2004 BACKPACK

MAINE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

RANGELEY TO ANDOVER

On September 14 Barry Nelson and Dan McQueen drove 662 miles to Gorham, New Hampshire. The next morning we shuttled to Rangeley, Maine and started backpacking for 5 days covering 36.5 trail miles on the Appalachian Trail. We covered some of the toughest hiking in Maine making it difficult to average 10 miles per day. We encountered every imaginable trail condition slogging through bogs, across bog logs, up and down steep rock chutes, rock steps, wood steps, ladders, notched log ladders, steel rebar and more. It was in the 60s for 3 days and with the rough terrain caused us to sweat profusely for 5-6 hours each day so we were fighting dehydration. Hurricane Ivan passed through dumping heavy rain from about 7:00 pm and continuing until the next afternoon. The temperatures plummeted to 36^o overnight. We stayed over all day not wanting to traverse the difficult terrain in these conditions. Short of food and time to continue we got off the trail in Andover, Maine on the 5th day.

September 14, 2002 Tuesday Drive Columbia, MD to Gorham, NH

Got up at 4:28 and ate my usual breakfast: of orange juice, milk, banana and toast with raspberry jam. Finished loading the car at 5:11 and drove to Barry Nelson's in west Columbia. Drove north on US-29, I-70 east, I-695 east, I-83 north, I-81 north, I-84 east, I-91 north, US-302 east, NH-115 northeast, US-2 east to Gorham, New Hampshire after 662.1 miles at 4:40. I paid $1 with my new EZPass and was pleased that it worked to cross the Hudson River. We stopped in Springfield, Massachusetts for a picnic lunch consisting of everything that might spoil from the refrigerator. Also got 13.1 gallons of gas for $26.25.

Checked into room 21 of the Northern Peaks Motel 603 466-2288 for $60.48. The lady was very nice and we chatted with her and her friend whom she joined in rocking chairs on the front porch. We walked across the street and met Art Jolin confirming our shuttle for the next morning. We unloaded the car into the room and I washed the road dust down with two cold bottles of homebrewed English Bitter.

After sifting through several recommendations we walked about ½ mile in the dusk to Mr Pizza's Restaurant. The name is misleading because the restaurant is quite nice, large and has a full menu. We came for the haddock so I had two large filets of haddock, French fries, cole slaw, apple pie a la mode and ice tea for $25.22.

September 15, 2002 Wednesday Backpack ME-4 Rangeley to Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to

I slept fairly well as we had all the windows open and the temperature dropped to 46^o overnight. We could see bits of coloring on trees during the drive yesterday. Got up at 5:22 and drove to the Quick Lube Diner again based on a recommendation. I was still full from last night's supper so I had a breakfast sandwich of eggs and sausage on an English muffin with orange juice and milk for $5.15. Back in our room we did our final packing and loading things for the trip home in my car. We set out heavy backpacks outside. My pack weighs 52 pounds.

Art showed up at 7:03 with his blue Chevy Venture van. We loaded our packs in the back and I followed Art east on US-2 to a left on North Road across the Androscoggin River to a left on a dirt road to the Appalachian Trail a distance of 5.1 miles. I got in the van at 7:15 and we drove back through Gorham then north on NH-16 along the river through Berlin and on to Rangeley Maine. We saw a large bull moose next to the road with some moss on his horns so he was not rutting yet. Soon we saw a large cow moose. Art entertained us with local stories and New Hampshire philosophy. I agreed with most of what he said. We arrived at the trail head 9 miles east of Rangeley on ME-4 located at 44^o 50.444 N by 70^o 32.417 W at 9:12. It is 60^o, sunny and breezy. We paid Art $160 or $80 each and prepared to backpack.

We were ready to go at 9:25 and of course we started up immediately. Fortunately it was not too bad with a good trail and not too steep. We started running into young through hikers (Georgia to Maine) right away meeting a group of four. We would see 16 hikers including some section hikers. The trail is muddy with standing water in many places. We crossed innumerable bog logs. We would see this condition every day we hiked. After a couple of miles we hiked past South Pond and on to Little Swift River Pond.

