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Thread: It’s Done!!!

  1. #1
    13-45 Section Hiker Trash
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    Default It’s Done!!!

    Well guys and gals, at about 10:30AM August 7th I summitted Katahdin thus ending my 13 years of section hiking the AT with a good friend of mine.

    I wanted to thank all of you on here that have helped me through the years with good advice and encouragement. Hopefully I have helped a few of you along the way, and I will still be hanging around to try and help others going forward.

    So how about a few stats:

    • Duration: 13 years
    • Timeframe: 2007 – 2019
    • Number of sections: 45
    • Order of sections: random
    • Direction of sections: all were done NOBO
    • Final section: Monson to Katahdin
    • Other criteria: made a point to pass all white blazes


    So how about a summary of that last trip, which was Monson to Katahdin. This took 11 days. My bud and I used Phil at 100 Mile Wilderness Adventures for our shuttle and resupply, and I can highly recommend his services. Great guy and he has a really cool place we stayed at one night before starting and one night after finishing. The first 3 and a half days were rough. ME was in a hot spell, and this just beat us up. We were supposed to get to Logan Brook Lean-to for the 4th night and we stopped short at Sydney Tappan campsite to recover…really cool spot to camp by the way. That night a front went through with some thunder storms that skirted us, so we didn’t get much rain. The Barren/Chairback range is tough, reminiscent of the stuff in Southern ME on a smaller scale, then in contrast the Gulf Hagas/White Cap ridge is pretty tame with rock steps and easy walking. When we got to White Cap there was still fog from the rain overnight, that suddenly lifted to reveal clear blue skies and a stunning view of Katahdin. I had my main emotional moment here as this is the first time I saw the end point of the journey.

    The next few days go through the flat stuff that’s fairly easy…yeah, there’s actually easy stuff in ME. In here are some of the ponds/lakes with beaches that are awesome. The weather was dry and cooler but started warming up again. We decided to stay at Whitehouse Landing one night. I have read mixed reviews about this place for years, and my personal experience was very positive. Bill and Linda are good people and we really enjoyed our stay. As has been discussed many times over you will spend some money there, but if you know that going in then you can enjoy yourself. I mean it’s pretty much the only place in the HMW that I know of where you can get food, beer, a bed and a shower. While we were there another front came through that evening with T-storms, and it rained a little overnight.

    After leaving Whitehouse Landing it took us 3 days to get to Katahdin Stream Campground. Yeah, we were able to get a spot in the campground, which I believe is much nicer than the Birches shelters. I was getting a little beat up feeling but was able to take it easy the last couple of days up to the campground thus conserving some energy for the summit day. The night before Katahdin Stream we stayed at Abol Campground and had a fantastic view of Katahdin from our campsite. We also had a couple of beers and some good food at the store plus a shower. These 3 days were clear and cool with it warming up again.

    Summit day started off a little concerning from a weather standpoint. The day before was crystal clear, and we were originally planning to summit that day so I was kind of annoyed, but the heat earlier in the trip basically put us a day behind. Well, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. It was overcast, and even rained for a few minutes once we got up on the flat part about a mile from the summit, but everything stayed dry and it was calm with no wind. There was also an awesome view as the clouds were above the summit, and the surrounding mountains were poking up out of low laying fog (an inversion I think). My bud and I got up there to an empty sign as everyone up there were just sitting around, so we did the obligatory summit pics. After that we hung out a bit and then headed back down. Katahdin is the hardest climb/descent on the AT by the way in my opinion.

    Two big takeaways from the trip are that we hiked the HMW while it was super dry as in like I think I walked through maybe 20 mud holes the whole way…amazing. The other thing is the mosquitos and deer flies were bad in some spots, especially the first 2 miles in Baxter where the mosquitos were on an all-out assault.

    On an interesting side note we hiked and camped most of this trip with a fellow named Rover that we met out there. Great guy, and man can he go…and I say this because he is 72 years old but moves like a 30 year old. He was also finishing his section hike up of 5 years so that was really cool that we got to share that experience with each other.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
    JMT: 2013

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    07-23-2017
    Location
    Washington, Pennsylvania
    Age
    48
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Berserker View Post
    Well guys and gals, at about 10:30AM August 7th I summitted Katahdin thus ending my 13 years of section hiking the AT with a good friend of mine.

    I wanted to thank all of you on here that have helped me through the years with good advice and encouragement. Hopefully I have helped a few of you along the way, and I will still be hanging around to try and help others going forward.

