Hey guys & gals, I just wanted to say goodbye, for now. I am leaving on Wednesday to go hiking. I am going to through-hike the Appalachian Trail with my father. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Appalachian trail runs from Georgia to Maine, a course of 2,160 miles. I'll most likely be gone until the end of August. I'm sure you'll all be here when I get back, and I will try to stop in whenever I can get internet access and drop a line. I am in the process of putting my "loose" itinerary into a spreadsheet and will host it for everyone to see once I get it finished.

Hey Josh, Where the heck have you been. I think we wrote you off as MIA.

Be safe and have a good time! See ya when we see ya!

Josh, have a great time on your hike and if you think about it take pictures. :cool:

hay, mabey ill cya there, im trying to get to do the VA portion of the trail in june. Youll probabily be past there by then tho. Good luck dude. Thats what you call commitment. :wave

Hey look out for Ned Bettie.... Squeel Like a Piggy LOL..

Sounds like fun have a great time!!

Isn't it the case that some people have done the trail, and never come out? ... when you get to NY and stop at the 44/55 Rte Intersection... look at the 5 mph hairpin turn on the mountain side... Hottweelz did it at 35 with a Dodge Aries....

Codewise, I have been on the board very little lately. I have been doing quite a bit to be prepared for my six month leave.

Pepperman, we have a digital camera, lots of batteries, and lots of memory. Pictures will abound!

Mr. Wilson, We will be past VA in June. Like I stated, I will be posting a tentative itinerary soon, so if you are available feel free to look us up!

Mespock, we will only be in West Virginia for about a day. ;)

Hotweelz, I can honestly say that I've never heard of anyone disappearing while through-hiking.

Have a blast Josh. What a great lifetime experience and to do it with the 'ol man makes it even better.

Yes, have a great time. It was great to hear from you. Enjoy

:waving:

[QUOTE=JoshMcMadMac]
Mespock, we will only be in West Virginia for about a day. ;)
QUOTE]

I can not say that I blame ya there.....if you spend any more time there than that you may end up some hillbillies bride.......

Good luck and have fun on your journey. Must be nice to take that much time off to yourself.......Enjoy your time spent with your father. :Beer

I have the itinerary hosted here: http://www.freewebs.com/markviibullitt/Itinerary.xls and a great map of the entire Appalachian Trail here: http://www.freewebs.com/markviibullitt/Appalachian%20Trail.pdf

On the itinerary I have listed mail locations. There are two types: maildrops and post offices. Each are treated differently. When mailing to a post office you must specify "general delivery" on the mail. Also, remember that UPS and Fed-Ex cannot deliver "general delivery" packages. Maildrops are locations where the business owner is kind enough to hold mail for hikers until they get there. Here is an example of what to do on the label:

Joshua McAlister
c/o the business (or general delivery for a P.O.)
City/State/Zip
Please hold for Thru-hiker
(estimated date of arrival)

I cannot assure you that anything mailed will make it to me. There is little reason for it not to, but you never know. Certain post offices may be hidden or off the beaten trail, but other than that I should get everything and will be sure to show my gratituted for it!

Wow - Great experience your gonna have.. :-) If you have a chance, be sure to check in with us once in awhile!~

Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Enjoy the journey.

I also hosted the itinerary as a website for easier viewing here: http://www.freewebs.com/markviibullitt/Itinerary.htm

Hey all! I've been gone a week now. It seems like time is really moving by quick. I know that I'm still a long way from the end, but this past week has been a blast. We've completed about 50 miles so far, and the itinerary has already been changed quite a bit. We pulled into the town of Hiawassee earlier than planned yesterday. We are taking the day off, then hiking 16 miles tomorrow and getting back into it full boar. This is the first chance I have had to get to email since I left, as we are at a public library now.

