Flipping the Flop

Flipping the Flop 

After arriving in Harper's Ferry on 6 June, my hiking partner of 4 weeks, Tetris, and I got a ride into DC from his friend Jesse. Being the Rochesterians...Rochesterites... Rochestinos? that they are, they decided to introduce me to their hometown culinary masterpiece- the Garbage Plate. If you don't know what that is, try getting on the Google machine for some research, and find a recipe. Then, cook yourself a plate of heaven.  

On Tuesday, we took a train into town. Tetris and Jesse got off at the Smithsonian stop, and I continued to my stop in Maryland where I had reserved a hotel room [Editor's note: no surprise here!]. I was looking forward to a hiker dinner of instant mashed potatoes and a packet of tuna, so the obvious choice for dinner was the Buffalo Wild Wings next door. Contrary to my desires, there were no instant potatoes and tuna available. Instead, I had beer, wings, beer, and beer.  

Wednesday was not my favorite day. Being in DC, it was time for me to visit my friends in Arlington. We lost an aircrew to enemy fire on 30 MAY 07, and there is a group headstone at the national cemetery for the crew. This was my first visit, and it wasn't easy. I'm glad that I finally made it to share a shot of Jameson with 4 of the 5 guys. (Jesse was Mormon, so I had a Sprite in his honor later). 

Wednesday afternoon was spent walking around DC until it was time to catch my Amtrak train to Maine. As I mentioned before, this was my first time on a choo choo. The whole experience was a good one, and I highly recommend travel by choo choo.  

My wife's aunt Karen picked me up in Bangor, and because she works all week, I spent a few days in Stonington where she lives. It was pretty awful. Karen cooked fresh blueberry muffins, rhubarb scones, and French toast for me in the mornings. The views of the ocean were only mediocre, and they got really old really quickly. The absolute worst part of living on the island was all the fresh, delicious seafood. I had to put up with fresh crab rolls for lunch and a dinner of fresh scallops, shrimp, and haddock. Island life is rough.  

Karen got me to the base of Katahdin Sunday night (12 June), and my first attempt would be early Monday morning. The weather was less than favorable with high winds and a low layer of clouds. Those factors conspired against me, and I only made it to the tree line before I had to turn back. 70 mph winds with 50 foot visibility don't create favorable conditions for climbing a mountain I have never been on.  

Tuesday's forecast was worse than Monday's, so I stayed in my tent all day, doing crossword puzzles until my brain turned off.  

Wednesday's forecast was much better, and I got up and started the trail at exactly 6:00 in the morning. The winds were not too strong, but they were constantly present.  I got to the point at which I had to turn around on Monday, and it was clear for me to continue. After another 2 hours of climbing over boulders and up vertical walls, I made it to Baxter point, the highest point in the state of Maine, and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Because of my decision to flip flop, this was only the mid point of my hike. That didn't take anything away from the fact that I had just climbed Katahdin.  

After summiting, I spent a couple days in Millinocket, ME [Editor's note: Again...no surprise here!] before heading out south of Katahdin. The first few days should be pretty flat with a few rivers to ford. I'm looking forward to the next 1165 or so miles. [Editor's note: probably 1165 more hotels too]