Maine is different than Virginia. You may have already known that, but I started hiking in Maine as if it were the smooth, well maintained trails that I left down south. With all the rocks and roots in Maine, that isn't a good idea. My goal was to get as many miles up north as I was getting in the south, so my feet ended up getting a bit messed up, which has required a lot of rest to get them better. My progress is still slow, but the recovery is starting to catch up to me, so the feet only hurt for a few hours after hiking instead of a few days.
Maine was beautiful, to say the least, but getting up Katahdin took some doing. I climbed to just past the tree line on Monday, 13 JUN, but the weather was horrible with 70 mph winds and visibility of about 50 feet. It was probably a good idea to skip it for that day. The weather didn't cooperate until the 15th, and the ascent was a fun climb, with only a bit of clouds for the last 200 feet or so. After climbing down, it was time for the 100 mile wilderness. It took 6 1/2 days for me to get through, and it was an eye opening experience. Nowhere had I seen so many roots and rocks on the trail, and in places, the trail looked like the floor in the well of souls.
The mileage suffered because of pain and terrain, and I was all alone except for one person I knew from before the AT, and she didn't take long to pass by me as if I were standing still. It was a miserable time. I started hating everything about the trail. The trees, the roots, the rocks, the beautiful scenery, the great people I met. It was bad. On 4 JUL, I called my wife to tell her that I was going to get off the trail and head home. She told me to quit being a pussy. Not really in those words, but she gave me some words of encouragement and helped me get my head back in the game so that I am back to enjoying being out here.
In addition to my wonderful wife's kind words, I have gained quite a bit of motivation from passing many of the people with whom I hiked down south. They were anywhere from 400 to 800 miles ahead of me when we crossed paths, but it was awesome seeing all the familiar faces again. Most have since reached the top of Katahdin and sent me their summit photos.
I am currently sitting at The Notch Hostel after a good couple of days on the trail, waiting for a ride into town for dinner and a frosty beverage made from malted barley and hops. I'll do some slack packing from here to knock out some miles quickly so that I can hopefully be done with the AT by early October. Keep your fingers crossed.
