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Alright let's keep you updated. Couldn't have asked for better weather today. On a mission: Mt Washington (last photo) - highest point in New England. On a clear day you supposedly can see the Atlantic 

Hey sorry its been a while since we last checked in.

We officially took our first Zero on the 28th of June due to the weather conditions on top of Madison. We got in to the Whites after leaving Gorham. We have had a little bad luck lately and it seemed to have started when we had to blue blaze down in to Gorham to catch the post office (that didnt have our package!).

We our currently at Ben and Lt Dangle's summer camp Tohkomeupog where we've resupplied and gotten some crucial rest. We met a ton of awesome people up here. Even got some staff bball going.

The plan is to get back up on the presidential range tomorrow and ideally, weather permitting get over Washington and reach lakes of the clouds

Gotta run but just so you guys have an idea of what it was like on Madison I'm uploading a video. Who knew that while most of you are enjoying the nice summer weather, rain, 60 to 70 mph winds and 40 degree weather is prevalent elsewhere in the world.

Note this is at Madison hut - .4 miles from the peak which was even worse

-Jeepers Crow

State line

Pink panther. Crooked sticks. Beatfeat. Jetboil. Captain crunch and Ben

Ménage a trois 

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To comfort all the moms reading this 

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Grabbing lunch at saddleback jr

Stratton, ME

Quick update from the iPhone while we're in Stratton. There's no computer so unfortunately we cant upload pictures from our cameras. We did six days and five nights from Monson, taking it slower and enjoying the weather. A few highlights were swimming in East Carry Pond, and Ian's first freshwater fish catch. He caught a few Perch one morning before we all woke up. The last two days we spent going over the Bigelow range, and we were able to meet Jake (aka Achilles) on top of Avery peak, and spent the night camped on a saddle up at 3800'. This morning we ran up the West Peak to catch the sunrise just before 5am. The views were stunning as the sun lit up the entire valley. We parted ways with Jake and got into Stratton this morning. The hostel owner Sue was nice enough to pick us up from the trail and lend us her old jeep to run errands all day in town which was really convenient. We got mail, resupplied on food, and of course loaded on calories. When Ian and Leo weighed themselves this morning they had lost over 10 lbs since starting, but by tonight we had each gained back at least 7 pounds. Tomorrow well hit that trail early and bag a couple more 4000 footers with the Crockers. Hopefully 4 nights in the next section to Andover, then it's on to New Hampshire.

Sunrise on west peak

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Achilles meets back up with Leo and Ben

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Avery peak 2nd 4000 footer

Top of little bigelow. Headed off to Avery peak and west peak for lunch

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Monson/Dover-Foxcroft

We made it out of the 100 mile wilderness today and reached Monson by 9am, after Ian and Leo easily got their first ever hitchhikes.  I'll give a brief rundown of the mileage/camping we've done since hiking Katahdin. It took us 9 days (Leo 8 days) to go 114 miles (not coounting going up Katahdin), and we spent 7 in the 100 mile wilderness.  Ian and I had great weather on top of Katahdin, and the next morning Leo went up and down before 2pm, then hiked another 9 miles to reach Abol bridge - pretty impressive day 1.  The first day out of Abol it rained pretty much all day and we reached a full shelter late in the day. Most of our stuff got wet which set the tone for the whole week.  The next few days were very swampy and muddy, and most streams and ponds were flooded from the rain.  Finally we started to climb a few good mountains like Whitecap and Chairback, and some tough smaller hills that never seem to end (like Third and Fourth Mountain). The weather was iffy throughout, except today in Monson we finally had sun to dry out all of our stuff.  After that firt wet night of tenting we tried to hustle to reach shelters each night to stay as dry as possible. There's a solid group of about 8 hikers that were near us so it was almost a race to get there before they fill up.  By the third and fourth day we had worked our way up to the front of the pack so we had first dibs. Most days we did 15-17 miles except one rest day of only 10 miles, and our biggest day was 19.5 miles (besides Leo's Day 1).  Our gear held up pretty well too despite the moisture.  The river fords were tougher than expected since the water level was high - The toughest were East Branch Pleasant River (West Branch was really easy), Long Pond Stream (cost Leo a trekking pole), and Big Wilson creek wasn't too bad.  Well it's getting late here in Dover-Foxcroft, especially for hiker time. Tonight a Ward family friend Bithy put us up for the night and supplied showers, laundry, medical attention, and so much more.  Many thanks to her, Mark, and Zach for their hospitality!  We're hitting the trail tomorrow after breakfast and going 5 days to Stratton, ME. 

A-Frame on Ragged Lake

View of Moosehead from Indian Hill in Greenvile, ME

On Katahdin

Male and Female White-Winged Crossbill feeding at East Branch Lean-To

The Tripod atop Whitecap Mountain

Wet weater fire and dry rack

Leo climbing up Chairback

Long Pond with a raincloud looming

Another fire drying method

Morning clouds on Barren Mt

We are camping at high elevation tonight with this as our backyard

On our way to the next lean-to 

More pics from Maine

https://plus.google.com/photos/109166782810063180713/albums/5751106002750529585

Where we are eating lunch today. Whitecap mtn

A few pictures from Northern Maine

Ben, Leo, and Ian headed southbound on the Appalachian Trail on June 2, to start their 2012 thru-hike. They are planning seven days or so through the hundred mile wilderness to Monson, ME, the next resupply point. They are in the most remote section of the trail and the forecast was for five days of rain. They got to spend a few days in Northern Maine preparing for their trip. Here are a few pictures from the start of their hike and from Mt. Katahdin, the official start (or end) of the Appalachian Trail.

 Big Spencer Mountain on Ragged Lake

Ragged Lake

 Must be his first Moose

 Ben and Ian going up Katahdin

 Top of Mt. Katahdin, northernmost point on the Appalachian Trail, June 1, 2012

 Going down Katahdin

Leo, Ben, and Ian heading into the 100-mile wilderness, June 2, 2012

Top of Katahdin

The journey begins

We hike Katahdin today and officially begin our journey. The weather is amazing and it's the perfect day to start our journey. After katahdin we enter in to the 100 mile wilderness stretch which we are hoping to accomplish in a week. We won't be able to check in until we reach the city of Monson. Signing off until next time.