Sprawl: An Accidental Section Hiker.

#240 Long Pond Stream Lean-to to Chairback Gap Lean-to - Day 158: ATMM 2093.6 to ATMM 2104.5

I'm a lone hiker, on a mountain in Maine, safely tucked inside a shelter, with the world beyond its rectangular opening draped in a heavy fog, while the…

Nov 1 • 

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October 2025

OUR SON IS GETTING MARRIED TODAY!

Today, my wife will marry him and his fiancé at the church where she and I were married 23 years ago—a church we attended for all of his childhood.

Oct 25 • 

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#239 ME 15/Monson to ME Long Pond Stream Lean-to - Day 157: ATMM 2078.5 to ATMM 2093.6

We cross into the Hundred Mile Wilderness about a minute into the hike. The sign reads, “Appalachian Trail - Caution - There are no places to obtain…

Oct 18 • 

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#238 Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to to ME 15 Monson ME - Day 156: ATMM 2069.5 to ATMM 2078.5

An A.T. Conservancy Representative is posted in the room designated to help hikers figure out logistics for Baxter State Park and Mt. Katahdin once they…

Oct 11 • 

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#237 Bald Mtn Brook Lean-to to Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to - Day 155: 2056.5 to2069.5

We ease our way through several tight tunnel-like slab formations. The trees give way to open spaces where the mountain offers layer after layer of…

Oct 4 • 

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September 2025

#236 US201/Caratuck ME to Bald Mtn Brook Lean-to - Day 154: ATMM2041.8 to ATMM2056.5

Lying in our sleeping bags, nearly asleep, we hear footsteps approaching the lean-to.....“Anyone want a hamburger?” We reach for our headlamps and…

Sep 27 • 

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#235 Pierce Pond Lean-to to US201/ Caratunk ME - Day 153: ATMM 2037.8 to ATMM 2041.8

Our ferryman Rob, a.k.a. The King of the North, rows us to the other side, then draws in the sand a couple different ways to get to the road.......

Sep 20 • 

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#234 Little Bigelow Lean-to to Pierce Pond Lean-to - Day 152: ATMM 2020.1 to ATMM 2037.8

The autumn colors are prominent in the nearby trees, while all else is gray. A moose cries out from across the lake, enhancing an already beautiful…

Sep 13 • 

Sprawl

#233 Horn's Pond Lean-to Little Bigalow Lean-to - Day 151: ATMM 2009.9 TO ATMM 2020.1 9

Clouds sometimes seem to cut right through me. Snow and ice pellets sting as they strike my exposed face and hands. Dang, it's cold up here! Dang, I…

Sep 6 • 

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August 2025

#232 South Branch Carrabassett River to Horn's Pond Lean-to - Day 150: ATMM 1996.1 to ATMM 2009.9

A peace falls over me as I begin this new phase, the final push towards finishing what was started so long ago.....I am melting back into the wilderness…

Aug 30 • 

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#231 Poplar Ridge Lean-to to South Branch Carrabassett River - Day 149: ATMM 1983.3 to ATMM 1996.1

2000-mile-marker day. I think of the history that I’ve walked through on this trek from Georgia to Maine.....

Aug 23 • 

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#230 ME 4 to Poplar Ridge Lean-to - Day 148: ATMM 1972.6 to ATMM 1983.3

Today is the first full day of Autumn. The ground is covered with leaves. Autumn camping is my favorite followed by winter. I’m beginning to find the…

Aug 16 • 

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