Tag: backpacking

Katahdin At Last

This was a northbound section hike of the Appalachian Trail starting at East Flagstaff Road (NB mile 2025.8 and ending on Mt. Katahdin. This section hike was 176.9 miles over 15 days. I flew into the Portland, ME airport and shuttled to East Flagstaff Road.

Sept 15, 2024

Starting at mile 2025.8. Hiking northbound.

East Flagstaff Road to Flagstaff Campsite (2026.9) – 1.1 miles

I started much later than planned, after 4 PM. My shuttle driver was hours late. He blamed traffic, but admitted to shuttling someone else that morning so I think he was trying to squeeze in an additional fare. I don’t blame him because his $200 price was beyond reasonable given that my shuttle required him to be on the road for at least 8 hours. My original plan was to hike 6 miles to West Carry Pond Lean-To, but with the late start and the long travel day I was beat and didn’t care to push hard and hike in the dark. Besides, I had a great deal of slack time built into my schedule.

A year ago on the first day of my section hike I had a view of Flagstaff Lake from the Bigelows. Here is the view of Flagstaff Lake from my campsite on the my first day of this year’s section hike.

Sept 16, 2024

Flagstaff Campsite to Pierce Pond Lean-To (2042.0) 15.1 miles

Went to sleep last night to the sound of Loons. Woke this morning to the sound of Loons.

Taking a break on the dock at West Carry Pond Lean-To. This was my originally planned destination for the first day.

Last night and this morning I heard the calls of Loons. Today I took time to watch Loons. Sometimes they would pop up suddenly from down below. They are great underwater swimmers.

After pitching my tent at Pierce Pond Lean-To, I walked 0.3 miles to Harrison’s Camp to sign up for breakfast the next morning. I had not seen other hikers, until shortly before I arrived at Pierce Pond. That changed when I enjoyed a delicious blueberry pancake breakfast at Harrison’s the next morning and met several thru-hikers who were to become my occasional hiking companions all of the way to Katahdin, including Scarface, Tinder, Turkish Delight, and ??.

The photo below is my tent is pitched on a platform at Bigelow Col Campsite. There were more daylight hiking hours left in the day, but another brutal climb was ahead and I thought it would be wise to rest and let my legs recover some this first day.

September 17, 2024

Pierce Pond Lean-To Joes Hole Creek stealth spot (2059.1) 17.1 miles

This memorable day started with loads of coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon, and blueberry pancakes and the enjoyable company of a table full of 7 or 8 thru-hikers. The proprietor of Harrison’s Camp doesn’t seem to have a set price for thru-hikers, but if you ask, he suggests $6. With all of the hiker talk and stories, it was getting toward 9 am when I reluctantly pushed back from the table and was the first to set back out on the trail.

This is the Kennebec River crossing. Today, the ferry crossing was a canoe piloted by a certified Maine Guide named Rob. The river was about as low as it gets, but still, the water through the main channel was enough to make Rob work hard to keep the canoe from being pushed downstream too far. I was Rob’s first customer today and I waited quite a while and wondered about my ride. Finally, I saw a man step out of a shelter on the far side of the river. I waved until Rob saw me and I was soon climbing into the canoe and answering questions about whatever other hikers were headed this way.

This was easily the toughest day of hiking and the climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain was the toughest part of a tough day. There were several bigger mountains over the 2 weeks including Chairback, West Peak, Gulf Hagas, Whitecap, and Katahdin; however, climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain took place in the middle of a brutally hot afternoon.

There was only a mile and a half further to go to get to Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To, but I’d made a good distance and with plenty of extra time in my hike schedule, I didn’t need to push on. Besides, I though I had a second wind, it had been an hot exhausting day. The stealth site was too small to hardly qualify as a tent spot, but I pitched one end of the tent over a rotten log and called it a day.

September 18, 2024

Joes Hole Brook to Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To – (2073.7) 13 miles

A lot of hiking along the West Branch Piscataquis River where the trail surface as at turns rocky and rooty to the point that I began to be reminded of Pennsylvania, though nothing could be as rocky as Pennsylvania. There were several water crossings of various difficulty. Near the end of the day, I came to a wide section of the Piscataquis where three women were crossing. Two had taken off shoes and were in the process of walking through the stream. I rock hopped across while keeping my feet dry. I watched as the third woman attempted the same, but ended up slipping into the water. Ironically, with numerous dry foot crossings I eventually managed to step on a small log that rolled my foot into a small muddy puddle.

I was the only person at Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To where I set up my tent and spent a lonely night.

A cave like rock overhang.

September 19, 2024

Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to Route 15 Monson, ME – Shaw’s Hostel (2082.7) – 9 mi

I was up early and speed hiking 9 miles to hot showers, laundry, town food, etc. At Route 15 I called the shuttle for Shaw’s Hostel. Before 10 am I was at Route 15, I had also reached the beginning of the 100 mile wilderness.

By 11:30 AM, after a hot shower, laundry in the washing machine, and a cold beer, I’m already getting settled into town life in beautiful Monson, Maine. My usual Hostel stay involves sharing a room with a number of bunks, but this time I had planned ahead by reserving a private room. Besides having a more restful night, it made it much easier to spread out my gear and 10-day resupply to better organize my pack. As I looked at the piles of food, I wondered how I would fit it all in my pack and how I would manage the weight. Thinking it through, since water would be abundant, I planned to fill only a single bottle of water. I also strapped the tent to the bottom of my pack and my dry sack with sleeping bag and clothing to the top of my pack. Assundries were already in ziplocks that I kept in the webbing on the outside of the pack. Down jacket and vest were stuffed into the stretch sleeve on the lower back of the pack. That left the inside available for food.

I headed to the General Store where I picked up a sandwich and snacks for lunch. That night at The Lakeshore House, Tinder and Scarface who I had first met at Harrison’s invited me to join them. We caught up on each other’s hike and enjoyed the food, live music, and lake view.

