Smudgy Cheeks Day 124 (Friday, July 29th, 2016)

Today I hiked 2.5 miles.  We hiked through what is known as the, "most difficult or fun mile of the AT".  This is through Mahoosuc Notch.  It was fun but very physical.  The Three Amigos stayed together.

The toughest part today was that Sprout dropped his phone through a hole in between a bunch of rocks.  I jumped in to get the phone and got stuck!!  I was in there for about 10 minutes and finally arranged my body so that I could get myself unstuck.  

The hike was fun and dangerous at the same time!   We stealth camped right after the notch because we felt rain coming in.

Maine is beautiful!

The trail today

Bubbles and Sprout on the trail

Not easy to hike today!

Cliffs

More cliffs

Had to hike through this!

Sprout and Bubbles on the trail

Had to hike up through this too!

Day: 124
Miles hiked: 2.5
Total Miles hiked on the trail:  982.3
Bear: 1
Chipmunk: 1
Deer: 1
Lizard: 1
Snakes: 4
Toads: 2
Vulture: 1
Zoo Animals: 2 foxes, 1 porcupine, 1 bobcat, 1 turtle, 2 bears

Sprout Day 123 (Thursday, July 28th, 2016)

Day two and it's already apparent Maine is going to be tough!  People have said the first hundred miles is very rugged and I can already see that's true.  Maine is going to be very difficult but I'm looking forward to the challenge.  We were going to go through Mahoosuc Notch today but we made it to a shelter with tent pads and it looked like rain so we decided to stop.

Tomorrow we are going to go through what is known as the toughest mile on the trail (Mahoosuc Notch) and thought it would be a good idea to just stop in case it rained.  We're going to go to bed early tonight and get up early tomorrow to eat a good breakfast before heading towards the notch. With the three amigos working together there's nothing we can't conquer!  We're going to help each other through the notch and have a great time.

Your body doesn't decide how far you go in Maine, Maine decides!  The terrain decides, these woods are a different kind of woods, not like anything we have hiked through yet.

Time to filter water!

View from the trail

Bubbles heading down the trail

Hiking on a boardwalk today!

Trail today

Going up

We walked over those boardwalks

View today

Lots of people on an overlook ahead

Bubbles climbing up the trail

No problem.  I can climb this easy!

Need to go up this next

Thankful for the ladder here!

Bubbles and Smudgy Cheeks ahead of me

View from the trail today

Boardwalk on the trail

This is why you do not want to walk off of the boardwalk!!!

Day: 123

Miles hiked: 4.4

Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1050.9

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 123 (Thursday, July 28th, 2016)

I hiked 4.4 miles today.  Other hikers have said that Southern Maine is tough and they were not kidding!!  The terrian is tough and the ups are mostly up steep hills.  It's hard!!

Southern Maine

Bubbles on the trail

Day: 123
Miles hiked: 4.4
Total Miles hiked on the trail:  979.8
Bear: 1
Chipmunk: 1
Deer: 1
Lizard: 1
Snakes: 4
Toads: 2
Vulture: 1
Zoo Animals: 2 foxes, 1 porcupine, 1 bobcat, 1 turtle, 2 bears

Sprout Day 122 (Wednesday, July 27th, 2016)

Maine the way life should be!  We made it to Maine today! It feels great to have made it to Maine and it's hard to believe we are here!  The best part is the three amigos are in Maine together, and we're going to try to finish together.  I love it and hope it works out for us.  It would be great to finish the northern half with each other.  The last part of New Hampshire and the first part of Maine was really hard.  I guess the first 100 miles of Maine is crazy hard.  Then we will hit the the hundred mile wilderness and Katahdin.

I'm excited to be here because I've never been to Maine and can't wait to see how the trail is. The last part of the day was basically rock climbing down to the shelter and it was crazy.

From a few days ago when we resupplied at Walmart in Gorham, NH

Spiderweb across the trail today

More animal prints!

Page Pond

Bubbles in front of Page Pond

Mushroom on the trial

Memorial for a woman whose ashes were spread near the trail

Another mushroom

Another mushroom

Bubbles and I on the trail

More mushrooms on the trail!

Boardwalk part of the trail today

Grouse on the trial

Rocky part of the trail today!

Rock Climbing!

Smudgy Cheeks on the trail!

The Three Amigos make it to MAINE!!

Day: 122

Miles hiked: 10.1
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1046.5
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 122 (Wednesday, July 27th, 2016)

Today I hiked 10.1 miles.  I am so happy that we are in Maine but the terrain is tough!  This hike is getting tougher and harder.  

Whiskers, Sprout, Bubbles, and I getting ready to start the trail this morning!

Dream Lake

Lots of board walks over marshy parts of the trail

This is not easy hiking today!!

The Three Amigos back together again!

I made it to Maine!

Day: 122
Miles hiked: 10.1
Total Miles hiked on the trail:  975.4
Bear: 1
Chipmunk: 1
Deer: 1
Lizard: 1
Snakes: 4
Toads: 2
Vulture: 1
Zoo Animals: 2 foxes, 1 porcupine, 1 bobcat, 1 turtle, 2 bears