Appalachian Trail Day 172 - Crocker Cirque Campsite to Maine Route 27 (Mile 2,002 to Mile 2,010)

I went to bed so freaking early last night that I was wide awake at 4:00 a.m. I stay for a while in my hammock listening to the pitter patter of raindrops. The rain started about 3:00 a.m., but it isn't heavy - just a steady sprinkle. 

I get up and start organizing my things and brush my teeth and get my food out for the morning. First Light is also awake and getting packed up. We are both as quiet as we possibly can be, trying not to disturb the sleeping hikers. The good thing about camping near young pups and being an early bird, is that they can sleep through World War III, so I don't think we'll disturb them much.

At 5:30 I leave the campsite by the light of my headlamp. I make a privy stop, thankful that I can't see around the privy in the dark, and since I'm not worried about getteing seen, I leave the door to the privy open while I do my business. 

I stop at the spring and fill up a cup of water for my morning electrolytes. First LIght passes me while I'm doing this and I wish him a good journey before heading up to Crocker Mountain. Soon there is enough ambient light that I put away my headlamp. 

Crocker is not a very difficult climb, but it is steep and rocky. I don't have to stop once to use my hands - I'm able to stay upright the entire time, which is a really nice change of pace for mountain climbing around here.

The trail traverses a narrow rock slide but the cairns and paint on the rocks are easy to see. The rain has stopped and I can see the clouds drifting across the mountain tops obscuring the summits.

As I near the crest of Crocker the wind picks up, so I put on my gloves and raincoat as a wind layer to guard against the chilly breeze and damp morning air.

The top of Crocker is mostly tree covered. I don't bother to take the little side trail to the view since there won't be anyone anyway with all the mist. The short spruce trees are shrouded in fog.

I descend down 500 ft and then up the next Crocker peak without much ado. I'm thrilled to not have to rock scramble this morning especially with the recent rainfall.

I go over the second Crocker peak and then start downhill.  The first 2 miles are steep, but thankfully the rocks aren't too slippery and I can find dirt to step around most of them. The next 2 miles are tedious; the ground is relatively level and it's on the edge of the hill and eroding, so I step carefully on the edge around a lot of big rocks but it's relatively flat.

I get a little complacent with this easy hike because the last mile down to Route 27 becomes decidedly steeper and rockier, and with the recent rain mixed with the falling leaves and the spruce needles coating the rocks, the trail is quite slippery.

Dad picks me up and we go to the hotel. I am in desperate need of a shower and he takes my clothes to launder them at the local laundromat. 

I get a text from a dear friend, Melissa, that her family is in Caratunk, finishing up their annual family vacation. I Google Map the address and find that it's only 20 minutes from my hotel!! 

Dad and I drive to the lodge and restaurant that is owned by her nephew.  We spend an hour with Pat, Melissa, and one of her daughters, and get to meet her extended family. Everyone congratulates me on making it this far and wishes me a happy hike. I am so thrilled that I get to spend some time with such wonderful people! 

Today's Stats: 7.4 miles, 1,939 feet gain

Trail Stats: 2,010 miles, 413K feet gain
Miles to Katahdin: 184

Appalachian Trail Day 171 - Sluice Brook Logging Road to Crocker Cirque Campsite (Mile 1,991 to Mile 2002)

Last night was blissfully quiet even with so many people camping in the same area. We are disbursed along the old road so it's not like we were right next to each other, but everyone was out at 7:30 and even with all the campers it was blissfully silent.

I woke a couple of times to water the leaves; not surprising because I was so thirsty when I got to camp that I chugged a liter of water, but I was easily able to fall back asleep and woke up at *surprise* 5:07 am!

I start packing up slowly, the light is very dim on this western facing slope of the mountain. At 5:30 a.m. I hear the alarm of the two men on the other side of me, and I know that's my cue to start really getting going. I finish packing and I am on the trail at 6:15, tiptoing around the tents on the edge of the trail. 

The trail starts uphill from the road but it's gradual and not rocky  The trail parallels Sluice Brook for most of the first mile, and it's absolutely beautiful with pools of water and small cascades. I'm sure that during periods of higher water it would be a fabulous place to hang out for a couple days.

By 8:30 I have already climbed 1,600 feet and hiked three miles! I have no views but I have good cell phone reception at the top of Lone Mountain (3,261 feet).  I call home and check in, standing in one spot so I don't lose cell phone service. Once I finish, I continue along the ridge another two miles until the turn off for the Poplar Ridge Lean-to, where there is a little spring on the edge of the trail.