September 20, 2024

100 Mile Wilderness – Route 15 (Monson) to Wilson Vally Lean-To (mi 2093.1) – 10.4 mi

Finally, I’m in the 100 mile wilderness which isn’t a wilderness at all, rather it is a 100 mile stretch where resupply isn’t possible. Unless, of course you are willing to pay $80 to Shaw’s or someone else for a drop that you will be required to meet. The money is one thing, but the requirement to be at a specific place at a specific time was also something I didn’t care for. I met a thru-hiker at Shaw’s that was organizing a group for an altogether different plan. Instead of paying for a food drop, hikers would share the cost of a shuttle to slackpack for the next 3 days. I had already noticed this guy from how much he was enjoying the camaradarie, beer, and food of town life; however, no matter how tempting this might be, it wasn’t my idea of hiking the 100 mile wilderness. I didn’t envy their daily hours riding in a van. I politely declined. He found a couple of hiking buddies, so for each of the next 3 days I looked forward to seeing this crew as they hiked south and I hiked north.

A somewhat foreboding message, this sign. It is not as all bad as that.

Here is Wilson Stream. I didn’t carry water shoes so I took off shoes and socks and waded across here. To avoid stepping on slippery uneven stones hidden beneath the water, I moved slowly and carefully.

I had a little crisis last night as I began to prepare my first freeze-dried meal in the 100 Mile Wilderness. The gas canister that I had bought at Shaw’s would cross-thread onto my stove and start hissing gas. After several tries, one of a group of 3 guys from Pittsburgh staying at the Wilson Valley Lean-To offered to try. Thankfully, he managed to thread the stove onto the canister.

September 21, 2024

Wilson Valley Lean-To to Cloud Pond Lean-To (mile 2101.8) – 8.7 miles

I finished early and claimed the choice tent spot with a million-dollar view over Cloud Pond. Ideally, I’d have hiked further, but there isn’t always a reasonable camping spot where you want it. I’m carrying 10 days of resupply where most people are planning for only 7 days. I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes the trail is harder than expected or the weather won’t cooperate so I’ve allowed a lot of time to complete this hike. As hard as it is to travel to this remote spot in Maine, I don’t want to come up short and need to return to finish the last few miles of the AT. I also don’t want to finish the trip too early just to end up spending an extra day in town waiting for my return flight.

2100 miles from Springer Mountain

Thanks to thru-hikers June and Taz who took my photo here. I met them in Monson where I tried the hostel’s slack line. June then gave a nice demonstration on how to move from standing to sitting to standing on a slack line. These cliffs would be a nice spot for a slack line. Don’t you think?

View from my tent at Cloud Pond. Note the stove with the blue and white gas canister. Once again I had trouble threading the stove onto the canister. Finally, after repeated tries, I was able to make it work. Whew! I’ve learned a lesson to check out any new canister with the stove before leaving town. The sad thing was that my old canister still had plenty of gas when I dropped it into the hiker box at Shaw’s. It probably had enough gas to make it through the 100-mile wilderness.

About an hour after I arrived at Cloud Pond, Tinder and Scarface showed up and Tinder began building a campfire. A couple of hours after that, the Pittsburgh Trio arrived. They told me that a couple of them were priests and that they were about to have Mass so I would know what it was and not think they were doing something strange.

Sunset at Cloud Pond

September 22, 2024

Cloud Pond Lean-To to Trailside near Gulf Hagas (2115.5) – 13.7 miles

Nearly every morning I have oatmeal for breakfast, but this morning at Cloud Pond, I treated myself to a breakfast skillet.

On the first major climb north of Cloud Pond Lean-To, I encountered the wreckage from this plane crash on the AT. I never found the story about the plane crash.

The descent off Chairback Mountain including this rockslide was a little long and tedious, reminding me of southern Maine.

View of White Cap Mountain from the descent off Chairback. At 3643 feet, this is the highest peak that the AT crosses in the 100-mile wilderness. It also marks the last long climb in the 100-mile wilderness.

Labeled by PeakFinder, this zoomed-in view from the descent of Chairback Mountain shows the route of the next day’s hike. That route bears to the left and descends to the valley where it continues to the left up the other side of the valley. It continues to the ridge at Gulf Hagas Mountain then follows the ridge over West Peak and Hay Mountain. To the right of Hay Mountain the lower slope of White Cap Mountain is visible. The AT goes over the top of White Cap and leaves the ridge, dropping down the other side.

Seated in the foreground is Extra. Standing from left to right: Stinky, Hemlock, Uphill, Empty Space, and Rebecca.

The 3 guys from Pittsburgh that I first met at Wilson Lean-To two nights ago had told me that they had arranged a resupply at Katahdin Iron Works road. I began hearing that the person doing their resupply had set up major trail magic on Katahdin Iron Works Road while waiting on the Pittsburgh guys. My hunger was kicking up so was began busting it down to the road and hoping that the trail magic would still be there.

I was in for a fantastic reward, but first Empty Space asked whether I’d seen the Pittsburgh trio and I reported that I’d spent the last two nights with them and that they were usually arrived about 3 hours behind me. Empty Space grilled me a hamburger and a grilled cheese sandwich which he served with hot tomato soup. I ate snacks and had a cold beer. Next, Empty Space opened a cooler that had been carefully packed with dry ice and ice cream bars. He said they were for the Pittsburgh guys, but he had a few extras and I could have one. Empty Space warned me to hold off eating because they were frozen as solid as a brick and I would break my teeth.

Later, Stinky and Hemlock’s hiking companion Dying arrived. We still hadn’t seen the Pittsburgh Trio. Dying was more of a hiking purist, having avoided shortcuts on the AT the whole way. Since I had passed Stinky, Hemlock, and Dying early in the day, I had wondered how Stinky and Hemlock had beat me to the trail magic. It turned out that they had taken a shortcut that came out further down on Katahdin Ironworks Road. This had avoided a lot of the Chairback Ridge. It was getting late. With the exception of an overpriced private campground, no camping is allowed for miles through this entire area of the Gulf Hagas. Stinky, Hemlock, and Dying opted to do a road walk to stay at the Gorman Chairback Cabins where they would be fed supper, breakfast, and a packed lunch the next day. It turns out that the 100-mile wilderness isn’t entirely without comforts.

