15 year Anniversary of a Northbound Completion - Fun Facts!

Mt Washington fun fact - I have climbed this peak four times.

Celebrating 15 Years!

It's hard to believe that we began this adventure on an early spring day on March 5th and finished on September 18, 2007. To commemorate the event, Blissful shares fun facts and tidbits from the journey.

Northbound Georgia to Maine

Average Miles per Day	10.30
Average Miles per Hiking Day	12.19
Average Miles per Week	72.09
Number of days in Trail Towns	33
Number of nights in a Shelter	50
Number of nights in a Tent	72
Number of nights in a Hotel	26
Number of nights in a Hostel	30
Number of nights in a House	23
Number of Day Hikes	12
Longest Day	22.90
Shortest Day	1.5
Number of Days over 20 Miles	8
Number of Days between 15-20	41
Number of Days between 10-15	85
Number of Days between 5-10	32
Number of Days between .1-5	14

"What was the Toughest Day on the AT?" For me, the day after I was sick with norovirus all night at Lakes of the Clouds hut in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. That ten-mile trek over the Presidential Range did me in. At Osgood tentsite, I collapsed and didn't move. My teen dude did it all -set up the tent, cooked, everything. 

"Did You See any Animals?"  A big 300-pounder bear in PA, and snakes galore. Not much, surprisingly. 

"Did We Ever Get Lost?" Yup. One day Paul Bunyan was lost for over five miles in Maine. He finally got a ride back to the real Appalachian Trail after realizing he was on a logging road going nowhere. He did not get into camp until 9 PM. Talk about one worried Mom!

"Did We Ever Want to Quit?" Sure. Me, in the Smokies. Paul Bunyan in PA. Paul Bunyan’s motivation was food. Pizza and a milkshake helped in PA. As did a kind caretaker who opened the concession stand in a park on a very hot day and got us cold sodas. For me, it was the friendly face of a fellow hiker with a Georgia twang who befriended me in the Smokies and kept me going.

"What Was our Favorite Trail Town?" I loved Gorham. After the rigors of the White Mountains going north and before the challenging Mahoosuc region, Gorham falls right at the place where one needs some rest and food. A bus out to the store made it easy to resupply. And friendly folks were there for transportation. Paun Bunyan even got a lift to visit an amusement park. 

Paul Bunyan Enters Hot Springs, NC

For Paul Bunyan, his favorite place was Hot Springs. Why? – “The people, the cool hostel we stayed at, and just the idea of walking into town, smelling like funk, but being welcomed as friends,” he says. That and I gave him spending money, and he loved it. 

My Favorite Food? On my northbound hike, I loved the pizza we got at the Mohican Trail Center and the turkey dinner with all the trimmings in Gorham.  

You can check out the Trail Journal Online

2007 northbound http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=1416

2010-2011 southbound http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=10306

                                    http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=6655


OR better yet - Discover it all in the Book where you can read about north AND south adventures in one easy place!

  

In Print - Amazon and Barnes and Noble

E-book - Kindle  (only $4.99!)