I stop to pony up on water since there won't be another reliable water source for five miles. I also eat a heavy snack and drink some electrolytes. To do everything that I would like to do today, I'm going to need all the energy I can get!

From the spring the trail travels for 800 feet to Spaulding Mountain.  The trail Is a little rocky but nothing that requires climbing, and is more like Pennsylvania rocks, which is actually a really nice change.  Near the peak there is a blue-blazed side trail that goes up to the peak from the Appalachian Trail. I decide to pass by it and continue on because I should get some really nice views from the other mountains today. I'm currently at 3,900 feet.

From Spaulding Mountain the trail goes through a thick spruce forest where most of the trees are dead. There is deadfall everywhere across the trail! Many of the trees across the trail had been cut up, but there's some fresh deadfall that I have to slide under and go over. I'm watching the ground and not really paying attention above me as I step over a series of downed trees. My head hits a spruce tree where a sharp branch has been broken off and scrapes the top of my head quite hard. The sharp pain brings tears to my eyes! My head is oozing blood, but not seriously. I'm going to have to be much more alert going through this maze of downed trees. 

The obstacle course continues for about another quarter of a mile. A couple is heading towards me with very full packs and they say they heard chainsaws up here yesterday. They ask if I am headed to Katahdin. When I say yes, I ask them where they are going and they say to Springer. Wow! They're getting a really late start for southbounders. I wish them luck on their journey and I'm happy to see the trail chills a little bit with blow downs from this point, and even some pretty views. 

The next mile is really easy trail until a short way after the side trail to Sugarloaf Mountain.  The mountain becomes progressively rocky and the descent gets steeper until I feel like I am going literally straight down. The rocks underfoot are slippery with dirt and smaller rocks. Many times when I take a step I dislodge smaller quarter size rocks that bounce down the trail. I can tell a lot of people have slipped here on the path; the scuff marks are very apparent in the dirt. 

This would be absolutely awful to hike, if not impossible, in the rain tomorrow.  I'm so glad I'm going down this today. I originally planned on staying at the Poplar Lean-to to, but now I'm so glad that I got ahead yesterday so I could get past this today.

The trail crosses the Carrabassett River which is flowing beautifully. Two men from the camp last night are filtering water and I stop as well. I really don't need the water, but a nice long soak in a frigid stream would do my feet really good right now.  There's a 30% chance of rain in the forecast tonight, but we all agree that the clouds that are darkening pverhead sure look like we could have more than a chance of rain. 

They leave and I soak my feet until they are cold, then I cross the river on a big board and head up Crocker Mountain to the tent site 1.1 miles and 500 feet of gain away.

I arrive at the campsite at 3:15 and see the trail family that I have been seeing off and on since hiking down Mount Madison. There are also four other hikers here. The sky is darkening and the wind is blowing and it's getting really chilly. I pull on my fleece and set up my camp. First Light arrives and sets up his camp on the tent platform next to me.

I sit in my hammock with the tarp hung but not tied down, ready to stake it out if any rain starts. I boil water on the stove and eat dinner sitting comfortably, watching two sobos set up and move their camp when they realize there is broken glass on the ground. 

I am updating this as I sit here and the mileage hits me: I crossed the 2,000 mile mark some time during the harrowing descent from Sugarloaf! I am now less than 200 miles from Katahdin!! Woo Hoo!! I say something to First Light, and he says he saw a small "2,000" written on a log up the trail. I was too consumed by the rocky descent to notice.

At 5:30pm I stake out the tarp and I lay down in my hammock to stretch out my back. I only intend to lay down for a minute, but I am awakened when dad calls at 7pm. Wow! I am tired! Saddleback really took it out of me yesterday. The others campers are all tucked in their tents for the night. I get ready for bed and go back to sleep.

Today's Stats: 11 miles, 3,406 feet gain

Trail Stats: 2,002 miles, 414K feet gain

Miles to Katahdin: 192

Appalachian Trail Day 170 - Maine Route 4 to Sluice Brook Logging Road (Mile 1,977 to Mile 1991)

I wake before five and since I had packed everything up last night except for my food, we are out the door and on the road by 5:30. We stop at McDonald's and arrive at the trailhead at 6:30.

I pack up my food for the next two nights and 32 miles of hiking until the next road crossing and give Dad a hug goodbye at 6:45.