The weather was beautiful the first two days, but then a cold front blew in. It snowed on us the past few nights, but we've managed to stay warm and relatively dry. We've started hiking with a great crew of guys going about the same pace as us, and they've really made the trip more fun. Both my father and I are hurting a little, but that is to be expected. My knees started getting bad on the third day. Once we got into Walasi-Yi I had to pick up knee braces as well as hiking poles. Both have helped immensely. Soon we will walk a little farther into town to get groceries as well as ankle braces, and an ace wrap just in case.

I hope you are all doing well. This is certainly a great adventure, and one that I will be telling you about much more over the following months. Feel free to email as you please; just remember that my internet access is very sporadic. I hope to talk to you all again soon.

Regards,
-Joshua

Alright guys, we are heading out again tonight and will be on the trail again tomorrow. Hopefully this time it will be without interuption. Here is our itinerary: http://jmcalister.bravehost.com/Itinerary.htm

Regards,
-Joshua

Josh you're a real trooper! If you had a GPRS Phone you could have :V at any time while hiking!

Are the legs holding up any better?

Hello from Pearisburg! We pulled in here yesterday around 14:00, now 620 miles into our journey; we are over ¼ of the way done! The trail has been a bit easier, and we are fairing pretty well. The weather has been very nice, although it does become hot at times. We have only had rain to worry about one day, as we tried our best to outrun a thunderstorm and get off of the ridge-line. We've been doing between 17-20 miles each day, except for yesterday which was only 10 to get into town.

The new gear is working out pretty well for me, which is quite a relief. My new shoes broke in very nice after about three days. However, dad's boot began hurting his right ankle, bad enough to bruise the outside of the ankle! We stopped several times in one morning hoping to find a more relieving way to lace his boots, but nothing was working out well for him. I offered him my shoe, and that worked much better for him. We hiked the rest of the day, over 13 miles, wearing mis-matched shoes. Still, it worked out well for him and he is now wearing my shoes. From now on I think I will be the one buying his shoes for him. ;-) Other than that small incident all is well and we are moving along great. Two days ago we did 20.4 trail miles, and that was on top of going ½ mile down a road to a small grocery/deli and the ½ mile out, as well as an additional ½ mile at the end of a day to make it to a hostel. It was a long pull, but made for a great day.

Here is a picture of me doing my best "backpacker crossing the road" impression: http://jmcalister.bravehost.com/Road%20Xing.jpg that was taken a few days ago when we did the 20+ miler. I hope you are all doing well, and hope to hear from you soon. Some of you are graduating soon or have just recently, and I want to make sure you know that I am proud of you and glad to know that you have made it!

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

Was wondering how your trip was going good to hear from you! Have fun and be safe on the rest of your trip!! :Beer

"Remote linking of images not allowed." :(

So are you still on track on your itinerary?

Glad things are going well. This is an experience of a lifetime for you and your father. It's really awesome to think about it.

We made it to Troutville, VA, and we're doing good with 715 miles behind us. We've really been moving along since Pearisburg. We did 20 miles out of town, then 18.5, then 22.5, 16.5 yesterday and 15.5 into town today. Needless to say we are more than ready to take tomorrow off! We were planning on stopping yesterday at a hostel, but it has closed down this year, so we went on to Troutville instead. The trail has been very rocky and tough on the feet, with the exception of today. Still, we've been pushing through and fairing pretty well. The weather has been treating us well, albeit hot in the afternoon most days. Nothing to complain about, though, as we've dodged the rain for over a week. Friday we will break 725 miles, the 1/3 of the way mark!

We went into the town of Cawtaba yesterday, less than 1/2 a mile off the trail to grab lunch and a days' worth of groceries. We got to the Cawtaba Grocery at 12:30 and ordered a BBQ sandwich each, and a pizza. There was no seating inside, so we sat out front on the sidewalk. A girl came and talked to us about our hike, gave us her phone number, offered to do anything for us we needed, and even offered us a place to stay. We called her today and took her up on her offer! Mandie and her fiance Scott live off in the farm-lands near the Trail and are planning on starting a hostel soon. Scott is a Thru-Hiker from 2001, and they are both two of the most gracious individuals I've ever met. They are lodging us in their home, which is practically brand new, and Mandie is hell-bent on feeding us and giving us anything our hearts desire. The people out here never cease to amaze me. We have also been coming across a lot of Trail Magic; mostly in the form of sodas in a cooler along the trail, or cooled in a stream. We came across Trail Magic twice on Sunday, twice on Monday, and once yesterday! Seeing things like that really boost your spirits out here, especially after a tough section of trail.