I opted to keep my headlamp handy and I set off on a late-day trek out of the Gulf Hagas restricted area. I had no idea whether there would be a suitable tent spot, particularly since past Gulf Hagas, the trail began to climb and the map didn’t show any level spots. Thankfully, I was recharged with a full stomach and the trail was much smoother than the rockslides of the past few miles. As soon as I passed the Gulf Hagas boundary, I kept an eye out for level spots. I soon spied spots at the bottom of a steep drop-off below the trail. It was nearly dark and I scrambled down and set up my tent in a discreet spot next to the Gulf Hagas stream. (Just in case this spot wasn’t legal.) About 10 minutes later a couple of guys from Quebec that I had passed earlier came up the trail. At first, I wasn’t sure who they could be, but when I saw who they were, I waved them down. They were happy to find this level spot and I was happy to have company. The guys were Kevin and Mark and it turned out that Mark had extra gas canisters. This time, my gas canister would not thread onto my stove. I tried it on Mark’s stove and it worked. I tried Mark’s extra canister on my stove and that one worked. There was something strange about the compatibility of the canister from Shaw’s and my stove. Mark offered me his canister and I offered mine in trade. He wouldn’t take the trade and just gave me his extra canister.

September 23, 2024

Trailside near Gulf Hagas to Mountain View Pond (2131.5) – 16.0 miles

With cooler temperatures, climbing West Peak, Hay Mountain, and White Cap was easier than expected.

Labeled by PeakFinder: Here is the first view of Katahdin from White Cap Mountain.

I planned to hike 14.1 miles to East Branch Lean-To and tent there. When I arrived, it was still early and I expected to be the first hiker. I was surprised when I stepped around to the front of the shelter and saw a small thin man lounging in the lean-to. He was wearing a black mask and a sleeping bag and gear was spread out in the corner of the shelter. I found out he was staying the night. When he asked if I was staying, I told him I was going to set up my tent nearby. With the mask and an accent I couldn’t place his voice was a little garbled. He asked me for food. If it wasn’t already clearly obvious that he was homeless, this gave him away. I told him that I had carefully planned out my food carry to minimize weight so I didn’t have food to spare. I also said that other backpackers would to the same thing. My implication was that this was the wrong place for a homeless person to be begging for food. I was pretty spooked by this man, but not enough to hike to another spot so I began exploring the area for a private spot well away from the Lean-To. One where he was unlikely to bother me. After walking over the area and finding some nice spots out of sight of the Lean-To, I considered my options. I didn’t see other hikers. I might be camping alone with this strange masked man. It wouldn’t matter where I placed my tent because there was no way to hide out here. Checking “Far Out”, my other option was to hike another 1.9 miles to some limited tent spots at Mountain View Lake. Hiker comments on the Far Out App reported that most spots were hard to find or barely suitable for tents. I thought I had time to reach this spot before dark. The forecast called for rain in a couple of days. The extra distance today would make for a short day between Lean-To’s for the upcoming rain day. Also, camping next to another lake sounded nice. My biggest regret was that I wouldn’t have a nice privy.

Here is my tent spot at Mountain View Lake. This was by far the best spot besides being the only obvious spot here. After I claimed this spot, other hikers began arriving. Though tight, I offered the area next to my tent, but other hikers thanked me and wandered off in search of spots. More hikers dribbled in. They were having increasing difficulty finding spots for a tent. All told me that they had planned to spend the night at East Branch Lean-To, but when the man with the black mask begged for either money, food, or fuel they decided to hike on. Some hikers were arriving here as it was getting dark. I asked whether they saw anyone choosing to stay at East Branch Lean-To other than the homeless man. They all reported that the homeless man was the only one staying there. It seemed crazy that the homeless man had the Lean-To and privy all to himself while there were 7 – 10 hikers crowded around an area that was more of a stealth site area than a real camping site.

September 24, 2024

Mountain View Pond to Antlers Campsite (mi 2145.6) – 14.1 miles

Here is the view Cooper Brook from the Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To. Not many Lean-To’s can match this one for being perfect placement on the bank of a creek for the best view. I was making good time and it was such a beautiful day that I decided to take an uber-long break at this beautiful spot. I took off my shoes, rested, and ate lunch. After about an hour, guess who showed up? It was the homeless guy from yesterday. From the beginning and during the course of this section hike, I occasionally heard stories and rumors about this guy, though I never expected to meet him. At first, I didn’t realize it was the same guy I had heard about, but after meeting him yesterday, I realized that I already knew things about him. I had been told that this man was from the Phillipines and that he had been hiking the AT for nearly a year, having started last October. The black mask spooked people out and he had been reported to the police and the Immigration & Naturalization Service. Both INS and police checked him out and deemed him harmless. They said there was nothing they could do since he wasn’t breaking the law.

I decided to extend my long break and visit with this guy for a while and listen to his story. This time he asked for fuel. I had my extra fuel canister that wouldn’t work with my stove so I was glad to do without carrying the extra weight and I gave it to him. I explained that he might want to check it first since I knew it wouldn’t work with my stove, though it worked with other stoves. He was just glad to get it and didn’t bother checking it.

His name was Herman and he confirmed that he was from the Philippines and had started hiking a year ago in October. Now, I knew this was the same homeless person I had heard stories about. He was moving from shelter to shelter, or “lean-to’s” in Maine. I guessed that the fact that he was hiking each day to a new shelter kept him from being picked up by the police for vagrancy. Anyone who permanently moved into a lean-to might eventually be subject to arrest. Each shelter, hut, lean-to, etc. is typically no more than 7 – 8 miles from the last and sometimes much closer. I can see why he had been hiking since October. He told me that he would ask for food, money, or fuel and that he was homeless. I noticed that he varies what he asks for and only asks for one thing, whether it be food, money, or fuel. He said that he didn’t like homeless shelters and where he had things stolen from him. He said that the AT was the perfect place for him. He told me he would like to get a “volunteer” job in a small town somewhere. He talked about getting a job cleaning the offices of a small-town mayor in exchange for which they would feed him and provide a room for him to sleep in. I told him that every government no matter how small had a bureaucracy that wouldn’t allow for such an arrangement. I noticed that he was much older and thinner than I had at first guessed. I tried to pin down his age by talking at length with him, asking about his family and when and how he came to the United States. I guess that he could be as old as 65 or 70. He’s small and probably about 110 pounds and 5 foot 5 inches. He told me about how he hiked up to New Hampshire, but that he had to turn around because the AMC was charging fees for campsites and he had no money. He began hiking south and in Massachusetts met a lady who gave him money and gear. He said he owed everything to her and he wouldn’t be here without her. Having money, he began hiking north again from Massachusetts, through New Hampshire and to this point in Maine. He told me the man at the Kennebec River ferry (canoe) told him the ferry closed for the winter on September 31st. He said that now he was stuck in Maine forever.

