"Live free or die:..."

"...Death is not the worst of evils."
-General John Stark on July 31, 1809

July 13, 2001

Today, I walked into New Hampshire.

Notice caption "Live Free or Die" on bottom.

I walked into Gorham.  I took the Mahoosuc Trail into town instead of the AT (with a hitchhike).  The reason why is because the Mahoosuc Trail section was the same mileage and it was the original route of the AT.  So, I was historic.

I remember at one point I had a scary fall.  It was a beautiful day, but for some reason a boulder had some invisible slippery moss on it (I know...weird, but true).  I slipped and slid right down the boulder all the way to the end and stood right up.  No injury, not a scratch!

Getting first view of the famed Presidential Mountains

Joe, Dan, and Jay also took the same route.  Our order was 1st Joe, Jay, me, Dan.  I came out of the woods to a power plant on the Androscoggin River.  I kept going down a road along the river for a mile or so and ran into Joe.  

We were both realizing we took the wrong way and that Gorham was just across the river.  After considering swimming the river we turned back and found we had to cross at the power plant.

"We must put faith and love into action...

"...to make them real, to make them come alive for people."
-Millard Fuller in The Theology of the Hammer

July 12, 2001

Last night the kids from Walt Whitman Camp gave us burritos with SUN-DRIED TOMATOES!!!  Yum.  Maiya also made us some cheesecake and got trail saint status.  The camp staff were Amanda and Maiya; the kids were Annie, Becca, Lee, Sam, Dan.

I learned a camp song from them:

"If I had a hammer,
I'd hammer in the morning,
I'd hammer in the evening,
I'd hammer all over this land,
L-A-N-D,
I'd hammer out danger,
I'd hammer out warning,
I'd hammer out love for my brothers & sisters,
[Repeat with "bell" and "song" instead of "hammer"]
Well, I've got a hammer, 
It's name is justice.
And I've got a bell,
It's name is freedom."

I didn't quite get the whole ending down, but you can see the full lyrics here.

Gentian Pond Leanto (L to R: Yo-yo, Dan, Joe)

"The caretaker at the shelter told us it was like a jungle gym down here..."

"...well, it's like the Jungle Gym you were scared to death to go on as a kid."
-Carrie Tweeten about the Mahoosic Notch (USA Today article)

July 11, 2001

Today, I did the Notch.

The Notch is considered the toughest mile of the whole Appalachian Trail.  Some dispute that claim, but it is definitely not easy, and is definitely the longest mile.

The Notch is a narrow valley (down to about ten inches at one point) which contains thousands of rocks that have fallen to cover a stream (you can hear it sometimes but never see it).

It took me about 2 1/2 hours, even though I stopped and played.

Journal drawing of choices in the Notch

In the Notch you have several choices to make in order to get through it.  Sometimes, when there were two that looked interesting, I would go through one, come back, and do the other one for fun!

A) Crawl through a narrow cave

B) Climb over tall, wet rocks and fall down other side

C) Crawl through mud and pine needles of the Trail, ruin the precious alpine plants, and possibly step in moose crap

Choice of crawl under or over (see different white arrows)

Crawling through a hole in the Mahoosic Notch

Tight squeeze in the Notch (I had to climb 10 feet up to get through with my pack on)

The Notch falls into one of those categories you do and tell your mother about afterwards.

When I was telling my parents about it, I described slipping at one point and falling into a hole.  My fingers caught hold of the rock lip while the rest of me dangled into the hole.  I looked down to see only inky blackness and hear the rush of some mysterious, subterranean stream.

Immediately, adrenaline flexed my arm muscles shooting me back out of the hole and onto the safety of sturdy rock.

My mom agreed that it was best she knew about this incident only after I had finished the Notch.

One more item:  the beginning of the day.  I got going early knowing I had a big day and was greeted with this awesome view:

View from Mahoosuc Arm

See the clouds settled into the valley in the distance?  It was like that in every direction like a sea filling the valleys.  Nothing stirred except a few early birds starting their morning songs.  