I assure you that we are doing great, and are very happy to be relaxing and clean! I hope all is well with you, and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

You the man. I couldn't imagine hiking that far. Walk a mile for me. :yourock:

I managed to get a photo uploaded through the dial-up connection here, so that we could share it with you. Some of the things that you see on the trail are absolutely crazy, and some (like this picture) are just too funny and will stop you dead in your tracks. Hikers can have a very interesting sense of humor, and some very unique ideas. This picture was taken yesterday morning as we were making our way up a mountain side, heading for Tinker Cliffs: http://jmcalister.bravehost.com/Smile.JPG

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

The expereince of a lifetime, Josh it still says remote linking of images not allowed.

Hello from Glasgow. We pulled into town this morning, now having completed just over 770 miles. We've been doing well the past few days from Troutville, doing just over 18 miles each day. The weather has been great. Spring is here in full force now. The rhododendron and mountain laurel are blooming, bursting through the drab shades of brown with vivid purples, pinks, and whites. The forest is alive again with a vast sea of greenery, and is now becoming populated with blossoms galore. Birds of all sorts talk from the trees, singing to us throughout the day. The trail has been pretty nice for the most part, making the miles come easier for us and allowing us to enjoy out surroundings more without having to constantly watch our step. A few days ago the rain had pulled a plethora of salamanders out of hiding, then the cold slowed them down, so we had tons of bright orange little guys hanging out on the trail all day long. It's really amazing to see some of the unique sites like that out here.

Coming out of Troutville there is a shelter at mile 725, the 1/3 mark for the trail. We got their for lunch and I had stashed a beer for each of us in my pack, so we sat eating lunch and toasting the accomplishment. Although Virginia is home to an easier section of trail we still have mountains to climb, and that has been keeping us humble. Two days ago we stopped by a shelter for lunch and ran into an older couple section hiking that I never would have imagined we would see again. Chilly Willy and Just Ray, the couple that I and three others had rescued on top of a mountain in a snow storm, are still at it! It appears that they have since revamped a lot of their gear, and learned quite a bit from their experience. Chilly Willly still has yet to regain feeling in the tips of a few fingers, the ing effects of the frost bite she received on that fateful day in the snow. It was an interesting reunion, and I am glad to see that they are still doing well.

Our plans from here to Waynesboro are still a little hazy, as I am waiting to find out about a ride from hear to a campground today. There is a Bed & Breakfast that caters to hikers just north of here that can provide slack-packing all the way to Waynesboro, so we may take advantage of that and stay with them the next few days. This would allow us to complete more miles, and still be relatively rested when we hit Waynesboro. We would also cut at least one day out of the itinerary, which is never a bad thing. That will be determined in a little while when I call back to the lady that runs the show and she lets me know what they can work out for us. Otherwise we will stock up and head out for Waynesboro tomorrow. Either way we should have decent weather and good health.

I hope all is well with the rest of you, and hope to hear from you soon!

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

Josh it still says remote linking of images not allowed.

Common issue with free-based hosting. Copy/Paste the address into your browser, then it will work.

Josh this has got to be one hell of a time! I hope all goes well for you. Keep posting when you get the chance.

