The combination of me hitting the wall, the more challenging terrain in New Hampshire/Southern Maine, and my nagging injuries (including my severe ankle roll that forced me off Trail for 6 days, almost ending the journey) have made it difficult to enjoy the Trail the last month. But seeing old friends, making some new ones, experiencing the beauty of Maine, and realizing this is soon coming to an end has made me really enjoy the last week.

Old Friends

Unexpectedly seeing familiar faces on Trail is always a great feeling. So, when I took cover from a midday rainstorm to eat lunch at a Maine shelter and bumped into Lord Chuckles and Bugs, I was shocked. I first met Chuckles in Franklin, NC. We hiked together a little through the Smokies and into Tennessee, and I last saw him when we Wayside hoped in the Shenandoah’s, which was over 1,000 miles ago. 

I hadn’t seen Bugs in more than 1,600 miles, I last saw her around Sam’s Gap in TN. Bugs will go down as the hiker that I went the most miles between seeing. It’s funny to think, they have been doing exactly what I have been doing for the last several months, following this white blaze through the woods, and it brought us all here, together, at the doorstep of Katahdin. Although brief, sitting with them was a stroll down memory lane and a great boost to my psyche.

For the past 200 miles I’ve been hiking/camping with and around Mark Trails, who I haven’t really seen since PA, and Chicken Legs (recently met) who is doing a Long Ass Section Hike (LASH) from Harpers Ferry.  We have had some of the best town days in Monson, Rangeley, and Carrabassett Valley. While they hike much faster than me, I can definitely hold my own when we drink in town! Chicken Legs is one of the fastest hikers I have encountered on trail, including any of the kids I met in the south. He’s knowledgeable, light, fast and strong – and he gets on trail before me! We have had lots of laughs, and those are the moments I will remember.

I Can See For Miles

August 1st was a great day. Many of my friends were planning to summit Katahdin, and I was so excited for them that I kept refreshing my Instagram feed to see if they posted pictures. But for me, it was the last day of Southern Maine, my last climb of a 4,000 foot mountain until Katahdin. When I arrived at the Bigelow West Peak, I could see forever, including Katahdin, 180 miles away. These were the best views I have had on the entire Trail, including the Whites. The weather was perfect. I sat there for over an hour. I then sat at Avery Peak for 45 minutes, and spent another 45 minutes at Little Bigelow Mountain eating dinner. I knew all this time would mean getting to camp at dark, but I realized, in several weeks, I would be back to work and wishing I was here. Rolling into camp at 8pm, I bumped into more old friends who I haven’t seen since Pennsylvania. Chicken Louise, Alpha Gal, and Metro. It was so enjoyable to share conversations, including the views of the day.

Lebowski

In April 2021, I section hiked the Smokies and met and connected with several thru hikers. When they arrived in the NY area, I picked them up from Trail and offered them a reset and resupply at my home. When they came, I met Lebowski and we have stayed in touch ever since. Lebowski is a ‘21 NOBO Alum, and when he learned of my attempt this year, he was so supportive, including offering me trail magic at East Flagstaff Road in Maine. He had bacon, eggs, burgers, candy, chips, baked goods, and beer! All of the desires of thru hikers. Trail magic is so special, and I am so grateful every time I receive it. But when someone comes to do trail magic specifically for you, it’s even more special. I am forever grateful, and will always remember that.

Misc:

Thanks to Meat Suit (‘21 Alum) for the dogs, burgers and beers at Rte 17, the cooler at Rte 4, Jill and Ken at Camp 43 (Rangeley) and the crazy trail magic by Donna at Rte 4!  Thanks to Hostel of Maine, leapin lenas for the cooler at Shirley Blanchard Road. Maniac for the kayak crossing of the kennebec, everyone at Shaws Hostel, and of course Lebowski!  

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Day 112 – Etna Nero

Chowder and I slept in until 6:30 at the lake, then slowly packed up and got back on trail. We had originally planned to ‘hero’ in and out of Etna, but after the past few tough days, we decided to take a Nero instead.

It was only about six miles to the road where we needed to hitch. Along the way, we passed the 1,600-mile mark! We’re moving quickly now and will soon have fewer than 1,000 miles to go.

