Day 137
I must not be good at hiking. Why do I always hurt myself? This is getting so frustrating. Climbing up the mountains aren’t so bad, but coming down, something is bound to happen to me. Today descending on Mt Wolf, I sliced my shin on a rock. I also fell, but luckily landed on my behind. I am terrified to go through the Whites because I am constantly getting hurt. Praying and hoping for safety and no rain.
Day 138
We awoke at 4:30a to pouring rain. We waited a bit for the rain to subside and began the long climb up Mt Kinsman in light rain. The rocks were very slippery and the climb was steep and relentless. We finally summited, but had no views. A complete white out. The good news is that it stopped raining. Then came the climb down the mountain. I absolutely hate descending. I have to go so slow because I’m afraid of falling, spraining an ankle or worse. After reaching the bottom, we headed into Lincoln to resupply, laundry and sleep in a bed.
Day 139
The hike across the 4 peaks on Franconia Ridge were amazing. The weather was perfect. The sun shining and breeze blowing just enough to cool us down. The scenery was unlike anything I had seen before, and I welcomed the change. I didn’t mind the climbs, but again the downhills really got to me. We made it to the shelter and I’m exhausted.
Day 140
What a long day! 17 miles!!! My knees and ankles are aching. I’m glad we got the miles out of the way though. We are hoping to make it to Lake of the Clouds hut tomorrow, weather permitting. As soon as we can get Mt Washington over, the better. We had beautiful weather today. Praying it continues over the next couple days before we make it to Gorham.
Day 141
We woke up to rain…again. I was so upset because we had a few of the Presidentials to climb over and I was really looking forward to views. The entire day was foggy, rainy and windy. We finally made it to Lake of the Clouds hut where John and I will be doing work for stay. After we complete our morning chore, we will be headed up Mt Washington.
Day 142
After finishing up our chores this morning at the hut, we made the climb up to Mt Washington. It was misting heavily and the fog was very thick. We were unable to see anything, which is very disappointing. The place was packed though and we hung out in the visitor center for a bit. Then the trail completely turned on me. Rocks upon rocks upon rocks. It was like Pennsylvania all over again but this time, there were more rocks and went on for several miles. We were moving so slow. Probably a mile an hour. We finally made it to Mt Madison. Our final presidential mountain in the Whites. This was such a sketchy descent. Very steep, rocky and seemed to go on forever. I’m so glad to be done with today and so are my ankles.
Day 143
Nearo to Gorham.
Day 144
We started this morning off with a huge climb up the first Wildcat. Oh my, these uphills are killing me and the downhills are wrecking any strength and energy I may have left. We thought about taking a couple days off but think it’s best just to push through the pain. Although a couple days off would be nice, we don’t think it would be enough of a break to get our strength and energy back. We climb our last White Mountain tomorrow and hopefully will be out of New Hampshire soon.
Day 145
Nearo into Gorham.
Day 146
After another night in Gorham, we hit the trail this morning and the 1900 mile mark. I can’t believe we have hiked that far. A big thunderstorm came through so we stopped early for the day and are currently smacked in a shelter with 9 other hikers. We enter Maine tomorrow, tackling Mahoosuc Notch and hoping to make it a 15 mile day or even more.
Day 147
My legs and feet are wrecked. We hiked 15 miles including the Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm. I fell several times today, hurting my wrist and leaving several bruises and cuts on my legs. The Notch took us nearly 2 hours to complete. We had to go very slow due to my fear of rocks and of course falling on the rocks. Good news is we made it to Maine. Only 272 miles to go.
Day 148
After a good night’s sleep, we set to the trail really early to crush a 15 mile day. The temperatures stayed pretty cool and the sun barely peaked through the clouds all day. We had to hustle to the road by 4:30p in order to be picked up by the hostel we are staying at tonight. The hostel, Humane-Nature, is ran by a thru hiker and participant on the Discovery channel show Naked and Afraid.
Day 149
Today was supposed to be our “rest day”, but we (meaning I) slack packed 10 miles. John doesn’t slack pack so he carried all his gear. It was a tough 10 miles even though I was slacking. After finishing, we returned to the hostel and I edited videos for our YouTube channel for the rest of the afternoon. We debated taking a zero tomorrow, but I think we are going to push on to Stratton. We hope to get there in 3 to 4 days but I definitely think it will take us 4 days.
Day 150
It was tough getting back on trail today. I really wanted to stay another night at the Human Nature Hostel but Katahdin is calling. We had a tough day with a few big climbs mixed with quick, steep ups and downs. Lots of roots and rocks littered the trail. We finally made it to the shelter after 17 miles. My feet and legs are toast.
Day 151
It was a chilly start to the day. Chilly enough that I hiked in my puffy for the first mile. The first ten miles flew by and luckily one of our YouTube subscribers and his friend were in the area so we got a free hitch into town! John got more food for his resupply because he was running low and we also grabbed some cheeseburgers and fries. I ate so much I was overstuffed. We stopped early today and decided to camp next to a beautiful pond.
Day 152
The morning started off with a nice climb up the Saddlebacks. The views were absolutely stunning and we were able to see Mt Washington and a very faint view of Katahdin. I had a very scary fall on the last mountain and decided that we needed to take some time off trail to give our bodies a rest. We hiked a long 18.5 miles and will nearo into the Hostel of Maine tomorrow afternoon.
Day 153 – 154
Nearo and zero at Hostel of Maine.
