Where on the AT is gforce?

“Great to hear of your progress, gforce!!


FYI, the BowlderSon's bear canister did the job: no critter or bear incursions, and it made a great chair around camp. Thank you again!!!”

“That's awesome, Gary. You're going to love Maine. Looking forward to hearing about some of your adventures when you return.”

“Thanks for the update Gary. Have you passed the "dead moose" yet. If not you are in for a treat at Mahoosuc Notch.”

“chin, you were at the notch?”

“Keep on trucking, Gary!!”

“Thanks for the update Gary! Sorry to hear about the noggin. Take care!”

“crossing the maine state line was exciting


last edited: 8/30/07 3:44:55 PM”

“i basically took a double zero at gorham. i hiked out from rattle river shelter (a flat, easy mile and a half) and then spent two nights at the hikers paradise”

“gentian pond is in a beautiful spot, 12 miles out from gorham, and the last shelter before maine. i recommend staying there”

“Gforce!!
See I told ya would'nt have any trouble!!
Just a little bang on the head!
See ya later.
Randall”

““chin, you were at the notch?”

No. I have been reading other's journals and that dead moose at Mahoosuc Notch is infamous.”

“Wanna see a picture of it? :D”

“is it on the trail? is it hard to get by?”

“It's in a hole, and yes, right along the trail (Can you imagine walking past it when it was still alive and suffering? :( ). I'll post a picture tonight when I get home.

I do believe they've re-routed that section of trail since Green Hornet went through, though. I think I read somewhere on trailjournals they had, anyway.
last edited: 8/31/07 5:07:14 AM”

“That would be an interesting re-route...not going throught the Notch...”

“im sure it still goes thru the notch, just not near the moose”

“Did you also pee in the bed and not get up in the morning?”

“Well, not a lot to say except some real tough hiking behind me . . . and awesome views. The dead moose is still in the notch, but we just stepped around it. Funny thing is we heard about it over a month ago. I didn't think the notch was as difficult as it was supposed to be, but time consuming. We went over Bald Plate Mtn. this morning and the views were incredible. I think it was my favorite cimb of the trip so far.

Crash, are you in Korea now?

Nimblefoot, I always pee in bed and never get up in the morning. So that would not be out of the norm for me . . . ;)

Bowlder Man - glad the canister worked out well for your son. Hope your trip went great too, but I don't know how it couldn't there.”

“I suspected you might, but the question was for Crash. I have the same sentiments on the "Notch", time consuming but really not that tough. Sounds like everything is going great. It was for me as well until White House Landing. However, I've still got at least one more major hike in me and there's nothing like finishing unfinished business.”

“http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=205181

Sunday, September 09, 2007
Destination: Stratton Me.
Starting Location: Me-4
Today's Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 443.50

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A day off is always a good thing. My knee has gone down and doesn't hurt so bad now. I will try a slackpack of 15 miles over Saddleback tomorrow. I am going to try to slack to at Caratunk,Me.
It is raining and 56 degrees here today. I hope it stops by tomorrow. I am all packed up and ready to go.
Backfire and G-Force came into town and are at the hostel tonight. Mousetrap, Pony Wisper, and Alpine left this morning.
Hooyah Backyardboogie ”

“Looks like 145 miles left.

Way to go Gary!”

“Woot!!”

“Alright... some serious celebrating seems to be coming up before long.”

“thanks for the update chin, i don't think i realized he had a journal going”

“Looks like 145 miles left.

Way to go Gary!”
Wounded Knee

in that case he should be done by the end of the day and can go to the deam with us this weekend
last edited: 9/12/07 1:15:41 PM”

“thrifty - It wasn't HIS journal. I just had a patient in the chair that mentioned a guy from Springfield, IL was on the trail and in Maine. They remembered his trail name as Flying Turtle and was last hiking with "something 'boogie'", who had a journal.

I found Backyardboogie's journal and started reading it when I ran into G-Force.

It was great to spot his name and I just had to share it.”

“When is he hoping to finish? I will be on Katahdin on the 28th if all goes well.”

“oh good, i wasn't digging his new trail name LOL

oh yeah, and i guess i should of picked up on the fact that he was talking about himself in third person...long day
last edited: 9/12/07 1:23:25 PM”

“You need a drink?”

“theres a hostel in stratton, now? i wonder if he meant the widow's walk?”

