Fire!

Thank you to Kringle Candles for their firestarters!!

Lizard head or heart on fire?

 

 

 

Heading Back Down…

The climb down was tough since enthusiasm was dwindling but we rallied and energy was regrouped! We bumped into a few people on their way down that we had bumped into at the same spot on the way up!

My extra five inches definitely helped (hey-ooo) and the rocks seemed to echo that...

The scratches on the hiking poles now serve as reminders that we made it out in one piece! 

Model at the ranger station.... 

Not Quite The Top…

The views were incredible as we climbed but they changed dramatically once we got above the tree line!

So close...yet so far...

 You can see the storm rolling in on the right....

I knew that there would be a few people that would make comments about us not reaching the top. But I just have to ask – what massive mountain have they climbed lately?

Hut, Two, Three, Four….

The climb had a nice mile long warm up complete with the “last outhouse on the trail”. We took the Hunt Trail up (not Abol) and met some interesting characters along the way. 

There was a girl who had recently run a Tough Mudder that offered us Jolly Ranchers - they are her go-to for maintaining an even sugar level. I had a bag with me because I had read that they were also a great way to even out how much water you drink. 

At first after she left, we wondered if she had offered the JR’s because we looked like we needed help. Then we realized that our reaction was due to the area that we live in and that she was just keeping with the spirit of the trail. 

We climbed, took carrot breaks, took in the view and met some more people. 

Google Eye – my name for the guy from Minnesota who was starting his AT hike that day (at Katahdin! In July!) and was wearing Google Glass!! He got the pair thru Twitter – you had to tell Google what you would do that justified getting a trial pair. He also traded in his properly broken in hiking boots for a new pair of Five Fingers right before he left for the airport. 

And then there were the Germans – an older (late 60’s/early 70’s) couple that had come from Germany and done the whole thru hike from Springer Mountain! They reached a point on the trail, decided that the boulder field was too dangerous and turned around to hike the AT back to Springer!! 

Still climbing....

Getting there!

We kept a good pace on the easier parts of the trail, bouldered, conquered the staple in the rocks that you use to pull yourself up to the next boulder level, figured out more climbs, kept our brains occupied with thoughts about other things and took in the view as we climbed.

Camp!

Of course I had to fly the pirate flag…. 

There were so many bandanas drying at one point that it looked like a gypsy encampment when the breeze kicked in. 

I do have to say, we lived very well without running water –  pioneer style!  

Thank you Dr. Bronner’s all-in-one magical soap!!

Driving Upta Maine…

We played the license plate game and ended up with 40 plates by the end of the trip.  Funny thing is that we had Hawaii & Alaska by the time we had left NY! 

The most frequently asked question - no, not "are we there yet?".  

It was "What is the speed limit???" (on every road)

I was ecstatic when I saw that the highway changed to 75 mph - VROOM!! 

Our detour for lunch took us to the famous Red’s Eats – worth the wait!! 

"Happy?" "As a clam!!" 

Hiking Casualty...

I know that I said we made it off the mountain without injury but we did have an injury in camp. I’m happy to say that it was not a full casualty…. 

Good news is that since it is within an eighth of an inch, it is covered by the Benchmade's Lifesharp warranty. 

For the record, I was not the one who used my knife as a screwdriver. I handed it over not knowing the intent and cringed when I heard the *plink* shortly after.

Poor Pinky... I ended up scraping up my pinky finger the next day - I think it was in subconscious solidarity....

Helicopter Rescue...

See, I wasn’t kidding when I said the mountain was dangerous!  Really scary to think that we could have been hit by one of those boulders too!!

We found out about this as we were leaving.  One of our camp rangers was the one who did the rescue/guiding in of the helicopter.