"A picture's meaning..."

"...can express ten-thousand words."
-original Chinese proverb from streetcar advertisement

July 16, 2001

No written journal entry today, but lots of pictures.

A visual journal entry, shall we say.

First, a journal drawing of Pinkham Notch between the Wildcats-Carter area and the Presidentials:

The following pictures I took from Lowe's Bald right in the middle.

The Wildcats here:

The Wildcats had the steepest part of the whole Trail in my memory.  I remember a section where metal rungs were installed into a rock wall and you had to climb down (down for Southbounders).  I wondered how some of my friends with dogs would manage.

Carter Dome and Notch, where I had just stayed the night in Carter Notch Hut:

Adams and Madison:

I would stay the night at the very right side of this picture at a "campsite" (Osgood Tentsite) which was literally just a square patch of earth with some boards around it.  I would start the day going straight up Madison.

Washington:

The crown of the Presidentials, and where the idea of this thruhike was first sprung forth.

"Carter Notch Hut, the farthest east...

"...in AMC's chain of eight high mountain huts, is the oldest structure in the system."
-Appalachian Mountain Club in History of the Carter Notch Hut

July 15, 2001

Tonight I worked my stay at Carter Notch Hut by washing dishes for one hour.  The caretakers are Susan and Brian - very nice people.  Brian is a wildlife major and knows all about local plants, etc.  Susan has a degree in English but is trying to get a position on Mt. Washington observatory hoping for a future in geology.

Carter Notch Hut from above the "notch"

This is a beautiful and awesome hut.  I feel like I'm in town with a bunk bed and a kitchen.  It is nestled just between the Carters and Wildcats.  

Unknowing to me, this would be the beginning of a wonderful relationship between myself and AMC's hut system.

I had planned to stay in my tent along the way and avoid the high prices of staying in the huts, but found out here that I could work my stays.

And, eat lots of good food as part of the deal!

I would stay in five huts over the next seven days, and gain weight hiking through some of the roughest terrain on the East Coast.

Self-portrait on North Carter peak

The view from Carter Dome and the viewpoint on the ledge above Carter Hut had a nice view of the Presidentials.

Presidential Mountains off to the right behind Carter Dome

"One pound off your feet..."

"...equals five pounds off your back."
-common hiker wisdom supported by US Army research

July 14, 2001

We stayed at Hiker's Paradise.

There were two hostels in Gorham, NH that were vying for Appalachian Trail hikers.  I think the other one was the White Mountain Hotel.

This was great, I tell you.

Because of the competition, each bent over backwards trying to accommodate thru-hikers!  The guy at Hiker's Paradise drove us wherever we wanted, and kept bikes in the back of the van in case some of us wanted to go different directions.  He drove us to get resupply food, and some went to watch a movie, while others of us took bikes to go shopping.

I went to the outfitter and bought a pair of low-cut approach shoes (Lowes) and mailed home my boots.  Also got smaller cord.  

The boots would be a great relief.  More on that later.

I was carrying thick rope for tying food up in trees away from bears.  The rope was pretty weighty, so it was nice to getter a lighter-weight yet still strong enough cord.  I mailed the heavy rope home and still use it today to tie up our paddle boat.

I left at 10:30 AM after calling home and hiked 8 miles to Imp Campsite.  It's really full of section hikers.  The weather is really cold and rainy.  I'm using my thermal underwear already (not for hiking yet...but maybe tomorrow).

Gorham, NH from Imp Campsite's bench

I really love my new shoes.  I feel so much better w/out those clunkers on my feet.  I can get my feet into smaller rock holes and get those feet a little higher.  It really helps with jumping...especially down for some reason.

Oh, more Trail Angels.  first, four day hikers from Massachusetts gave me some dried-fruit gorp.  Second, a group from Portland, ME at Imp Shelter gave us lots of food.  So far turkey and potatoes, cookies, and promise of Pop-tarts.

"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."

"And so with all things:...

...names were vital and important."
-Algernon H. Blackwood

July 7, 2001

I talked with Mom and Dad.  My bump box never arrived, so I'm trying to figure that out.

A bump box is a box you ship to yourself at the next town.  You can keep "town clothes" and shaving gear and other stuff you only need in town but do not want to carry along with you on the Trail.

Never finding it, I abandoned the idea and never used a bump box.

I slack-packed ten miles with Beth and Kramer from South Arm Road to East B Hill Road.  I met Sparrow and Kat, Moose Killer, and a northbounder named Old Dave.  I also saw the Tanker Twins again (now named Bob and Space Monkey).

Slack-packing is leaving your big pack back at the hostel your are staying at and taking a lighter day pack to hike a section.  It was the only time I would do it, and it was a delight to hike with Beth and Kramer.

My trail name is now Uncle Viking. Uncle because I'm an uncle and Viking because at THS [Tennessee High School] we were Vikings.

I would lose the "Uncle" part for some reason I can't remember, but the moniker "Viking" stuck.

I met Earl tonight.  He is a very charismatic man.  I really enjoyed meeting him.  His first greeting to me was a hug.

The Cabin - me, Mitch, Bear, Truly Blessed, Yoyo

Beth and I said bye to Mia at the trailhead.  She dropped us off on her way back home.  I got to give her a hug since she hugged me.  Two hugs in one day - they are rare these days!

Tomorrow to the Mahoosics!