Can't wait for the post that has pics! :GotPics:

What a long three days it has been! We've been slack-packing, based out of the dutch Haus Bed & Breakfast and covering some serious ground. We did 21 the first day, 26 yesterday, and over 24 today. It's been a lot of work, but we're happy to have made so much progress and still be in good shape. Slack-packing is easier, as we are carrying much less weight. Still, the miles don't come easy and we have to move fast as we are on a schedule to be picked up at a certain time and a certain place. We've now covered over 840 miles and will be pulling into Waynesboro after a short day tomorrow. The B&B has been amazing. Note that "Bed & Breakfast", despite it's common connotation, is very different along the trail. Places like this stay alive by catering to hikers, and this place has been top notch. We'll be kickin' into the Shenandoah's on Saturday and hauling through it as quick as we can. I hope everything is well, and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

The excitement never ends. Yet again we must make the pilgrimage home. Yesterday, after 20 miles or so of the 24+ day my father took a little spill. It was nothing tough, as he only lost his balance and pretty much just sat down. Unfortunately he twisted his back, which is a problematic part on him as it is. We made it down off the mountain OK, but it was bothering him slightly. Once we got back it really knotted up and started to hurt him. We are not too far from home, so Chrissy will come collect us from Waynesboro this evening.

We are by no means down and out. He is familiar with this injury, and knows that it may take a little while to heal, but it will heal. We are not sure how long this will take, but we will be out here again soon. Regardless, we will be home for a short stint and I hope to be hearing from you from the comfort of my own home for a little bit. This is just another detour in the trip, another part of the journey.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

Hey all! We've been off the trail for almost a week now, and are ready to get back at it. Dad had stretched a muscle in his lower back but it is doing much better now, and he has a few stretches he can do that will help work it out quicker. We will be picking up where we left off tomorrow, just south of Waynesboro at mile 841 and heading into the Shenandoah's. It has been nice to come home for a few days, relax, and have some quality time with friends and family. We are ready to get back to it, though! Two guys that my father works for had been wanting to meet up with us and hike for a weekend, so this is working out perfectly to get us back to the trail. They will be with us this weekend, and then we will finish out Shenandoah National Park within the following week. I have updated the itinerary, available here: http://jmcalister.bravehost.com/Itinerary.htm so you can know where we are again. I'll be talking to you all again soon!

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

We have now completed 881 miles of the trail, and the bottom third of the Shenandoah's. We spent the weekend hiking with two guys that my dad works with, showing them what it's like out there. They enjoyed themselves, but were ready to call it a trip yesterday afternoon when we made it back to their car. Unfortunately, so was dad. His back started hurting him quite abruptly at lunch on Saturday, so we caught a ride with his coworkers back home for a few more days. He is doing better than before, he just knows that it is best to let it heal without trying to hike all day, every day. We'll get this sorted out completely this time and be back on the trail in a few days.

I would like to take a minute and thank Dutch, who was willing to come get us in Waynesboro and take care of us. Although we didn't impose upon him, we are still sincerely grateful for his offer. When we got into Waynesboro (riding into town with several other hikers) we all went to a Mexican place for lunch. As we sat around the table and I was telling everyone about a particular instance on the trail, a professional looking man walked up to the table. He was looking at me, waiting for me to finish so that he could speak to us. I figured that he wanted to ask us about being hikers, as this happens a lot. Instead he says "You must be Josh." Mind you I have no idea who this individual is, so I am very shocked and confused. Of course, it was Dutch on his lunch break! It was quite interesting to just happen to be in the same place at the same time as him.

We should be back out at it in a few days and hopefully this time in good health. Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

Ya trying to kill your Dad? LOL. j/k

Keep up the good hike.

We are heading out again Sunday morning for another attempt at the trail. Dad's back is feeling better, and we are both ready to get back to it. We will be taking it easy for the next 100+ miles, but we are still in it for keeps. I hope all is well with you and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
MacGyver
GA --> ME 2005

I sure hope Dad is ok. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

We are really moving now! We've completed 1,150 miles of trail and are feeling great. We've been completing some pretty high-mileage days, but are doing well with it. We've done 130 miles in six days, with days ranging from 21-25+ miles. We completed Maryland in two days and are now deep into Pennsylvania. The trail is not horribly mountainous here, but it is incredibly rocky and there is poison ivy everywhere! Not to mention the 90º+ days we've been going through for almost a week on top of the sky-high humidity. The weather does not look like it will be toning down anytime soon, either. We still manage to get along well, we just have to be careful to hydrate heavily and end up soaking wet in sweat all day long.

