Roger Carpenter – Greg In Wild
Living with a sense of adventure
For several days the weather was unseasonably warm and very humid…no, steamy! But I felt fortunate to not suffer the extreme heat event back home in the Pacific Northwest.
Continue reading “Days 5 to 10, June 27 to July 2: Finishing the 100 Mile Wilderness, Maine”
The day was easy going through a gentle forest. I enjoyed seeing woodpeckers up trees and Trillium on the found. It looked like home!
It was a glorious day in Baxter State Park after it rained until about 2 a.m. I woke at 4:30 in eager anticipation of the first day on the AT. The park ranger warned me and two other AT hikers to expect the climb and descent back to the Katahdin Stream campground could take up to 14 hours. That would be a 10 p.m. return and hiking by headlamp. I was determined to not get myself in such a predicament.
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Continue reading “Day 1, June 23: Mt. Katahdin Summit!”Left lovely camp at 630am. Climbed about 600 feet to Nesuntabunt Mtn 1520. The rest of the morning was hiking along Nahmakanta Lake. Here, the trail made agonizing steep climbs and equally steep descents from and to the shore. The lake has no homes or developments along the shore of the four mile long lake.
The AT this far north is showing signs of its real self. The rocks on the trail are bigger and more numerous. Same with the roots. After an early start at 6:30am, feeling fresh, I ascended to Rainbow Mtn. at 1550′ where I caught some nice views while eating some of Cindy’s nutritious granola. I have hiked 33.6 miles since starting the journey.
Been there, done that when it comes to attempted thru-hikes. In 1995 I started but terminated a PCT hike, and victoriously returned to the same trail in 1996. I worked hard for 20 years until a layoff from my employer became a gifted opportunity to thru-hike the Continental Divide Trail in 2016. With 5,500 miles of thru-hiking experience I did not understand the nervousness I felt when I carefully stepped off the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited at Boston South Station on June 20. The train was one hour late at 9:00pm, and the lack of daylight on the deserted downtown Boston streets unfamiliar to me did nothing to sooth my nerves. In just three days I will begin the 2,193 mile southbound hike of the AT, another unfamiliar route.
Continue reading “Anticipation”My backpack for the Appalachian Trail will contain essential items and a few more that will ensure I get sufficient rest, minimal hassles, eat great tasting food, keep the bears from eating my great tasting food, and take great photos.
For my last two hikes before starting the AT on June 23 I wanted steeper, higher and farther than my previous outings. The Mt Defiance trail climbs about five miles from the Columbia River to the summit at 4954′. The wonderful view of Mt. Hood is not altered by the constant, low level hum of the communication tower equipment. No worries…I was there for the conditioning and not a wilderness experience.
I was enjoying the cool serenity and the green lushness that is typical of the month of May during one of the many hikes I have been doing in the Portland-area Tryon Creek Natural Area. I stopped walking when I saw the 25-foot high branch in a tree along the trail, grabbed a 50-foot neon green rope attached to a small stuff sack loaded with a small rock, strategically swung the rock/stuff sack and released the rope with precise timing to hurl the weighted end up and over the branch. Once the weighted end of the rope fell to the ground and was properly draped over the branch, I whispered “awesome!” But I was not alone. As I proudly looked at the neon green rope, now hanging conspicuously from the branch, a woman asked, “are you pruning?” Feeling a little embarrassed and self-conscious while tugging the dangling cord I honestly confessed, “I am practicing my bear hang technique for my hike of the Appalachian Trail next month! No bear will steal my food at night!”
Continue reading “An Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike!”