*** Update from Gordon *** The last three States have been tough. As the months have past the continuous effort of hiking has taken its toll on equipment and on the body. I have now lost approximately 40lbs in weight and I now own none of the clothes in which I set out. My boots have died in Pennsylvania and even my new boots bought in Delaware Water Gap have now given up after 600 miles. I have just completed traversing the Whites. A series of Mountains that are both beautiful and tough, my average daily distance dropped from 20 miles per day to an average of 10 miles per day. The weather was outstanding both for the warmth of some days and the ferocity of the thunder storm in which I was caught shortly after leaving Mt Washington - itself the holder of the location of the worst recorded weather on the planet, it had a recorded wind speed of 233 miles per hour in the 1930s. I was fortunate that all I received was a rain storm, with hail and lightning strikes within 300 metres of my position - I can only liken it to being close to an artillery barrage - very loud, very destructive and very scary! I am now in a small town called Rangeley for a resupply of food and am heading back out for the Saddleback Range, a series of peaks above 4000ft and then I hope to be into the relative tranquility of the 100 mile wilderness. Mt Katahdin and the end of the Trail is beckoning and I am beginning to look forward to ending this hike. My body has had enough beating for the time being but my mind is already looking toward the next hike - what comes next after a 2185 mile wilderness hike along the Appalachian Mountains? Gordon Celtic Biggerstaff
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 11:47:29 +0000
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