We made it through the half-way point three days ago, at 1,087.5 miles from Springer and to Katahdin. There is a little general store almost right at the half-way point that is part of a state park. This is home of the half-way "Half-Gallon Challenge." The challenge is to consume an entire ½ gallon of ice cream. I took it on with a box of Hershey's chocolate ice cream and conquered it in 38 minutes. That is 2,400 calories in one sitting! It made my stomach a little confused, but I hung in there and actually hiked an additional 8 miles after that. Only a Thru-Hiker could concoct such a horrid display of self-inflicted gluttony and consider it a challenge, not sadism. Still, it was a pleasure to have partook of the tradition and succeeded.

We've been doing 20+ mile days for the past week, and I believe I am fully recovered from the perils of the insect bite. Still, with the tough weather and terrain we have been careful with all of the hiking we have been doing not to over do it. Today we took it quite easy, with only a half day of hiking and 10 miles. It's dad's birthday, so we used that as our excuse to slack a little, take the afternoon to relax, and come to the library to play on the internet. We will be putting in a few decent days until Friday, then we get to meet up with mom and Chrissy in Reading, PA! That will be enjoyable, rewarding, and so much more.

We are doing well and pushing on, and hope to continue making good progress like we have been doing. I hope all is well, and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

Less than 1,000 miles to go! Yesterday we crested 1,200 miles of trail. We now have just over 970 miles to go. Things are going quite well, and I am writing to you from the comforts of a hotel room and a day off, as mom and Chrissy came to see us in Reading, PA. It sure is a much needed visit, and one that has really lifted dad and I. It is wonderful to be able to spend a little quality time with them right now.

The weather has remained hot and incredibly humid. The days have been near 90 for quite some time now. The last two days cooled slightly, as thunderstorms have been passing through at night and light showers during the day. The weather is tough but tolerable, but it is compounded by the poor trail. Pennsylvania is know for having rocky trail, and it is quite technical at times trying to keep from getting hurt. The trail is routed straight through boulder fields many times during the course of a day, and the trail is always riddled with smaller rocks that are rough on the feet and joints. Not only that, but the poison ivy is taking over the trail completely. There is almost always thickets of poison ivy on the side of the trail, but it is becoming so bad that it is starting to grow over into the trail altogether. Add brambles, briers, and other thorny plants that hang into the trail and shred your tender flesh multiple times a day, and you tend to get a little frustrated. We are enjoying our time in the woods, but are anxiously anticipating a reprieve from some of these less pleasant aspects of the trail currently.

Other than my little rant about the poor trail conditions things are going well. Pennsylvania does not provide a great deal of opportunity to have spectacular overlooks and views, so the days are filled mostly with just walking and avoiding the many perils of rocks, roots, and plants that are designed to inflict discomfort. On the other hand of that, though, is the fact that there are not many (if any) incredibly steep climbs to summit a mountain either, which is a lot easier on us. We have been making good mileage each day and managing to keep safe and healthy as well.

I hope all is well, and hope to hear from you all soon. And I almost forgot, the Tour de France starts today! Be sure to back our American team and Lance to a seventh straight victory! (I had to put in my little plug for my hero, Lance Armstrong. ;-) )

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

There's light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck.

This trip is becoming quite a saga. Tuesday I turned on my phone at around noon and had a voicemail from Chrissy. Come to find out she had appendicitis and would be going into surgery around 16:00. When it rains, it pours! They got the appendix out and she is recovering, but it is a lot to go through. Dad and I finished up hiking as quickly as possible and headed home. I spent Tuesday night and half of the day Wednesday with Chrissy in the hospital until we headed home at around 15:30.