The climb up Saddleback starts off relatively easy with only 500 feet of gain and the first couple miles are in the bag within an hour. 

I stop at the Piazza Lean-to which is right off the trail. The tramily that I hiked up and over Madison is at the shelter. There is a gaggle of very active boys with their dads camped in front of the shelter. I ask how they slept last night and they said the kids went to bed rather early but they made a mess of the fire pit.

I hit the privy which is a two-seater with a cribbage board mounted between the seats.  I don't play cribbage,  but I can't imagine shutting in a stinky privy for any longer than is necessary to play a game. Anyone who has that kind of time on their hands needs to carry a pack of playing cards and do it at camp,  IMHO.

Leaving the shelter the trail the elevation for the trail looks much different than what I've just covered.  I'm going to gain over 2,000 ft the next four miles. My pack right now isn't too heavy even though I have three days of food because I'm only carrying a small amount of water. I know that's going to change when I have to camel up at a stream further up the trail. As soon as I leave the shelter,  the trail starts ascending steeply on some rocks for 500 ft before I pass a pretty pond and eventually reach Saddleback Stream.

The stream is very low but it is flowing (barely) and two other hikers are gathering water. It's going to take me a little while because I'm going to fill up my water bladder; the water next water source isn't for seven and a half miles and over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. The process of filling my bladder consumes over 30 minutes with the dribble coming off the moss.

Leaving the stream the first mile isn't too terrible; it's rocky and rooty but the elevation gain is about 500 feet. The next two miles is a different story. The trail gets really steep and I start climbing up stone steps mixed with giant rock slabs. The weight of my pack is ridiculous, more than 30 pounds, and I have to crawl up a couple of rocks in a rather ungainly manner keeping from falling backwards. The trail is so steep and my pack is so heavy that the two combined slows my pace to a crawl.

The trail mellows a little bit as I get above tree line. Warnings on the FarOut app mention that the next two and a half miles will be exposed and to exercise caution in poor weather. I'm very thankful that today is clear and fairly sunny.

The rocks continue up to the summit of Saddleback (4,120). The views are gorgeous but a little hazy in the distance. I can see Mounts Washington and Lafayette, 120 miles away! I also get a good look at the mountains that I will be hiking over the next few days, and they are going to be hard. It's still so crazy to believe that I am hiking in the Maine wilderness and that in a few more weeks this journey will come to an end.

But before I can think about what's to come I need to take care of what's at hand. The elevation looks like it goes straight down and it does. The rocks are crazy steep in places and I have to boot scoot frequently down from Saddleback most of the 500 foot descent. 

The hike up The Horn, the second Saddleback peak, is about as hard as the descent from the first Saddleback peak, with another 500 feet of gain over some tough and huge rocks. I am making a mile in a whopping 50 minutes, but I'm pretty happy with it, given the terrain. 

I stop a short way from the peak sit and eat the sandwich that Dad packed for me.  It's mushed and doesn't look anything like it did this morning when I put it in my pack, but it's tasty. 

I go up and over The Horn and can look down onto the next two mountains I need to climb today.  My feet are already sore, and my knees are zinging, but I need to keep going to get down the mountain. 

The descent from The Horn is ridiculously steep and difficult.  At least my pack is a little less unwieldy now that I have lightened the load by drinking most of the water I had to carry over Saddleback. 

Once down The Horn, I get about 100 feet of level ground before climbing the third, and last, mountain of the day. Saddleback Junior is 600 feet of more challenging rocks. I swear I've been transported back to New Hampshire!

By 2:30 I have hiked 10 miles, gained 3,800 feet, and summited three peaks, two of which are over 4,000 feet. I am only a mile and a half from where I was planning on stopping tonight, and even though I'm tired and I would love to call it a night at the next shelter, I feel like it's too early to stop for the day. 

Rain is in the forecast for the day after tomorrow. If I hike a little further today then I can get a little further tomorrow, and that will leave me with only seven miles to hike in the rain on Monday.  

I arrive at the Poplar Lean-to at 3:15. There are a few gentlemen here filtering water. I am almost out of water at this point, so I drop my pack to do the same. While I'm filtering water I think of a woman named Inchworm who disappeared shortly after leaving this shelter, never to be seen alive again. The search for her lasted for months, but it was a few years ago that her remains were discovered miles off the trail. She had left the trail to heed the call of nature, then got lost in the wilderness.  She survived 28 days before succumbing to starvation.  

