Inchworms Journal during 26 days lost...newest report

[Alligator]

I did that Blue Blaze on the 28th. It is more like 1.75 miles 1 way. the trail is clearly marked, trodden, and no where near as steep as what she had already done. The boulders are in the open (much like the Hunt Trail). If she fell on the boulders, she would be in the wide open. This is a 3.5 mile round trip. I doubt, given her pace, that she would head up that trail. Again, all of this is speculation.

Yeah I probably have it confused on the distance. My buddy had the guide for that section, it must have been 1.8 miles then. My brain was a little foggy the morning we took the side trail, we ran into some very localized fog. It was noticeably less maintained but like I said, it was about 14-15 years ago. The footpath was fine, just more vegetation coming in. We cruised it though. It didn't have any difficult passage parts. The cairns were still there? Interesting story about those I might start a thread on it.

[Sly]

She was spotted at 3-3:30 pm. (see Attroll's post #343)

Video says noon.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/stor...storyid=252206

It's only 4.2 miles from Poplar Ridge Lean-to to Lone Mnt. Why would it take all day?

[BirdBrain]

I wonder what the thoughts of her, two hiking partners, are now since they hiked the same exact hike that Inchworm did.. They told the reporters that they knew her well and would have known what decisions she would have made every step of the way.

I wish someone would interview them again. I wonder if they are just as baffled as everyone else. I'm thinking they are.

I believe they have been very helpful to the ones that need it. We are all very curious. I honestly don't need more details. Attroll's post was very informative. Much of what has been told in the media is lazy at best and misleading at worse. I need what she and her loved ones need: A happy ending. Mine is a passing interest. Theirs is vital. This has had a big effect on me. It dominants my otherwise great trip across Maine.

[BirdBrain]

Yeah I probably have it confused on the distance. My buddy had the guide for that section, it must have been 1.8 miles then. My brain was a little foggy the morning we took the side trail, we ran into some very localized fog. It was noticeably less maintained but like I said, it was about 14-15 years ago. The footpath was fine, just more vegetation coming in. We cruised it though. It didn't have any difficult passage parts. The cairns were still there? Interesting story about those I might start a thread on it.

You are likely thinking of the Sugarloaf Blue Blaze. It is steeper and shorter. The cairns are there, but blend in with the huge boulder. The blue paint is much more useful. It was clear when I went up. But then came the fog (a huge cloud).

[BirdBrain]

Video says noon.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/stor...storyid=252206

It's only 4.2 miles from Poplar Ridge Lean-to to Lone Mnt. Why would it take all day?

It is very steep down and up to Lone. Sometimes people take breaks. Sometimes people watch wildlife. If you are straight out hiking, it would not take that long. I pity those who just hike. I assume she was distracted by the trail. I was often.

[BirdBrain]

What I think is lost on some people is that she had already done the Mahoosics, Balpate, Hall, and Moody. The section between Lone and Spaulding should not have been a challenge. I am going to end my speculation for today. I still see scenarios that offer a happy ending. I will continue to pray for her and hers.

[joshuasdad]

Can someone confirm that the Fire Warden Trail, as well as the trailhead road(s) were searched, and if so, with how much detail?

[attroll]

I wonder what the thoughts of her, two hiking partners, are now since they hiked the same exact hike that Inchworm did.. They told the reporters that they knew her well and would have known what decisions she would have made every step of the way.

I wish someone would interview them again. I wonder if they are just as baffled as everyone else. I'm thinking they are.

One of her hiking partners has been reply in this thread. His name is ElephantEater.

[HikerMom58]

I believe they have been very helpful to the ones that need it. We are all very curious. I honestly don't need more details. Attroll's post was very informative. Much of what has been told in the media is lazy at best and misleading at worse. I need what she and her loved ones need: A happy ending. Mine is a passing interest. Theirs is vital. This has had a big effect on me. It dominants my otherwise great trip across Maine.

I agree with you BB. I wish inchworm and her family could feel all the love and concern, the hiking community has for her/them. I found this .... every time something happens to a hiker it takes away a piece of ourselves. I'm still praying for a happy ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebHx-...D02vk8iZzLZDbk

[muddy boots]

That side trail across from Abrams has stayed in my mind. If for some reason not feeling well and decided to bail, it could look like a logical route to CVR and out to her husband. Once loosing elevation and trail becomes more difficult, getting lost, or taking wrong turns becomes easy. And of course there are many ATV trails in that area. She did carry a very small canister of pepper spray, but not of much use if needed. Somehow i hope it is a local with ATV, because that gives a hope of finding her alive. After all this time I'm needing to find some way to think she can still be with us. and if dogs don't find anything, and searchers don't even find her poles or pack, etc, where ever she went, they all went together. I hope that while they say no sign of foul play, they are researching people with ATV access to the area.

[HikerMom58]

One of her hiking partners has been reply in this thread. His name is ElephantEater.

Ok attroll... good to know. I was thinking of the two women, hiking partners, in the news video too.

Thanks for hanging with us ElephantEater!!

[Alligator]

You are likely thinking of the Sugarloaf Blue Blaze. It is steeper and shorter. The cairns are there, but blend in with the huge boulder. The blue paint is much more useful. It was clear when I went up. But then came the fog (a huge cloud).

Mt Abraham has the little rock shelter/cave? There used to be some rock art associated with it. It must have fallen over. I don't have a picture of it but I think it even had an arch.

I'm going to put the thread up in just a minute, I just want to get the correct mountain.

