Sometimes our guests want a mountain and sometimes our guests want a trail. On this adventure — one that employed both our guided backpacking and portering services — our guest was looking for the latter. Specifically she desired stringing together a section of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) through the state. It’s a cool objective, one we’re happy to help with. On lead for this trip was Redline Guide Debra McCown. As a writer, we’ll have her give the details along with some photos, supplied by both guest and guide…
The Home Stretch
‘Goodbye, up!’ our guest declared as we began our ascent up the last 150 feet of elevation gain on our traverse of Kinsman Ridge. ‘Goodbye, hiking! See you in 2025!’ She said this as she was nearing the end of a project she had begun 11 years ago: Hike all of the Appalachian Trail. She didn’t want to thru-hike, and she doesn’t like backpacking. Instead, she completed almost all of the 2,200-mile trail in a series of day hikes.
She also doesn’t like rock scrambles and left the toughest parts of the trail for the end. So, she began the season this year with roughly 100 miles remaining — nearly all of it segments of trail that she wasn’t excited about. Among them were some parts of the trail that aren’t easily accessed by day hiking — and therefore would require backpacking overnight.
With the completion of this week’s three-day backpack of the steep and scrambly Kinsman Ridge, she now has just 30 miles remaining for next year: the Carters, an infamous section of Garfield Ridge, and the heart of the Mahoosucs — the toughest stretch of trail on the AT. As a non-backpacker, she set herself up for success on Kinsman Ridge: Not only was I guiding her, but I was also portering her overnight gear so that she’d be able to hike with her usual day pack.
After initially planning it as a two-day trip, she found the ascent to the ridge harder than expected — and decided a few hours in to make it a three-day trip instead. We spent the first night on a tent platform at a developed campsite, which she’d done before. But the second night was a first for her: We pitched her tent in the woods on one of the many small sites along the trail that are used by thru-hikers. I hung my hammock nearby.
When we heard coyotes howling nearby, though I assured her they posed no threat, she Googled them furiously — because somehow, miles into the woods on her most wilderness-like camping experience ever, she had an Internet signal. Reassured by the information she found and the bright moonlight, she went to sleep, and had a good night in the woods.
She was happy to learn that the third day of the trip was the easiest of the three, with all the hated rock scrambles behind us and mostly nice, gentle grade trail ahead. Importantly, she got it done! After 11 years, she’d reached the point where completing her goal felt like a bit of a grind, and she was glad to get this tough segment of trail checked off.
Just one more season — and 30 more miles — and her goal will be complete. —Debra
