McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 9/06/2024 | AT Mile 457.0 | Day Total: 15.3 miles | Gain: 3901 ft Got up and out this morning. I still need to get food for the next few days so I made my way over to the co-op around the corner. They open at 8 so I spent this time to…

Date Written: 9/05/2024 | AT Mile 441.7 | Day Total: 18.9 miles | Gain: 4305 ft Officially one month in. I sleep pretty good last night. I’m hoping to get to Hanover today and maybe get dinner in town. Rumor has it there are campsites behind the Dartmouth’s fields as I enter Hanover. Today’s hike…

Date Written: 9/04/2024 | AT Mile 422.8 | Day Total: 15.6 miles | Gain: 4365 ft Sleep very well last night in the vrbo. My parents leave today and I will continue hiking as usual. I packed my bag nearly all the way last night so I had less to do this morning. I took…

Date Written: 9/03/2024 | AT Mile 407.2 | Day Total: 17.6 miles | Gain: 5254 ft Ate an egg, cheese, bacon, bagel this morning. Thanks dad! Also had a cup of coffee and chocolate milk. I was pretty much packed up last night so we headed out just before 7. Like planned my parents hiked…

Date Written: 9/02/2024 | AT Mile 389.6 | Day Total: 0 miles | Gain: 0 ft Zero day today for my birthday! It’s nice to wake up knowing today is a rest day. My dad made kielbasa and eggs this morning. I had a cup of water, coffee and chocolate milk in front of me.…

Date Written: 9/01/2024 | AT Mile 389.6 | Day Total: 13.4 miles | Gain: 3782 ft Woke up this morning to kitchen noises. The cook of the day starts making breakfast at 5:15. I deflated my sleeping pad and pillow, put my contacts in and started packing my bag. I ate some oatmeal and a…

Date Written: 8/31/2024 | AT Mile 376.2 | Day Total: 15.4 miles | Gain: 5044 ft Good nights sleep last night. There were a few people that walked by late last night and early this morning. There was one that hiked by that didn’t seem to have a headlamp, I thought it was an animal…

Date Written: 8/30/2024 | AT Mile 360.8 | Day Total: 17.0 miles | Gain: 4795 ft Another day in the Whites. I packed up fairly quickly but quietly this morning. The other hiker I’m with seems to talk/mumble to himself a bit in his tent. I thought he was talking to me a few times.…

Date Written: 8/29/2024 | AT Mile 343.8 | Day Total: 16.4 miles | Gain: 3824 ft Woke up to the sounds of cooking this morning. The Croo was making breakfast early this morning but made me aware that they would probably be up around 5:15 doing so. It was nearly light outside so I decided…

Date Written: 8/28/2024 | AT Mile 327.4 | Day Total: 12.8 miles | Gain: 4728 ft I could hear the wind howling above me all night. The trees were a really good wind break and I had minimal wind near my tent. We were supposed to get rain this morning but it hasn’t came yet.…

Date Written: 8/27/2024 | AT Mile 314.6 | Day Total: 16.2 miles | Gain: 7316 ft Woke up earlier than I expected to this morning. I was having trouble getting comfortable in the middle of the night. My shoulders had a very dull ache that wouldn’t go away. Once I was moving I didn’t feel…

Date Written: 8/26/2024 | AT Mile 298.4 | Day Total: 6.8 miles | Gain: 1492 ft Woke up fairly early this morning and ate some coco wheats. I’ve been carrying these coco wheats for 200 miles since Monson so they are aged. I’ve got just under 7 miles to hike today and I’m eager to…

Date Written: 8/25/2024 | AT Mile 291.6 | Day Total: 17.4 miles | Gain: 5441 ft Wanted to get an early start this morning so I set my alarm for 5:30. I camped right before the Mahoosuc Notch so I’ve got .3 miles to the beginning of that. The Mahoosuc Notch is the most difficult…

Date Written: 8/24/2024 | AT Mile 274.2 | Day Total: 12.6 miles | Gain: 5047 ft Skinny pitch worked out fairly well. Walls were a bit sagged in but not bad at all. I meant to take a picture before I took down the tent but forgot to until it was nearly down. Rock was…

Date Written: 8/23/2024 | AT Mile 261.6 | Day Total: 19.0 miles | Gain: 5786 ft Thought we would have a dryer night last night but it was far from the truth. It rained for the majority of the night. The rains splash back caused a bunch of dirt and crud to stick to the…

Date Written: 8/22/2024 | AT Mile 242.6 | Day Total: 17.2 miles | Gain: 4482 ft Another wet morning. The rain stopped just before I work up but the trees are still dripping quite a bit. I packed up everything in my tent to keep things dry. It’s been cooler in the mornings which I…

Date Written: 8/21/2024 | AT Mile 225.4 | Day Total: 15.5 miles | Gain: 3733 ft Last night the trees were dripping on the tent the whole night. It may have rained a little but it was mainly the larger loud drops hitting my tent walls. I had a little trouble falling asleep but went…

