Gorham to Mt Kathadin (Mile 1896 to Mile 2200)

After thinking it would never arrive, finally the last state! Maine!

But first was an interesting side-trip to see a 1954 plane crash on Mt Success (not named after the flight). Two people lost their lives in the crash due to poor visibility

With less that 300 miles to go and the big mountains behind us, we were starting to get optimistic about progress. However, the Mahoosuc Notch was next up. This is considered the toughest mile on the AT, and I think it’s a clear winner. Nothing else comes close. It took 2 hours to cover the one mile, mostly by scrambling over, under and around massive boulders. It really sapped morale!

After the rough introduction to Maine, the trail became a bit easier, albeit still with plenty of hills, mud patches and water crossings.

We stopped in Stratton, which a beautiful mountain town. Following Stratton is Monson, which is the last town on the AT before the final “100 Mile Wilderness”

Monson is a popular spot for hikers to rest, regroup and resupply for the final 100 miles!

The 100 Mile Wilderness is not technically difficult, but good planning is needed to ensure sufficient supplies, and support is difficult is there’s a problem. For most north-bound hikers, it isn’t terribly challenging as by now everyone is familiar with the gear they need and the supplies they should have for that distance. The wilderness itself is very scenic, and we were fortunate to have good weather throughout

After about 6 days in the wilderness, we finally reached Baxter State Park!

The end of the AT is quite peculiar. The designer of the AT wanted Kathadin to be the end-point of the trail, but it had been bequeathed to the people of Maine in perpetuity. An agreement was reached where AT hikers are allowed to summit in return for Baxter remaining in state hands…

Baxter State Park has a campground hikers can use, but it is limited. The logistics for the final summit require careful preparation.

Fortunately, the park also have cabins in a number of locations around the park. Of course, they book out months in advance but if you’re lucky you can call and secure an accessible cabin if no-one has booked it yet. It was fantastic to finish the last night o the trail at a lake-side cabin!

Finally, after 151 days, 2200 miles and 450,000 feet of elevation gain, the summit day was here!

The final summit is a 4000ft climb over 5 miles. Whilst normally this would be considered a typical tough day on the trail, most hikers carry a light pack today and the excitement carries them up this final mountain. Upon reaching the top, there’s a queue for the photo and lots of celebrations!

Personally, I found the finish of the trail to be a little frustrating. Whilst I can appreciate the significance of this particular mountain, the conclusion of the trail requires a 5 mile hike back down, followed by a shuttle to Millinocket, followed by a shuttle to Bangor, followed by other transport options back to the real world. There’s limited sense of conclusion at the end of the trail.

Am I glad I did it? Yes

Would I do it again? No

It is a really tough trail. Really tough. It’s a mental challenge to keep going through the rain, drought, heat, cold, mud, rocks, pointless hill climbs & terrifying descents.

Anyone with sufficient fitness that can put one foot in front of the other can do it, but they need incredible mental resilience to keep going. It’s an incredible challenge

Kent to Gorham (Mile 1474 to Mile 1875)

Leaving Kent in the rain made for a pleasant afternoon after the heat and humidity over the past few weeks. Hiking clothes would be soaked in sweat at the end of the day, and still wet from sweat when putting them back on the next morning. Not a pleasant experience.

The rain continued during camp setup, and overnight became very significant. We later learned it was considered a 1-in-500 rain event and caused considerable damage to the trail and local infrastructure. Ahead of us, Vermont had a state of emergency declared and hikers were advised to avoid the state completely. We also learned later that a hiker was tragically swept away at a creek crossing and drowned a few days hike ahead of us. We stopped at that creek for a break with other hikers on the day before his body was found downstream. At the time, it was a very peaceful & beautiful spot for a break.

High creek levels become hazardous after rain

Connecticut is a pretty state, but with all the water around, this became the focus of the time on the trail here. In some sections, mud became quite thick on the trail, and any attempt to avoid it was quickly crushed. Once again, choosing to hike in boots instead of trail runners proved to be helpful.

Within this section in Connecticut and Massachusetts I managed to make up some distance with a 40 mile and 25 mile day back-to-back. Hiking 100km in two days seems a significant achievement in hindsight, but at the time it flowed quickly.

The next state is Vermont. Vermont is often referred to as “Vermud” due to the usual state of the trails. With the extra rain, this was always going to be an issue, and it didn’t disappoint. Obviously hiking through mud is much harder than firm trails. It’s slower and takes much more effort. Despite this, Vermont itself is a beautiful state and was enjoyable.