Crawford Pond

Antlers Campsite is located on Lower Jo-Mary Lake and very cool. Tinder had given me advice on the best spot at Antlers. I arrived early and claimed this site on the tip of a peninsula overlooking the lake from both the front and rear of my tent. It was very exposed to wind which would be a problem if there were storms. Antlers is huge with plenty of spread-out tent spots. I was early and the sun was out so I took the opportunity to put on my shorts and get in the lake for a bath and laundry. I hung my wet shirt, socks, and pants on branches I could find in the sun.

September 25, 2024

Antlers Campsite to Wadleigh Lean-To (mi 2159) – 13.4 miles

The trail in this portion of Maine is easy. I could have easily walked farther, but if I made today longer, then tomorrow or the next day would be too short and boring. Rain was coming in later tomorrow morning and though still early, stopping here at Wadleigh Shelter would give me a perfect distance tomorrow. I short day in the rain is preferable to a long boring zero rain day spent in a Lean-To. As it was, nobody else was at Wadleigh Lean-To and I quickly grew bored. I explored the area a little. That didn’t help much with my boredom so I gathered firewood and built a campfire.

September 26, 2024

Wadleigh Lean-To to Rainbow Stream Lean-To (mi 2167.3) – 8.1 miles

Ahh, it was a rain day. I knew the forecast so for the last several days I had been planning to make this a short day. My unplanned 16-mile day into Mountain View Pond set up the planning to allow for a very short rain day. The rain was forecast to begin later that morning so I was up early and hiking fast to reach Rainbow Stream Lean-To without having to walk through a downpour. After a couple of hours a light rain started. By the time I reached the Lean-To before lunch, a steady rain was falling. To take the wet chill off, I change from my wet clothes into my dry sleeping clothes and snuggled into my sleeping bag. I was thirsty and needed to fill my water bottles. Rainbow stream was about 40 feet in front of the shelter, but the rain started coming down hard. I didn’t want to leave the comfort of my sleeping bag and get wet so I put off the task of retrieving water. After several hours, Turkish Delight showed up at the shelter. About an hour later, Sigma showed up. Later, the rain let up slightly and I quickly filled my water bottles in the stream. That night, it was the three of us staying dry in the Lean-To.

Nahmakanta Lake in Rain

September 27, 2024

Rainbow Stream Lean-To to Abol Bridge Campground (2182.3) – 15 miles

Rainbow Lake

View of Mount Katahdin from the bridge at Abol Bridge.

My tent at Abol Pines Campsite overlooks the Penobscot River. I gathered around the campfire that night with some of the thru-hikers that I had met along the way. Sigma, Turkish Delight, Scarface, and Tinder. As a section hiker, it was exciting to think about this last stage of my hike. I can’t imagine the excitement of these thru-hikers.

Penobscot River

September 28, 2024

Abol Bridge Campground to The Birches Campsite (2192.1) – 9.8 mile

No matter what reassurance the Baxter Park Ranger had for the Birches Campsite sign-up, I couldn’t help but worry that a bus full of people from town would arrive early in the morning to sign up for all the spots at Birches. We’d seen some southbound hikers who told us that was what happened to them. As stated on the sign-up sheet, only NOBO hikers completing the 100 Mile Wilderness are eligible. This means hikers can’t just be dropped off from town to sign up for the Birches. Even if you hiked the 100 Mile Wilderness, and then went into town for a minute, you would lose eligibility for the Birches. In reality, most of those going through the 100 Mile Wilderness are thru-hikers or long-section hikers and already know each other so they would know legit sign-ups from imposters. They could call them out. (For whatever good that would do.)

In my opinion, there is a great deal more stress than there needs to be regarding the rules and regulations in Baxter State Park. The Park Rangers try to act like everything is chill when they are doing their best given an overly regulated system that doesn’t allow for the expansion of campsites or parking. Baxter Park is enormous and it doesn’t need to be this way. The park was created through a Trust left by Governor Percival P. Baxter which established rules which seem to be used as an excuse to keep unreasonable restrictions and avoid expanding amenities such as parking and camping. It would be simple to increase the capacity of the Birches or add a 2nd camping area for thru-hikers. Thru-hikers take up much less room than car campers. It wouldn’t violate the rules to keep Baxter SP “forever wild” and in a “natural state” any more than the existing facilities violate those rules.

They advise you to take a photo of your sign-up as proof should something go wrong. The ranger at the sign-up kiosk makes sure that the ranger at the Birches Campsite receives a copy of the sign-up information. If no spaces remain, the ranger works to find you a spot at another campground.

I woke up at 3:15 am and walked 0.8 miles in the dark from Abol Pines Campground to the Baxter State Park entrance. After arriving at around 4:00 am, I was the first in line to sign up for Birches. Sign-up is at 7 am, so I laid down on my sleeping pad I snoozed as I waited for the Park Ranger to arrive with the sign-up sheet. As you can see, there is space for only 12 people at Birches Campsite.

I walked 0.8 miles to the park entrance for Birches sign-up, then walked back to Abol Pines to pack up my tent and Abol Bridge for some breakfast snacks and last phone device charging. Here I am after having walked back 0.8 miles a 2nd time to the park entrance for the last leg of my hike.

Stinky, Dying, and Hemlock chose to leave their tents and gear at Abol Bridge Campground and hike all night on a 30.2-mile round trip to the summit of Katahdin and back. They road-walked a portion of the hike so it was less than 30.2 miles, but that was in addition to the 20 or so miles they had already hiked that day. These thru-hikers have a unique way of speaking about themselves. It’s about 5 pm and they are packing up. They’ve already hiked 15 to 20 miles today. The conversation goes something like this. One says, “We’re hiking to Katahdin from here.” Stinky says, “Yeah, we’re doing an all-nighter.” Hemlock groans, “Yeah, we’re crazy”. “Actually, we’re stupid.” “We shouldn’t be doing this.” “We are idiots.”

Big Niagra Falls

Birches Campsite with Trail Magic

Hot Pizza at Birches Campsite. Thanks for the Trail Magic! I couldn’t imagine the work it took to bring in hot pizza and everything else and drive back home for work on Monday morning.

September 29, 2024

The Birches Campsite to Baxter Peak, Katahdin (2197.4) – 5.3 miles

View from Katahdin Climb

Fog and clouds move in as I continue the rocky ascent of Katahdin.

