It is getting considerably colder the climbing is getting tougher.
Susan is not happy (understatement) she is talking about turning back. If she does, I’ll take her back down at least to the ponies and then come back up on my own.
PONIES! We just hiked through a herd of rotund little wild ponies of all colors.
Temp in the 30s and foggy but so far a nice gradual climb. Susan is doing great
Susan was not sure if she would attempt the 8 mile Mt Rogers, VA with me, but has decided to go for it!
Leaving the trailhead now & will be hiking all day
After the success of our Northeast Trip in September where we tackled 8 State Highpoints in 17 Days, I was able to talk Susan into another similar, although slightly less ambitions trip to the Southeastern states. We leave November 12th (Three days after returning from my Cuba Mission Trip) and will return on the 18th. Here is a Google Map Link showing the path between each state highpoint.
Here is the list:
#1 Black Mountain, Kentucky https://goo.gl/maps/O6yKV
#2 Mt. Rogers, Virginia https://goo.gl/maps/ozGl8
#3 Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina https://goo.gl/maps/Z1VXD
#4 Clingmans Dome, Tennessee https://goo.gl/maps/KJMDe
#5 Sassafras, South Carolina https://goo.gl/maps/0dIRj
These are easy ones except for Mt. Rodgers Virginia which is an 8 mile climb that will likely take 8-10 hours. Susan is not sure she wants to attempt this one, but I am encouraging her to go for it. The weather looks good with temps ranging from the 40s down into the teens, so it should be perfect hiking weather. We will spend a couple of days in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg Tennessee which is one of our favorite places in America.
I’ll carry the satellite beacon as usual, so you can track our progress while driving and hiking. iPhone tracking will also be active.
Having never been to Cuba or a mission trip, I jumped at the chance when my good friend Josh Kubik invited me to join a team from Mercy Gate Church. The teams purpose was to assist in the construction of Confidence of Christ Assembly of God church in Havana. There are 10,400 churches in Cuba and this is by far the largest and will seat 1000 American (1500 Cuban Style) and the only one with air conditioning.
I have included some of the photos in this article, but you will find the full Cuba photo gallery here.
By the time you read this, I’ll be headed to Cuba via a private charter from Florida. I’ll be part of a missionary team who is building the largest Christian church in Cuba. I like to build things, and I’m always up for a new adventure, so when my friend Josh Kubik asked me if I’d be interested, I jumped at the chance.
This will be my first time in Cuba, so I’m not really sure what to expect, but I hear the women are beautiful and everyone smokes cigars.
I’ll be back in the states Monday the 10th, so in the meantime, keep us in your prayers.
Note: We are not allowed to make any political posts, or even take photos of things that might be considered as such, so consider this when making replies.
Mt Katahdin was highpoint #8 of 8 and the crown jewel of our 2014 Northeast trip. Susan did the first 7 with me and my good friend and climbing partner Rick Overholt joined me for Katahdin.
This was a fantastic climb and you will find the resources for it here:
Mt Katahdin Trip Report
Mt Katahdin Gallery
Mt Katahdin Blog Posts
You will find, status, photo galleries and trip reports for all of my adventures on the Highpoints Page.
As is our usual plan, we don’t book the hotel for the return leg in case we need an extra day to complete the climb in which case we would drive directly to the airport.
We completed the climb and are back in Bangor now. Problem is, being that this area is in high color now, all of the hotels are booked.
We finally managed to find a single room an hour from Bangor and are driving there now.
“Mission accomplished! Got back to camp an hour ago, grilling some fillets now. Last part of the hike was beautiful in its fall splendor. Good day to be alive”
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“Warmer now, feels nice & down to 2 layers but melting ice above has turned ravine trail into an active stream. Very steep and slippery here. Rain is coming”
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“Taking a break on the leeward side of ridge. Fog lifted revealing breathtaking views of rocky but colorful valleys filled with trees and lakes. Praise God!”
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“Made summit! 27 deg, windy, foggy w low visibility so no valley pics this trip. Surrounded by a wasteland of rhyme ice covered boulders, knife not likely.”
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“Just made ridge, very windy est 35MPH and icy. Will be slow going. Have 4 layers of technical clothing on and still cold. Brrrrrrr! Heading for the summit”
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“Cathedral also iced over, taking Saddle route instead. Will take our time and hopefully Knife will open later.”
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“Crisis averted, tent to tent begging turned up some fuel, & we had a hot meal. Sleeting earlier and its below freezing now. Sleeping in a 3 sided lean-to”
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“Just got to camp and realized we have no stove fuel which puts a kink in our meal plan. Last hour was in dark over a very wet rocky trail w many water Xings”
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“Now leaving the trailhead for Chimney Pond where we will camp tonight. The forest is amazing w brilliant color. Feel very blessed to be here at this time.”
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“Now leaving the trailhead for Chimney Pond where we will camp tonight. The forest is amazing w brilliant color. Feel very blessed to be here at this time.”
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The crown jewel of our Northeast Trip is Mt Katahdin, and it starts now!
Rick and I are driving into Baxter State Park now through amazing color (best so far) and lost cell coverage a while back. We stopped at the North Woods Trading Post for some WiFi and other supplies. This will be my last direct post until we get back to civilization. All other posts will be via the satellite beacon. Tracking is already active via the Track link.
We plan to hike in and camp at the base of the mountain tonight at Chimney Pond (Thursday) night and start he climb Friday morning taking the knife edge weather permitting. Park ranger said the Knife Edge route may be iced over making the smooth rocks impassable, so we will have to play it by ear.
Here is some information about the Knife Edge Trail from the park services website:
This route is completely exposed and several people have died or have been seriously injured while attempting a traverse in inclement weather and/or high winds. Hiking Knife Edge is not recommended due to its difficulty and the amount of time it adds.
Sounds perfect to me!
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