Day 25 to 33, Mile 220.4 to 298.2

Day 25 and 26  ZERO DAY Rangeley, ME

FUN FACT: RANGELEY IS FAMOUS FOR BEING HALFWAY BETWEEN NORTH POLE AND THE EQUATOR!

We spent the 4th of July around town. Most hiker friendly trail town so far...great food and shopping. Picked up some new shoes since Maine's terrain ate our old ones. Seriously, the trail in Maine is not a trail-our feet never actually touched the ground/soil! Ragged rocks and rough roots tore holes in our shoes and the sole's traction was completely destroyed. See before and after picture below! Happy campers happy feet! We did laundry and cracked up at the fact that my least favorite chore is now my most favorite chore! Watched the sunset over the lake and loved seeing all the locals launch fireworks from their docks. I am proud to be an American and appreciate the beauty of the landscape even more so today. We are missing friends and family on this holiday but send our love. XOXO

Before and After

Day 27 Bemis Stream Campsite 

We went 14.6 miles today after getting a "late" start-had to wait for post office to open at 9:30. New shoes made long hike way better and less dangerous. We sweated all day because we didn't gain much elevation or have any breezes. Our packs were super heavy with 5 days worth of food so it was a tough day. We ate dinner on the sandbar of the river near our camp and were asleep by 7:30. 

Wind Farm

Day 28 Andover, ME

Really rough day. Started slow-only went 4 miles in 4 hours. The terrain reminded us of the 100 mile wilderness and we felt like we were walking through molasses! The weather was so humid and the climbs were so strenuous that we could barely stay hydrated even though we were filtering water at every stream crossing. Our sweaty selves didn't take any side trails or pictures...we just wanted to make it to the road and our shuttle. We somehow finally made it but the whole day was a total pain in the knees! One source of motivation was the fact that all the blowdowns smelled like Christmas so every time I got a wiff of the balsam fir trees my brain was immediately flooded with all of my Christmas (and birthday!) memories. I clung to these thoughts and tried to imagine playing in the snow with friends and family in order to cool my body down and keep my mind preoccupied. Another source of motivation was realizing that we met Scott Jurek! He is the ultramarathoner who is attempting to beat the AT thru-hike speed record! 

UPDATE: 

Scott Jurek Breaks Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Record. The ultramarathoner completed the supported trek in 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes. 

See news article and video here: http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-racing/scott-jurek-celebrates-a-new-appalachian-trail-thru-hike-speed-record

INSANE! Mad Respect!

We were in for a real treat when we got to The Cabin-a home cooked meal! The owners have been inviting hikers into their home for over 20 years. We ate at their dining room table and stuffed ourselves full of potato salad, burgers, and strawberry shortcake. The best part is that they will shuttle us to the trail and back, which means that we will be able to slack pack tomorrow. Trail angels have restored my faith in humanity. 

Day 29 The Cabin 

We ate a home cooked breakfast of blueberry pancakes, biscuits with strawberry jam, sausage, fruit, and home fries. Then the shuttle dropped us off where we got picked up yesterday and we hit the trail with 30 less pounds in our packs since we were slack packing. We were able to hike 8 miles in 4 hours; 2 times as fast as yesterday! SEE SLACK PACK HAPPY DANCE PICTURES BELOW! We could tell that even Corinne was thankful to have left her pack at home. We went 10 miles total but it felt like we had rocket boosters on the backs of our shoes. Our attitude was positive even though we had 2 summits to climb up and down. Today was totally the break we needed and we are very grateful to our hosts at The Cabin and their wonderful hospitality. 

Side Note: the owner's son told us that Bismarck (ya, the guy on the FBI Most Wanted list) stayed here and even helped out by installing the new AC unit. This is not the first time we heard that Bismarck was a real nice guy. We spent that afternoon and the next day with Bismarck's girlfriend, Hopper, and she was nothing but helpful. She gave us great advice about how to hike the Whites and served breakfast with us...she even said the blessing. 

I guess the teachable moment is that we should just let God do the judging-apparently humans aren't that good at it. 

