One does not simply hike the Wildcats

“Put your foot on the hold by your armpit”

Watch out Magnus Midtbo, my climbing career has begun.

I like Magnus’s videos on YouTube, in which Norway’s best climber tries various activities, such as the workouts of Alpine soldier, the training for the US Marines, etc. One of them came to mind this week, the one in which Magnus met up with Alex Honnold, of the movie Free Solo, for a surprise free solo climb. Magnus didn’t know that was the plan, but he goes along with it, crazy though it is, because he is a great climber. The whole video is great, but I found particularly compelling the parts where Magnus is “stressed” after the 13:00 mark.

At one point, he even lets out “Are you kidding me?!” and later “I’m scared.” Now, they were doing something extremely dangerous as extremely high level professionals. My experience doesn’t come anywhere close to comparing in difficulty, but I did some very basic climbing — with a 35-pound pack on my back— and did have my own moments of surprise and even fear. Looking back on my fears, they were more like an eighth grader getting stuck in the middle of a challenge course, but I prefer to think of them as Magnus-like moments.

So, I’ll lead up to my own documented “Magnus moment” with first some pics from the AT’s steepest mile:

Still going up. I stopped looking above my knees at this point.

At some point I did some rock climbing for about twenty feet up a rock chimney, and I had some experienced young guides to help me through it: “Put your toe on the hold by your armpit.” Once I got some instruction, I did it well. Also, I would not have dropped by much at that point, a few feet, and the rest of the chimney was easy. Phew. There were some grandmas on a day hike waiting to come up, so I didn’t take a pic of it. Continuing upwards:

Ah, a view:

Followed by more slate:

Up, up, up in a very Northeastern AT fashion — there’s also an easy ski slope up the mountain, too.

So, I don’t like these with a 35-pound pack on my back:

Oh yes, here is where I had my moment of “stress”: “You’ve got to be kidding me!” “I can’t do it; yet I can’t go back down the chimney!” I’ve edited out my colorful language.

Well, I decided to trust God and the trail, and soon I was past it — ahead of the grandmas behind me. We’re not done yet:

Sorry, that was a false summit, more to go:

Ah, finally, peak one of the day:

Ok, I’m done reliving that trail for now. It had some steep descents, too, and my knees were nearly finished by the time I made it down to the hut in Carter notch:

I was greeted by Garfield and Oatie (pictured below) at the hut, and I found everyone bemoaning the pain in their knees and the trail.

Yet after a meal and two Naproxen I was chilling and smiling again.

The next morning I hiked with Oatie and Garfield, and I learned they were in a trail running club together. Garfield taught me to raise my field of vision and plan four to six steps ahead, keeping my feet in motion, and I started to go faster on the ups. We got some views:

We could also hear the “girls” behind us, whose joyous laughter could be regularly heard all of the way up the mountain. I had to take a phone call, so I hiked down the very steep descent with the “girls”:

Geisha girl / Kelly, Mary Poppins, and Blue, pictured here, are the aforementioned “girls,” and they really, really helped me down some hard ledges and slates. I was very comforted by their patient and helpful company, for I slid out of control at one point, had to take my pack off and use it as a horizontal downward step at another point, and even grabbed onto a tree and swung down a few feet fireman style, missing the foothold 280-degrees around it that Blue had shown me. It was a very slow day, again hard on the knees, and it’s humbling to be out of control for a brief bit and fall at times. It was great that they were there. I later learned the secret for all of their laughter: they are riotously clever and they perfectly play off of each other in an ongoing comedy bit. It’s like walking with two George Burns and a Gracey Allen or two Gracey Allens and a George Burns, or occasionally three Gracey Allens.

Here Garfield and I are doing our evening water-gathering and purifying chores:

Ah, my daily Eucharistic Sacrifice with a little flower as an ornament to my altar:

I then said my rosary while awaiting the sunset.

Geisha Girl / Kelly sat there working on her extensive daily blog (check out day 69, July 24) at

https://kellyhikesforgod.com

Oatie, Garfield and I walked together again today, making our way up and down steep grades with many rocks at less than 1 mph. At one point I slipped on a minor ledge (without much drop off) and lost my pole a few feet below in the trees. Garfield and Oatie vied to be the first to have his pack off to go over the ledge to get the pole. It was a great kindness that shows the kind of men they are — many thanks guys!

Both of these groups seem to enjoy talking about God, snd I feel surrounded by good Christian brothers and sisters at the moment. Plus, the guys like Bluegrass (and Jazz and Rock)! “The Girls” were out of camp early today, so their laughter was more than a mile away and out of ear shot. Yet we, boys, may have even talked more than “the girls” today. We had a great time walking down the final bit and at dinner in town.

We all have hard days ahead. If the trailblazer of the Wildcat-Carter-Moriah trail (on the list of New Hampshire’s Terrifying 25 trails) was the Pete Dye of trailblazers (i.e. akin to being like the hardest of golf architects), then we have merely qualified to play increasingly harder courses and pin positions. The next 80 miles are said to be the hardest stretch of terrain, but we may at least get a new trail architect for them.

We have passed the last Walmart near the trail. We have resupplied to be away from evens small towns in Maine for 5+ days. We are approximately 3 days from the slowest, hardest mile on the AT, Mahoosuc Notch. Here is a video to get you prepped for it:

Finally, I had this bluegrass on repeat for awhile heading up the steep mile of the Wildcats, “filling me with music” while I was “doing the best that I can.”

Keep praying for us! We want and need your prayers!