We stopped for lunch at 12:09 after hiking 4.8 miles next to the pond because we thought the trail was veering away from the pond. I ate two tortillas with cheddar cheese and salsa, a granola bar and two tomatoes.

We started again rounding a bend to find a beautiful large campsite at 2460' elevation about 100 yards from where we stopped to eat on the trail. A bulky older section hiker was sitting on a log looking at little bedraggled. After a brief talk we continued on.

At 3:40 we arrived at the Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to 1823' elevation located at 44^o 50.444 N by 70^o 33.753 W. We set up tents then washed ourselves and clothes in the pond using environmental soap with the thermometer reading 67^o. It is time to rehydrate so I started boiling pond water for 16 ounces each of hot chocolate, tea and spicy Thai chicken soup. While the stove was on I cooked Alfredo broccoli noodles with a can of tuna for supper before finishing with chocolate pudding.

Hung our backpacks in the lean-to to protect them from rodents, coons and other night creatures. A young man came in to stay in the lean-to. He and his wife are headed to the University of London for a doctorate in economics as soon as he finishes the trail. Crawled into my tent at 6:50 with the temperature at 62^o and the barometer steady at 27.65". Today we hiked 9.4 miles in 6:15 hours averaging 1.5 miles per hour climbing 2230' and descending 2310' in two major (200 or more vertical feet) climbs. My calculations say I burned about 3994 calories today.

September 16, 2002 Thursday Backpack Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to to Bemis Stream Trail

Got up at first light at 5:42 in 69^o. Boiled water for breakfast of two oatmeal packs with peaches and tea. Took down the tent and packed up.

We hiked from the lean-to at 7:15 under clear skies. We hiked past Moxie Pond at 2380' in 2.1 miles. We descended steeply to cross ME-17 at 3.7 miles and continued down before stopping for lunch about noon. I ate my usual two tortillas and cheese. We continued down to Bemis Stream at 1495'. We took our hiking poles from our packs to ford the stream and never put them back until we got off the trail. We passed many hikers all morning and continued to pass them in the afternoon. We passed at least 23 hikers but I lost count at one point. We also crossed many bog logs with some stretching for up to 50 yards.

We climbed steeply up a long rock strewn gully and tough trail before arriving in 66^o at the Bemis Mountain Lean-to at 2800' elevation at 1:40, 8.3 miles from the last lean-to. I had already determined that we had to go on as we it was too early to stop and we needed to make some more miles. Because we would have to make a dry camp for the night, we decided to cook and eat supper then hike on. There were about 10 hikers at the lean-to. I believe four were smoking pot with one young lady half shot and a big guy very loud and completely stoned. I boiled water for 16 ounces each of hot chocolate, vegetable soup and tea trying to rehydrate. I had clams with New Orleans rice for supper. We filled our two water bottles and enough for breakfast in our water bags and hiked on at 2:43.

We continued to climb for another 1.7 miles to Bemis Range West Peak at 3390'. The hiking was slow and tough. We were constantly looking for a small level place to camp but the terrain was very rugged with heavy growth everywhere. I was getting worried that we would not find a place to camp and decided we could camp on the Bemis Stream Trail since it would not have any night hikers on it. We had decided to hike until 5:00 and that is precisely when we arrived at the Bemis Stream Trail intersection. I spotted a small level campsite in the woods just large enough for our two tents.

We set up tents and I finished a little still warm leftover dinner with some tea and chicken bouillon. We are located at 44^o 47.371 N by 70^o 46.161 W at 3345' elevation. Today we hiked 11.0 miles in 8:42 hours excluding the 63 minutes we stopped for supper averaging 1.26 miles per hour climbing 3290' and descending 3600' in 3 major climbs. I burned 4637 calories today. It was a tough day and I am feeling the results of progressive dehydration. We are tired and turn-in at dark about 7:10. Fifteen or twenty minutes later I hear the unmistakable sound of a through hiker stumbling along the trail about 50 yards away.

