Maine Appalachian Trail: Sluice Logging Road to Spaulding Ridge Lean-to

My third day of hiking started with a steep climb out of Obereton Valley up toward Lone Mountain on the Spaulding Ridge. It was another short day of less than 10 miles and just a few thousand feet of gain. I first summited Mt Abraham on a side trail, and then came back to camp for a long afternoon of reading. If you don’t count my side-trip to Abraham, my total progress this day was only 5.2 miles. My next day would only cover 6.3 miles, not counting a side trip to Sugarloaf Mountain. The day after that would be only 7.4 miles not counting a side trip to Reddington. This entire section could be done in far less time if you were really committed. There is some serious elevation gain along here, but the trail is in such good shape that it isn’t that hard.

CampingJay at Abraham Mountain
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Maine Appalachian Trail: Piazza Rock to Sluice Brook Logging Road

On my second full day of hiking, I climbed up and over the Saddleback Range with its three peaks: Saddleback, The Horn, and Saddleback Junior. All three peaks extended above treeline (about 3600 ft) and into the Alpine Zone. There, specialized plants and mosses made for a dazzling display of color. The day started off socked in, but opened up to the beginning of fall foliage down in the valley.

maine Appalachian trail
Parts of the Appalachian Trail in Maine are intimidating, but most of it looks like this.
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Maine Appalachian Trail: Sabbath day to Piazza Rock

On “Day 1” of my week in Maine, I hiked from Sabbath Day Lean-To to Piazza Rock Lean-to. I’m calling this “Day 1: because it was the first day of hiking and full immersion. On “Day 0” I drove most of the day and hiked for 1.5 hours. I hiked about 11 miles on “Day 1”, and climbed about 1700 feet. That’s a pretty easy day, but I was carrying much more weight than usual with 5 days worth of food on my back. I developed a small pain in my shoulder because my shoulder straps aren’t long enough. It was a crisp, clear day with signs of fall everywhere.

Autumn Flowers
The trail crosses through a flowery meadow on some wood planks
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Maine Appalachian Trail: ME 17 to Sabbath Day Pond Lean-To

In September of 2019, I spent a week alone hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine. There’s no bragging about the mileage on this trip. I very intentionally set my daily mileage below 10 each day. While my goal was to complete a 64 mile section of the Appalachian Trail and grab 10 of Maine’s 4000 Footers, my deeper goal was to spend time enjoying the woods. On so many of my trips, each moment is polluted by the feeling of needing to get to the next place. This keeps me from fully enjoying the time and place that I am in. This time I wanted plenty of time to relax, read, journal, reflect, and pray.

maine lobster roll
Lobster Roll from Fisherman’s Ketch
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Finger Lakes Trail: Big Indian Wilderness Loop

Over the weekend of June 19th through 21st, Porcupine and I completed completed another section hike along the Finger Lakes Trail. This time, we were joined by our friend Splash. To avoid car shuttling, we made up a loop route that would incorporate several other Catskill’s trail with a section of the Finger Lakes Trail in the Big Indian Wilderness.

finger lakes trial map
Google Earth Image of our Route
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Finger Lakes Trail: Alder Lake through Downsville

Over the weekend of May 22rd through 25th, 2020, Porcupine and I and I hiked a 30 mile section of the Finger Lakes Trail from Alder Lake to Downsville. The Finger Lakes Trail is a 580 mile long distance trail stretching from Slide Mountain in the Catskills to Allegheny State Park on the NY/PA Border. I’ve been wanting to start section hiking this trail since about 2013 and my dream is finally taking shape.

Finger Lakes Trail from Alder Lake to Downsville
Google Earth image showing our 30 mile route.
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Enlightened Equipment Quilts

In 2013 I purchased my first of several Enlightened Equipment quilts. Although I’ve been camping all of my life, this quilt gave me my first truly comfortable night of sleep. Since then, I’ve purchased several more quilts from Enlightened Equipment and helped many family members and friends make the conversion. Now, almost everyone I backpack with has one or more of these trusty hiking companions. I read recently that about 75% of 2017 Appalachian Trail Thruhikers slept in quilts by EE. Continue reading Enlightened Equipment Quilts

Intro to Backpacking – Recommended Tents

This last weekend, I hosted an Intro to Backpacking workshop with Hudson Valley Hikers.  The idea of the event was to allow future backpackers to see and feel real gear in the real world.  Each of our hosts brought one or more of their favorite tents. Students were able to watch them set up and then crawl inside to get a feel. They especially liked hanging in the hammock! Continue reading Intro to Backpacking – Recommended Tents

Intro to Backpacking – Recommended Backpacks

Intro to BackpackingThis last weekend, I hosted an Intro to Backpacking workshop with Hudson Valley Hikers.  The idea of the event was to allow future backpackers to see and feel real gear in the real world.  Our hosts brought several popular backpacks loaded with common equipment. Each pack was fully loaded as if for a weekend-long backpacking trip. The equipment ranged from “bought everything I saw in the store” to “who needs a toothbrush anyway?”  The students had the opportunity to carry each of these packs and experience the impact of weight and pack design. Here are some of the packs that were present: Continue reading Intro to Backpacking – Recommended Backpacks

How to Keep Clean while Backpacking

I have been asked how I keep clean while backpacking.  If you’re not already an experienced backpacker, you might not like my answer to this.  Backpacking changes your standards for things like cleanliness and the quality of food.  This change in your outlook on life is probably the biggest benefit of backpacking. Eventually you’ll come to appreciate being able to sit on the subway car no one else will ride in and you won’t mind so much when its leftovers night. You’ll marvel at the amount of time your more domesticated friends spend cleaning their homes.  And you might not ever be asked to babysit. Continue reading How to Keep Clean while Backpacking