep and technical ascents and descents, the second over Moody Mt (2379'), and the ford of knee-deep Black Brook that cost time because Dave didn't want to get his boots and socks more wet than they already were, so crossed in his camp shoes.

After a breakfast break on the other side of the brook, warming up in the sun, we followed the trail steeply up to Old Blue Mt (3600'), another slow climb with some good views on the way up.  However, most of the time we were in mossy, gnarly and boggy conifer forest and there were no views from the summit.  It was on the descent from Old Blue Mt that Julie had a nasty fall (see above), though she resumed hiking almost immediately.

We took a mid-afternoon break at a lookout and reassessed our day's plan, deciding to head for some tentsites on Bemis Mt, which we reached around 6:30pm.  It was a cold evening and we set up camp, washed and ate as quickly as we could so we could get into the warmth of our tent and sleeping bags.  Autumn is coming!

Maine is wearing us both down and neither of us is really enjoying it so far.  Maybe we were too ambitious in our schedule, but it has also been historically boggy on the trail after record summer rains and this has slowed us down and made the hiking less pleasant.  From his position in the rear, Dave can hear Julie regularly cursing as she sinks ankle-deep in mud once again.  We may need to add a few days to our schedule to make life easier.

Appalachian Trail - Day 128 - Grafton Notch to Hall Mountain

Day: 128

Date: Wednesday, 30 August 2023

Start:  Grafton Notch (AT Mile 1931.0)

Finish:  Hall Mountain (AT Mile 1947.3)

Daily Kilometres:  24.8 (Ascent 5597', Descent 4459')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3177.0

Weather:  Rained most of the morning and into the early afternoon then mostly cloudy with a late shower.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Muffins 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - left knee sore and other niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Maybe getting back into double figures in our daily mileage.  The day was a mix of reasonable trail and some very technical trail, combined with some slippery (in the rain) rock slab ascents and descents and a total elevation gain of over 5500', so we were reasonably happy with 16+ miles.

Lowlight:  Some very heavy rain in the morning had us both soaked for most of the day.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Kevin, the motel co-owner, was ready as promised to drive us back to the trailhead at 6:00am and we were hiking by around 6:30am on a grey, but dry, morning.

The ascent up Baldpate Mountain was more gradual than recent climbs and on better trail, which had us both feeling a little more positive.  However, the promised rain arrived around 9:30am and stayed with us for most of the morning with an occasional break.  Baldpate Mountain was largely bare rock, and a bit slippery, but despite the weather we did get some impressive views, made more so by the low cloud shrouding some of the surrounding mountains.

After Baldpate, we descended on reasonable, but very wet trail, passing the rushing Dunn Cascades en route before taking a late lunch break in a gap in the rain.  We then descended further to pass the picturesque Surplus Pond and begin our last climb for the day to the summit of Wyman Mountain where we hoped to find a tentsite.  But, alas, the only one we saw was already taken and we ended up hiking another 1.5 miles in diminishing light until we reached some tentsites near Hall Mountain Lean-to around 7:45pm, later than we would have liked.

We had pretty much set up camp by headlamp, washed and were ready to start eating dinner when it began to rain again, so we ate in the tent.  The last forecast we heard was for some dry sunny days ahead and we are looking forward to that.

Appalachian Trail - Day 127 - Mahoosuc Notch to Grafton Notch

Day: 127

Date: Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Start:  Mahoosuc Notch (AT Mile 1923.9)

Finish:  Grafton Notch (AT Mile 1934.0)

Daily Kilometres:  9.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3152.2

Weather:  Rain overnight then some fog clearing to mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Bacon cheeseburger & fries, ice-cream & cheesecake.

Aches:  Dave - exhausted and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Finishing the Mahoosucs, a ruggedly beautiful mountain range, but very hard work for hiking.