At the road, we waited a long time for a hitch. The only vehicles passing were Forest Service fire trucks, due to the nearby Butler Fire. Eventually, a trail angel dropping hikers off offered us a ride into town.

In Etna, we booked beds at the Hiker Hut Hostel, where Stretch, PDF, and Rocksie were also staying. While we waited to check in, we picked up new Adotec bear-proof food bags at the post office, then grabbed lunch at Etna Brewing Company. After resupplying, we relaxed at the town library.

The Hiker Hut was a cozy six-bed cottage with a nice bathroom, kitchenette, and a well-stocked hiker box. They also had laundry and loaner bikes, which made getting around easy. After showering and starting our laundry, we rode into town and picked up dinner at the deli. They even had gluten-free bread so I was able to get a delicious sandwich.

We spent the evening hanging with friends back at the Hiker Hut. I fell asleep quickly in my comfy bunk.

Day 113 – Deer Mafia

We slept in and got up around 7 a.m. The hostel provided free breakfast coupons to a local bakery, so we all biked down. I had a frittata and fruit, while Chowder went for a massive focaccia egg sandwich. While eating, we ran into our friend Gandalf and caught up with him before heading back to the hostel to check out.

We stopped by the local gear shop for fuel, then hung out at a coffee shop until it was time to hitch. It only took five minutes before a guy working fire-related contracts picked us up. Within half an hour, we were back on trail.

We aimed to hike 11 miles. The first few miles were beautiful, with views of Mount Shasta in the distance. But by afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled in. We threw on rain gear but still got soaked by hail and rain. Thankfully, the storm passed quickly, and we only had a couple miles left to camp.

At camp, we had dinner with our friends, but around 7 p.m., a group of deer showed up. They were notscared of us. We kept trying to chase them off, but they kept returning. Eventually, we hid all our belongings inside the tent and zipped everything shut to avoid deer harassment. They kept us up through the night, digging and prancing around our tent.

Day 114 – More Storms

We didn’t sleep well after the deer séance, and woke to find deer still waiting outside. One even followed Chowder to the bathroom. They were relentless.

We packed up and started a big day ahead. Today we’d enter the Marble Mountains, with lots of climbing. We hiked the first few miles with our friend John. After passing through a recent burn zone, the trail became green and lush, with wildflowers everywhere.

We climbed above a lake that reminded us of the Sierra, then passed into another burn area. Later, we had a slow descent, where we ran into a caravan of 15 pack mules and two dogs carrying supplies for trail crews. Trail crews, we love you!

We had lunch by an old ranger station and chatted with Scrub-a-Dub, who suggested our trail family (Stretch, PDF, Chowder, and me—two married couples) should be called “Double Date.”

After lunch, we climbed into the Marble Mountain Wilderness—absolutely stunning. As we hiked, thunder rumbled in the distance. We stopped at a lake to collect water, and it started to storm again. We waited under a tree until the weather cleared a bit, then continued climbing a ridgeline. Unfortunately, the storm returned with thunder and rain. We hiked quickly into treeline and eventually found a place to camp once the storm passed. The smoky sunset from nearby wildfires lit the sky beautifully. We made dinner, set up camp, and watched an episode of The Pitt before bed.

Day 115 – Seiad Valley and the State of Jefferson

We woke up early to a dry tent, packed up, and started the long descent into Seiad Valley. The trail was riddled with blowdowns—by now, we’re basically professional hurdlers.

After about 15 miles, we stopped at a campground for lunch under the shade of a tree. Then came the road walk into Seiad Valley—hot and exposed. But hearing thunder in the distance made us grateful to be down in the valley.

At the general store, we picked up sodas, snacks, bars for the next stretch, and some mini shooters to celebrate the Oregon border in a couple days. The woman at the register gave us a few State of Jefferson stickers—definitely a unique souvenir. While there, we heard some hikers had been rerouted by bus due to a fire near Etna Summit—just a day and a half after we left. We felt incredibly lucky to have missed it.

