The First 10 Miles-A Hike Report

Amy and I met up at the Sandbank Stream campground, where we stayed one night before heading out to the IAT trailhead. Before we got on the trail, we encountered a thru-hiker who had completed the AT and was heading northbound on the IAT.

Within the first hour or two of our hike, we turned a corner and there was a male moose about fifty yards away from us, directly in the middle of the trail. Although Amy and I stayed put and tried to wait for the moose to move safely off to the side, he seriously did not care that we were there – he just continued munching away at the plants and minding his business.

After about an hour of waiting and with no indication that the moose intended to move, Amy and I decided to turn around and reroute to our lean-to. Although the encounter was a minor annoyance, it was a neat experience to have happened upon him, and encouraging that he seemed to be in such good health. We stayed at the Wassataquoik Lean-to, which was in great condition, that night. 

On the second day of our hike, we did the Ford River crossing. The river was running well, but luckily the water was not so high as to make the crossing tedious. I found a walking stick before we crossed to help out with balancing on the rocks, though I didn’t need to rely on it very heavily.

The opposite side of the crossing, before the ascent of Mount Deasey, was my favorite part of the IAT that I experienced – I watched a beautiful great blue heron fly along the riverbank, and I thought that all the river stones and gentle rapids were beautiful. As we began to hike away from the river, the trail became slightly marshy for a few hundred meters, with massive ferns and tall grasses, before turning further into the forest.

The trail up towards Mount Deasey was easy-going for the most part. We hiked past Earl’s Erratic, a house-sized boulder just to the side of the trail. The elevation picked up tremendously once we reached the abandoned fire warden’s cabin. Those 800 meters up to Deasey were tough, but the expansive view of Katahdin, Mount Chase, Sugarloaf Mountain, the Turner Mountains, and much of the Maine North Woods made the scramble worth it. The summit of Deasey made an ideal spot for a water and snack break.

On our way back down from Deasey, we ran into a group of National Park Service volunteers who were out to repair the fire warden’s tower at the top of the mountain, which was great news, as the tower was in need of some TLC when Amy and I saw it.

In just the first ten or so miles of the IAT, I experienced a range of what the IAT and Katahdin Woods & Waters have to offer – close-up encounters with wildlife (the moose and the great blue heron), stunning views (the Ford River and the panoramic lookout of Mount Deasey), relaxed trail-walks, and challenging scrambles.

An Interview with Lil Buddha

Lil Buddha's Pangea Traverse
Lil-Buddha-Southernmost-Terminus-of-the-ECT_Pangaea-Traverse
Lil Buddha at the Southernmost Terminus of the ECT

This summer, I had the pleasure of speaking with thru-hiker Lo Phong La Kiatoukaysy, known on trail as Lil’ Buddha. Through our conversation, I was able to glean some insight into Lil’ Buddha’s experience on the IAT and his plans to complete the hiking route that he is pioneering, the Pangaea Traverse.

Lil’ Buddha grew up in Kansas in a Hmong-American family. When asked how he first got into thru-hiking, Lil’ Buddha noted that he was always hiking, backpacking, and camping with extended family, especially out in Colorado. Lil’ Buddha embarked on his first thru-hike at the age of 19. Two months before the fall semester at the University of Kansas, Lil’ Buddha decided to hike the John Muir Trail, which he learned about by reading Ray Jardine’s Pacific Crest Trail Hiker’s Handbook. (Jardine was the first person to popularize using homemade lightweight gear and techniques, including early start times with longer days and more mileage at a slower pace. Lil’ Buddha was part of the first generation of ultralight backpackers following Jardine.) Later in life, after moving to New York City, working in corporate America, and surviving the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers, Lil’ Buddha used his free time and sabbaticals to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and the Eastern Continental Trail (ECT). He has since hiked each of the trail systems three times each, making him the first known Asian American and Hmong-American to achieve the Triple Triple Crown thru-hiker status.

Lil’ Buddha first encountered the IAT in 2010, after hiking the PCT and following legendary thru-hiker Nimblewill Nomad. That year, he embarked on a northbound hike of the ECT, which includes the IAT. In 2019, he completed a southbound hike of the ECT, beginning at Cap Gaspé. Finally, in 2023, Lil’ Buddha thru-hiked the ECT for the third time, from Florida to the tip of Newfoundland. This hike, completed in October 2023, marked the beginning of Lil’ Buddha’s endeavor to hike the Pangaea Traverse, “a multi-year, transatlantic expedition across the geographically separated spine of the ancient Central Pangea Mountains, from Key West, Florida, to Mount Toubkal, Atlas Mountains, Morocco.”

Lil’ Buddha noted that the concept of the Pangaea Traverse is inspired, in many ways, by the IAT. However, whereas the IAT’s trails are geographically disconnected, the Pangaea Traverse seeks to piece together the remnants of the Central Pangaea Mountains as continuously as possible. Many of the trails that make up the Pangaea Traverse (an additional 8,000-9,000 miles) are not officially part of the IAT but have been co-branded as “possible” by the organization. According to Lil’ Buddha, “since Pangea no longer exists and is now split into the continents we know today, a Pangea Traverse is not possible in the literal sense. The hypothetical route is an amalgamation of several established thru-hiking trails, backcountry routes, a cross-network of walking and cycling paths, and route planning.” Lil’ Buddha’s hike of the Pangaea Traverse has been divided into three sections, each spanning approximately 6,000 miles (the Pangaea Traverse totals about 17,500 miles).

After his 2023 hike of the North American section of the Pangaea Traverse, Lil’ Buddha planned to complete the second section of the hike – Greenland, Iceland, and the UK – this summer. However, a leg injury has kept him off trail. Lil’ Buddha will return to the Pangaea Traverse once he is fully recovered and said that he has not felt pressed for time, since this will be the most extensive hike of his career.

Lil Buddha's Pangea Traverse
Lil Buddha's Pangea Traverse

When asked what he has found most special about his experience hiking the ECT/IAT/North American section of the Pangaea Traverse, Lil’ Buddha emphasized both the transition through various landscapes and peoples, and the sense of connectivity across the North American landscape.

At the southernmost point of the ECT in Florida, there is a great deal of biodiversity with the wetlands, and there are beautiful sunsets and cloudscapes. Lil’ Buddha noted that at Flagg Mountain in Alabama, the first 1,000-foot mountain of the North American section, one begins to get a sense of the Appalachian Mountains that gradually increase all the way past Katahdin (along the IAT). Such gradual changes in the landscape provide a feeling of connectivity. Additionally, Lil’ Buddha pointed out that the ECT runs from the Atlantic to the Atlantic – when he reached the northernmost terminus in Newfoundland in 2023, it was the first time he had seen saltwater in five months, since the beginning of his hike.

The ECT also passes through several peoples across North America. In particular, Lil’ Buddha noticed the changes in dialects and language, from Southern American English to Appalachian English to Québécois French to Newfoundland French. But Lil’ Buddha also recognized peoples’ hospitality towards thru-hikers in all parts of the continent.

According to Lil’ Buddha, although East Coast hiking is often overlooked, the IAT is a precious trail in the U.S. and Canada. Importantly, the IAT and its routing along roads, in particular, put thru-hikers in touch with the peoples of the most northeastern corner of North America.

Read more about Lil’ Buddha’s hiking experience and about the Pangaea Traverse on his website, https://lilbuddhahikes.org/home, or take a look at his Instagram, @lilbuddhahikes.