Mile 1500 was in Connecticut just before getting into Massachusetts. Massachusetts had a lot of really cool old towns with beautiful old-timey looks and feel that made days with town trips fun as well as lots of Dunkin Donuts locations. Massachusetts was also the worst state as far as bugs go the mosquitos were relentless. I felt as if the mosquitos were chasing us out and as soon as I crossed the Vermont border it was like a forcefield and I didn’t see a single mosquito afterward. Which was unexpected as Vermont’s ground is very muddy and wet. Vermont is a beautiful state and is up there as one of my favorites because of its wilderness and lack of people which was a nice change of pace as some of the other states felt as though there were many road crossings and people on the trail which kinda takes away a feeling of being way out there and truly to be in the wild. Many of the small towns had lots of history and I figured while in Vermont I had to eat Ben and Jerry’s ice cream anytime I had the chance. Vermont has nature that feels greener than other states it is an odd feeling but to spend that much time in the wilderness there I feel as though other hikers would agree along with. Vermont included my only 30-mile day on the trail as I felt there would be a really easy stretch that I could do a 30 miler and get my resupply a day early. The next couple of days were rough and I felt at a certain point my body was no longer healing as much as it was doing its very best just to keep it together. At the end of Vermont into New Hampshire you get rewarded with the longest road walk on the AT right into Dartmouth University.
New Hampshire Is crossed into over a bridge that puts you right into Hanover which is the home of Dartmouth University. After talking with some curious students at the university they offered to use a food pass at the cafeteria on campus which is a buffet that is rated as one of the best in the country. After taking a Zero-day in the beautiful town of Hanover it was onto the White Mountains. The White Mountains were the big talk of the whole trail and as I passed Southbound hikers they told me about how difficult the white mountains were. The SOBOs played up a lot of the fear of the whites. I have always had a healthy amount of fear/respect when it comes to mountains but they made the whites sound as though they were supernatural with their weather patterns and changes. The Whites were nowhere near as difficult as they made them seem. Sure I had to slow down my mileage per day but with the high altitude and the beauty of the mountains I was in no hurry to get through it. The thought of getting done with the trail and going back to regular life was weighing on me. It made me not want to finish the trail too soon without enjoying it as I possibly could. New Hampshire had the most beautiful ridge walks with Franconia and the Presidentials it looked like a scene straight out of a lord of the rings movie with the trails being on the sides of mountains and being in the beautiful alpine zones which allowed for views that no camera could capture its beauty. The beauty of the Whites truly must be seen for one’s self. Some of my favorite hostels on the trail were in New Hampshire it felt as though so many people I hiked on the trail with I would frequently meet up with in the stretch of the Whites which made getting to road crossings and town visits very fun. Mount Washington is the highest mountain on the trail and is known as the mountain with the worst weather on the planet and has the highest windspeed without being in a tornado or hurricane. My day of summiting Mount Washington was described by locals as hitting the weather lottery it was a clear day with no fog, not a cloud in the sky, and not even enough wind to lift a hair. It made for such an incredible summit and the presidential range felt like an easy cruise for what is seen as one of the hardest stretches of mountains on the trail. The end of New Hampshire was an odd feeling as this is one of the most talked about states on the whole trail I just completed it and I was on to the final state with the second longest mileage Maine.
Although the white mountain Range technically ends in New Hampshire the mountains right at the start of Maine are the same height and don’t have the convenient switchbacks that a lot of the NH mountains had. It felt as though I had to use more upper body in the first couple miles of Maine than I had to use on the whole trail! It was a nice feeling to finally use some upper body strength and work my arms but I quickly came to learn that my upper body was kinda out of shape compared to my lower body. I would agree with many other hikers’ statements that southern Maine is the most difficult section of the trail. I hiked much of Maine on my own as my tramily had deadlines they hiked at a faster pace than I did to meet those deadlines. I slowed my pace down some in Maine and did my best to enjoy and take in every mile. It is so memorable and if wrote about all the experiences I had you would be reading a full book. The Mahoosuc Mile was an interesting full mile of the landslide zone of two massive mountains that involved a lot of tight squeezes arm strength and flexibility it was the most unique one-mile stretch on the trail. The southern side of Maine felt extremely difficult but as I moved north the trail mellowed out at this point in September it felt as though I was starting to race against the weather. Every time I reached a summit I could see fall approaching with the trees turning red and yellow and it wouldn’t be long before snow was on the way. I had heard of some hikers who had been hiking in snow on Katahdin which is a scary thought that being the endpoint and the final climb with it also has a fairly dangerous reputation. Each town I came into had a unique feeling to it and felt different from the last in Maine I enjoyed meeting the people in Maine they were very welcoming and interested in my stories. Anytime it was an option I was getting a lobster roll from a deli. Mile 2000 was just after Sugarloaf Mountain I slept in a shack on top of Sugarloaf Mountain and made for an incredible sunset. I heard rumors that on top of Sugarloaf you can see Katahdin in the distance at the time I couldn’t tell which one it was but it was a whirlwind of emotions knowing that I was looking at the end of my journey. As I hiked down Sugarloaf the next morning I was on my way to mile 2000 and a stay at the Legendary Maine Road House.