As for the trail, we only have ~920 miles to go. We are almost out of Pennsylvania, and will soon be away from all of the harsh rocks. We are feeling good and moving good everyday, looking forward to hitting New England in a few weeks. Tuesday we went over a stretch of trail that is considered the most difficult part of the trail, aside from the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It was nothing but shear denuded rock, left over from zinc mining. It was very difficult bouldering, but we managed to get through it in one piece. It was quite tough on the knees, but we were happy to get it done. We still managed to complete a 17.5 mile day on Tuesday, then we got home as quick as possible. There is something to be said for having a cell phone that works in the backcountry.

Hopefully Chrissy will be better in a few days and I can get this trip finished. I am thankful that we were close enough to home that I could get here in time, and also that we had the vehicles with us so that we could hop in the Lincoln and get home right away. Luckily she is smart and got to the hospital as soon as she realized it was appendicitis, so it did not rupture. I still cannot believe the luck she has been having, and am praying that the worst is finally over with.

We should be back on the trail in under a week and back to pushing through it. Life does not stop because we go on the trail, so we have gotten to the point where we just hike day-by-day and check the phone a couple times a day. Hopefully this will be the last of our poor fortune, at least in the near future. I hope all is well and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

Hey all. Chrissy is recovering from her appendicitis and feeling better. Dad and I are heading back to the trail tomorrow. I have updated the itinerary on the website to now reflect the proper dates, but with any luck we will be pushing on and getting ahead of it quickly. We should be hitting it hard, and hopefully home soon, after we have competed the trek. I hope all is well and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

We've been making out pretty well since we got back on the trail. the temperature is still in the mid-80º's and the humidity is still wicked, but we are pressing on pretty well. Pennsylvania is well behind us, and the rocks are starting to fade. We hiked our longest day yet on Wednesday, doing 27 miles. We followed that up yesterday with another 24 miles! We have now completed 1,350 miles, leaving 825 to go. We will be completely out of New Jersey tomorrow and into New York for a few days.

The trail has been decent. We've been rained on the past few days, but that's only fair; it's been a long time since we've been rained on while hiking. The unfortunate side to it is that it has done nothing to curb the temperature. Still, it feels great to be getting some good miles under our feet. We have been seeing a bit more wildlife, like the bear cub we scared off yesterday. Otherwise things have been pretty uneventful. New Jersey is almost behind us. It has certainly been more forgiving, with less rocks than Pennsylvania. However, the mosquitoes are incredibly thick here, so we cannot wait to be rid of them. In less than a week we will be through New York and into New England, another great milestone to shoot for. I hope all is well with you and hope to hear from you soon!

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

Still can't believe your doing this. Continued good luck.

Another state down! We've crossed into Connecticut today, finishing our ninth state. We are now into New England, and have 730 miles to go. We are moving well, but the heat and humidity has been holding us back a little. 90ºF+ days make it a little tough to hike quickly, especially with the astronomically high humidity. It leaves us dripping in sweat and rather soggy within a few minutes of hiking. Nonetheless we are doing well and moving along.

We've been seeing a lot of deer lately, and often scare them off as we hike by. There have also been a ton of wild blueberries, making for great snack breaks through the day. ;-) The insects have become viscous, so we are in the tent every night to keep from being eaten alive. Otherwise things have been rather uneventful. We should be into Massachusetts Saturday, and are excited to keep on moving. I hope all is well and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

Another state down! We've now completed Connecticut and just over 1500 miles of trail. Just four states and 670 miles remain. The weather has remained warm, but has become slightly more tolerable the past few days, and the nights have actually been quite nice for sleeping. The temperature drops in the evening, making great sleeping weather, and the forest tends to trap that cool well into the day, allowing us to stay a little more comfortable much longer into the day. The weather looks like it is finally going to break sometime at the end of this week, so we are anxiously anticipating this promise turning into a reality! The trail is becoming more mountainous again, giving us more of a view at the summits as opposed to the constant, repetitive views of nothing but trees and each other every day.
Yesterday evening we took a slight detour into Great Barrington, Massachusetts. A friend of mine lives here and invited us to come stay with him. Not one to be impolite, I reluctantly accepted his offer. ;-) John, a fellow Lincoln enthusiast, has really taken care of us. A few other Lincoln fans are coming over this afternoon, so we will have a small Lincoln meet and a cook out. Dad and I took the day off today, although not originally our intention. His knee is bothering him, so we felt it was in our best interest to take a day of rest to make sure things did not become any worse. So we have been lucky enough to have John's place to stay at and his great hospitality on top of everything else.