I reached the summit of Katahdin and finished the entire Appalachian Trail at 9:40 am. My AT section hike began 21 years ago. I hiked sections in 11 of those years. I section-hiked from Amicalola Falls to Ceres Gap, Virginia over the first 3 years. In 2 of the intervening years, I hiked sections in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts with my friend Sheffy. After retirement, I resumed in earnest in 2019 and hiked the remainder over the next 6 years.

I celebrate the completion of the AT.

December 26, 2024
Hauling Trail Magic into Sierra Snow

This is part 2 of my June 2019 section hike in the Sierra.

Original Hike Plan Falls Victim to Injury

My intention had been to hike the PCT straight through from Lone Pine (Cottonwood Pass) to Mammoth Lakes (Reds Meadow); however, on the 2nd day out, I post-holed my right leg on a steep snow-covered slope, spraining my knee. I could still walk, but not with the confidence needed to push through all 7 of the major high mountain passes in these conditions.

My knee sprain occurred on June 15th and I hiked out at Kearsage Pass on June 18th. My flight out of Reno wasn’t until June 26th so having 8 days remaining, I decided to overnight at a Hostel California in Bishop, then hike out of Mammoth Lakes the next day. The new plan was to hike south on the PCT for several days, turning around at any point of my choosing before hiking back to Mammoth Lakes. If my knee began to act up, I could slow my pace and choose an earlier turnaround point.

Record Snow Year

This was a year of record snow accumulation and though now mid-June, many feet of snow remained. Mammoth Mountain had recorded 24 feet of snow in February. Residents there had to tunnel out of their homes. For the season, the summit of Mammoth Mountain had received 715 inches of snow. With 28 inches of snow recorded in May, the snow never eased up even in the late spring. Now, I was hiking only a few short weeks following the last of this record snowfall.

The Hostel California

An Inspiration to Carry Trail Magic Deep into The Sierra

Stocking up on provisions at Vonn’s Grocery, I had a sudden inspiration to pack out with Trail Magic. Having no firm plan on how much distance to cover, I had no big worry about the weight I carried. I loaded up with a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada IPA and a 24 pack of assorted snack chips. I split the 6-pack, dropping the beer cans where they would fit deep in my pack. I tied the gigantic pack of chips to the outside of my pack. Carefully, lifting the weighty pack to my shoulders, I checked to see that I could manage the load. With a 6-pack of beer and 7 days of food, all of my care in packing ultra-light thus sacrificing luxury was now pretty much thrown out the window. One luxury that I had sacrificed was a camp stove. Everything meal I would eat would be cold-soaked. I was accustomed to cold-soaked oatmeal for breakfast, but cold-soaked meals for dinner would be new territory for me.

Snowed-In Roads and Getting to Horseshoe Lake

I had planned to take the shuttle from Mammoth Lakes to the crossing of the PCT near Reds Meadow. With the road still buried in snow, this shuttle wasn’t operating. Here I was in a strange town, miles away from the PCT desperately trying to figure out an alternate plan. Studying, bus routes, trails, and maps on Guthook and Google, I finally figured out the way to a trail that leads over Mammoth Pass to the PCT. I rode the town bus as far as possible. Next, I road walked, eventually hitching a ride for a couple of miles, then road walking more. I soon reached closed roads that were covered with tall mounds of snow. Finally, I reached the trailhead for the Mammoth Pass trail at Horseshoe Lake.

Near Horseshoe Lake I met PCT thru-hikers returning to the trail. Note the snow-bank.

Signs around Horseshoe Lake warned against camping here. Carbon Dioxide gases are released from this area. Carbon Dioxide is heavier than air. If it displaces the air you breathe, suffocation is a real danger. The lake itself is a low area, making it an ideal spot for heavier CO2 to accumulate.

Horseshoe Lake

From Horseshoe Lake, I began GPS track-finding through the woods along snow-covered trail. Though thru-hikers had passed this way for R&R and resupply in Mammoth Lakes, the few tracks left on the firm ice soon disappeared in the afternoon sun. Fortunately, the PCT Guthook App included the GPS track for this PCT access-trail over Mammoth Pass.

Having ridden the Eastern Sierra Transit 395 from Bishop to Mammoth, it was late in the day before I finally reached Horseshoe Meadows. I hiked up Mammoth Pass trail until I found the first level snow-free spot. I set up my tent here. After working through all of the obstacles to getting back on the trail, I felt a great sense of relief as I settled into my tent.

Ice-Axe and Microspikes Required

After passing over Purple Lake Outlet, the trail ascended along switchback through the woods. Tracks leading down the creek bank indicated that many hikers had taken an off-trail route that descended in the opposite direction. Not feeling good about going off-trail, I chose to more closely follow the trail by cutting switchbacks while ascending steeply up the snow-covered slope. Near the top, I popped out of the woods. Ahead was a steep open traverse that crossed just above a near-vertical drop to large trees and boulders. I pulled out my ice-ax. With each step, I took a deep breath and I anchored my ice-ax as much as the brick-like frozen snow allowed. Feeling for the traction of my microspikes, I gazed below, imagining my fate should I slip and fall. Would I be able to self-arrest before skidding over the open drop or would I only pick up speed before slamming into the thick trees below? After a hundred feet of meticulous care, I was safe across the danger zone. Breathing a sigh of relief, I willed my heart rate to settle and I looked back to view my work. Although I had clearly been very near where the actual trail must lay beneath the ice, the hard snow showed very little of my prints. Likewise, there were no prints hinting that other hikers had come this way. This was a quite short, yet dangerous section. It had neither been mentioned by hikers, nor by trail guides or blogs. It is the big passes that get much attention and inspire dire warnings; however, given heavy snow conditions, many other short dangerous crossings deserve mention as well. Perhaps in a normal snow year, this short span would be completely unremarkable.

Several days later on my return trip, I sought to find a better way to cross this piece. Spying some exposed boulders I dropped lower. My idea was to rock scramble and use handholds on trees. Unfortunately, I found this lower route much too steep. I stepped off a boulder onto the ice and my microspikes began to slide. With a great deal of effort, I scrambled back up vertical boulders. After pulling myself up on top of a ledge, I puzzled around before choosing a crossing just below the route I took days earlier. There was no sign remaining in the snow of neither my crossing a few days before nor of any other hiker’s crossing.

Photo of opposing mountain while I was above Purple Lake Outlet and traversing a particularly treacherous slope.