A man walks up and he drops his pack. His name is First Light, and he says he is staying here tonight. We talk as I filter some water. I tell him about Inchworm and he says he remembers her story. I say goodbye and I think of her as I continue down the trail, hoping she is at peace and hiking the golden trails of eternity. 

To get my mind off her misadventure, I tun on some music and bee bop my way down the mountain.  I descend 1,600 feet over three miles to a beautiful and big stream. Two hikers are filtering water and say the camping is one-tenth of a mile up the hill, but they think this is where to get the water, so I do the same. Everyone is feeling the scarcity of water,  and getting it whenever possible. 

Just up the hill from the stream, the trail crosses an old fire road. It looks like a campground because there are already five tents set up on the road. I am delighted to see another stream with a nice pool, perfect for soaking my sore feet!

I set up near the water and hydrate my dinner before soaking my feet in the cold pool until they go numb before I eat.

I am in my hammock at 7 pm! As I write this, I can't believe how quiet it is at 7:30 pm with so many other hikers camped nearby. The term "hiker midnight" is for that time when hikers finish eating and hit the hay the minute the sun goes down. I am beat and I am asleep before eight.

Today's Stats: 13.8 miles, 4,200 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,991 miles, 411K gain

Miles to Katahdin: 203

Appalachian Trail Day 169 - Sabbath Day Lean-to to Maine Route 4 (Mile 1,968 to Mile 1,977)

Last night was quiet and I was very comfortable with the mini heat wave. The temperature feels like the 50's but I have now way of really knowing for sure. I slept a little late since I didn't get to bed until after 9 o'clock last night.  

I'm trying to filter water before leaving the lake while a chipmunk is industriously in the spruce tree over my head dropping pine cones. Most of them are going in the water but one narrowly misses my head in the process.

Walking up the trail from the lake I can hear a loon warbling from across the water.  They sound so cool and the sound is quintessentially Maine.

The trail meanders up and down but mostly up for the next two miles, but the ascent isn't very bad; it's only 800 ft which is very tame for New England. I stop to eat a snack at clearing for power lines and Expendable catches up to me. 

I ask him about the process for getting into Baxter State Park. He tells me about spending the night at the Golden Road and then getting up early the next morning because the first 12 people to register at the park ranger station near the road will be the ones who are allowed to stay at the Hunt Trail shelter, which is the start of the hike up Katahdin. 

Expendable is going to try to do 15 miles today, because he wants to get done and go home.  We say goodbye and I wish him a good finish to his journey,, then I get going as well.  

The next two miles is more of the same md ridge walking. You go up a little bit then you go down a little bit then up a little bit then down a little bit. My mind wanders and I start thinking about how it would be awesome to have my under quilt with me. It's going to turn really cold here really quickly, and while the heavier sleeping pad does give me a little more warmth, it's just not the same as having an under quilt. 

I check my cell phone service and see that I have a couple of bars of 4G so I call and ask Mom to go to my house and get my under quilt. She is agreeable and will ship it to the motel where Dad will be staying in Bingham next week. I think that I will carry my lightweight under quilt and a lightweight sleeping pad. It's a weight penalty but I will be nice and cozy and warm and still have the opportunity to sleep in a shelter if the weather gets hairy.

I'm looking for a game trails, which is one of the things that I think is fun when I'm hiking through the woods. Of course in this area I'm looking for moose trails. They're fairly easy to spot because there's usually several large piles of scat and it's easy to see where the vegetation has been trod down by their large feet. I come across a huge amount of scat on the side of the trail. This section of trail is like a super highway for the moose. I look on the map to see if there's a nearby pond because they'll go to the pond at night and then come back into the woods to bed down for the day

Five miles after leaving the shelter and 1,000 ft of climbing later I arrived at Little Swift River Pond Campsite; a beautiful and expansive campsite on the shore of Little Swift River Pond. Near the pond is a pipe spring that is barely dribbling, so I don't bother getting water but I sit down to eat a snack and see a large green resident frog in the mud under the pipe. The sun is sparkling on the water of the lake and a nice breeze is blowing. 

I visit the privy after I eat and find a journal inside. People have seen moose and bear at this location a couple weeks ago. I am still looking for "charismatic magnifauna" (per Steven Rinella), but nothing has appeared other than a very nice looking buck still in velvet that I scared up earlier today.