September 17, 2002 Friday Backpack Bemis Stream Trail to Hall Mountain Lean-to

Got up at 5:33 in 58^o. Boiled water for breakfast of two strawberry oatmeal packets and tea. Took down my tent and packed up.

Hiked from camp at 6:57 headed south. We climbed for 3.2 miles to the top of Old Blue Mountain 3595' on relatively easy trail making decent time. There were several muddy spots and we followed fresh moose tracks that were huge. We descended over 2100' on steep but not too difficult trail. We crossed South Arm Road and forded Black Brook at 1410' 6 miles into our day.

We were out of water because of last night's dry camp. We resupplied our water purifying it with iodine tablets and I have one bottle with a filter on it. We dumped our trash in a can provided for it. I ate lunch of two tortillas, cheddar cheese and salsa.

We started up gradually but soon were climbing steeply for 1000' over 1.8 miles to the top of Moody Mountain 2440'. Not too bad. We're making decent time and I think we have no more climbing today. We descended a little then hiked about a mile on relatively flat and easy trail. Then we came to the cliff. I'm still not too worried but we are soon descending straight down for about 1300'. We descend down stone and wood steps, ladders and notched log ladders and steel rebar over 10 foot drops of vertical sheet rock. This is repeated many times covering most of the way down. We are extremely slow being very cautious not to make a mistake. Barry fell a couple of times but was unhurt. It must have taken over an hour to get down and I am dripping sweat the whole time from the tension and exertion. We reached the bottom of Sawyer Notch and forded Sawyer Brook at 1095' elevation. We are 8.7 miles from camp and our progress has slowed quite a bit.

We took a break and I'm drinking as much water as possible trying to catch up on my deficit. I'm looking around and realize we're in a deep hole with high mountains rising straight up on all sides. I don't see how we can get out of here without climbing. As we resume we start up very steeply. We are following a stream and soon pass a falls. Although the trail is good the slope is unrelentingly steep. I know we have 1.4 miles to go and hope we top the mountain before that. We climbed a long time with no end in sight. I am toasted and for the first time that I can remember I take a break in the middle of a climb. We resumed and very quickly the ground leveled out and we could see the shelter's privy. We climbed over 2200' in 1.4 miles.

We stumbled into the Hall Mountain Lean-to elevation 3333' at 4:16. We were both whipped. There are many large tent areas scattered around the lean-to. We set up our tents in the area farthest from the lean-to. It is a quarter mile walk down a hill to the water which is very difficult coming back with a couple gallons of water. I boiled water and drank a total of 10 cups of beef bouillon, chicken bouillon, hot chocolate, spicy Thai soup and tea. I ate Thai noodles with chicken for supper and Barry made chocolate pudding for dessert. I drank some more tea and bouillon after dinner.

I am in my tent before 7:00. Today we hiked 10.1 miles in 9:19 hours averaging 1.08 mph climbing 3700' and descending 4560' in 3 climbs. I burned 4223 calories hiking today. We are at 44^o 42.165 N by 70^o 49.466 W. We passed 7 hikers all day. I realize that we are not going to make it to Gorham because it would take too much time and we don't have enough food. Barry and I discuss it through the tents walls and decide to get out at Andover our last chance before Gorham. It started raining and is windy continuing all night as Hurricane Ivan passes through.

September 18, 2002 Saturday Sitting Out the Rain

It rained and blew all night. It continued all morning and into the afternoon. The temperature dropped to 38^o and never got above 44^o all day. I zipped my sleeping bag for the first time and even put up the hood against the cold wind inside the tent. Barry had some water in his tent and moved his gear to the lean-to. I was warm and dry and content to stay in my bag until 7:30 when I also moved to the lean-to. Had two banana oat meals and tea for breakfast. The rain and wind kept coming with fog passing through occasionally. Two young through hikers came and took a break in the lean-to. Barry gave them some food. Two women from Minnesota slack packing came by headed south. A few hours later a third through hiker stopped briefly.