Lowlight:  Dave was struggling from the outset of the day's hiking with fatigue from yesterday's hike which culminated in the energy-sapping traverse of Mahoosuc Notch.  Compounding his misery, he had a fall near the end of the day which took some skin off and slightly bent the bottom of one of his new trekking poles.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

After the blog was completed last night, as we were settling down to sleep, someone approached our tent with a headlamp and asked who we were.  It turned out to be a young South African thru-hiker we have got to know (along with his Swedish girlfriend … they met on the trail) over the last week or so who was camped a quarter of a mile further up the trail at a designated tenting area and was concerned when we had not turned up there after our transition of the Mahoosuc Notch.  They had seen that we were slow and that Dave was struggling with the difficult technical trail and were worried about our welfare.  How thoughtful and kind was that!

It rained from soon after we went to bed until the early hours so we woke to a very wet tent fly sheet and sopping wet surrounding vegetation.  On the plus side, it was not raining as we packed up and we were hiking before 6:30am and straight into our first climb of the day up to Mahoosuc Arm (3765'),  It was steep long and technical and Dave was soon lagging behind, still fatigued from yesterday.

We took a break at the top, from which there were excellent views, after 2.5 hours to cover two miles and discussed our situation.  We had another big climb soon, after a steep descent, to the shoulder (4026') of Old Speck Mountain, so it seemed likely to be another low-mileage day, especially with Dave struggling.  We resolved to continue on and make a decision after Old Speck.

Before climbing Old Speck, we descended to the beautiful Speck Pond, crossing a beaver dam at its outlet.  Our timing was good because almost immediately thereafter cloud blew in and  the pond was covered in fog.

The climb up Old Speck also seemed endless and steeply technical, so no increase in hiking speed (and no views at the top).  On the way down, we decided to call a motel at Bethel, 20 miles from Grafton Notch where we would soon cross a road, to see if they had a room available.  Not only did they have a room, but they offered to pick us up from the trailhead.  Our thinking was that a short day and soft bed would help Dave recover and it also allowed us to augment our food, which we had been rationing because of the decision yesterday to take an extra day to Rangeley (and our next day off) because of our slow progress.  Also, rain, heavy at times, is forecast for overnight and tomorrow morning, so avoiding starting the day with a wet pack-up had a lot of appeal.

We reached Grafton Notch after a very long, but not so steep, relatively, descent at 2:00pm.  Unexpectedly, there was some "trail magic" treats being offered to thru-hikers by three "trail angels".  We were reluctant to eat/drink the treats because we were heading into town, but did spend a pleasant 30 minutes chatting to them in the sun until our ride to Bethel arrived.  Kevin, the motel co-owner, also offered us cold drinks, and turned out to be a great fan of Bluey, the Australian animated series, from which he retold funny stories which had stayed with him.  He was also a fan of, and knowledgeable about, Australian movies so we had a good chat on the drive to the motel.

We checked in around 3:00pm and gave our laundry to Ruthie, the other co-owner, who insisted that she would do it.  The motel is excellent value and located in the centre of the small town which is a ski resort in the winter with the Sunday River ski field nearby.

After showers, sorting out our laundry and drying our tent, Julie went to the pub for a drink with the South African/Swedish couple who were so concerned about us last night and who had come into town to resupply but are returning to the trail this evening.

Later, Julie bought some take-out hamburgers for dinner and we had an early night.  Kevin will shuttle us back to the trailhead at 6:00am tomorrow so that we get in three full days hiking to maximise our chances of getting to Rangeley in good time on Friday.

Appalachian Trail - Day 126 - Mt Success to Mahoosuc Notch

Day: 126

Date: Monday, 28 August 2023

Start:  Mt Success (AT Mile 1915.1)

Finish:  Mahoosuc Notch (AT Mile 1923.9)

Daily Kilometres:  12.6 (Ascent 2438', Descent 3442')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3143.0

Weather:  Mild and sunny all day

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - exhausted and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Crossing into Maine, our last state on our Appalachian Trail journey.

Lowlight:  Only 8.8 miles today, despite our best efforts.  The trail has just been too hard, twisting and turning, up and down, roots, rocks and bogs.  And it took us three hours to cover the one mile of trail through the infamous Mahoosuc Notch, where you have to navigate your way through, around, under and over massive jagged boulders that have fallen from the walls of the gorge over the eons.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:30am with some apprehension about the difficulty of the trail and particularly Mahoosuc Notch (see above).  But first, we passed the New Hampshire/Maine border which was a cause for minor celebration as we entered our last State on our long journey.