"When I was young, I admired clever people...

...Now that I am old, I admire kind people."
-Abraham Joshua Heschel

July 6, 2001

Today I stayed at The Cabin, run by Earl and Marge (Honey and Bear).  Earl is away maintaining the Trail at White Cap and Wilson Valley.

Honey and Bear are the nicest people you will meet.  I needed to go into Andover to restock on food, and planned on taking an old pickup truck that made available for hikers to use.  Unfortunately, I flooded it.

Earl was back around this time, and he handed me the keys to his nice Ford F-350.  His one stipulation was that I wave to everyone I saw, because otherwise someone would be offended that "Earl" had not waved at them (seeing his truck).

There is a couple staying here named Ken and Beth (Ladder and Stuck Tiva) and also a friend of theirs named Mia.

Ken stayed here through a winter after his thruhike with their dog Kramer.  He met Beth on the Trail and they both lived in Manchester, NH and ended up married.

Mia worked with Beth at a college, did social work for awhile and is now headed for law school in Concord.  She is extremely beautiful and a very nice young woman.

The four of us played Pictionary 'til midnight and laughed like crazy.  I had so much fun.

My sides literally hurt from all the laughing we did.  It is always rewarding to have so much fun without beer or drugs or anything like that, because you can remember it all so fresh in the morning.

"It's great, it's grand! It's wonderland!...

...What soup, what fish!
That beef, what a dish!
That grouse, so rare!
That aged camembert!
That bab au rhum!
Will you please move over chum?"
-Cole Porter, What a Swell Party This Is

July 5, 2001

No journal entry today, but I did take this picture of a grouse in a tree.

Grouse in a tree.

The grouse really didn't want to move.

Not until I poked it with my walking stick.

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4,...

"...not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy and the flies die from happiness."
-Erma Bombeck

July 4, 2001


Took on Saddleback Mountain today and loved it.

The Saddlebacks

Saw a black bear on the way down.  I took a quick snapshot and then yelled and banged my poles together until it ran off. 


I wasn't too scared seeing the bear, as it was a ways off and rolling rocks and shaking trees.  Usually, this means the bear is trying to scare me off.  It went off into the woods.

I was more scared continuing on the Trail toward where it ran.  I was on pins and needles taking each corner in the Trail, waiting for the bear to appear out of nowhere.

Suddenly, I turned a corner to a black blob and jumped several feet!

And it was the local trail runner (they are like interns than keep the trail clean and help people out) wearing a black jacket.  I explained why I jumped so much, and he said he would warn others there was a bear around.

I would see the bear on the other side of this Saddleback peak.

I've seen my moose, bear, and a bonus fisher [the first day I entered the 100 Mile Wilderness].  I also saw a baby fox and heard an adult fox with it.


Josh and I got to the lean-to at noon so we headed down to Rangeley and got 7 pounds of hamburger with fixings!  


The other hikers that came in after us were thrilled with the Fourth of July fare!


Also, called home and got mom and dad.  It's nice to know they know where I am and that the number works.


My parents had just moved to their new home and their new home phone number.  We connected and all was good.

"Urban density allows half of humanity...

"...to live on 2.8 per cent of the land.  Demographers expect developing countries to stabilise at 80 per cent urban, as nearly all developed countries have.  On that basis, 80 per cent of humanity may live on 3 per cent of the land by 2050."
-Stewart Brand of Prospect Magazine


July 3, 2001


Hi.  14 people in one lean to at Poplar Ridge.

Found here

Shelters usually recommend 8-10 people.

Snug.

The reason for so many hikers in one spot?

The convergence of Southbound and Northbound hikers commences.

"The greatest pleasure of a dog is...

"...that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too."
-Samuel Butler

July 2, 2001


Back on the Trail!  We did a good 10.6 miles.  


We climbed up the Crocker Mountains for the first five (six) miles and then we pushed in on up Sugarloaf.  


Right now I sit inside the Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort summit house.  It's a huge hexagon building with windows on five sides looking out on the Bigelows and other mountains (even Mt. Washington a ways off.)

This is a luxurious mansion in AT terms.

Inside the Sugarloaf summit house (Smitty behind wall, Odin - dog, Nathan, Denali - dog)

Note the two dogs.  The boxer on the left was very fun!

I wore my socks so there were six inches hanging loose out from my toes.  The boxer would "chase" me around and try to bite the loose part.  He was very careful to never get my toes.  Smart dog.


We have a wood stove going and a radio playing.  Such hardships on the AT!


That was sarcasm if you didn't catch it.  This was a very nice surprise to stay in this summit house.  Most shelters on the AT have three walls, fit about 8 adults shoulder to shoulder, and the best amenity you can hope for is a broom with which to sweep it out.

The winds on the summit were about 50 to 60 mph and chilly, so it was very good that we had the wood stove.


There is a section hiker here from S. New Hampshire and a couple from Florida named Peanut and Panama Red.


There is a phenomenon on the Trail in which single hikers often will hike with a couple.  It happened all along the Trail.  Sociologists should study it.  I suppose the single hiker provides a third-wheel kind of relief to the natural tensions couples have.

Anyways, my "couple" was Peanut and Panama Red.  I stayed with them through the rest of Maine and New Hampshire, with the occasional departures.  However, I "lost" them, and wouldn't find them again until North Carolina.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself...

Sunset from Sugarloaf Mountain