Maine is certainly beautiful. My phone tends to rarely have reception, and the battery drains quicker, but the experience has been great.

I feel like I am in Georgia once again. We have slowed our pace a bit, (which helps reduce any hiking pains from the terrain), spending more time talking to other hikers and enjoying nature and campfires.

We saw two lakes in one day. One had a sandy bottom and was perfect for a swim (which I did). The second was smaller with a public canoe! It was great to enjoy both lakes. We are at the 45th parallel, between the North Pole and equator, and I have been reminded of home.

Presently, I am loading up on junk food. I can’t seem to eat enough!

We made it to Rangeley, and have about 220 miles left.

I made it to Maine!

Unfortunately, it has been extremely humid, with fog and occasional bouts of rain. With limited clothing, this can make for an uncomfortable time. I am looking forward to being dry once again.

As Firewalker, it seems the extra humidity and moisture is my weakness. Nonetheless, there is a mounting excitement as we hikers approach the end of the trail.

With less than 300 miles in my journey, I am headed into the state of Maine. It is the last state on the trail, and many say it is the most beautiful. Weather has been cooperating, so I look forward to seeing some picturesque sights.

It has also been a blast hanging out with the hikers around us. They are great people, and we have also been catching up to hikers that we have not seen in 1,000 miles.

As a greeting to the north, I saw my first moose! She was grabbing branches with her mouth and stripping them off in one swipe. When the branches were empty, she actually walked onto the trail! Barely giving us a glance, she continued grazing, not ten feet away! She was like the largest horse I had seen. Of course, my phone has been dead for the past few days. Of all the pictures I have taken, that one would have been a favorite. I suppose I will have to find another moose!

We enter a new land – where the climbs are challenging and the views are spectacular… The White Mountains!

Yes, people have been telling us for a while that this stretch was difficult and that we could not sustain our planned rapid pace. Naturally, we did not believe them, but it certainly has been some challenging terrain.

What is so spectacular about this stretch of hiking for me? Well, for one, the views. We are above tree line for long stretches and have nearly constant views for some sections. It is also finally fairly far from towns, so some views are only mountains in all directions! Also, it is a return to high elevations of 5000 and 6000 foot tall mountains. There is a lot of traffic here but for good reason.

Today, we climbed Mt. Washington. It is known to have crazy weather, and until recently held the record for highest recorded wind speed, well above 200 mph. We are camping near the mountain but far enough off to be safe while still enjoying the sunset.

We have been fortunate to have spectacular weather. Through here, rather than the usual white blaze to mark the trail, they use piles of stones. Because it is often foggy or rainy, this helps the visibility. Follow the stones!

Alright, less than 400 miles to go. And now we are finally getting some serious climbs with some gloomier weather. It’s like the Smokies all over again!

We got an early start today and made good time for the first half of the day, but we has to ford a river, so we took a break to dry our feet out. It worked fairly well, but the air has been consistently wet for a while.

The climb up the mountain was slow and tough, but it was also exciting. It’s good to feel the power of the mountains again, and I am excited about entering the White Mountains. We shall see what tomorrow brings!

The town of Hanover and nearby Norwich are super friendly toward hikers, so much that there is a list of people who will take hikers into their homes. In many of them, there is access to most of the house, shower, kitchen. The one where we stayed even had a sauna!

We didn’t end up having time to use it, but we definitely enjoyed the stay. I talked with our host, who was very kind, and baked brownies in the kitchen. They were quickly consumed.

The rest of the area was nearly as friendly, with free pizza and donuts for hikers. We got the free food, went to the library for a bit, and caught up with some hikers that we have not seen in some time. Our hope is to keep moving fairly quickly and catch most of the hikers we know before we finish.

We have officially reached New Hampshire, which means more wilderness.

It also means two states remain, so the countdown begins.

Well, I am a serious hiker now, doing big mile days. Hiking in Vermont brought taller mountains, muddier trails, but nonetheless I have been putting in work. The plan is to continue with 20-mile days, even when the terrain becomes more difficult. Some think that too ambitious, but we shall see.

With so much hiking, there is little time for anything else, so I’m off to eat and sleep to prepare for tomorrow’s adventures.

For those of you wondering, I am alive! I am in Vermont, getting further north where it is getting cold and where reception is a lot harder to come by.

We have finally encountered some real mountains again. Today, I went above 4,000 feet of elevation for the first time since Virginia. It is nice to have great views once again, but this morning was so foggy that there were none to be had.

As some of you know, I hiked my largest day yet: 50 miles in under twenty-four hours. Afterward, though I couldn’t tell right away, my feet were beat up and tired, and a series of unfortunate events led to my only having one pair of socks – not to mention my shoes that are so worn that I can see my socks through them. All this resulted in a few days of gentle hiking and recovering from such a vigorous hike. Recently, we hiked twenty miles in six hours, which was one of our fastest hikes to date, so I think I am doing better.

We are still generally on target for our finish date of mid-September, and even with the recent cloudy ad rainy weather, we are pushing miles. I am looking forward to the next few states, to finishing the hike strong, and returning to the mitten! (The cooler weather is preparing me for my return).

Well, I hiked my longest day yet – 50 miles in 24 hours. My friend Teabag had done it, and it was the longest consecutive stretch that anyone I know on the trail has done. So of course I had to do it.

We started hiking together, and after the first ten, it was approaching dark. We had gotten a late start, in the afternoon, and Teabag decided to set up camp. I told him I was going to keep going to complete a 50-piece, and he proceeded to give me some caffeinated tea (of course) and a pep talk.

I hiked all through the night and only started getting sleepy once the sun came back out. It was foggy and dreary, which did not help. I made some tea and had breakfast and kept pushing. In case anyone is not yet convinced, fifty miles is a long way. Even after forty, when I was “almost there,” it seemed to drag on forever as my feet began to hurt. As Teabag prophesied, I had visions, paranoia, and delirium from the hike. As it turn out, that porcupine was never actually chasing me.

I made it into the town of Cheshire to complete fifty miles. Instead of collapsing, I saw some fellow hikers in a garage. As it turns out, a hiker friend’s uncle lives directly on the trail, so I hung out with them, weary but happy. They let me stay the night and shower. What an excellent end to my fifty!

Afterward, I decide to take yesterday off to rest. I spent a lot of time talking to hikers and to people back home on the phone. Most of my time was spent at the Shell station, the most happening place in town. I’m among my people! They took a picture of my hat. It was great.

Today is another beautiful day, and I am excited to get back on the trail. Hopefully, my feet will be too.