We have another 80 miles of Massachusetts to conquer, then we are into Vermont for 150 miles. The days seem to be flying by now, along with the mileage. Hopefully I will be hearing from you soon, and talking to you again soon from yet another milestone!

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

Only two states and 400 miles to go! We are in Glencliff, NH and moving well. It feels good to have made it this far north (over 1770 miles!), but some of the toughest parts are yet to come. The White Mountains start tomorrow, which are known to be the most technical part of the entire Appalachian Trail. It is the home to Mt. Washington, the highest peak in New England at 6,288 feet and the second highest peak on the Appalachian Trail, second only to Clingman's Dome. We are ready to take it on, and excited to see how it goes.

The weather has been decent, with temperatures going from the low 50ºs at night to temperatures as high as the low 90ºs during the day. More often than not, though, it is in the high 70ºs and quite nice to hike in. The humidity comes and goes, but for the most part the excruciating heat and humidity are long behind us. Better yet, the poison ivy has almost vanished from the trail, a welcome change of pace from states past. We have not seen a deer since Connecticut, with only one exception yesterday. Signs of Moose are abundant, and Dad is dedicated to spotting one, but no luck yet.

To top things off, we have made it over two weeks without anything adverse occurring! Our luck has been holding out, and we just hope that things keep rolling nice and easy with our luck holding out all the way to Katahdin. I hope all is well with you and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

Only 300 miles to go! We've almost finished New Hampshire, and will be in Maine tomorrow. Currently we are in Gorham, New Hampshire after completing the 100 miles of trail that go through the White National Forest. The Whites are considered to be some of the toughest of the Appalachian Trail, and you'll receive no argument from us. It traverses through the Presidential mountain range, and straight over Mt. Washington. This is the highest peak in the North East at 6,288 feet, and can be quite scary to hike in 50-60mph winds. The Whites are strewn with large rocks and boulders, and many times we are stuck climbing up a mountain hand-over-hand, or even worse, slowly climbing down the rocks backwards, as if lowering ourselves down a ladder. Many parts of the trail go above treeline, leaving us totally exposed to the elements and hiking across nothing other than shear rock. A straight 13 miles of the trail around Mt. Washington are above treeline, taking us up and over several of the presidential mountains, and right around many others. We were run along the ridge line for six hours, the entire time spent battling the winds that were almost strong enough to take us off the mountain like a kite. It does make for some spectacular views, and along with that some amazing pictures.

The terrain has definitely affected our progress though. Were it was typical for us to be completing 20 miles each day and averaging almost 3mph each and every day, now it is tough to get 15 miles done, and unheard of to get even 2mph. Yesterday we spent 13 hours hiking 21.1 miles over the last section of the Whites, and we are paying for it today. It was by far the worst trail conditions we've seen in over 1850 miles of hiking, and to top it all off it was raining, making the rock scrambles not just tough, but dangerous. We managed to stay safe, although rather battered by the end of the day. We are glad to be done with it, and amazed to finally be making it into Maine. No moose sightings as of yet, but we are still keeping our eyes open! I have updated the itinerary, and it is still available on my website here: http://jmcalister.bravehost.com/Itinerary.htm. I hope all is well and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
MacGyver
GA -->ME

What can I say. You and your dad are nuts. LOL

We made it. We never thought we would see the day, but we finished the trail. 2,175 miles, 14 states, and almost six months have gone by and we have emerged victorious. We summited Mt. Katahdin, Maine, which is the northern terminus of the trail, at 12:20 on August 31st. We had set the last day of August as our goal for finishing, and miraculously we actually managed to pull it off, finishing four weeks ahead of our original itinerary.