    So how about a few stats:

    • Duration: 13 years
    • Timeframe: 2007 – 2019
    • Number of sections: 45
    • Order of sections: random
    • Direction of sections: all were done NOBO
    • Final section: Monson to Katahdin
    • Other criteria: made a point to pass all white blazes


    So how about a summary of that last trip, which was Monson to Katahdin. This took 11 days. My bud and I used Phil at 100 Mile Wilderness Adventures for our shuttle and resupply, and I can highly recommend his services. Great guy and he has a really cool place we stayed at one night before starting and one night after finishing. The first 3 and a half days were rough. ME was in a hot spell, and this just beat us up. We were supposed to get to Logan Brook Lean-to for the 4th night and we stopped short at Sydney Tappan campsite to recover…really cool spot to camp by the way. That night a front went through with some thunder storms that skirted us, so we didn’t get much rain. The Barren/Chairback range is tough, reminiscent of the stuff in Southern ME on a smaller scale, then in contrast the Gulf Hagas/White Cap ridge is pretty tame with rock steps and easy walking. When we got to White Cap there was still fog from the rain overnight, that suddenly lifted to reveal clear blue skies and a stunning view of Katahdin. I had my main emotional moment here as this is the first time I saw the end point of the journey.

    The next few days go through the flat stuff that’s fairly easy…yeah, there’s actually easy stuff in ME. In here are some of the ponds/lakes with beaches that are awesome. The weather was dry and cooler but started warming up again. We decided to stay at Whitehouse Landing one night. I have read mixed reviews about this place for years, and my personal experience was very positive. Bill and Linda are good people and we really enjoyed our stay. As has been discussed many times over you will spend some money there, but if you know that going in then you can enjoy yourself. I mean it’s pretty much the only place in the HMW that I know of where you can get food, beer, a bed and a shower. While we were there another front came through that evening with T-storms, and it rained a little overnight.

    After leaving Whitehouse Landing it took us 3 days to get to Katahdin Stream Campground. Yeah, we were able to get a spot in the campground, which I believe is much nicer than the Birches shelters. I was getting a little beat up feeling but was able to take it easy the last couple of days up to the campground thus conserving some energy for the summit day. The night before Katahdin Stream we stayed at Abol Campground and had a fantastic view of Katahdin from our campsite. We also had a couple of beers and some good food at the store plus a shower. These 3 days were clear and cool with it warming up again.

    Summit day started off a little concerning from a weather standpoint. The day before was crystal clear, and we were originally planning to summit that day so I was kind of annoyed, but the heat earlier in the trip basically put us a day behind. Well, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. It was overcast, and even rained for a few minutes once we got up on the flat part about a mile from the summit, but everything stayed dry and it was calm with no wind. There was also an awesome view as the clouds were above the summit, and the surrounding mountains were poking up out of low laying fog (an inversion I think). My bud and I got up there to an empty sign as everyone up there were just sitting around, so we did the obligatory summit pics. After that we hung out a bit and then headed back down. Katahdin is the hardest climb/descent on the AT by the way in my opinion.

    Two big takeaways from the trip are that we hiked the HMW while it was super dry as in like I think I walked through maybe 20 mud holes the whole way…amazing. The other thing is the mosquitos and deer flies were bad in some spots, especially the first 2 miles in Baxter where the mosquitos were on an all-out assault.

    On an interesting side note we hiked and camped most of this trip with a fellow named Rover that we met out there. Great guy, and man can he go…and I say this because he is 72 years old but moves like a 30 year old. He was also finishing his section hike up of 5 years so that was really cool that we got to share that experience with each other.
    Congrats. Sectioning is no simple task. I'm 15% done in 3 years and it should take me about 20 years total.
    Shoestring
    http://www.trailjournals.com/joefryfry
    Finishing the AT sometime in 2037.

  3. #3

  4. #4

  5. #5

    Default

    Congratulations !!!

  6. #6
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    Default

    Excellent.

    Great Summit Shot, too!!!

  7. #7

    Default

    HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to You Berserker!!
    Hell Yah!!

    u.w. / willin'

  8. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    03-31-2016
    Location
    Mount Dora, FL
    Age
    52
    Posts
    911

    Default

    Congratulations!
    I started in October of '14 and I'm up to mile 755 or so. About a third of the way.

  9. #9
    Registered User QuietStorm's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-20-2017
    Location
    Towson, MD
    Age
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    Default

    Congratulations. Still working on mine. Started 2016. Will be done next year.

