Sprout Day 124 (Friday, July 29th, 2016)

We woke up early and hiked Mahoosuc Notch today.  It's said to be the toughest mile on the AT and we can see why!  Boulder after boulder and root after root, hand over hand was the only way through it.  It was a tough mile but it was fun and no one got hurt. The whole experience was unique and I'm happy we were all together for the experience.

There were some spots we had to climb up over boulders and other spots we had to climb under huge boulders.  We had to take our packs off for one section that went under and into a tight space.  When we first walked into the notch we walked down and immediately felt a temperature change. Some spots were cold enough to still have snow and ice, it was crazy! Then, all of a sudden, you'd walk up and it'd be warm again.

We hiked to a campsite right after the notch and decided to stay and call it an early day.  There was rain in the forecast for most of the afternoon and the next part of the trail is difficult. We're going to go up 1500 feet in less than a mile and is mostly rocks and crazy climbs. The rocks get slippery in the rain and a southbounder told us to forget about hiking it if it's raining.  We're going to bed early and getting up early and hiking Mahoosuc arm. It's so quiet in the woods here, Maine is peaceful.

Trail before we got to Mahoosuc Notch

Bubbles climbing down

Almost to the Notch!

Smudgy Cheeks starting the Mahoosuc Notch

Snow on July 29th!

Bubbles climbing

Bubbles climbing through boulders

Smudgy Cheeks climbing up boulders

Smudgy Cheeks being a hero

Smudgy Cheeks telling Bubbles how to get through this spot

Smudgy Cheeks taking a short break

Bubbles on the trail

Bubbles on the trail

View of where we need to go!

Smudgy Cheeks traversing the trail

Bubbles coming down the trail

Sprout with the trial behind me

Bubbles and Sprout loving life on the trail together!

Here comes Bubbles

White blazes turning into arrows to help get through the Notch

Bubbles hanging on!

Bubbles

Smudgy Cheeks and Bubbles figuring out the way to go

View of our trail today

Bubbles carefully stepping through roots

Mushrooms in the notch

Tree growing on boulders

This rock formation looks like an animals head

Roots

Day: 124

Miles hiked: 2.5

Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1053.4

Bears: 0

Bluegill: 2

Butterflies: 8

Chipmunks: 3

Cows: 24

Crawfish: 1

Deer: 20

Donkeys: 2

Grouse:  1

Horses: 12

Hummingbird: 1

Inchworm: 1

Really Big Dog: 1

Mice: 2

Nest of bugs: 2

Newts: 2

Owl: 1

Rabbit: 1

Skunk: 1

Snail: 1

Snake: 2

Squirrels: 11

Toads: 3

Trout: 2

Turkeys: 4

Turtles: 107

Vultures: 6

Woodpecker: 1

Smudgy Cheeks Day 12-16 (Jeff) (Friday, April 8th to Tuesday, April 12th)

Day 12 (Friday, April 8)

We hiked ten miles on the trail today.  It was cool because we hiked along one of the boundaries between the Union and the Confederates during the Civil War.  We also had to walk over train tracks.  We heard the train so we stopped and I put three quarters on the track.  We only found two of them after the train whirled past us.  

Two of my flat quarters

Not going to work at the laundromat anymore!

Day 13 (Saturday, April 9)

We hiked 12.9 miles today.   It snowed on and off for a few miles and it was cold!  We stopped at Dicks Dome shelter for breakfast.  The rest of the walk was downhill which was very nice because we will be hitting the roller coaster tomorrow!  

Art work from Dick's Dome Shelter (Day 13)

Day 14 (Sunday, April 10)

We hiked 7 miles into the roller coaster today.  The roller coaster is a part of the trail where you walk up and down from 1200 feet to 800 feet without stopping (there is no flat ground at all)!  It is 13.5 miles long.  We stopped halfway through for the night.  I love camping and being outside everyday.  You would think that walking up and down mountains would be the hard part of this but it’s the backpack on my back!!

Day 15 (Monday, April 11)

We are hiking along the West Virginia, Virginia border as we head towards Harper's Ferry W.V.  We should be there tomorrow but we needed to hike 14 miles today first.  This is the furthest we have walked of any day so far!  I love it more everyday out here.  I don't have to worry about a thing out here except for keeping my feet healthy.