[Lone Wolf]

The 5 miles from Spauldling Mnt to Caribou Valley Road the (possible) likely area of disappearance.

my thought from the beginning

[joshuasdad]

That side trail across from Abrams has stayed in my mind. If for some reason not feeling well and decided to bail, it could look like a logical route to CVR and out to her husband. Once loosing elevation and trail becomes more difficult, getting lost, or taking wrong turns becomes easy. And of course there are many ATV trails in that area. She did carry a very small canister of pepper spray, but not of much use if needed. Somehow i hope it is a local with ATV, because that gives a hope of finding her alive. After all this time I'm needing to find some way to think she can still be with us. and if dogs don't find anything, and searchers don't even find her poles or pack, etc, where ever she went, they all went together. I hope that while they say no sign of foul play, they are researching people with ATV access to the area.

I used to agree with LW as to the likely area, but the new information regarding the cell phone ping from Lone Mtn, my observation of the "Kingfield" sign at an AT trail junction, and the discrediting of the phone call to Stratton Motel changes everything. If she bailed out across Mt. Abraham, she would have had to have camped on the exposed summit, or would have needed to descend (with light fading) to camp below treeline. It looks like the exposed summit was searched initially, but it appears that between the summit area and the road was initially searched very little, if at all. See http://www.dailybulldog.com/db/featu...t-hiker-today/

[Adriana]

The other thing that occurs odd to me - why did she call the motel? If I'm Gerry, and I'm asking to get a message to my husband, wouldn't I simply give this SOBO'er my husbands phone #???

Some retirees only have one cell phone if they are rarely apart. Strange, yes, but it saves money.

[Turtle Feet]

Some retirees only have one cell phone if they are rarely apart. Strange, yes, but it saves money.

She Gerry was texting George - that tells me that they each had their own phones.

As to the "bailing out". Why? She was so close to the Spaulding shelter! If she didn't feel well, had maybe injured herself, why not go to a place that's close, relatively easy to hike to, near other people - especially people she may know, "safe". Why venture off into the wilderness. I'm an older female hiker myself. Never in a million years would I have ventured off the well-worn AT, alone, at the end of a hiking day.

[Bluebearee]

Gerry averaged about a mile an hour - she was very slow. The first five miles that day was a decline and then the incline up Lone Mtn. She was VERY slow going uphill. She would take lots of breaks, particularly knowing that she only had a 8 mile day. Remember that she was 66 years old.

Ok thanks. I am in no way making a judgement on her pace, just want to be clear about that. I thru-hiked with lots of folks in their 60s and 70s, age in that case did not determine their speed, so I don't put much weight in that area. She'd been on trail for 3 months and had just gone over Saddleback, Jr and the Horn the day before which should have really been tough for a slow climber. I'm just saying this particular stretch isn't even close to that so I am guessing she was tired from the day before. Her plan to make Spaulding LT to 27 sounds extremely ambitious however given that 13 + mile stretch of severe down and big climbs up the Crockers.

Can anyone explain to me what a cell phoneo 'ping' really means? Does it mean her phone had to be on to emit that? Or being used? I'm just not clear on it.

Also concur the two miles past Lone Mt = not a big deal in a hiker's world. Just can't let this go myself... what in the world happened?

[Bluebearee]

Second guessing the Maine wardens...

If she was spotted near Lone Mnt at noon, she may have tried to push on past the Spaulding Mnt Lean-to to Crocker Cirque Campsite. The 5 miles from Spauldling Mnt to Caribou Valley Road the (possible) likely area of disappearance.

She was spotted between 3 and 3:30, well within her usual getting to camp @ 4-5 (meaning Spaulding LT). It's right on the trail, she couldn't have walked by it without being spotted and it's said she didn't camp alone. Those two miles are definitely the place in question.

[joshuasdad]

She Gerry was texting George - that tells me that they each had their own phones.

As to the "bailing out". Why? She was so close to the Spaulding shelter! If she didn't feel well, had maybe injured herself, why not go to a place that's close, relatively easy to hike to, near other people - especially people she may know, "safe". Why venture off into the wilderness. I'm an older female hiker myself. Never in a million years would I have ventured off the well-worn AT, alone, at the end of a hiking day.

I was once a couple hours "late" finishing a section hike ending at a state park in southern Pennsylvania, my cell phone was dead, and I arrived at the park to find that my wife was not waiting for me. She had driven to a convenience store a few miles away, and was contemplating calling the authorities. Luckily, I was able to charge my phone at a park restroom, and call before she did so.

Inchworm was well on her way to being a day late to ME 27. I agree that if she wanted to bailout, given sufficient information, it makes sense that she would spend the night at Spaulding Lean-to on Monday night, and then descend down Sugarloaf ski slopes the next day, thus being able to contact her husband on Tuesday as planned.

If Inchworm did not have a map, she might have seen the promise of "Kingfield" being a mere day's hike away, and may have taken that side trail to Mt. Abraham and the Fire Warden Trail.

I am not a "older female hiker", but do understand the pressures of hiking to a spouse. If I did not have a Maine trail map, saw a sign which appeared to point to a town, and needed to contact my wife because I was going to be late to a pickup point, the hike to the town might be tempting.

One problem: According to the websites that I have reviewed, the Fire Warden Trail does not terminate at a town (Kingfield), but instead, at the end of 6+ miles of backroads which lead to Kingfield...if you take the correct roads.

[JustaTouron]

For those of you may have just read the title to the thread and thought the Warden was looking for everyone who has ever hiked the trail to play arm chair detective based on second and third hand report about where she may or may have went and what areas of Maine to search.

That was NOT the assistance they were seeking.

Some of you obviously feel that is the assistance they need. It is/was not. They simply wanted to talk to anyone who was the trail who might have seen inchworm the day or two before her disappearance.

Hope that clears that up.