The last 300 miles have been quite remote, becoming more so the farther north we went into Maine. After we left Gorham we had to get through Mahoosuc Notch, which is considered by most to be the single most technical mile on the entire trail. That one mile of trail alone took us 1 hour 45 minutes to complete, and it took most other hikers even longer. Mind you that this is not something I consider to be hiking; this was horizontal rock climbing. The trail remained mountainous and tough, driving us to get up earlier and earlier every day so that we could complete a full day of hiking before dark. By the time we finished we were at the point of hiking just before sunrise every morning. Soon we came across the illustrious Mr. Warren Doyle. We met Warren as he is completing his fourteenth thru-hike, having done so more times than any other hiker (and I thought once was bad enough!). Warren imparted expanses of knowledge upon us, without which we would undoubtedly still be on the trail. He was not only helpful, but took it upon himself to make sure that he remembered to tell us everything that he could think of. Many times he would come and find us to make sure that we knew something in particular, and even sat down at one point and hand wrote directions for the easiest route out of the park when we finished. It is amazing to think about how blessed we were to have come across him at just the right time,as his help was invaluable. Of course another invaluable item we had was the camera, that amazingly survived the entire hike. Going over Saddleback Mountain in the rain I tried to turn it on to take a picture and was greeted not with a green light, but instead a small plume of smoke from around the power button. I was certain it was toast, but once it dried out it worked fine! However, the LCD gave up in the rain after the last picture we took on the top of Katahdin. It served us until the last step, held on until the end, and then let go. Canon makes an absolutely terrific camera.

The last portion of the trail is referred to as "The 100 Mile Wilderness" and that is no understatement. There is nothing but wilderness and logging roads all the way through until you reach Baxter State Park, which is home to 14.4 miles of the Appalachian trail and the highest peak in Maine at 5,267 feet, Mt. Katahdin. We started putting in some bigger miles and moving quicker again which felt great and really reassured us that we could be finished soon. We had our fun, our excitement, our adventure, and we were ready to wrap it up. On the 31st we got hiking at 5:30 that morning through the rain. We started up from the base of Mt. Katahdin at 9:00, tackling the tallest and toughest climb of the trail. Starting elevation was 1,080 feet, going for 5.2 miles and peaking at 5,267 feet, a climb of almost 4,200 feet! Treeline is at ~3,400 feet and runs for over two miles to the peak. It rained all the way, and the wind became quite scary at points easily hitting 40mph. The weather absolutely abused us, but once the sign on the summit came into view nothing hurt anymore. Dad and I joined hands and touched the sign together, a monumental landmark in both of our lives. We both smiled, speechless, no longer feeling the frigid rain or the blustery wind, or the horrible exhaustion and pain throughout our bodies. Not only had we made it, we made it every step of the way together. Despite every obstacle that stood in our way we overcame insurmountable odds and could now officially say that we are thru-hikers. After the moment passed we went about taking a few pictures and consuming our "celebration" that we brought to the top with us. Dad had his Yukon Jack and I shared my keg with him. I carried a keg up that mountain, although only a keg can. Then we got off that mountain as quickly as possible and headed straight for my sister's house in Rhode Island. I have the pictures from Katahdin hosted here (http://www.filefarmer.com/JoshMcMadMac/index.html), and I will get more up soon.

It feels good to be done, and to have actually accomplished what we set out to do. Now it is back to everyday "civilized" life, a much less abusive way of living. It will take some time for the body to recover from the prolonged pounding it took, but all things considered we came out of this in pretty good shape. We feel great and are in great shape, although many of our joints (knees especially) are going to take some time before we can put any major use on them again. It was a long journey, and now it is complete. Thanks for being there with us through it all. I hope you have enjoyed our hike. I know we have.

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME

Josh,
Congrats to you and your Dad on reaching your goal, that is quite an accomplishment to acheive. :Beer you and you dad :yourock: