MileMonster on the AT

“Commas for those SERIOUS ellipses.

('ellipsi'?)”

“* laughs *

I agree. I bet he is done, and celebrating. Do they list anywhere who has finished?”

“for forgot this chili,
!!!”

“wha-?”

“Hey, hey folks. MM here.

I hope everyone is doing well. Sorry for the delay in updates.

Well, it's a done deal. Mom and I summited Mt Katahdin at around 09:10 on Sunday, July 11 to complete our northbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. What a finale! Mt Katahdin is an amazing and beautiful mountain. In fact, the whole state of Maine was wonderful, despite the most rain for one state we've had on the whole AT. It was a super journey, though, every step of the way.

I'm making my way home and I don't have alot of time right now to give details, but rest assured that when I get home I'll be ready and willing to post volumes if you all want it. Thanks again for everyone's interest. It really made a difference on tough days to know that there were some folks out there that cared what I was doing.

Until I get more time,
Peace.

MileMonster
aka Endorphin, GA-->ME '04”

“I emailed MM's wife yesterday. I hope I didn't freak her out. When she didn't reply I decided that he must have finished.

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“MM - One thing I thought off recently was how neat a journal this thread would be. The diff is that it's interactive instead of just posting what you're doing.”

“Congratulations!”

“I second the CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!”

“MM - Congrats!

Dayhiker - quit hitting on MM's wife.”

“I was getting a little concerned that we weren't hearing anything and new enough clues from hiking with Stephen that it was easy to find her work homepage. I apologized for emailing all through the email. After I sent it I realized he'd probably finished and she would likely be in Maine to pick him up. Duhh.”

“Congratulations. I'm truly impressed.”

“My guess is that MM came in pretty close to the front of the pack too, as fast as he was, even when I hiked with him.

So are you a lean, hiking machine now??”

“WOOHOO! im so excited that someone i actually know has finished the trail. we were together at the red in ky last year, and he gave me a ride from the bus station to pick up my car a few weeks later. man, im psyched. i hope i can finish it all this year, but ive still got almost 900 miles to go”

“he was a lean mean hiking machine when he STARTED. hes ultra-machine now”

“I hiked with MM and WD the first day of our Savage Gulf trip in Jan. I made the mistake of starting a story as we started our climb out of the Gulf. Keeping up with them was bad enough, but I had to keep telling my story to save face. No weakness dontchaknow.”

“Congratulations, MM and MMMom! I am way impressed!”

“Nice job MM!!!!!!!!!!”

“Congratulations MM and Mom.
Way to go.”

“MM kicked my butt pretty good on the Hidden Passage Trail.”

“Congrats MM and Mom! I'm impressed!”

“Way Ta Go, Guys! <G>”

“Congrats mom and son Milemonster!!”

“Congrats to both of you. An accomplishment most of us only dream about. Well done. Now comes the hard work...getting back to reality.”

“Woot Woot !!”

“sweet. That is really awesome. WTG”

“A big "way to go" to you both, MM and mom!! :-)

Do you know of other mother/son duos to do the AT?”

“I'm convinced that boy is part roadrunner... on his mother's side.”

“CONGRATULATIONS! Man, what a wonderful accomplishment.
I'm anxious to read your telling of the trip MM, if you want to share it. It's been a real pleasure getting to know your mom through her trailjournal. You two should be proud of eachother.
I bet Mrs MM is going to be very glad to have you home.”

“I can't wait to read about this in detail!
Congrads!!!!”

“Great job, MM and DN!! Congrats!”

“Many congradulations to you MM, I'm tickled for you both! NJpacker said it right tho, it's a bit of a long haul getting over the post-hike dulls. But it's always the next hike that'll keep that lil spark burnin!”

“Congrats!”

