So far the hike has been going great. I met up with a recent college grad named Michael from Tennesse and we hit it off from the start. We talked life, gear, movies, books, stuff, you name it. We had the same start date, so we decided to head off to Katahdin together and stay together until after the 100 mile wilderness where he was going into Monson to get resupplied and I was going to continue on. I'm really thankful for my time with him, he was definitely an answer to prayer. I don't know if our paths will cross again, but I sure hope they do.
The 100 mile wilderness left me wanting a bit more wilderness, it was beautiful, but there were many gravel roads running through it and even a place called the White House Landing where you could stop in for the night and have great pizza and breakfast (or so we were told). We didn't try to go at crazy speeds, but we have similar hiking styles and ended up making it through in 5 days averaging about 20 mile days.
Oh for future sobos, go up the abol trail and down the hunt trail, its shorter and way easier.
The scenery is beautiful, some of it reminds me of Washington, while other parts 5 minutes later look like they could be anywhere in the South. The climbs weren't that bad, there were a lot of bog bridges and roots though, but the wilderness was not the "doozy" that I was expecting.
It's kind of fun to see so many other Sobos, most have heavy packs and are amazed when they hear that we averaged 20 mile days. There are all kinds of people out here, high school grads, college grads, recently out of the military, marrieds, older people, its definitely a social trail and most everyone is friendly, although a lot of the Nobos that are just about to finish have lost all ability to socially interact and are only thinking of Katahdin. The exceptions have been Dr. Bundy and Whitefang, along with Renaisance Man and 3 stove.
I'm definitely realizing that I do enjoy hiking, I love the way the body moves over land, its like a dance, trying to use the least amount of energy possible and make it look effortless, unless of course its the really steep downhills on wet rocks, I look more like a deer on ice just trying not to look stupid.
The 100 mile wilderness left me wanting a bit more wilderness, it was beautiful, but there were many gravel roads running through it and even a place called the White House Landing where you could stop in for the night and have great pizza and breakfast (or so we were told). We didn't try to go at crazy speeds, but we have similar hiking styles and ended up making it through in 5 days averaging about 20 mile days.
Oh for future sobos, go up the abol trail and down the hunt trail, its shorter and way easier.
The scenery is beautiful, some of it reminds me of Washington, while other parts 5 minutes later look like they could be anywhere in the South. The climbs weren't that bad, there were a lot of bog bridges and roots though, but the wilderness was not the "doozy" that I was expecting.
It's kind of fun to see so many other Sobos, most have heavy packs and are amazed when they hear that we averaged 20 mile days. There are all kinds of people out here, high school grads, college grads, recently out of the military, marrieds, older people, its definitely a social trail and most everyone is friendly, although a lot of the Nobos that are just about to finish have lost all ability to socially interact and are only thinking of Katahdin. The exceptions have been Dr. Bundy and Whitefang, along with Renaisance Man and 3 stove.
I'm definitely realizing that I do enjoy hiking, I love the way the body moves over land, its like a dance, trying to use the least amount of energy possible and make it look effortless, unless of course its the really steep downhills on wet rocks, I look more like a deer on ice just trying not to look stupid.
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