The trail here overlaps the famous Long Trail from the MA/VT border for about 100 miles. A particular highlight through here is Little Rock Pond. It’s a beautiful shelter right beside a pristine lake.

not much chance of avoiding mud

Crossing into New Hampshire sees a return to big mountains. The White Mountains start at the border, and are definitely one of the major highlights of the trail. Despite the difficult (and slow) trails, the scenery is incredible and represents what a mountain trail really should look like.

Mt Moosilake descent was certainly challenging

First up was slackpacking from the Notch hostel over Mt Mist, then the big one – Mt Moosilauke. It’s a long, hard slog up the mountain to the peak, followed by a long, steep descent on the other side. And of course, the top was clouded in, so didn’t even get a good view…

Over the next few days, there were more mountains to cross – Mt Wolf, the Kinsmans, Mt Lincoln, Mt Lafayette, Mt Garfield, etc. Stunning views, but really tough hiking

One unique feature of hiking in the Whites is the possibility of work-for-stay in the huts. The huts are fully inclusive and cater to tourists visiting the area. They are very expensive normally, but sometimes they will offer a couple hikers the opportunity to sleep in their common area & a cooked dinner & breakfast in return for a couple hours of work. Fortunately this worked for us at Mizpah hut – 2 hours cleaning out the freezers for a warm stay!

The next milestone is Mount Washington. It’s not the highest point on the AT, but the climb is nearly 4000ft from the base. The weather is quite changeable and fortunately had perfect weather for the climb up. The top is quite accessible by road and rail, so was packed with tourists. There’s a line to get a photo with the sign at the top, but the crowd let thru-hikers take priority – a small benefit for walking up instead of driving!

Gorham is the next main town towards the end of the Whites, and definitely a welcome rest town after the challenging terrain.

Harpers Ferry to Kent (Mile 1026 to Mile 1474)

From Harpers Ferry, the trail continues into Maryland and then Pennsylvania. Maryland and the first part of Pennsylvania was a welcome break from the Virginia grind and constant hills. The terrain became easier & faster, with plenty of civil war history to break up the days of walking. 

The Mason/Dixon line is in Maryland, and I don’t think the line has moved much over time. Slow-traveling through a country allows time to get a better insight into the culture. It was apparent that the southern states conform with “Southern” values and the northern states much more “Northern”. What was surprising is how fast the culture swaps between the two – this occurred through southern Pennsylvania. Towns were consistently “southern” up to Maryland, then there’s a patchwork where it flips southern/northern a few times, then solidly “northern”. It was really interesting to observe

Rocky trails in Pennsylvania. A sign of things to come…

Shortly after entering Pennsylanvia, the half-way point is finally reached! It’s a bitter-sweet moment, recognising that there’s still a long long way to go…

The half way moves around a bit, as the trail gets minor changes and revisions over time. Always nice to be able to celebrate multiple times!

One of the more bizarre half way milestones is the “half gallon challenge” at the Ironmasters hostel. Of course, the ice cream they sell comes in a container slightly less than a half gallon, so hikers also buy a pint to ensure the half gallon is consumed. Sounds like great marketing for selling icecream!

The (unofficial) half way point

Next highlight was Duncannon, where the rocky trail of “Rocksylvania” really starts. Leading into Duncannon is quite flat and fast, and I easily completed a 26 mile “half marathon” day from Boiling Springs. 

Most hikers struggle with the rocks in the next section. Yes, they are slow and brutal, but I found that it wasn’t as tough as I expected. I think this was largely due to my choice to hike in proper hiking boots rather than the popular trail runners. They provide a lot more support and resistance to the rocks underfoot, and really are a better tool for the job. Personally, I prefer the high ankle support and solid sole to the lighter trail runners

Plenty of views in this section

In some places, the rocks were ridiculous!

Finally coming out of Pennsylvania, there’s hope that the rocks disappear once you reach New Jersey and New York. Nope! That’s just hype to keep you going. Some sections in these two states are a real scramble…

But one advantage of these more populous states is the concept of “deli-blazing”. There’s a lot more taverns, cafes and restaurants close to the trail that give hikers the chance to eat real food. These are always very welcome!

Flatter rock-free terrain felt very fast!

In addition to the gourmet meals, a highlight through this section is the Warwick Drive-In. The drive-in cinema allows AT hikers to camp for free at the back of the cinema and watch the evening movie. For $5 you can hire a radio to hear the soundtrack, and for another $5 even hire a comfortable chair!