It was a beautiful day for hiking and we had some fantastic views from the open summits of the mountains we crossed, but the difficulty of the trail dominated our thoughts.  It was just very hard and quite stressful in places.  Many times we had to ascend or descend steep rocky slabs hanging onto whatever roots, branches or rocks that were available and hoping that our shoes did not slip from their toeholds.  It was an exercise in risk management and our risk appetite was low.  Neither of us, and particularly Dave, is as agile as we used to be, so great care was taken but, even then, we had our little slips and gasps.  Mahoosuc Notch was extremely taxing and exhausting.

We set out yesterday with five days of food and plans to have Friday off in Rangeley but, as the day wore on, we became increasingly skeptical that we would make it on time.  In the end, Dave called the inn where we had a booking and deferred, by a day, our booking with some difficulty because it is a long weekend.  Ultimately, the Australian charm worked and they found a room.

That took the time pressure off our hiking, but it now means we have to stretch our remaining food for an extra day, which we can do, but Dave will be hungry.

We reached Mahoosuc Notch around 3:00pm, a bit later than hoped and then it took three hours to traverse, also longer than hoped.  We found it all a bit demoralising.  We feel like we are in the home stretch with our hike and are keen to log up the miles, but terrain and trail like this never lets you walk normally and the miles pass very slowly.

At the end of the Notch traverse we found a tentsite near the trail and set up camp around 6:15pm, somewhat relieved to have the Notch and some more mountains behind us, but fearing we have more of the same ahead this week.

Appalachian Trail - Day 125 - US Route 2 to Mt Success

Day: 125

Date: Sunday, 27 August 2023

Start:  US Route 2 (AT Mile 1900.0)

Finish:  Mt Success (AT Mile 1915.1)

Daily Kilometres:  22.5 (Ascent 5951', Descent 3550')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3130.4

Weather:  Mild, humid and partly sunny with some light showers.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Motel continental breakfast 

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese subs

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - left knee sore and some other niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  When we finally reached the summit of Mt Success (3565') in the late afternoon we had great views to the east, south and west, including to Mt Washington.

Lowlight:  So many candidates.  Our booked shuttle for 6:30am never turned up and wouldn't answer their phone, so we had to hitch-hike back to the trailhead which cost us some time.  The bogs were deep and unavoidable all day with Julie going in up to her calf on several occasions and Dave managing to go into mud that came up to mid-thigh.  We had 6000' of climbing on mostly steep technical terrain with packs loaded with five days of food.  When preparing our late dinner, Dave managed to knock over the full stove water container as it was about to be heated, saturating most of the dinner items along with some of his clothes.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We turned up for the motel's continental breakfast right on 6:00am, when it opened, and were ready for our shuttle pickup at 6:30am.  The driver didn't arrive and wouldn't answer his phone.  We gave up and began hitch-hiking with little optimism given it was a quiet Sunday morning in a small town.  After about twenty minutes, a girl who had passed us returned and offered us a lift which was very kind (though her back seat was sopping wet so Dave started the day with a wet butt).

We began hiking around 7:30am with the expectation that the trail would be challenging based on various comments we had read and heard. Initially, it wasn't too bad as we climbed onto the Mahoosuc Range, but soon we were dealing with twisting eroded trail covered with slippery rocks and roots and sharp ups and downs and that's pretty much the way it stayed all day.  The forest was pretty and we did notice that some of the foliage is starting change to yellows and reds. We also passed a couple of attractive ponds and had views from rock ledges on occasion.

Dave had a couple of falls on the slippery rocks and mashed a couple of his fingers, while Julie caught a tree hard with her knee as she manouevred around a tricky section of trail.

All in all, we didn't have a great day and only managed to cover 15 miles when we had hoped to do 17 or 18.  Around 7:30pm, after crossing the summit of Mt Success, we found a possible tent site beside the trail and squeezed our tent in, not wanting to continue on in the looming darkness.