Campsite on Lake Virginia

Lake Virginia is mostly frozen over and covered with snow.

The climb up the north side of Silver Pass was a series of 3 steep ascents each up to one of 3 bowls. I traversed to avoid the steepest terrain, but the most direct route straight up would have been easier. Any slide would have been clear of obstacles or drop-offs.

View from Silver Pass

At the top of Silver Pass handing out Sierra Nevada IPA and chips to lucky thru-hikers who are the first to arrive. I also met one solo hiker who had not resupplied at VVR and had very little food remaining. I gave him trail magic in addition some of extra couscous meals that I no longer needed.

I pitched my tent on the one snow-free spot on Silver Pass.

The clouds are blowing in.

Log crossing

I ate lunch and waited at this nice spot for the Vermillion Valley Resort Ferry.

The board at Vermillion Valley Resort or VVR. Hot meals and showers!

I turned around at VVR. On the return trip, I hiked with a group climbing Silver Pass from the south side. It was much easier following a group. Less effort on trail finding. Fewer stops to check GPS track.

Coming down the north side of Silver Pass the fun way. My glissade track is the longest one.

These are sun-cups. Very difficult to walk through.

Video highlights

August 13, 2020
Old Road Gap Tusquitee Bald Area Loop

This loop hike includes unmaintained trails with sections that are difficult to navigate. Leg coverings such as gaiters or long pants are recommended for protection from heavy undergrowth in some sections. The area is remote and not frequently hiked, therefore precautions should be taken to avoid rattlesnakes. Headphones should not be used while hiking in this area, since rattlesnakes are nearly always heard before being seen.

View of ridge line that includes the section of Fires Rim Creek trail that I hiked. Tusquitee Bald is the peak seen between the fork of the tree. Weatherman Bald. (Photo taken from London Bald trail)

View from Fires Rim Creek trail on approach to Tusquitee Bald

May 28, 2016 – From Tuni Gap Road – Big Choga Road intersection to trail side camp on Chunky Gal trail via Old Road Gap and Fires Rim Creek trails.

Tuni Gap road was gated and closed. This may have been a temporary closure, because I later saw Caterpillar road equipment on the road along with a lot of evidence of recent road maintenance work. Old Road Gap road (FS 7099) is also gated and closed, but this appears to be a permanent closure.

Just before dark at my campsite on Chunky Gal trail, I heard a loud racket at the bottom of the hill. After listening a while, I was sure it was a group of wild pigs rooting around. There was plenty of evidence of pig activity along Chunky Gal trail on the section between Tuni Gap Road and Tusquitee Road.

That night while under my tarp, I was constantly brushing large black ants off my face and hair. With the headlamp I could see that the ants were swarming over my sweat soaked cap that sat on the ground next to my bag. There must be something nutritious about perspiration. I left the cap undisturbed, thinking that it would draw the ants away from me.

Other notable wildlife along the way was a Dark-Eyed Junco on Old Gap Road trail, a second sighting of turkey, and a grouse.

View from Tusquitee Bald.

May 29, 2016 – From campsite on Chunky Gal trail to Tusquitee Road, then forest service road back to car.

I didn’t encounter other hikers during the entire course of this 2 day hike including sections on Forest Service roads. In fact, the only people I saw were a few elderly gentlemen enjoying their Sunday morning coffee at a remote township along Tusquitee Gap Road (The only road open to traffic; I saw absolutely zero traffic on this road).

I enjoyed a pleasant hike down these remote unpaved mountain roads after bushwhacking and gotten off-trail a couple of times along Chunky Gal trail.

Having completed the last section of the Chunky Gal trail, I was able to celebrate (only in my mind) the milestone of having completed its entire 21.6 mile length from the Appalachian trail to Fires Rim Creek trail. I first hiked the 5.1 mile section from the AT to Glade Gap on US Highway 64 in 2004 and the next section hike was in 2014 from Glade Gap to Little Clay Knob. There is very little maintenance on this trail. I ended up “off-trail” on each of 3 section hikes I completed.Each trip on this trail was made exhausting by the deadfall that had to be crossed or scrambled around.

The Chunky Gal trail could be used as a “shortcut” on the AT by leaving the AT near Muskrat Creek Shelter and rejoining the AT 50 miles later just beyond the peak of Cheoah Bald. The shortcut would knock 12 miles (about a day’s hike) off the AT, but would involve plenty of trailblazing and deadfall scrambling hardship along with a few miles of walking Big Choga and Junaluska roads. Besides Chunky Gal, the connecting trails would include Fires Rim Creek trail, Old Road Gap trail / Old Road Gap road, London Bald trail, and the NC Bartram trail.

Tuni Gap Road at Big Choga Road. I parked off to the side of the closed gate. Looking very closely, you can see Old Road Gap road about 100 feet on the right.

This turkey on Old Road Gap road seemed confused. It ran around in circles back and forth across the road before finally disappearing off to the right. I wonder whether it had a brood of poults hidden to the left of the road.

This sign is at the top of Old Road Gap trail to warn hikers considering the hike from Fires Rim Creek trail down Old Road Gap trail.

Chunky Gal trail was very overgrown and hard to follow. I found this blaze on the ground and put it back on the tree. If considering a hike on Chunky Gal trail, be prepared with a GPS track. You will encounter a lot of uncleared downfall.

Clear Creek township on Tusquitee Road consists of 2 cabins and some vegetable gardens about 15 miles into the mountains down gravel road. Here is the only place I saw people over the course of 2 days.

May 31, 2016
Rooftop of the East

The Black Mountain Crest…..

Overview: Solo hike from March 19 – 21, 2016 making a loop by dropping pack at Cane River Gap on Highway 197, driving to northern trailhead of the Black Mountain Crest trail at Bowlen’s Creek Road (Watershed Rd), leaving car and riding bicycle 10 miles back to Cane River Gap. Hiking portion was on Big Butt trail, Mountain to Sea trail, Mt. Mitchell Road, Old Summit trail, and Deep Gap trail (Black Mountain Crest trail) back to car.

It is difficult to find the Black Mountain Crest trailhead at Bowlens Creek. Turn onto Watershed road which is signed as a private drive. See sign for parking about 100 feet up road. Only room for 2 cars.

