Hitting the road and the trail

We are hitting the open road, and Sondra is hitting the Appalachian trail again in New Hampshire and Maine.  Trail Horse and Lemonade are back in action!

Thursday July 2 - Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Thursday, July 2

After spending a lovely week in the Cape Ann area, we headed back to the Gloucester train station to begin our final preparations for Sondra’s upcoming backpacking trip.  We took the train to Salem and did a very abbreviated walking tour before heading to pick up our new rented wheels. That’s right folks, we are living the van life for the next few weeks.

Into New Hampshire in our rented van

Around 2 pm we picked up a rental camper van in Peabody, MA and headed north, first stopping in Lincoln, NH where we spent Independence Day 2024. After picking up enough groceries to hold us over a day, we went searching for a camping spot in Mt. Washington National Forest.   Unfortunately, all their spots were full and now it was after 6 pm. A quick call to White Birches was made, asking if we could arrive a day earlier than what we had reserved was fruitful so off to Gorham we went. An hour later we were parked in our spot within the campground. 

It was cool driving through this area. We saw a lot of spots from our 2024 hike.

Friday, July 3

This was mostly a prep day for Sondra. We headed into town to pick up food for her hike and for me during my campground stay. While she sorted out her food and packed her backpack, I did some laundry at the campground facility. She finished her tasks around 4 pm and attempted to relax the rest of the afternoon. 

To the Reader

 From this point forward and for the next few weeks, we will be reverting to our old trail names.  Me (Trail Horse) will be doing the blogs since I am not hiking while Sondra (Lemonade) will be feeding me notes of her hike. I have no pulling desire to finish the AT so while Lemonade hikes, I will be supporting her from the van. This will allow her hike to be somewhat easier since I will be able to keep some of her gear and her pack weight won’t be as high.  I will in turn stay in the van and do whatever I want as long as I pick up Lemonade on the side of the road at times.  Much of the text will be her’s with me interjecting my van-life adventures (if I have any).

Saturday, July 4, Independence Day 

Trailhorse’s Van adventures:

The plan was to meet Sondra’s hiking partners about a 30-minute drive from our camp site and then I would shuttle them all to the trail head.  By 10:30 I said goodbye to Lemonade, and she wandered out into the woods. 

Lemonade and her new crew

I in turn did a long forest road drive down a bumpy road to scout out to see if I could get the van to a particular spot to pick the ladies up in several days since that had a bearing on the plans.  I was successful and afterwards went back to the campground.

Lemonade’s Notes:

Location: New Hampshire

Start: Pinkham Notch - 1880.6

End: Carter Notch Hut - 1884.1

Miles: 3.5 on AT | 3.6 Total

Ascent: 1885 | Descent: 113

Sleep: Building

Met my hiking crew around 9:30 at Joe Dodge Lodge at Pinkham Notch. It was nice to finally meet these ladies after months of corresponding with them my email, text messages and an occasional phone call. After a while they loaded into the van with their gear loaded into Trail Horse took us over to the relocated Appalachian Trail trailhead at Nineteen-Mile Brook trailhead just down the road. There, he snapped photos of us and we were off!

The trail up to the ridge was beautiful and not difficult, even if it is all uphill. We moved slowly since we had plenty of time to cover the distance to Carter Notch Hut.

A Hike up to Carter Notch Hut

The hut was not at full capacity, so the four of us had one of the bunkhouses to ourselves. After a huge dinner we were served birthday cake in honor of 250th anniversary of USA’s Declaration of Independence and the 150th birthday of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the organization that runs these huts. 

Hanging out at the Hut on 4th of July

Sunday, July 5

Trailhorse’s Van adventures:

I went for a hike and picked up one of Sondra’s hiking partners that decided not to proceed with the others.  Other than that, no words from the Van.

Lemonade’s Notes:

Location: New Hampshire

Start: Carter Notch Hut - 1884.1

End: Imp Shelter - 1891.4

Miles: 7.3 on AT | 7.6 Total

Ascent: 2713 | Descent: 2809

Sleep: Tent

The day started with a big breakfast at the hut then three of us headed up Carter Dome while one woman of our group went back down to the Nineteen-Mile Brook trailhead. The first two summits (incl Mt. Hight, el 4,675’ with superb views), although steep, weren’t too bad and we stopped for lunch sitting on a big slab with views of Mt Washington in company of people out doing weekend hiking. 

Day 2 of the Hike

The trail became more technical after lunch during a steep decline off North Carter Mountain, requiring sliding down slabs or what I call “backwards hiking” as I worked my way down steep boulders facing the way we had just came. The three of us stuck together and it was fun trying to figure out how to get down the many ledges. At Imp Shelter, I set up my tent on one of the platforms while the other two set up beds in the shelter. The overall pace for the day was a hair under 1 mph.

Lemonade's home for the night (note platforms since its so rocky and uneven)

Monday, July 6

Trailhorse’s Van adventures:

Around 11 am I moved the van to the Appalachian trail head on US 2 which is where Lemonade and crew will be coming out of the wilderness.  After a quick lunch I started hiking north on the AT (where Lemonade was hiking South) in expectation of meeting her.  I made it about 1.7 miles into the Rattle River Shelter where I found Lemonade and company eating their lunch.  They finished up and I hiked out with them, and I dropped the other two ladies off at a hostel and we went back to the campground.

Lemonade’s Notes

Location: New Hampshire

Start: Imp Shelter - 1891.4

End: US 2 Gorham - 1899.3

Miles: 7.9 AT | 8.1 Total

Ascent: 1262 | Descent: 3653

Sleep: Van

My muscles were feeling sore as soon as I woke up to my 5 am alarm. Ninety minutes later I was fully packed up and ready to hike. The first 2.5 miles was an ascent up to Mt. Moriah, followed by a steep 3-mile descent which left my legs a bit shaky. Before stopping for lunch at mile 6.3, it was becoming painful to stand still, arresting opportunities to stop and admire any sights, even though the terrain had become much more agreeable.

While eating lunch at a shelter Trail Horse showed up after hiking in from the parking lot. The lunch break and the company made the last two miles much more pleasant. Trail Horse dropped off the ladies at a hostel, and I took advantage of showering back at our campground.

On the Carter Moriah Trail

Tuesday, July 7

Nero day for Lemonade and no notes from the Van.  Ran some errands and Lemonade met with her crew to plan the next segment.

Lemonade's Notes:

Location: New Hampshire

Start: US 2 Gorham - 1899.3

End: Centennial Trailhead - 1900.2

Miles: 0.9 AT & Total

Ascent: 65 | Descent: 85

Sleep: Van

Fun short road walk with the gang. Good for sore muscles.

That’s it for this week.  Next week will be what is considered the hardest part of the entire AT trail.  Stay tuned!