I ate lunch of two tortillas with cheddar cheese and salsa plus some cookies and carrot sticks. The rain and wind waned slowly and finally stopped. I made another trip to get more water. Around 3:30 three men from Philadelphia came in headed south. We vacated the lean-to for them moving back to our still standing tents. We even saw a small shaft of sunlight for about 5-10 minutes. I had lots of fluids and freeze dried sweet and sour pork with rice for dinner topped off by pistachio pudding for dessert. It was very good. Two through hikers came in and set up camp. We talked to the guys from Philly and was quite impressed with one guy's home made .3 ounce alcohol stove. He was into light packs so we talked a bit about his equipment.

September 19, 2002 Sunday Backpack Hall Mountain Lean-to East B Hill Road

Got up at 5:33 to 38^o and windy. Ate two packs of blueberry oatmeal and tea. Took down my tent and packed up. The wind has dried everything more than we could have hoped for.

Barry and I hiked from Hall Mountain Lean-to at 7:00 and no one else was stirring. The trail was good and relatively flat all the way to Surplus Pond. We hiked over Wyman Mountain 2920' in 1.3 miles. We made good time passing only one hiker who was very serious and didn't stop. We crossed a dirt road at Surplus Pond at 4.2 miles. We started climbing fairly steeply but not for very long before starting another gradual descent. We stopped to talk to a gentleman in his seventies and a younger man about 45-50. The younger man knew my nephew Harold Ferguson in Hanover. We came out on East B Hill Road after 6.0 miles at 10:25.

We dumped our water then collapsed our hiking poles and strapped them on our packs. We started walking down the road towards Andover 8 miles distance. About 6-8 cars passed us going the opposite direction. Finally a local named Ken stopped made a U-turn and picked us up in his old van about a mile from the AT. He was quite a character and wouldn't take any money when he dropped us in Andover at 10:50.

We dropped our packs in front of the Andover diner and ordered lunch. I crossed the street and called my nephew Harold but got no answer. I called Art Jolin and he was on his way. Returned to the diner and ate my lunch of a meatball sub, fries and lemonade for $8 including tip. We were stuffed as we walked outside and talked to two ladies perhaps a mother and daughter. The older lady also knows my nephew Harold.

Art arrived in his van at 12:55 and we were off to my car parked on the Centennial Trail off North Road at 1:56. We split the $90 shuttle, loaded our packs and drove back to Gorham for a quick stop for a raspberry drink for $1.09. We then retraced our route back to Brattleboro, Vermont and was stopped by the border patrol going down I-91. We pulled into the Quality Inn that we stayed in a few weeks ago on bike Vermont at 5:08. We checked into room 105 for $117.72. We walked into the Dhaba restaurant and had a Otter Creek draft for $3.85. Cleaned up and returned to the Dhaba Restaurant for an Indian buffet dinner. They had about 8 masala and curry dishes consisting of chicken, lamb, vegetables, beans and rice. They had soup, salad, ice tea and little round pastries lightly coated in chocolate and soaked in a sweet liquor. Very good, in fact excellent and both of our dinners came to $30.42 including tip.

We hiked 7 miles in 3:30 averaging 2.0 mph climbing 730' and descending 2360' in 2 climbs.

September 20, 2002 Monday Drive to Columbia, MD

We were up at 5:00 and on the road before 6:00. We retraced our route coming up. We stopped at Burger King in Fishkill, New York for breakfast after 9:00. I had a breakfast sandwich and milk for $3.25. Tanked up and continued on until about 2:00 when we stopped for lunch at Wendy's in Irving, Pennsylvania for a spicy chicken sandwich and milk for $6.37. Topped up the tank and drove home. Dropped Barry off and arrived home at 4:25.