Leaving the pond, the trail is really easy for the next few miles. The sun is shining and with the stiff breeze the temperature is very comfortable in the mid-60s. 

I make it to South Pond by noon and stop to filter another half-liter of water.  Across the pond I can see Saddleback Mountain in the distance, where I will be tomorrow. It's BIG! Saddleback rises from the ground to dominate the landscape and looks so daunting from this perspective. Ugh! I can't even think about how hard it will be right now. I just have to concentrate on the ground underneath my feet.

For the next however two miles I can forget about tomorrow and be thankful for the easy ground. The trail is rather nondescript; it's just a really beautiful walk in the woods with the weather today being so temperate. Leaves are falling and chipmunks are busy gathering food for the upcoming winter.

One mile before the descent to the road, the trail passes by a beautiful view of Saddleback Mountain, which looks even more daunting from this angle, but the trail quickly takes my mind off tomorrow, once again.

From here the trail descends sharply, on a lot of uneven rock steps and loose dirt. The spruce needles make the hike a little treacherous in places. I step carefully and take my time, especially because my knees are getting sore, and soon I am at Route 4. 

Dad is waiting for me in the parking lot and we head into town,  where I have a motel room booked. It's so early that I will have time to shower and do laundry before we go to dinner.

I get cleaned up and we go have a big salad with grilled salmon. When I return to the room I pack as much as I can so we can get an early start in the morning.

Today's Stats: 9.4 miles, 1,404 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,977 miles, 407K

Miles to Katahdin: 217

Appalachian Trail Day 168 - Random Trailside Campsite to Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to (Mile 1,952 to Mile 1,968)

Last night was cold. It was not the best night's sleep. I was down for over nine hours but I woke several times with cold spots on my back. Even with the heavier pad I really prefer to sleep with my under quilt because I don't ever get cold, but I don't want to carry a pad and an under quilt and I do need a pad in case in the event It's pouring rain and I need to sleep in a shelter. So it is what it is. Maybe I'll pick up a sleeping bag liner in town and that will help.

The sun is starting to break through the trees when I hit the trail at 7 A.M. I have on my fleece, my buff to keep my ears warm, and my wool gloves.  I'm comfortably warm while I'm hiking because I gain 1,000 feet in the first one and a half miles hiking up to Old Blue Mountain.

The top of Old Blue has some really nice views because of the big rock ledge, and even though it's surrounded by trees, they are very short.

 I can see The Northern Presidentials and Mount Lafayette on the distance. The visibility is so wonderful. I am at mile 1,955 and Lafayette is at 1,831, so the visibility is over 100 miles, which is absolutely incredible!

From Old Blue the trail meanders up and down for the next two and a half miles. I would say it's easy because of the elevation gain and loss is minimal; only five or six hundred feet of each, but the roots and the rocks make for some slow going. Even with the obstacles on the trai it's not that bad of a hike.

I come to the last water source for some time. It's a stream that is now a deep pool of water, a little brown from the tannins, but it's fresh and cold underneath the spruce needles that litter the top. I take some time to push them away and drink a cup of electrolytes, eat a snack, and prepare a second cup to get me to the next stop which will be the shelter.

The trail becomes more open rocky ledges with lots of little ups and downs for the next six miles to the Beamis Mountain Lean-to.  I take the side trail and go to the shelter. I locate the water source but I'm disappointed to see that there's just one small puddle. I don't even know if it's scoopable. There's no way I'm going to be able to get more than an inch of water into my dirty bag at a time so I pull out my cook pot and I'm able to easily fill it with a liter of water although it's full of debris.

I put away my water filter, dry off and pack my stove and then go to pick up the jar full of fresh filtered scummy pond water and knock the whole thing over! Oh screw it! I just don't have the energy to go down there and get another liter of water; I'm just going to have to make my water work until I get to the next water source four miles away.

The trail meanders over almost two miles of very rocky ledges lined with loads of blueberry bushes absolutely bursting with large ripe fruit. I don't want to stop, but I can't resist grabbing the berries as I walk by. I barely have to bend down as I walk by the bushes, and I can easily snag three or four berries at a time on the fly. 

The ledges offer some amazing views of the mountains to the northwest. I open my PeakFinder app and I am thrilled to see they are mountains I will climb in the next week or two. I can see Mounts Saddleback, then Crocker, and Abraham. They look huge from here! 