I soaked up the peace and beauty, taking this one picture knowing it would never capture the moment.  

And the ridge in the picture?  It's the one that's been rolling boulders down into the Notch.

"Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles...

...is not a realist."
-David Ben-Gurion

July 10, 2001

Today I had another of God's "little miracles" to boost my faith.  I was climbing up Speck Mountain with thunderstorms running around.  This time I was worried because I was racing a storm up the ridge.

drawing in my Trail journal

Having been caught in the hail storm yesterday, I recognized this new storm as one containing hail.

I did not want to be caught in hail again.

So, I prayed to God that I would reach the lean-to before the thunder and hail arrived.  I knew I would run into lots of rain on this trip, but I felt strongly to ask for this from God.

When I reached the peak the storm was covering half the mountain up to the ridge with the other half all clear.  I took a picture and then hiked to the lean-to.

Storm cloaks half of Speck Mountain

Right when I got to the lean-to, dropped my pack inside, and sat down the hailstorm hit.

Just into the shelter when the hail started

Praise God!

The lean-to that I made it to is part of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) camping system.  It is nestled next to Speck Pond, the highest pond in Maine.

the beautiful, serene Speck Pond

The reason you pay $6 at several AMC spots is because they fly in bark for the composting of the privies. 

Wait? Isn't the camp surrounded in bark on all the trees!?  Anyways...

So, because I am a thruhiker I was able to "work my stay".  

For 45 minutes I sifted compost out of bark.  The way they do it is shovel out a full privy (full of waste and bark), compost it for many weeks (the stuff I did was over the whole winter) and then sift the compost from the bark.  They spread the compost over the forest and re-use most of the bark.

It wasn't as sick as it sounds, but I think I'd pay the $6 next time...

"The storm starts, when the drops start dropping...

...When the drops stop dropping then the storm starts stopping."
-Dr. Seuss

July 9, 2001

I got a ride to the Trail head from Earl today.  I hope to see him and Marge again someday.

I hiked right around with Yoyo and Truly Blessed (the '98 thruhikers).  Also, Dan and Joe are here.

Yoyo, Truly Blessed, and I on Table Rock

Yoyo and Truly Blessed and I and another guy all got caught in a hailstorm over the west peak of Baldplate Mountain.  

Enjoying Baldplate Mountain's peak

We were all enjoying the beautiful peak of Baldplate Mountain when suddenly a very dark cloud came up over the ridge.  We laughed at the cloud, not respecting it at all, perhaps due to the beauty of the evening.  Suddenly, it let loose

The hail was small but there was lots of it so it covered the ground.  It rained really hard and flooded the Trail.  I raced off the peak because the thunder was getting close.  I got a headache from the hail pelting me.  It was a blast.

We all got to the shelter without injury (not counting the headaches), and got changed into dry clothes.  The Mahoosucs already have been a wild and beautiful place, inspiring me to pen this "poem" about The Cabin:

In the land of Moxie and stony peaks,
Up above Mahoosucs and below the Crocks,
Is a place the heart stays for weeks,
Even though there's no ties or locks.
It slows the time in the mind,
And heals the hurry sickness of the soul,
As slowly the pains and hurts unwind,
And the healing land will take a toll.

Mahoosuc: "The word is from the Wabanaki...

..., meaning 'abode of wild animals,' probably for its inaccessibility and the numerous rock caves in Mahoosuc Notch, which create many spots for safe dens."
-Steve Pinkham, Mountains of Maine: Intriguing Stories Behind Their Names

July 8, 2001

I stayed one more day at The Cabin to get to know Earl and Marge and Ken and Beth all better.

Several other visitors arrived during the evening.  I stayed with one of them (Yo-yo) in the teepee.

I plan to do the Mahoosucs in five or six days (should only take four) just to enjoy them (especially the Notch!) and the end of Maine.

To accent the difficulty of this terrain, I end with a simple quote from the National Cooperative Soil Survey of the Mahoosuc Range: "Slopes range from 8 to 80 percent."