Day 16 (Tuesday, April 12)

We hiked 8 miles into Harpers Ferry, West Virginia today.  I took off pretty quick and got going so that I could just get here and relax. We had to get our mail drop, which was sent to the Appalachian Trail Conservatory (ATC) and we also checked into the ATC.  I'm officially the 27th flip flop hiker to come through Harper's Ferry in 2016! We got into the hotel room and left to get pizza.   I'm going to take it easy tonight and get ready for our hike tomorrow!

Crocs Through the Shelter

Heart Rock

Cool Old Tree

Bubbles Day 13 (Saturday, April 9th)

Blaze on the trail

Today was a long day because we hiked 12.9 miles.  We met two brothers.  I don't remember their names but their dog's names were Winchester and Duncan.  It's funny.  When hikers have dogs I don't even see the hikers.  I immediately go to the dogs and love on them.

Sometimes when we get to a shelter it's dark or we are just tired and don't remember which way we came off the trail (some shelters are off on a side trail and can vary from .1 to .7 miles off the trail.)  When we get back to the AT we aren't sure which way we need to go.   The side trail to the Manasses shelter had this great sign that pointed which way to go!  This is super helpful because we've had to pull out our compass to make sure we go in the correct direction before (we've used the sun too!)

It's nice when the signs tell us which way to go.

At the beginning of the day it was super cold.  It even snowed on us a few times.  We were lucky though because as the day passed it warmed up.  Even though it's hard to hike when it's hot it's also hard to hike when it's literally freezing!

Brrrr!!  So cold on my fresh-cut-hair head

It went from winter to spring in a matter of five miles!

Jumping rocks

Honey, can you come back down here and get my Gatorade bottle?  I dropped it?

I'm anxious to start the roller coaster tomorrow.  I've read a lot about it on the internet and people are always complaining and saying how difficult it is.  I hope my feet hold up!

The Sprout Day 7 (Sunday, April 3rd)

This sign is about 190 miles off!

Last night was a very cold night!  We heard that it was -5 degrees with the windchill. I woke up last night around 12-1 to the sound of rain.  I jumped up and got my bag because the rain was coming into the hut sideways.  I didn't want all of my gear to get wet.  It turned to sleet and then snow.  We were lucky because the rain, sleet, and snow didn't blow into the shelter (the hut is pretty open to the elements.)

Last night was the first night I was really comfortable in my mummy bag.  It was so cold that I didn't even think about unzipping and stretching my legs out.  I can't wait until the day I get rid of the sleeping bag and use a light blanket.

There was one hiker with us last night and a bunch of Boys Scouts camping at the campsites near the shelter.  It was so windy last night that two of their tents blew over!  I think I'm going to start setting up our tent every night, even if we do sleep in a shelter.   It's a good backup plan in case it starts raining.

A group of the Boy Scouts

After we started hiking today we all warmed up pretty quick.  We had a really good view today on top of Stony Man Mountain. You can see so far and there are a few little towns in the different valleys.  We came across our first rock scramble today too!

Baba Ghanoush helping Bubbles find a firm spot for her feet.

Stony Man Mountain Overlook

The Three Amigo's on Stony Man Mountain Overlook

The Sprout and Baba Ghanoush

Our first rock scramble

Bubbles and The Sprout

In the second half of our day we went to Skyland Resort.  It is a really nice place!  We sat and had a roast beef sandwich.  I bet they are used to hikers coming in to refuel but this place was really nice and there were not many hikers around at the time.  We had cell service so we were able to get ahold of everyone and we were able to charge our phones and battery packs.  After a long cold night, it was nice to sit down, eat, and get all of our plans ready for the next few days.

The Three Amigos enjoying our sandwiches at Skyland Resort.

Time to sit and let our feet rest!

A spring to refresh our empty Platypi!

Bear Bag Pole.  Needs to be 100-200 feet away from camp, 10 feet up, and 4 feet out

Our tent is set up so that we can throw our packs into the tent if it rains tonight (when the rain comes in sideway the hut doesn't keep us dry!!) Byrd's Nest Shelter #3

Day:  7

Miles hiked:  10.9

Miles off trail to shelter:  0

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  76.9

Blisters:  0

Real Bears:   0

Deer:  11

Squirrels:  8

Chipmunk:  1

Snail:  1