Back at it

Back on the trail. Did 17 miles and 13 to try and get back in the groove. Mistake. Pretty sore all over. Feet are acting like babies, pack is rubbing my hips and back raw. Come on body, we've been over this like 2 weeks ago. It's like starting all over again. The pack even feels heavier again now. Oh well.
This is a particularly unforgiving section for regaining ones trail legs. Frequently cited as the hardest 50 miles of the whole trail means something. I've been trying to get a running start coming up on the Mahoosuc range. There is one part where a mile takes 1.25-2 hours for the north bounders. That's super slow.
Irene has also left her mark. The trail is super wet and there are down trees galore. Never a dull moment.
I've rediscovered my clumsy side by creating a flood in my tent by putting my pack on the mouthpiece. This is a repeat mistake and I pray I'm not starting a trend. I also knocked the mouthpiece off while hiking creating a mini hose and also left the cap partially unscrewed resulting in a small leak running down my backside. On a positive note it turns out I don't have as much back sweat as I thought I did. That's all for now; need my rest for some more big miles. Happy trails!


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Location:Fire Ln 531,,United States

And here he goes!

Here are some photos from the first 10% of our epic journey.  Today, ohMEGA dropped off Reboot back at Rangeley for him to continue the hike.  After a very nice meal at the local restaurant, Corner Side Bistro, Reboot is refueled and ready to take on the rest of the trail.  See below:

All set to go! Reboot is very excited to go walk up hills and come back down.  

The trail is calling...

10% done!

(This was meant to be published 2 weeks ago... but other stuff got in the way.  Too much fun in Toronto.)

We rolled into Rangeley, ME yesterday and by reaching the Piazza lean-to the night before, we completely 10% of the entire AT (218 miles)!  It is one of the most difficult 10% section of the trail, and when compounded by the fact that we were still getting used to hiking and getting our "trail legs", it was quite a challenge.  We went up quite a few mountains on our way to Rangeley, including Sugarloaf (second highest peak in ME and the mountain that is home to the famous ski area), Saddleback (another ski mountain), Saddleback Jr., the Horn of Saddleback, Mt. Abraham, Spaulding, the Crocker mountains, and Pleasant.

We had been hiking with a group of kids from Outward Bound, as long as a group of girls from Camp Aloha for most of the section from Stratton to Rangeley.  We also ran into a couple from RI who were just car camping and kept us fed with bacon, potatoes, s'mores, kielbasa, french toast, and ice-cold beer!  They were a ton of fun to hang out with and were hard to leave.

When we got to Rangeley, our good friend Mike drove up from Boston and picked us up.  On our way back, we stopped at the Chop Shop Pub, as it was the closest place we found for pizza on Yelp and it had four stars!  It was our scheduled time to get off the trail as ohMEGA has to get visa stuff squared away for school and Reboot has to defend his masters.  Reboot is going to get back on in about 2 weeks and will pick up where the trail was left off.  Until then, happy trails!

A moose in Maine!

We saw a moose in Maine! Although we didn't get an awesome photo, we got a really good look before it ran away. We saw it while getting a ride with our friends Sharpie and Bubs. It was from the car but it still counts; a real Maine moose! And yes, we are actually that excited about seeing one.


We are going from Stratton to Rangeley for probably our toughest section yet before ohMEGA has to get off for good and Reboot has to defend his Masters. We're at the top of Crocker mtn. now and are at the highest peak that we've taken our packs to.

Location:Caribou Pond Rd,,United States

West Peak Bigelow Mountain

Sunny days make it all worth it!


Check out the amazing views.


Is that Sugarloaf? I think so.

Location:Northeast Somerset,United States

2003 miles to go!

10 miles from Stratton, and the only thing between us and a delicious pizza is a little mountain called the Bigelow. We have been going at a steady pace of about 10 miles a day, from Monson, which gives us enough time to swim and rest our feet in the beautiful remote ponds that we came across. We are traveling with a section hiking couple, Sharpie and Bubs, these past few days, and they have been great and entertaining company. Right now we are trying to fall asleep at the Safford Notch campsite, but an over-zealous hawk won't stop squawking, so we may need to break out the ear plugs. We will update more once we get to Stratton, but until then, happy trails!

Location:E Flagstaff Rd,,United States

5% Done!

We made it!  We hiked the 100 mile wilderness and arrived to Monson in two pieces.  It was a quest to see a moose (we did not), a chore to slog through the rain in some of the toughest terrain (draining on morale), and in the end, we ran on pure determination to reach the mighty hiking Mecca of Monson, ME (pop. 666) and pulled out a 20 mile day to get to the world renowned hiking hostel Shaws.  Some of the highlights included eating mountain blueberries at the top of peaks, seeing two snakes and hundreds of toads, and meeting all the fantastic people we have on the trail.

We've been hiking with a couple from FL, Jared and Traci and they've been great company through the tough spots and to enjoy the peaks as well.  We meet a great couple from MA Bob and Amy who treated us with such hospitality, you would have guessed they were family.  We also meet the two Carolin brothers from CT and PA and they were a blast to chat to around the camp before turning in.  Bob and Amy as well as Sean C. have been gracious and generous enough to offer to meet up with us and offer us a hand as we get closer to their homes.  The trail really shows you a great part of humanity and you get to meet some really genuine and awesome people along the way.

As far as hikers go, we've meet NOBOs, SOBOs, flip-floppers, section hikers, and even some overweight, baby-carrying day hikers  walkers.  We've met Girl with 4 Dogs, Scrubbs, Dirty Bobby, Jo Hee, Dustin, Elvis (Tigger),  Superdave, Backflip, Grad School, Lego, Cologne, WhyJayBrave, Wolverine,  and Challenger just to name some off of our heads.  They have all been great company and have made the hike more enjoyable and the 100 mile wilderness less lonely.

Our favorite place to stay was the second lean-to we visited, Rainbow Stream.  It was overlooking a small valley in which the stream ran by the lean-to and up a short hill was soft pine-needle campsites.  We swam in the stream before falling asleep to its continuous babbling.  We were also grateful to hole up in Cloud Pond lean-to to escape the day of rain before even heavier showers mounted an onslaught on us.

Our legs and feet are sore, our joints need oil, have a small infection on a cut (getting treated), but after these two good nights of sleep and stuffing our faces with good food, we're ready to march on to the mighty metropolis of Caratunk (pop 108 but has a post office). 

The 100 mile wilderness was quite an adventure in and of it's own, but the trail awaits for us to find more.  Here are some pictures from our hike:

Us at the official Northern terminus

State campground at sunset.  Not too shabby.

Cloud pond? Really? What a creative name

One of the tallest waterfalls on the AT.  Pic cuts off about half

Some sign saying how super badass we are for rocking the most remote section of the entire trail when half of us never even hiked before.  No biggie.

 Till next time, happy trails!