In 2017, dad, 40 at the time, and daughter, 11 at the time, began hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness (100 MW), the section of the Appalachian Trail from Monson, Maine to Baxter State Park where no resupply is available. Our trip is described in greater detail in the links below. Leading up to it, we went hiking on a majority of the weekends that spring. We even did some accidental winter hiking when we went hiking in April snow.
On the 100 MW, daughter’s backpack weighed about 30 pounds, and dad’s pack weighed almost 60. We packed a water filter, a one-person-disguised-as-a-two-person tent, a miniature stove, light weight sleeping bags & sleeping pads, freeze-dried meals, heavy duty hiking boots, and 3-liter water pouches. It was the beginning of July, and the heat was scorching.
When we started hiking, the miles passed by very slowly. After the first 10-mile day of hiking, we were sore and slept very well. Our mornings were mostly centered around hot chocolate and coffee. After one or two days of eating oatmeal for breakfast, daughter decided oatmeal was for people who liked pretending they had no taste buds.
Some of our days were interrupted by thunderstorms, and on day two we were fording a river when dad lost a flip flop. On days five and six, the bugs were so bad we had to cook dinner inside our tent. Our longest day was around 15 miles. We crossed two mountain ranges and forded numerous rivers. On day eight, we stopped at a beach on Lake Nahmakanta and decided at 75 miles, our journey was to be continued. We were both starving for real food, and when mom and grandfather came to pick us up, we got pizza and milkshakes. We completed the last 25 miles in September 2018.
Here is the complete nine-part series on our 100 Mile Wilderness journey, as well as a guide to what we would do if we did it again:
Hiking in Maine 