The movie of the night was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – although within 30 minutes of the movie starting, all but three of the hikers had gone to bed! Hikers tend to go to bed very early on trail…

Camping at the Warwick drive-in cinema

This section of the trail also has the most trail magic! There were plenty of groups out providing hikers with much-needed breaks from the trail. These unexpected breaks and opportunities to meet people really reflect the great AT culture and is definitely a highlight of the trail experience

Sometimes lucky enough to arrive during magic setup!

The trail passes close by New York, so took a few days off to take a break. There’s a train station on hte AT itself, but unfortunately trains only stop there on weekends… There are a couple of access points for buses, however.

Returning to the trail, we finished the New York section and entered Connecticut. First stop was Kent for resupply, at which point it started raining. This was quite exciting, as the weather had been exceptionally dry up to this point – leading to some difficulties obtaining water from streams. Fortunately trail angels left water bottles at strategic road crossings for hikers. 

The rain in Kent continued up until the campsite that night. Little did we know at that point that it would end up a 1-in-500 year rain event and cause major damage to the trail!

Damascus to Harpers Ferry (Mile 470 to Mile 1026)

Damascus was the first major ‘hiker vortex’ town we encountered. People would walk in, everyone planning to take a zero, enjoy a hot meal, see familiar faces, and hike on. However many hikers struggle to leave the comforts behind on departure day!

We managed to escape the vortex, mostly because of the clock ticking on the visa. There was however, a very jolly night with Slim, Bagel, Scoops n Blue, singing songs to the guitar. So, with a later start than usual, we took the Virginia Creeper Trail. This is one of the ‘Rail to Trail’ tracks that are becoming more common in the States. Old railroads – reliably flat, wide, and usually near water – have been converted into biking and hiking paths. On a dreary, drizzly morning, it made for a fast and pleasant walk out of town. 13 easy miles, and then back up into the mountains to rejoin the trail.

Shopping for trail meals – main source of nutrition for 5 months!

Our next major ‘highlight’ of the trail was yet another steep climb to high altitudes – the Grayson Highlands, home of the famous wild ponies. It would be 2-3 days of sustained high altitude during an unusually cold spring. The highlands were ecologically unique, with lots of balds. These are big, wide open spaces that have very few scraggly trees and lots of wide open meadows.

But, there were ponies. And snow. May 1 and there were tiny little flakes falling from the sky. In the morning, at the designated shelters (there is no free camping in the Highlands) hikers were waking up to frost, crunchy socks, and beautifully freezing scenery. Unfortunately it was also way too cold and wet to take photos

We hurried through, and began the final ascent to the famous ‘Friendship Shelter’. It is the first fancy shelter on the trail, with fancy meaning that it has four walls and a roof. Also, a hot shower (usually, but not always in service). There is a visitor center nearby that is friendly to hikers, heated, and has a land line which is most frequently used to order pizza from the nearby town. After leaving Damascus, this is THE highlight.

It is also the jumping off point for the shuttle to Marion – a handy town to re-supply, have a hot meal, go to an outfitters, and even do laundry if you stay at the hostel ‘Merry Hiker’. This hostel is conveniently located downtown above the outfitters.

From Marion, the next town stop was Pearisburg. Along the way we stopped at the appropriately-named Quarter Way hostel. 

walkbridge over a river

The section approaching Roanoke passes through Dragon’s Tooth – dramatic rock formations that proved to be quite treacherous coming down in the wet. At the bottom, there’s a sign warning of a hazardous trail. Unfortunately they don’t give you the same warning coming from the other side

A misty day for the dragons tooth

Arriving in Roanoke was timed well to come off-trail for the annual Trail Days Damascus. It’s a yearly event to celebrate the Appalachian Trail community, and many previous, current and future hikers come together to celebrate the trail. We met a guy that was celebrating the 20th anniversary of his hike – a year where it rained over 75% of the days on trail! The weather for us had definitely been better (so far…)

Hiker parade at Trail Days

After Trail Days, we headed back to Roanoke to return the hire car and continue the trail. First up was McAfee Knob, which is the most famous spot for photos along the trail. There’s an outcrop of rock that with the right photo framing looks like you’re hanging out over a cliff. 

Eagle deciding to jump. A few hikers prob felt the same way by now

Next stop was the Devils Backbone brewery. It’s a short distance from the trail, and they let thru-hikers stay for free in their campground. Unfortunately the beer was not also free. It’s a huge establishment and a comfortable place to stay

Great weather led to campfires as an option