Our Hike on the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada
Our awesome friend Holly sent us a care package. So many beans! ? We’ve been so spoiled recently! One of our favorite trail meals is these SantaFe dehydrated refried beans mixed with instant rice and taco seasoning. Just add hot water, then crumble up cheez-its or fritos or whatever chips you have and roll the bean mix and crunchy bits up in tortillas! Or just eat with a spoon. Delicious!
We got to ride the Gondola down and back up Killington mountain! To be fair, I don’t think we were supposed to ride back up for free, but the guy at the bottom let it slide for a couple of silly thru-hikers. Yay for more kindness of strangers!
Today we feasted on all-you-can-eat cafeteria food at Dartmouth College. This isn’t any ordinary cafeteria food though, it’s Ivy League cafeteria food. Y’all, they have nitro brew coffee and a whole vegetarian selection and a guy who makes fresh stir fry with toppings of your choice. Plus amazing baked goods and an ice cream bar and peach basil infused water. They had everything a hungry thru-hiker could want. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much in one sitting!
Tonight we’re camping in the woods next to their soccer field. Chris has a sprained ankle so we’ll be spending the weekend here. It’s strange being in a college town (much less an Ivy League college town) while in the midst of this life altering journey I’m on. I find myself simultaneously feeling so old yet still so young. Trying to figure out what’s next without getting caught up in the what-ifs. What if I had taken college more seriously when I was younger? What if I didn’t have student loan debt with nothing to show for it? What if I never figure out what to do after this hike?
I don’t need to worry about any of that right now. But today the thoughts crept in over dinner as the dining hall filled up with teenagers just starting their adult lives. I wonder if I’ll ever figure out what’s next. Or can I just find a way to continue this new, simpler way of life that I’ve fallen completely in love with? That would be nice.
-Kylie
So I began the hike with this romantic vision of snapping beautiful photos of all the cool shit I was gonna see with the semi-fancy camera I brought. Then 5 days into the 100 Mile Wilderness my camera broke. I’ve been carrying about 12 ounces of dead weight since with the hope that it would be an easy fix. After Cottonwood (Chris) attempted a failed surgery on it a couple days ago, I had to accept that it was time to send it home. It’s a bittersweet feeling, dropping nearly a pound but only having the phone camera to use now.
Yesterday was tough. We left the hostel after our first full zero day and I just wasn’t in the mood to hike. I had just found out a friend of mine had been in a car accident and was being taken off life support. That news pulled me away from the woods and back into the real world as I struggled to comfort loved ones from afar. Am I selfish for doing this? Asking favors from parents to take care of pets, knowing they can’t say no. Leaving a job with no real answer on if or when I’m coming back. Being so out of touch with friends. But then I remember conversations with my late friend about my crazy hopes and dreams. How he always encouraged me to follow them and helped me believe that I am allowed to be selfish sometimes. That there is always an opportunity to share a big smile and laugh despite any internal struggles you are fighting that day. So thank you, Josh, for being a part of my life for awhile. And for pushing me to show my genuine self to the world. I will share some smiles today in your honor.
I haven’t been motivated to write, but I am feeling more up for it today. I will have lots to share in the coming days, promise!
Day 1. Hail above the treeline. Only ones on the mountain that late. Came down Abol. Got back to camp well after dark.
Day 2. Peed with my panties on. Stabbed myself in the throat with my spoon. Got fed hot dogs and baked beans by an awesome family from Maine. Tabby and Mike and Mike Jr and mom.
Day 3. Chris bought more snacks. I hit a wall hard. Made it to camp. Super tent spot left but close to dark. End up next to ridiculously beautiful lake. Caught the end of sunset. Met a coolass dude and his coolass son. Andy and Ben from Mass. Talked to them for awhile. Then sat by the lake and looked at the clearest night sky I’ve ever seen. While the loons were calling to each other. Unfuckingreal.
We made it to Maine! I am in awe of the beauty of this state and I have barely even scratched the surface. Today we ate lobster and walked around the shipyard in Belfast before driving to Bar Harbor to stay for the night. In another life I like to think I would be a sailor, but unfortunately I know nothing about boats except they look like a lot of fun (and a lot of work!). After checking into the motel we had a little time to kill so we ventured out to the coast near Acadia National Park as the sun was setting. People aren’t joking when they talk about how big and prevalant the mosquitos are here! We left our packs with bug spray in the room, so I expected to be covered in swollen bites, but somehow I barely itch at all. Maybe the Alabama mosquitos have prepared my immune system, or maybe tomorrow I’ll be eating my words. We shall see!