We’d planned to hike a bit farther but were convinced to stay at an RV park up the road. They had Wi-Fi, a BBQ dinner, and free outdoor showers. The shower was freezing, but worth it. We had fun chatting with other hikers and went to sleep near the road, occasionally woken up by logging trucks—a reminder we’re getting closer to home.

Day 116 – Road Walking & Thunderstorms

We packed up and decided to take the 12-mile road alternate instead of the steep, exposed trail section ahead, which was full of blowdowns. The road walk was shaded, had water, and turned out to be a good decision.

We hiked with Send It, Stretch, and PDF—good conversation made the miles fly. At the trail junction, we had lunch with John. While eating, a couple pulled up in a Jeep and asked about our hike. When Chowder mentioned we were married, the man turned to him and said, “You must be waiting on your wife all the time.” Chowder replied, “She’s the faster hiker—I’m usually the one trying to catch up.” The guy didn’t have much to say after that. I haven’t faced too much sexism on trail, but when it does happen, it’s always frustrating.

After lunch, we climbed three miles, then began leapfrogging blowdowns again. I started to get frustrated—I’m clumsy and often hurt myself on these obstacles. Thankfully, they eased up after a few miles… but the weather didn’t. A storm rolled in as we climbed a ridge. We stopped under trees and waited as thunder and lightning got closer.

After an hour with no break in the weather, we decided to take a lower forest road to camp. We geared up and power walked through the storm. Lightning felt uncomfortably close. When we reached camp, we were drenched. It was too stormy to cook, so we snacked and went to bed. Definitely a Type 2 Fun day—but we were so ready for Oregon.

Day 117 – Oregon!

We were thrilled to wake up to a mostly dry tent. Our rain gear and packs were still soaked, but we packed up and hiked north with Basket Case and Animal. Half a mile before the Oregon border, we met up with PDF, Stretch, and John.

I was leading and shouted, “I see the border sign!” We all cheered. After hiking almost all of California, crossing into Oregon felt like a huge milestone. We took photos and celebratory shots.

Half a mile into Oregon, we found trail magic! Spark and Papaya, two trail angels, had food, drinks, chairs, and their dog greeting us. We snacked, chatted, and soaked it in—it was a perfect welcome to Oregon.

The trail was smooth and well maintained, so we made good time. A few miles before camp, we stumbled on more trail magic: a trail angel grilling burgers. I had a delicious lettuce-wrapped one, and we got a soda from a nearby cooler maintained by yet another trail angel. It gave us the energy to hike a few more miles.

At camp, there was even more magic. Legend and Bee, two traveling trail angels, were cooking spaghetti. While I couldn’t eat it, Chowder did, and we chatted with them and our friends. We camped with views of Mount Shasta in the distance, watched an episode of The Knick (we are on a medical tv drama kick) and went to bed excited to hitch into town the next day for a well-earned zero.

She soars up the steepest roads in the Alps and descends treacherous mountain biking trails with skill and grace. She can pedal over jarring cobblestones, through deep mud, and across slick tarmac. She is, hands down, the most versatile cyclist on the planet, and the newest champion of the sport’s biggest race, the Tour de France.

On Sunday, August 3, French cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prevot—we cycling fans just call her PFP—won the Tour de France Femmes. The victory solidified her spot at the top of women’s professional road cycling, and stamped her place in history as one of the most accomplished cyclists—man or woman—to ever race a bicycle.

Hardcore cycling fans like myself have followed PFP’s exploits over the past decade. And while the Tour de France Femmes victory is the biggest win of her career—she was on the cover of The Wall Street Journal on August 4—it’s hardly the first eye-popping win she’s had.

So, for those of you who aren’t students of pro cycling, here are five things to know about the newest winner of the Maillot Jaune. 

1. She’s an Outlier in Cycling’s Era of Versatility

Some quick background: As youngsters, most budding pro cyclists compete in bike racing’s four primary disciplines: road, cross-country mountain bike, cyclocross, and track cycling. At some point in their development, the very best choose just one to master. In past generations, for example, you rarely saw Tour de France heroes also compete in mountain biking World Cups or velodrome events in the same season.

