Off into the wild unknown

At Maine Junction, the AT and LT split, and I enter the unknown wild

Stayed at the Yellow Deli Inn and they fed me well and seemed to appreciate what I thought of as thoughtful questions about their beliefs and lifestyle. They are good people and I was glad to visit them again. I took the bus back to the AT with 5 days worth of food and a heavy loaded pack, ready for the scary adventure that lies ahead.

After a relatively quick and painless journey from Route 4 to Maine Junction (actually, easier than I remember from the AT), I said goodbye to the spot that is the furthest north I’ve been in Vermont where the AT and LT split. I was worried about the trail north of Maine junction. It is well known to be infinitely harder, steeper, rockier, rootier, with more ups and downs. To my surprise, it wasn’t bad at first. I was enjoying a lack of rain and imminent thunder as I’d be experiencing, but then there was insane steep up and down without views. The LT did not fail to live up to its reputation.

The LT just got a lot more wild

The most exciting discovery was a part of the trail covered in moose hair–a moose must have died there and nothing was left but its fur. Finally saw some more LT hikers in the shelter tonight…northbounders who are clearly experiencing the joys of a long hike for the first time…tallboy beers,smokes, and battery powered radio included! 2880′ gain (which was REALLY hard and felt more like 4000′ gain)