I rode my mountain bike from the Bowlens Creek trailhead of the Crest Trail along highway 197 back to the Big Butt trail at the Cane River Gap trailhead. After ending a 10 mile ride with a 1300 foot climb, my legs were toast. After I locked my bike to a tree and picked up my backpack I felt like I had nothing left for the hike. I was soon laid out my pad in the middle of the trail for a short rest. The night before, I hadn’t slept well in the back of my van at a brightly lit rest stop in Waynesboro.

It was slow going. Nice ridge walks. I looked for water and finally found it coming from rocks in side of the trail. Here is the location of this most likely unreliable water source.

35°46’54.6″N 82°20’37.9″W

Big Butt trail is a dry trail. I filled everything including my 2 liter. I was dragging all day. It blamed the bike ride. I finally reached the Blueridge Parkway and began the climb up Blackstock Mountain. It was still early to stop, but I camped in the middle of the MST trail at 6100 feet elevation. No water on the MST trail in this area. Fell asleep briefly before it got dark. Barely enough cell signal to get off a text after multiple attempts. Looking at the distances on MST and the various options up Mt Mitchell I considered turning around. I thought to myself, “I’ll sleep on it and maybe I will feel better in the morning. One good thing.The predicted rain did not come. Plenty of clouds though. Water is a big issue.”

Day 2

It wasn’t long and I had made good progress on the MST. Found water dripping from overhead rocks and went to work filling everything. Seemed like more water dripped on me than went in the bottle. Later reached Mt Mitchell road and I opted for the road walk to save time. Need to finish Monday or people will be worried. There were numerous streams coming down to the road. It would have been a much easier place to fill bottles.

I reached the ranger station and opted to take the old Summit trail. The first part was okay but the piece beyond the restaurant was a nightmare of rock scrambles. Bypassing the summit, I came out on the road again and walked the short distance to Deep Gap trailhead. My map calls this Back Mountain Crest trail, but the signs here call it Deep Gap Trail. The trail starts in a picnic area on the far left (North) of the lower parking area. It is marked with Deep Gap Trail signs. The trail starts off flat and smooth. To good to be true and it doesn’t last. Soon I am knocking off 6’ers. Craig’s Pea and Old Tom’s peak. From here it trail is only 11 miles to my car and I have one more trail night which I spend at Deep Gap. I no longer worry about finishing on time.

Day 2 & 3 (Late Afternoon / Night / Early Morning)

Shortly before reaching Deep Gap a few snow pellets began blowing in. By the time I reached Deep Gap at about 4 PM the snow was coming down and the temperature was dropping. The first order of business was to get the tent set up. I soon learned that it is best to pack the tent with the doors zipped up. As soon as I raised the tent on hiking poles, the door opened to the wind allowing snow to blow into the tent. I later swept the snow out as best I could. The 2nd lesson learned is to place the tent in a less exposed area (even if it might have been hard to squeeze in) and to orient the tent so that the door is not facing into the wind. This being a new tent, I thought it had doors on both sides with one door always out of the wind. The opening on the other side was actually a large mosquito netted window, not a door. Additionally, this tent needs the lower profile end facing directly into the wind. The vestibule flap on higher profile side would make a nice sail. All night long the tent shook with loud rattling and ripping sounds. The walls pushed in and it felt like the tent was being bounced around by a giant. During the night tent stakes were ripped from the ground on the key tent anchor points of the vestibule flaps. Three times, dressed only in long johns and braving howling wind and blowing snow, I ran around in the dark replacing tent stakes.

There are a number of places where ropes are needed. In January there was a snow storm on this ridge that left 66 inches on Mt. Mitchell. Can you imagine attempting to hike this terrain in 66 inches of snow? You should always be prepared for severe weather at these elevations.

As fierce as the wind was all night long, at 6 AM gusts blew in that made earlier winds seem mild in comparison. It was bad before, but the 6AM winds made me wonder about the limits of my situation. I’ve always noticed that the wind tends to pick up just before and after sunrise and I hoped that the worst winds would soon be over.

Long before daylight I had made my plan for exiting this frigid wind tunnel. I knew which clothes I would change into and I planned to pack all gear except for sleeping pads and tent without leaving the tent. Even sleeping pads would have been packed while inside the tent if they could have fit inside the pack. Given the conditions, I had not hung a bear bag. If a bear wanted to come out in this weather for a snack, he could have it.

All packed except for the tent and sleeping pads, I exited the tent and was blasted by wind. I struggled to stand whenever I was knocked a little off balance by a gust. As I began pulling tent stakes it became evident that the tent would mount to the sky as soon as I pulled the last stake. I pulled my sleeping pad and backpack out of the tent and placed the backpack on top of the sleeping pad to hold it down. The backpack immediately caught the wind and started rolling and the sleeping pad began to fly. I snatched the pad just in time and wondered how I could hold or pin down tent, tent sack, and 2 pads, while simultaneously packing. This felt like a hurricane scene I had seen in one of those old silent movies… maybe the Keystone Cops. I explored to the backside of the campsite and found an area less exposed to the wind. There was a large rock ledge and some trees that provided some protection from the wind. One by one I carried my backpack and other items to this spot where I was able to lay out the last items while packing. A few days later, I checked the weather records for Mt. Mitchell and found that the temperature had dropped to 13 degrees F that morning with a -9 degree F windchill and wind gusts up to 40 mph. The Mt. Mitchell weather station also confirmed that the strongest gusts were shortly before sunrise.

Day 3

The Crest Trail was slow going. Like many hikes that follow narrow ridges there were contnuous obstacles and scrambles. I hiked with only 4 oz of water since the night before and I had skipped breakfast. My other water was frozen. My main objective was to move steadily in order to get off the exposed ridgetop section of this trail. Whenever I hit an open area, it was difficult to keep balance with powerful gusts hitting me from the left. Hiking on the leeward East side of the ridge gave some relief. The scariest part was pulling up a rocky face to the top of an exposed narrow ledge where the wind felt like it was going to push me over the side.

I finally reached a road path that followed the contour of the mountain along the west side. Though on the windward side I could make fast progress on this easily walked section. This soon led me to the point where the trail descended from the crest. After 5 minutes of descent, I saw my first people since Mt Mitchell. A group of 5 or 6 with heavy backpacks were headed toward the crest. They were sure to have some interesting times with those packs on the rock scrambles. Once off the crest there were soon a number of water sources.

This is the trail. No ropes here.