Sport specialization shifted a decade or so ago, with hyper-versatile riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Tom Pidcock entering the peloton. But even amongst this peer group, PFP stands out.

In 2014 and 2015, when she was just 23 years old, PFP won the elite world championships for road cycling, mountain biking, and cyclocross in a 12-month span.

I cannot stress the bonkers nature of this achievement—it was a first for pro cycling.

All three racing formats are of dramatically individual durations, involve different bicycles, and require different strategic acumen and physical gifts. And in each one, PFP beat hyper-talented professional racers who focus on that one discipline. She showed she could sprint, climb, descend, attack, and ride people off of her wheel on flat roads.

No, it isn’t just like Michael Phelps winning the backstroke, freestyle, and breast stroke. It’s more like if Tiger Woods used his talents for swinging a stick to belt home runs, win Wimbledon, and take the Masters.

From that year onward, every cycling fan on the planet knew that PFP was destined for greatness.

2. Her Dogged Pursuit of Olympic Gold

In women’s cycling, the Olympics has long represented the most important prize. PFP focused her attention on Olympic gold, and initially struggled under the weight of expectations and then injury.

Her 2016 Olympics were torpedoed due to lingering complications from a broken leg. Afterwards, news circulated that she might quit cycling altogether. Then, just prior to the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo, she underwent two surgeries to address a recurrence of iliac artery endofribrosis—a painful yet common cycling disorder in which blood flow to the legs is reduced by a thickening of the arteries. PFP wasn’t 100 percent recovered for the Tokyo Games, and again suffered disappointment.

Despite the setbacks, PFP kept racing and winning. She focused her attention primarily on mountain biking, and won the world championships in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. The sum of her five elite titles are now the most in women’s mountain biking history.

Her big Olympic moment came in 2024, when Paris hosted the Summer Games. PFP dominated the race to win gold medal in front of a home crowd. It was a result we knew she was capable of getting—but was hardly guaranteed to ever win.

3. She Made A Bold Proclamation

As the sweat was still drying from her Olympic victory in Paris, PFP made a bold proclamation: she would return to road cycling in 2025 and attempt to win the Tour de France Femmes within three seasons. The women’s Tour de France, launched in 2022, was not around when PFP was racing full-time on the road, and its debut in 2022 immediately made it the most important women’s cycling event on the planet.

The proclamation was bold. A typical cross-country mountain bike race lasts an hour and a half. Tour de France Femmes stages are anywhere from three to five hours in length, and there are nine of them in successive days. And while mountain bike races are individual tests of skill and strength, road cycling is a team event with chess-like strategy.

4. She’s a Cobblestone Crusher

PFP looked strong but somewhat shaky in her return to road racing earlier this year. During Italy’s Milano-Sanremo race in March, she was penalized by umpires in the final sprint—she was fourth—after they concluded that she zigzagged across the road.

But her skills returned quickly once the peloton hit the cobblestones of Belgium and Northern France. At races like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, cyclists must ride their stiff road bikes over bone-rattling and slippery cobbles—a surface that only the best bike handlers can navigate. PFP was second at the Tour of Flanders before winning Paris-Roubaix.

Her big Roubaix win—the first of the season—was a sign that PFP road racing skills and strategic acumen were back to 100 percent.

5. She Broke France’s Losing Streak

PFP won the Tour de France Femmes on the long and grinding Alpine climbs. She survived the chaos and crashes in the race’s opening half, and then dropped the other top women on the Col du Madeleine and the ascent of Les Portes du Soleil to take the yellow jersey.

There’s a historic significance with PFP’s Tour de France win: it ended a 36-year losing streak at the world’s biggest road bike race.

OK—if you want to be specific, there’s nuance in this figure, of course. The men’s Tour de France has operated since 1903, taking only a few years off here and there for world wars. The women’s Tour de France has been held, canceled, re-launched, canceled, and then re-launched again multiple times.

The last French winner was Jeannie Longo in 1989, and she won a race called Tour de France Feminin.

The last men’s winner was Bernard Hinault way back in 1985. Unfortunately for the French, there’s no male equivalent of PFP on the horizon.

That losing streak is likely to continue for many years to come.