FAREWELL APPALACHIAN TRAIL

AT Day 133:  Friday,  August 18, 2023

SOBO Mile 1677 – 1657.4

Campsite in the Woods near USFS 10 – Econolodge, Manchester Centre

Distance Hiked –  19.4 miles/ 31 km

Total Distance Hiked: 2198.4 miles*/ 3537 km

A:4750 ft/ 1449 m D:4022 ft/1227 m

We broke camp in the pitch black of predawn. My torch had run out of power, we were out of food – except for daytime snacks – and we were out of toilet paper. Of the three above the TP was the most important scarcity. We were saved as the nearby trailhead carpark, according to our map, had a privy with toilet paper supplied. 

We were camped not too far away from the carpark and as expected we were saved.  While waiting for Hammer, I looked at the sky, it looked promising – patches of indigo blue with lighter shades of blue.  Maybe the predicted thunderstorms will not be realised. The prediction was for thunderstorms from 8am till 4pm. 

But  to stay true to form this wet summer, Vermont delivered a torrential downpour less then half an hour into our hike at 6am.  We could hear thunder and we were somewhat relieved that it sounded reasonably distant and was not getting closer.  It was the heaviest rain we’ve experienced since we bailed out of Vermont during the flooding rain in early July. Hammer was concerned that with a saturated landscape it could flood again if the rain continued as predicted. We were heading over several mountain peaks  with only a few creek crossings. We may be OK as the largest creeks had bridges. 

It’s our last day on trail and there’s not much we could do about the weather. And we were so keen to finish that we were not prepared to sit in a shelter and wait for the rain  to pass.  

We were ascending Baker Peak, which was never ending. It had so many false summits. We were so happy to meet another NOBO hiker and soon another three. They were all hiking the Long Trail to Canada. The LT shares the AT path for the first hundred miles. The LT hikers seem to be less affected by the wet weather then AT hikers. Could it be because they are still so fresh. Most are in the their first week of the LT. 

Getting to the summit felt great. One mountain down and three to go. The descent was unremarkable except the low points where the trail was very muddy. I gave up on trying to keep the mud out of my shoes. I’ve ditched the sock liners and the sand rubbing on my feet was greatly reduced. We entered the Big Branch Wilderness and started ascending Peru Peak. The rain had eased and sun was breaking through the clouds. But it was just teasing. It lasted for a short while just enough to remind you how much nicer hiking here would be in dry weather.

The summit of Peru Peak was just like the other Green Mountains: a gradual ascent then a steep section and then a rolling flattish top that goes up and down before reaching the summit. It keeps you guessing as to when the summit will arrive. The rain had stopped and Peru Peak did have a break in vegetation on the summit  but the mist closed out any views. 

The trail passed by Griffith Pond with only one break in the vegetation providing any views of the lake. On a day like today it didn’t matter. We were just happy that the endless boardwalk was in reasonable good shape and we didn’t have to hike through water. Although Hammer slid on one of the sloping wooden  boards. He stayed dry but he did utter an expletive. Up until now it’s just been me swearing at nobody in particular. 

Bridge closed due to floodwater damage 😦

Styles Peak followed. We were hiking on autopilot, trying not to look at remaining distance to the summit.  We were also conscious of the endless risk of tripping, sliding and falling on the obstacle course that the  trail presented at times. Hammer pointed out that more people die on the descent from Everest then on the ascent. While the AT is not comparable to Mt Everest, I got the point.  The summit of Styles Mountain was treed so no views or anything else remarkable. Except that our last mountain summit was coming up, Mount Bromley. When we were approaching Mt Bromley back in early July, before the rain and flooding in Vermont,  I was so excited by the prospect of camping on the summit of Mt Bromley. I’d seen photos of it’s huge treeless  dome top. I had looked forward to an opportunity to camp out under the canopy of stars.  

Today we approached  Mt Bromley summit mid- afternoon. Big patches of blue sky to the east and indigo grey low hanging clouds to the south and west. Rain threatened despite the blue sky patches. We took a selfie on the summit as a finishing day momento and hurried to get off the mountain. We just started to descend when heavy rain set in. By the time we got out of the open and back into the woods the rain had eased and soon stopped alltogether.  I looked at our selfie from the summit and saw that the camera was focused on the rock and we were out of focus. We laughed. Hammer said ” that’s just like the rest of this trip” very little has gone to plan.  

The descent off Mt Bromley towards our finish felt unreal. Neither of us could believe that the day has finally come. We passed a few day hikers heading up towards the summit. The last person we passed was a super friendly guy who looked dressed for a city sidewalk. 

The trail was in great condition underfoot – smooth and dry. I said to Hammer I forgot to take a picture of our  last rocky, slippy and muddy steps on the AT.  I spoke too soon, the trail continued to provide all the above obstacles until we were out and in the trailhead carpark. 

Hammer with a chunk of Vermont marble

No triple crown finish photo today, never mind we were there and we have the Mt Katahdin summit photo.  

We had thoughts of continuing to walk the road for 4 miles to our accommodation. We had planned to book a nice motel in Manchester to treat ourselves. But to our disappointment most of the places we tried were booked out for the weekend. Even the hiker hostel was booked out due to the wet weather. The Econolodge a couple of miles out of town was the only place we could get a room. We learnt later that there was a Blues Music Festival in town over the weekend. 

Just as we were about to head out of the carpark, the guy we passed earlier  on  trail earlier pulled up in his car and offered us a ride. The universe provides – as Hammer is fond of saying. His name was Connor and he is a New York based film writer, currently working as a film location scout. Such a lovely person with so many interesting stories of places he’s visited. We could have  talked for ages. It would have been nice to continue the conversation over dinner.  It’s always such a pleasure to meet interesting and interested people.  He dropped me off at the motel and then gave Hammer a ride to the post office to pick up some parcels before the Post Office closed and then drove him back to the motel. And just like that,  the Appalachian Trail hike was over. 

Hammer did our laundry at the motel, we showered and walked half a mile to Ravens Den restaurant for a celebratory dinner. I couldn’t beare to put on my muddy and wet shoes on so I wore Hammers brand new running shoes he had picked up from the Post Office earlier. I looked like Minnie Mouse in his giant sneakers but I didn’t care. We were clean and dry and we were celebrating. 

We have a week to spare before we head home to Sydney. We plan to hire a car and explore some of the New England coastline before we head home. 

Hammer promised to finish his AT summaries of each state and also a reflections on our time on AT. 

Category : Appalachian Trail 2023