See full story here: http://appalachiantrials.com/at-thru-hiker-bismarck-arrested-at-trail-days-on-embezzling-charges/

Day 30 Baldpate

We made breakfast burritos and it fueled us enough to hike from mile 256.9 to 267.2 across balds in a little over 5 hours. Slack packing has given us a chance to let our bodies recover and enjoy all the side trails. 

Day 31 Mahoosuc Notch 

On the way to our blue blaze we saw a bull and cow moose, rabbits, and a mama deer with fawns! We went 2.5 miles to get to the infamous Mahoosuc Notch. It was more fun and less difficult than I thought it would be. It felt great to use my upper body strength for once! We put our poles in our packs and scrambled, on our hand and knees, over a jumbled pit of boulders for about a mile. It took us an hour and a half but we had a blast crawling through caves and watching Corinne parkour her way through. We even saw ice in between some of the boulders and it felt like we were in a walk-in freezer. Next, we summited Old Spec Mountain at 4,033 feet, but the elevation gain was fast and furious; from 2,163 ft to 3,700 ft  in less than 2 miles. Then we hiked 3 more miles to get back to The Cabin. We made pizzas and watched movies. Tomorrow we will be in New Hampshire. I miss Maine already. 

Dear Maine:
I guess by now you realize I’m moving on. I think I need to see some other states. I hope you’re not too upset about the breakup. After all, it’s not you, it’s me.
Check that.  
It’s you. It’s all you.
I mean, come on Maine. You had me at Katahdin! I was smitten. Head over heals. Nothing could dampen how I felt about you. 
Then the passive-aggressive, love-hate stuff started. 
You showed me beauty I could only imagine. Mountains and forest, rivers and lakes. It was a wonderland. But then you showed me wet, slick boards across mud holes that were knee deep and tried to steal my shoes. 
You showed me views of mountains that went on forever. Then you showed me blowdown that was so large and so entangled it was like Mahoosuc Notch modeled in wood. 
You introduced me to trail towns and people that were wonderful, knowing I had to leave. You helped me meet and bond with fellow travelers only to mourn as they left the trail due to injury or just being worn down – by you. 
You showed me wildlife: squirrels, snakes, snowshoe hares, and more. You lulled me to sleep with the sound of the loon. 
And black flies. What’s up with that, Maine? Can you name one species on the planet that would say, “Oh, good. There’s black flies!”?
So don’t feel to bad. This is probably for the best. In the future we’ll meet again. By then the aches and pains will have subsided and I’ll just have the fond memories. 
In the meantime, I need to expand my horizons, gain the perspective of different states. 
And you, Maine, you’ll be busy too. You have this huge crowd of north-bounders coming at you. They’re fit and cocky. They think they’ve seen it all and know everything. 
You’ll show them
We’ll still be friends
XOXO

Posted by: George  July 5, 2015 in Appalachian Trials Bloggers

Mahoosuc Notch Mile 274.2; the most difficult or fun mile of the AT

Day 32 New Hampshire!

Today we hiked from 275.4 to 286.5, from Maine to New Hampshire! Maine was miserable all the way to the border. We climbed a rock face that didn't have any hand holds, which was scary. I basically just dragged my knees across the rocks and hugged the surface with my body...praying to not fall backwards. It wouldn't have been as physically demanding if we hadn't summited 5 mountains in 4 miles already! It was quite the rollercoaster of a day! The weather was nice but still hot so I switched to wearing shorts-my legs are totally bruised up and scratched all over but so are Keiths so we officially look like hiker trash. We took a lot of breaks to cool down and rehydrate so it took us a while to get to camp. We finally ate dinner at 8:30 and called it a night. So far NH is just as brutal as ME, but are thrilled to have accomplished our first state! 

Day 33 Gorham, NH

We hiked 12.8 miles today to make it into town. We are thankful to be here because we were in desperate need of water. We stared with 5 L at 6:15 but were down to 1 L with 4 miles to go. Our filter malfunctioned but our backup worked-thank God. However, we didn't come across a water source when we expected to (according to the guidebook) because the stream was dried up. We ended up giving Corinne the last bit of water because we could tell she was thirsty. Keith carried her pack and she was able to hang in there. I knew she appreciated our sacrifice because she stayed in between us the rest of the day, stopping to kiss us every time we moaned or groaned. 

Day 34 and 35 ZERO DAYS