Date: 2003-07-26
From: E. Andover, ME

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 297.9
Weather: broken clouds

Hello all. First of all, notice the subject: I have made my first state line crossing. Right now, I've completed 297.8 miles of the AT, only ~1800 miles and 12 more states left.Southern Maine was tough, allegedly some of the hardest terrain on the AT. Lots of up and downs, steep too. The Bigelow Range, Saddleback Range, and Mahoosic Range. Also transited the Mahoosic Notch, the hardest single mile on the AT. Imagine an adult-sized jungle gym, with huge wet rocks to climb over, around, and several times, under. All while wearing a 40 lb pack. No falls, just a skinned arm luckily. Unfortunately, weather has been crappy since I topped the Bigelows, no views to speak of. The inside of a cloud is not very impressive. Yesterday coming into Gorham was the first nice day I've seen in over two weeks. I hope the weather holds for the next 10 days or so while I transit the White Mountains.Speaking of which, next up are the terrible Whites. Northbounders tell horror stories of them. Two thousand feet up in two miles coming up out of the valleys (notches as they are called in NH). We'll see just how bad they can be starting tomorrow. I should be on top of Mt. Washington by Wednesday and through the entire range in 10 days. Glencliff is my next resupply point and the next time I'll be online.I'm also losing my hiking partners here in Gorham. I've been hiking with Ed and Roger (Deadhorse and Early Riser) since Stratton. They are section hikers who were here finishing Maine. They'll be heading home tomorrow. I've learned that it helps to hike with someone else (get tired of talking to myself).As for your questions, I had them written down but I left the paperwork back at the hostel. Going from memory:1. Still haven't seen any bears. More worried about mice and chipmunks. Woke up at one of the shelters feeling something moving around my head. Brushed it off and went back to sleep. The next morning identified the cause: a dead mouse was floating in Ed's water bucket. Score: hikers 1, mice 0. A NOBO (northbounder) told me to make sure my fingers and beard didn't have any food residue before I went to sleep, apparently the southern shelters are full of mice.2. What's my daily routine? Wake up with the sun. Make breakfast (usually grits). Pack up and start hiking ~0700. Break mid morning for a snack. Lunch around noon. Another break in the afternoon. Arrive at shelter, get water, make supper. Make trail register and journal entry. Go to sleep when the sun goes down. In summary: eat, hike, eat, hike, eat, sleep. Repeat.3. No campfires, or at least hardly ever. Don't have the concern or energy to collect a bunch of dead wood. Usually go to sleep by nightfall anyway. About the only time I've seen a campfire was when a youth group was at the shelter (Boy Scouts, YMCA, etc). Have played Hearts or Spades if someone left a deck at the shelter and enough people are interested and its not pitch dark.4. Slackpacking is a wonderful thing. In Andover I hiked between roads using only a daypack. It's great to hike with only 6-8 lbs on your back, you can almost fly over the trail. Plus sleep in a real bed and eat real food at night. It was a nice break.Enough for now. Talk to you later (and answer more questions), after the Whites. DP