Heavy cloud blankets view back along the Black Mountain Crest toward Mt. Mitchell.

March 27, 2016
Bushwhacking Big Creek Trail

Saturday, October 19, 2013 – Bushwhacking Big Creek Trail – 14.1 miles

Getting there:

From McCaysville, GA continue through Copperhill, TN to Highway 64. Take Hwy 64 west to Ocoee water tower. Cross dam and continue on Forest Service (FS) Rd 45 for 3 miles to FS 221. Turn right and go 0.9 mi to Big Frog Trailhead on left. FS 45 and 221 are narrow gravel roads in satisfactory condition.

Route – Day 1

Low Gap Parking to Low Gap via Big Frog Mountain Trail – 2.4 miles
Low Gap to Grassy Gap via Grassy Gap Trail – 5.0 miles
Return on Grassy Gap Trail to Big Creek Trail intersection – 3.3 miles
Upper Big Creek Trail to Chimney Top on Big Frog Mountain (BFM) Trail – 1.8 miles
BFM Trail to Big Frog Mountain to Elderberry Spring on BMT back 0.3 mi on BFM Trail – 1.6 miles

I am really getting slack in my preparations for short weekend hikes; however, this trip was my wake up call. Left behind were my camp stove, cooking pot, spoon, and most importantly, my sleeping pad. I’ve always said that the sleeping pad is one of the 2 or 3 most important items to have on hand. Not for comfort, but for preventing heat loss through the cold earth.

My solution for the missing sleeping pad was to lay on top of my frame-less backpack. The backpack is built with a pad for support. This kept my upper body off the ground reasonably warm.

A stop at Wal-mart supplied me with a cooking pot and a can of catfood which I converted to some form of the Andrew Skurka stove by a poking a double circle of holes around the edge with my knife. (I didn’t pack the cat food and have it for dinner; only carried the empty can.

It was a cloudy day, but it didn’t rain. Big Frog Mountain trail was an easily walked 10 ft wide road bed most of the way to Low Gap. I cached my pack at along Grassy Gap trail where it intersects with Big Creek trail. I slack packed to Grassy Gap and back. Grassy Gap was breezy with a nice long view over and beyond the Beech Creek / Jacks River basin into Georgia.

On Grassy Gap Trail – Maple Leaf Viburnum with berries (White flowers in summer)

View from Grassy Gap into Georgia

Grassy Gap trail intersection Wolf Ridge Trail and Grassy Gap Trail, The view here would make a nice camping spot (without water).

More views southeast (Hemphill Top) and southwest directions from Grassy Gap

Panoramic view of Grassy Gap, A small tent could be squeezed in for a site with a view.

Mark at Low Gap

Sign at Big Creek Trail Intersection with Grassy Gap trail (Big Creek trail bears at a slight angle up above Grassy Gap trail toward Chimney Top)

The sign leaning against a rock is an omen warning you not to follow the Big Creek Trail on up to Chimney Top. The sign is nearly unreadable and the trail could easily be missed. The upper portion of Big Creek trail makes a slight angle uphill from the Grassy Gap trail. Beyond that point the trail usually seems to disappear or fall off the side of the slope or both. Someone marked parts of the trail with red surveyor tape tied around branches and a few red flag markers. Those kind that are usually used to mark utility lines before digging. Even with these aids, I had to occasionally stop to study the landscape in order to relocate or keep on the trail. Tim Homan’s book was also an aid since the hand drawn map showing trails and stream beds was useful in guessing my location. Although this part of the trail is in Tim’s book “Hiking Trails of the Cohutta & Big Frog Wilderness, I later found that the map signs at various BFW trail heads showed all trails with the exception of this trail. The autumn leaf fall only made picking out the trail harder than it might have been in the summer.

On Big Frog Mountain Trail just past Chimney Top where the trail summits ridge you can find this pile of rocks that marks the upper trailhead of Big Creek Trail.

After a steep, slow, and thought provoking climb I made it up Big Creek trail to the intersection with Big Frog Mountain trail near the far side of Chimney Top mountain. Here I saw that there was no sign marking Big Creek trail and with the overgrowth no way to know that this trail was here unless you happened to be looking for it and noticed the pile of rocks. It was a good thing that I had earlier decided to return to my pack from Grassy Gap via the Grassy Gap trail rather than using Wolf Ridge Trail and Big Frog Trail to complete a loop to the top of Big Creek trail. I would have never found my turn onto Big Creek trail. I probably would have needed to go all of the way to Low Gap to make a loop back to my pack.

Mark in his tent on Big Frog

My campsite on the north end of the Big Frog ridge

With only a little water left my plan was to make my way to Elderberry Spring to supply plenty of water for camping. I could have easily backtracked a little on Grassy Gap trail to Big Creek to fill water bottles, but I was sure that I would find water farther up Big Creek or at least be able to count on Elderberry Spring on Big Frog Mountain. The spring was dry so I returned to the far north end of Big Frog ridge and managed to supper and breakfast the next day with the 16 ounces of water I had on hand.

Sunday, October 20, 2013 – The easy part of Big Creek Trail – 11.6 miles

Route:
Big Frog Campsite to Low Gap – 2.8 miles
Yellow Stand Lead trail, Big Creek trail, and Grassy Mountain trail – 6.4 miles
Low Gap to FS221 Big Frog trail head on Big Frog trail – 2.4 miles

I was a little cold during the night and a little lazy the next morning so I got for what for me is a very late start, 9 AM. After hiking through the nearby rhodo tunnels I reached a beautiful overlook with an island mountain rising out of a sea of clouds filling an expansive valley.

At Low Gap I chose to cache my backpack in the woods and slack pack the easily walked 6.4 mile loop formed by Yellow Stand Lead trail, Big Creek trail, and Grassy Mountain trail. Yellow Stand leads to FS221 where a left turn on FS221 and short walk across the bridge brings you to Big Creek trail. There are nice car camping spots in this area along Big Creek. Big Creek was flowing slowly; not the steeply descending crashing creek that I had become accustomed to on some of my recent hikes in the Smokies. I found the more peaceful aspect of this mountain creek to be calming.

Back at Low Gap I picked up my backpack and listened to music as I returned to my car along Big Frog Trail.

The lower portion of Big Creek trail had one of the most expansive growths of Partridge Berries that I had ever seen. I snacked on 3 or 4 of these berries.

October 20, 2013