“if he was 145 miles from the finish on the 9th, he should be in the 100 mile wilderness by now
last edited: 9/12/07 7:13:37 PM”

“In the Wilderness - ah, I do envy gforce. I have really good memories of that stretch of trail. Swimming in beautiful lakes, views off the mountain tops, maples changing color, peaceful campsites near the water, listening to loons call in the night and moose splash next to my tent. Then there's the climb up Katahdin - that was an incredible experience. I don't really want to thruhike the AT again, but I wouldn't mind rehiking Maine.

Still, while there is nothing more exciting than starting a long hike, for mre there is nothing sadder than ending one. When I hiked the AT, I didn't want it to end. If I'd had the money I would have turned around and hiked south again. Same for the CDT. I hate ending a good hike. For me, that's the hardest part of the journey.

I've been home for less than a week after six months wandering the west and already I wish I were back out on the trail. gforce, I wish you well at your reentry. Come to the Gathering - you'll get a chance to be among hikers who really do understand.”

“Shoot, I wish'd Ida known you was in the West. Don't know if you made it Phx ways, but you could have crashed and rested up here. Envy of gforce.... youcansaythatagain.

Gforce, way to go man!!! Dead moose in the notch huh? Dang! Was there any ice in the low, shaded parts?? In 92 there was still ice in some places there toward the end of August.”

“Crash, there's two hostels in Stratton, both owned by the same people. One is just across the street from the restaurant and the other just out of town. Both are a good bargain...free internet and free long distance phone calls. The other you mentioned was closed when I went through.”

“Crash - I'm amazed that you remember the details of the trail towns in such detail. I would think that many would just blur together in your memory.

I have noticed that others recall such details as well. This surprises me.”

“it was the best time of my life. plus, having written a journal helped”

“Looks like I'm all over the place . . . lol! New Hampshire and Maine are the two states I wanted to take my time hiking through, and I'm not rushing through them. So, I'm here for the night, on toward Monson tomorrow, and should be there on Sunday about noon . . . just in time to catch the end of the whiteblaze hiker feed. We have priorities out here you know . . . :) Then, after a zero I think, we will enter the 100 mile wilderness. Maybe we will cross paths lthiker. When will you leave and from where?

It's just as Ginny described right now. In fact, you could hear the loons on the pond (Pierce Pond Shelter) through the night last night. I like to describe it as a peaceful and haunting sound . . . nothing that keeps you awake, but very soothing to the mind . . . which is more than the other sounds normally coming out of the shelter. The maples and birches are changing color . . . so there should be abundant color towards the end of the trip. I can't wait. We don't have a lot of big climbs left, outside of Katahdin, and we are thankful for that. The stretch of big climbs through the Whites and Maine was brutal at times, but, of course, there are rewards for the effort . . . except for those days we traveled through rain (blowing sideways) and wind to cross some treeless peaks. That's what we had on Tuesday crossing the Bigelows, and you can only imagine what the views must have been like. But that is what you have to accept out here on a long distance hike such as this. There will be plenty of good days, but there will also be plenty of nasty days too.

We didn't notice any ice in the notch, naked ape, but that doesn't mean there wasn't any. I was kind of concentrating on where to make the next move . . . if you know what I mean.
last edited: 9/13/07 2:54:23 PM”

“where are you staying?”

“I'm at Northern Outdoors. Right now, it's the only game in town.”

“Northern Outdoors was a good time. Great microbrew, if I remember...”

“Hey gforce. I've been following this thread. I think Tuna Bag (aka Studebaker) is up there somewhere. Do you know him? How's he doing. Ewker and I hiked with him at the start of his thru last April.”

“I have not run into any Tuna Bag or Studebaker. Do you know if he is still on the trail?”

“Yes, but not sure where. How about Hong Kong Fuey? Crazy guy with funny chinese hat.”

“I hiked with Hong Kong Fuey off and on from Winding Stair Gap to Damascus. He went home for a week, but I have not heard of him since that time.”

“when i went thru, i stayed at steve the canoe guys place. where is northern outdoors?”

“It's a mile further up the road. He (Steve) is getting out of the business next year and has been sending hikers here. He drove us here today after we resupplied at his store.”

“will he still be ferrying, or is someone taking that over, or will hikers have to go back to risking their lives with a deep fording?”

“The way he explained it, the service will be bid out by the ATC, but there will be someone. Kind of looks like it will be either someone that takes over his business or Northern Outdoors. BTW, there is no way in hell that I would risk fording that river.”

“exactly. its hard to believe that people used to do that. im with you. i would never ford it, even when its "low". i would walk to the nearest bridge. its sad that it took a hiker dying to actually start the canoe service”

“Hey Gary! Good to see you posting. Best of luck with the rest of the trip! Hope to hike with you again in the future.”