7/19/00
Day 118
Upper Goose Pond Cabin, MA
1528 miles

To start off, a bit of sloppy math.  Using a conservative estimate of only 12 miles a day, I would be reaching Katahdin by Sept. 12th.  (Editors Note: I was off by one day!)  A month earlier than that, on August 12th, I will be well past Vermont and in fact about a hundred miles into New Hampshire.  More precisely, I would be entering the Presidential Range in the White Mountains, one of the highest, toughest regions in the Northeast.

I haven't figured out how I'm going to get through the Whites yet.  The AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) has a system of huts along that section of the AT.  Thru-hikers refer to the AMC as the "Appalachian Money Collectors", because they charge about $60 for a bunk and for dinner/breakfast.  Camping anywhere along the ridge above treeline is strictly prohibited.  This leaves me with several lousy options:

1. Pay for staying in the huts.  The trouble with this is that the huts run on a reservation system and it's very hard for me to know ahead of time when I'll arrive there.

2. Work for stay.  The huts have a couple spaces they allow thru-hikers to use in exchange for some chores.  This depends on me just showing up at a hut and hoping other thru-hikers haven't already taken the spaces.  But it's preferable to option #1 because most thru-hikers, including me, can't afford to spend $60 night after night.

3. If you don't have a reservation and you can't work for stay, you have to hike possibly miles down off the ridges to find some campsite below treeline.

4. Stealth camping.  You can try to bivouac on the Trail itself, or nearby among the rocks, but it's a pretty stiff fine if you get caught.

5. Slack-packing.  Supposedly, at least in some sections, it's possible to stay at hostels in nearby towns and pay for shuttle services to drop off/pick up at road crossings.  Since you carry only what you need for the day, you try to do long miles, hiking as fast and as far as you can handle.