“Hi, everyone-
We're back home- yippee!!
You're right, Sassafras-I'm very happy to have MM home! I'm sorry that I didn't update you guys before I left for Maine- had a crazy schedule before my departure and barely time to pack. Don't mind the email, Dayhiker. I'm happy that everyone was so interested in MM and DN's trip. It meant a lot to us.
I climbed Mt. Katahdin with MM and his mom and dad. It was a spectacular hike. Lots of clamoring over rocks and boulders and sliding down big rocks on the way down. Great views at the top above tree line and fantastic weather. We couldn't have asked for a better day- cool, sunshine, and blue sky. We took lots of pictures at the top. I regret that I missed one great picture opportunity- when MM took his mom's hand and finished those last few steps to the peak and famous Mt. Katahdin sign. It was beautiful.
Since Sunday, MM's been eating tons and relaxing with me in Bar Harbor. He ate two lobsters Monday night! We went to Acadia National Park. That was wonderful, too, but the weirdest park trip we've ever made-- we hardly hiked at all! Understandable, I guess. Much needed recovery time. I felt bad that I made him climb the BeeHive trail- not very long at all but lots of ladders and holds and straight up. We had fun though. I'm sure that MM will update you soon. For now, we're off to lunch and a movie with a big bucket of popcorn, I'm sure. In the meantime, you can check out Double Nickels site on trailjournals. She updated it yesterday.
So long,
Mrs. MM - I need my own name:(”

“very cool!

congratulations.”

“The trailjournals update is great.

Is Mrs MM now call MMM? MMM - thanks so much for all your updates. They've meant alot to us. I've hiked with Stephen 3x now and am just so proud. When I heard he was going to attempt this I just kept thinking how there was no doubt in my mind he'd make it. Enjoy Bar Harbor. The view from the top of Cadillac Mtn is great.”

“I'm gonna check out DN's journals, thanks for letting us know.”

“Hey, hey folks, MM here.

Well, I'm back home. It's so nice to have instant access to all those small things we take for granted every day. For example, I can just go to my 'frige and get a cold soda - niiiiice. But, ya know what? I do miss the trail. Very much.

The last few weeks on the trail were amazing. The Whites were difficult but beautiful. The Presidentials are stunning. We had poor weather (sideways rain, high winds) coming over Franconia Ridge but our trip over the Presidentials made up for it.

Maine is the bomb, though. In my opinion, southern Maine was easily the most difficult terrain on the trail. Someone told me along the way that when NoBo's get to to the Whites they have hiked 75% of the trail but only done 25% of the work. I kind of brushed this off at the time but now I mostly believe it. However, the White Mountains are only a warm-up for what's to come in Maine. All the work was well rewarded, though, with some of the best views, wildest country, and most beautiful mountains on the AT.

Like most thru-hikers there's not enough good things I can say about my experience. I'm so happy that I got to experience it with my mother, too. We stayed at Liberty Springs tent-site on our way through the Whites and the caretaker there was a guy named Sage. He thru-hiked in 2003. I had heard this on the trail grapevine and when we met I said something like "So, you're a former thru-hiker." His reply was an offended "FORMER?!?" I know what he means now.

Okay, enough sappy stuff for now. I'll post some more about the hike and hopefully put up some pics and info on my website and my Mom's journal. If anyone has qustions/discussion then ask away.

Mom and I summited Katahdin on July 11, 2004, on day 124 of our thru-hike. This includes 4 zero days we took along the way.

Peace. MM, aka Endorphin
AT GA->ME '04”

“-- Wow --

So are you getting used to sleeping in a bed yet or are you camping out in the backyard? LOL -- I've heard more than a few people have done that when the get home, <G>

We'll have to go get a 'celebratory beer'! I haven't heard much from Skully & G00SE lately... Skully's been MIA on TrailTalk for a couple of months. I think we need to rattle her cage a little, <G>”

“LOL, no problems with the bed here! Trying to adjust my schedule, though. Going to bed at 7:30 and getting up before 5:00 AM doesn't mesh too well with the "real" world.

We'll definitely have to meet up somewhere for a cold one (or two, or three...). Everything going okay here in town since I left?”

“Yes, if you insisted on sleeping in the yard there might be some COMPLAINTS, and I don't mean from the neighbors, <GRIN>

I hear that's a great schedule if you're thinking about doing some farming -- <G>.


"Everything is just about the same," as John Prine would say...

Not much changes around here from month to month, except they pave over more of Columbia county, build more houses and install more streetlights, <GRRRrrrrr>

I don't know if you heard about the Law catching up with one of our esteemed crooked politicians (after 25 years! LOL). Nobody knows why it took them so long... but that seems to be about standard. The city would have been better off if they'd caught him after only 5 or 10 years of ripping people off, but that's just not the way it works, I guess!”

“Man you guys zinged up the App's! I climbed Katahdin on Sept.21,'92 on day 161. That includes my off days also, but I had substantially more than 4!”

“I suspect that this is an experienc you'll still be learning from for years to come. I'll send ya an email sometime today.”

“Who is the nashville hiker”