Maine: 1,907.4-2,189.2

  
On the left: Day One, Springer Mtn, GA, March 26.  On the right, Day 172, Mt. Katahdin, ME, September 15.  

Ladies and Gents, may I present M&M and Clover, Northbound AT Thru-hikers, Class of 2015.  (Yes, the Mighty Mya made it too; well, as far as Baxter State Park, where no dogs are allowed.)

 

Maine started with the notorious Mahoosic Notch. Otherwise known as “the menacing mile” because it takes so long to get through, “The Notch” had rocks to climb over…

   

it also has rocks we climb through and under and in…

  

Maine is vast in a way we hadn’t experienced before; even foggy morning views are still beautiful

  

And the lakes! So many beautiful lakes in Maine! This was the first in the Rangeley Lakes District: Mooselukmeguntic

  

With “Moose Alley” right behind Clover, the Rt 17 overlook near Oquassic was the best seat in the house

  

We took our last ‘zero day’ in Rangeley to visit Clover’s aunt and uncle and see this important landmark

  

beautiful day for a kayak around the lake

  

thanks so much Steph and Don for letting us stay at your beautiful home

  

Then back to work: blueberry picking on top of Saddleback Junior Mt.

  

view of the Bigelow Mountains

  

M doing his part to help with trail maintenance

   

oh did we mention Maine has rocks? sometimes we’re climbing up 100’s of them…

 

…it also has roots, loads of them

 

But Maine’s not all rocks, roots and mud

  


 
 


 

Mya doing her thing as usual, this time with a new AT patch that Clover added to fix a few holes…After 2000 miles, some things were starting to fall apart

  

Time to slow down and take it all in: sunset on Pierce Pond

  

fire on Flagstaff Lake

    

2000 miles down!! Well, if we consider all of Mya’s extra running around she’s probably at more like 4000 miles

 

Maine just lends itself to beauful panoramas

 
  

The AT’s official/safest way to cross the Kennebec River was in a canoe. “Hillbilly Dave” (a private contractor for the ATC) shows up at 9 am during hiker season to ferry thru-hikers across.

  

M&M on the way up

 

M&M on the way down

 

Mya in the mist

  

Did we mention how great the lakes are in Maine? Especially when some vacationing fellas see you swimming and bring a boat over with beer trail magic to share. And super-especially when that beer is the elusive Vermont brew know as Heady Topper!!!

   

On our way into the infamous 100 Mile Wilderness with all the “supplies” we need

   

There, in the middle of the Wilderness, was trail magic! In memory of this kind man’s son, a past thru-hiker. Thanks Scout for your stories, company, dog treats and burgers!

home with a view tonight

 
And then, our attention was tuned into The Mountain. Feared by Thoreau, Katahdin means “the greatest mountain” in the native Penobscot language. Native Americans wouldn’t climb her out of fear of Paloma, a winged Moose-deity that could kill you. *gulp*. 

This is our first view of Katahdin in the distance

 

Katahdin’s getting closer.

  

even closer now!

  

our camp the day before we headed into Baxter State Park with Katahdin looming in the background

   

6 AM on Sept 15; the trail head sign as we begin our climb to Katahdin…only 5.2 miles left on this crazy adventure

misty morning on our way up

  

working on upperbody strength

  

A blustery billowing ascent through the clouds

  

We were sent off with whiskey shots around the Wasseluk table; it seemed only right to celebrate with Jameson nips at the end as well

   

“The summit”

 

Our “that’s right, we did it” poses

  

Mya wasn’t allowed to summit Katadhin so we carried a picture of her up!

  

The “Big K” summit mob. Thanks to all you crazy hikers for doing it with us!! Laces, Click, Pie, Cheesebeard, Blade, Clarity, Yoda, Bear Finder, Pony Puncher, Food Truck, Flick, Zen, Rusty, Science, Lean-to, Huckleberry Thug…will you tell us your real names now?!?!

 
Thanks for following along and now on to our next adventure…

15 Responses to “ Maine: 1,907.4-2,189.2 ”

  1. Yes, you certainly DID IT!!!! Tom and I spoke of you yesterday wondering how things were progressing. I imagine that there will be some culture shock as you return to life as you used to know it. Best love, deb and Tom. CONGRATULATIONS!

    • Culture shock indeed! Cars go fast, cooking is fun, and *now*what do we do without a Katahdin to stumble toward?!?! Thx for thinking of and rooting for us along the way…big big virtual hugs until we see you again!!

  2. Jane de Groot and Dan Dray

    Congratulations! What a huge accomplishment. Love the action hero poses on top of Kathadin!

  3. Thanks for the great updates. Just had a chance to finish the trail with you. Looked like a most awesome adventure. I’m using my “farmer-name” so it will make you feel at home in the “real-name” world. I hope re-entry is going swimmingly.

    • Thanks Farmer Dan! Real names are tough to get used to for sure. I’m still calling Su Clover hopefully that’ll fix itself soon. Hope all is well. Looking forward to the winter share this year!

  4. Hey 8 paws, i just wanted to congratulate you guys on an awesome feat! I stumbled upon your blog through your Instagram account, and it looks like you guys had quite the adventure! I actually summited Katahdin the same time that your group was finishing, and man was it quite the climb! I hope you had a safe trip back and congrats again!

    • Awesome! So glad you found our blog and commented thanks for the support!! Hope our “group” didn’t take away from your summit experience. Thanks for the congrats!

  5. Hey there 8 paws! I stumbled upon your blog through your Instagram account, and I just wanted to congratulate you guys for such an awesome feat! It looks like you had quite the adventure! I actually summited Katahdin the same day that you finished, and it seemed like you all were having a good time. It was certainly quite the climb! I hope you guys had a smooth transition back to “real life”!

  6. 8 Paws!! Su!! Sending love and light your way! We are soooooo excited for y’all!! This is amazing!! I can’t believe we missed you when you came thru NY/CT area . . . y’all are moving too fast haha!! When you are done come to NYC and you have a dinner in our garden (that’s right!) waiting for you!!!! woohoohooo!!! I love that you are doing this Su my wonderful wandering sister to the max! lovelove to the moon and back and always! -a&a

  7. Congratulations Su, Mike and Mya! What an outstanding accomplishment!!! Sorry I didn’t hear from you when you were at West Hill Pond; would have loved to have seen you and taken you out for a nice dinner. Keep in touch.
    Love, Aunt Judy

  8. Congrats guys! I can’t even remember when I lost track of you for the last time but it was waaay back, maybe Waynesboro VA?? I finished October 1st, not a day too early or late. six inches of rain the day before climbing Katahdin and I heard there was ice on top the day after. Took just over a month to wander through Maine with that gorgeous weather and one perfect distraction after another. Anyways cheers and great to see you (and Laces!) made it!

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