Date Written: 8/20/2024 | AT Mile 209.9 | Day Total: 21.5 miles | Gain: 7480ft I sleep well last night. I had a little trouble falling asleep and keep turning but eventually went out and stayed out till 6. Each bunk has a little fan which was delightful. I signed up for breakfast at 7,…

Date Written: 8/19/2024 | AT Mile 188.4 | Day Total: 1.9 miles | Gain: 269 ft Lazy start to the morning. I sleep in till 7ish, an hour later than normal. I ate some oatmeal and made an ensure while looking outside my tent. Last night the squirrels keep sneaking under my vestibule I search…

Date Written: 8/18/2024 | AT Mile 186.5 | Day Total: 15.9 miles | Gain: 5215 ft In the last journal I mentioned the wind died down, that couldn’t be further than the truth at 3am this morning. The wind was whipping! Tent held strong but the wind was super noisy. I didn’t get a ton…

Date Written: 8/17/2024 | AT Mile 170.6 | Day Total: 21.9 miles | Gain: 3112 ft Big mile day for today. As expected I was camped alone last night. Sleep really well with the stream rushing in the background. The Ferry to cross the Kennebec River open at 9am and I started hiking today at…

Date Written: 8/16/2024 | AT Mile 148.7 | Day Total: 16.1 miles | Gain: 3476 ft Woke up to the sound of the loons. I ate coco wheats by the pond after I packed up camp. There are bluegill swimming around in the shallow parts near the shore. Where I camped last night, Bald Mtn…

Date Written: 8/15/2024 | AT Mile 132.6 | Day Total: 17.9 miles | Gain: 2032 ft Cole and Nathan left Shaws early this morning around 5:30. We said our goodbyes and I could hear them start the car and take off as I laid in bed. The windows were open all night to let cool…

Date Written: 8/14/2024 | AT Mile 114.7 | Day Total: 3 miles | Gain: 598 ft Officially in the double digits for # of days! This morning we did the usual and started hiking at 7:20. Everyone is itching to get into Monson to get back to normal style living. I on the other hand…

Date Written: 8/13/2024 | AT Mile 111.7 | Day Total: 12.1 miles | Gain: 2461 ft Packed up camp by 7:30 then waited for the rest of the crew to get ready. Washed my shirt this morning while I waited, nice and fresh for the sweaty day ahead. Started the day off well and passed…

Date Written: 8/12/2024 | AT Mile 99.6 | Day Total: 11.1 miles | Gain: 2318 ft We all set 6:30 alarms this morning. Usually I’m wide awake by then but I surprisingly slept until that alarm went off this morning. We’ve officially been on trail for over a week now, no real food, no shower,…

Date Written: 8/11/2024 | AT Mile 88.5 | Day Total: 11.7 miles | Gain: 2289 ft Took our time this morning, didn’t get hiking till nearly 9. Camp spot was indeed flat and I sleep much better than the previous night. Had a little climb out of the gate but went downhill after a while…

Date Written: 8/10/2024 | AT Mile 76.8 | Day Total: 17.1 miles | Gain: 4572 ft It dumped rain all night until about 3 in the morning. We had a short day previously so we were able to stay in the shelter thankfully. I guess it’s the leftover rain from hurricane Debby. This shelter seems…

Date Written: 8/09/2024 | AT Mile 59.7 | Day Total: 7.9 miles | Gain: 623 ft It sprinkled throughout the night and got heavier in the morning. Packed up wet and in the rain. Got an earlier start to the day to secure a shelter for the night. Maddy’s having some pain in her upper…

Date Written: 8/08/2024 | AT Mile 51.8 | Day Total: 13.6 miles | Gain: 936 ft This morning awakening squirrels running through the campsite. These are not you typical Ohio squirrels, they are significantly thinner and they chirp a lot. Nevertheless I sleep pretty well. These long hard days are making it easy to fall…

Date Written: 8/07/2024 | AT Mile 38.2 | Day Total: 19.6 miles | Gain 2815 ft Woke up this morning before everyone’s else and did some camp chores. I went back down to the pond and jumped around the rocks as far as I could and relaxed there in the clear cool morning. We are…

Date Written: 8/06/2024 | AT Mile 18.6 | Day Total: 13.4 miles | Gain: 881 ft Well deserved late start to the day. I woke up from a solid sleep around 6:30am with over 8hrs of sleep. We had light rain nearly all night and I have discovered a 3inch seam on my tent that…

Date Written: 8/05/2024 | AT Mile 5.2 | Day Total: 9.3 miles | Gain: 4000 ft It really hit me this morning, over a year of planning and preparation and here I am at the base of Katahdin about to make the journey of a lifetime. One my dad made 25 years ago. Just a…

Date Written: 8/04/2024 | AT Mile 0000.0 | Day Total: 00.00miles | Gain: 0 ft Started the day at Bradbury Mountain State Park. Woke up around 5:30am and jumped into the only currently working shower. This is my last official shower until we’re out of the 100-mile wilderness. Once Nathan and Cole were up, I…

Day:xxx | AT Mile xxxx-xxxx | Day Total xx.xx miles Here’s what you can expect a typical journal entry to contain: If you’d like to know whenever I post a journal enter your email into the box below to get a notification the second I update it!