2 days till Katahdin!
So we’re hiking the Appalachian Trail. Our first day on the trail is about two weeks away now, and the nerves are starting to build. Money is saved, reservations are made, gear choices are nearly settled. I’m so full of excitement I could burst! But that’s not the point of this initial post. Instead I’d like to attempt to explain what exactly it is we’re doing and why for the friends and family who have so many questions and concerns.
The Appalachian Trail is 2,192 miles of continuous hiking trail that spans from Maine to Georgia and traverses 14 states along the ancient Appalachian Mountain range (www.appalachiantrail.org). A thru-hiker is someone who completes an established end-to-end long distance hiking trail within one year of starting it. The vast majority of thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail begin in Georgia between February and April and finish in Maine. Because of life schedules and personal preferences regarding crowds and social scenes, Chris and I will begin our hike in Maine in early July and heading south to finish up in Georgia. This means starting our adventure with the toughest summit of the entire trail, the famed Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine. This will be a 4,200 foot elevation gain on fresh legs. We also will likely be finishing the southern part of the trail in late fall or early winter, which will almost definitely provide below freezing temperatures and wintry precipitation in the Smokies.
One of the most common questions I get asked is “Why would you want to do something like that?” The short answer is I love backpacking. I have struggled my entire life to ever feel like I’m just being “myself” but when I’m on the trail I feel genuine, like this is who I am and how I act and there’s no filter because who the hell has time or energy to filter themselves when they’re trying to make it to camp 8 miles away in 3 hours? I remember the moment I fell in love with backpacking, it feels like a lifetime ago but it’s only been a few years. It was my first time on any part of the Appalachian Trail, and it just so happened to be in the Great Smoky Mountains. Chris and I had vastly underestimated the terrain and overestimated our abilities. We over-packed so badly, my pack came in around 47 pounds after food and water! I can’t remember the exact route, although I’m sure Chris can (he’s better with those kinds of details than I am), but I do remember that we started by summiting Chimney Tops and then hiked what was basically several miles of uphill, partially hiking up a creek. On our way up it started to rain, and then thunder started. Then it got dark. The trail had become a creek by this point and my boots were so heavy and full of water. I remember hearing lightning right above us and then hearing what we both swore was a growl in the trees next to us, although it could have been our imaginations or the “woods crazies”. We finally reached a sign for the shelter, but it said we still had a mile to go! We pushed on and sometime between 9 and 10pm we made it, and it was full of boy scouts! This wasn’t an issue for Chris but forced me to have to change in the woods with a poncho over my head to keep the rain out. Now I know this story doesn’t sound like the start of a love story, but it was like a first date where all the plans go wrong but the chemistry is so strong and you just click. I was smitten. I felt powerful and strong and like I could face anything after that challenge. Since then there have been other challenges we’ve faced; hissing snakes and fields of poison ivy over the trail and even rounding a corner to startle a momma bear and her cubs. Not to mention the blood thirsty ticks just waiting to hitch a ride on our skin! Yet I’m grinning from ear to ear while I write this. I’m never happier than when I’m 3 days into the woods and smelly and dirty and hungry and sore and at peace.
I’m in a transition period in my life; getting ready to transfer universities and really buckle down and finish school. Not to mention I turn 30 this summer! The time to do something like this is either now or who knows when. So instead of buying a new car or investing my savings, I’m investing in my piece of mind and in a physical, emotional, and spiritual journey of sorts. I can’t speak for Chris’s exact motivations, maybe I’ll convince him to write something up before we hit the trail ? I just know that this is something I need to do. It’s the right fork to take at the crossroads I currently find myself at and I am so incredibly lucky to have a partner as crazy as me.
I decided to put together this blog so that friends and family can follow along with our adventure without us having to spend all our time in towns calling people. Cell service on the trail is spotty at best, so updates will likely be posted on zero (no mileage) and nero (low mileage) days in or near towns. I will try to update regularly, but I make no promises on how often that will be. Wish us luck!
-Kylie