  10. #10
    Registered User kestral's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-12-2011
    Location
    Melbourne, Florida
    Posts
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    Default

    Good on you sir!

    had to click on your photo to enjoy that smile!!!!!!!!!

  11. #11

    Default

    Congratulations!!!
    167 miles to go myself and plan to join you as a 2,000 miler next summer.
    The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
    Richard Ewell, CSA General


  12. #12

    Default

    Congrats !!

  13. #13
    Registered User
    Join Date
    05-14-2016
    Location
    West-central Indiana
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    Default

    Congratulations. Thats an amazing accomplishment.

  14. #14

    Default

    Outstanding B! Well done
    Trail Miles: 4,927.6
    AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
    Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
    Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
    Foothills Trail: 0.0
    AT Map 2: 279.4
    BMT: 52.7
    CDT: 85.4

  15. #15
    Registered User
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    Default

    If you don't mind me asking, what was your single longest section?

    I'm curious because most people that finish either thru-hike or else attempt a thru-hike and finish in subsequent years. I don't often hear of people that start out section hiking that wind up finishing the whole trail. And generally those that do finish the whole trail include some very long stretches in their section hikes.

    In my case, my longest single section has been 50 miles and I have completed around 1200 miles. If I do finish, it will likely involve at least one usually long (for me) section.

    I posed this question before, but I'm curious what the record will be for the "shortest longest section" for someone who has finished the trail.

    For example, if your longest section is 100 miles and another person finishes the trail whose longest section is 75 miles, that person would have a "shorter longest section" than you. I doubt this will ever be a record people will compete to attain, but I'm still curious as to what is the record for the "shortest longest section" for someone who has completed the trail.

  16. #16

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by FlyPaper View Post
    If you don't mind me asking, what was your single longest section?
    Quote Originally Posted by FlyPaper View Post

    I'm curious because most people that finish either thru-hike or else attempt a thru-hike and finish in subsequent years. I don't often hear of people that start out section hiking that wind up finishing the whole trail. And generally those that do finish the whole trail include some very long stretches in their section hikes.

    In my case, my longest single section has been 50 miles and I have completed around 1200 miles. If I do finish, it will likely involve at least one usually long (for me) section.

    I posed this question before, but I'm curious what the record will be for the "shortest longest section" for someone who has finished the trail.

    For example, if your longest section is 100 miles and another person finishes the trail whose longest section is 75 miles, that person would have a "shorter longest section" than you. I doubt this will ever be a record people will compete to attain, but I'm still curious as to what is the record for the "shortest longest section" for someone who has completed the trail.


    Only having NH and ME left I am too far in to not finish. My longest section thus far (and I guess will stay the longest due to terrain vs vacation) was 237 miles from Salisbury, CT to Little Gap, PA. It was and I think will always be my most memorable section hike. If it works out like it does on paper I will complete the AT in 47 sections, every blaze.

  17. #17
    Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gambit McCrae View Post

    Only having NH and ME left I am too far in to not finish. My longest section thus far (and I guess will stay the longest due to terrain vs vacation) was 237 miles from Salisbury, CT to Little Gap, PA. It was and I think will always be my most memorable section hike. If it works out like it does on paper I will complete the AT in 47 sections, every blaze.
    Thanks for the info. I'm curious of others who have finished or are near finishing. 237 is probably lower than the vast majority of finishers.

  18. #18
    Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyPaper View Post
    I don't often hear of people that start out section hiking that wind up finishing the whole trail. And generally those that do finish the whole trail include some very long stretches in their section hikes.
    I used to have thru-hiker envy, but any more, I find it more interesting to talk to section hikers because there's more of a variety of stories on how it gets done. My longest section of 6 was 126 miles and it was very memorable. I started out as a section hiker and after doing the Presidential Range, I dont think I would want to do it in a thru-hike. I may thru the lower half when I retire depending on when that is. All my sections have been Front Royal northward.
    Shoestring
    http://www.trailjournals.com/joefryfry
    Finishing the AT sometime in 2037.

  19. #19
    Registered User Pastor Bryon's Avatar
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    Default

    Superb! Congratulations! This is a great inspiration for me as I'm about 25% done and section hiking my way to Katahdin as well. Thank you so much for sharing.

  20. #20

    Default

    I was an every blazer, too. Section hiking just fit better into my life. When I began, I was working and had to fit my hikes into my vacation time. After I retired, my sections grew longer (Damascus to Amicolola was the longest), but there were still considerations: gardening, pets, grandkids among them, to work around. Everyone is different, but I think I might have grown tired, mentally and physically, had I attemped to do it all in one swell foop.

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