The trail starts to descend steeply with some tricky rock scrambles. I send Dad a message via the Inreach that I won't be to the road crossing until 4 pm, where he is bringing me dinner.  It's now 2 o'clock,  and I have a feeling these scrambles are going to continue down the mountain. 

I finally reach the bottom, and my feet are sore and my knees are starting to ache for the first time today. I hikes 11.5 miles over some rough terrain so far, but I have a ways to go. The trail crosses a dirt road, which has a wonderful breeze blowing through the gap in the trees. I reenter the woods and drop to Bemis Stream, which is flowing beautifully; the first nice stream I have encountered since leaving South Arm Road yesterday afternoon. 

I filter a liter of clear, cool water and chug some electrolytes with 800 MG of ibuprofen.  I'm going to need it for the hike to come.

From the stream, I cross another stream, wider but still running well. There are a lot of campsites scattered in the woods and this would be a wonderful place to stop for the night.

The trail goes straight uphill and I gain elevation quickly on the steep rocks, almost 700 feet over the next 0.8 miles to reach Maine Route 17. Dad is waiting for me at the road, but I'm too winded to say anything for a minute. We hug and walk to a parking area overlooking the huge and gorgeous Mooselookmeguntic Lake, surrounded by mountains on all sides. I point out the mountain ridges to the south of the lake, that I have been hiking all day.

We sit on a bench and he brings out a feast of delicious lobster stew and a lobster roll with fried onions.  I am starving and even though I try to savor the amazing treat, I eat entirely too fast. He shows me a video of the harrowing drive his navigation took him on to reach me; a one lane dirt road that is used by off-roaders, with which he had a close encounter. He is taking a different route to return to the hotel.

He brought a fresh change of clothes and a bottle of water mixed with soap, complete with a washcloth and towel! Just brilliant! The parking area is bustling with tourists taking in the scenery,  so I can't take a proper bath, but I do wash my hands, face, and legs, making a mess of the washcloth. I am filthy and the quick wash feels amazing. I change my shorts, then throw some food in the bear can. We hug goodbye and I jump back on the trail. 

I loaded up with water so I can camp as soon as I find a suitable spot. The hike is relatively easy,  even with the uphill climb, but the perfect campsite doesn't present itself,  so I decide to push on to the Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to, almost four miles and 1,000 more feet of climbing from the road.

The hike isn't too difficult until it climbs and then descends at the north shore of Moxie Pond, and the much bigger Long Pond. I get glimpses of the ponds through the trees and they are magnificent, surrounded by rocks and a thick forest of spruce trees.

The trail descends further and skirts the shore of Long Pond before going back into the woods. I was hoping to camp next to the pond, but two tents are already set up in a small campsite in the woods. I keep my eyes open for another site, but don't see anything on even enough ground, so continue to the shelter a short hike away. I do stop by the sandy beach next to Long Pond to get a picture of the sun just above the trees. The sun is reflecting brilliantly off the water, and I am dazzled by the glare for several minutes after.

At 7:30 pm I reach the shelter.  Several hammocks and tents are set up, but I find a great spot next to the shelter,  which is empty. Fifteen minutes later I am set up and walk to the nearby Sabbath Day Pond, hoping to see a moose in the twilight, but there is not one animal to be seen other than some scurrying chipmunks and squirrels. I return to my camp and settle in for the night. 

Today's Stats: 15.8 miles,  4,177 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,968 miles, 406K gain

Miles to Katahdin: 226

Appalachian Trail Day 167 - East B Hill Road to Random Trailside Campsite (Mile 1,941 to Mile 1,952)

We went to breakfast at the Brickyard Cafe when it opened at 6 AM before heading out of town. It's the only breakfast spot open besides fast food, and now I am full with eggs Benedict with hash browns and a bowl of baked beans. Mainers really like their baked beans apparently, because it's on every menu I've seen so far. 

Dad drives me an hour back to East B Hill Road and I am hiking up the trail at 8 A.M.

The trail starts immediately uphill, but the elevation profile doesn't look too bad for the first part of the hike this morning. I will climb 2,400 feet over the next four miles, so a fairly mellow hike compared to what I've been doing the last couple weeks. I will then do another 1,000 feet over the second half of the hike.

The trail is a dirt path, which makes me giddy with happiness. Of course, there's a lot of roots, but I think this is just going to be par for the course in Maine. I have to watch out for these roots because my toes get stuck and I almost trip in spots. I have to learn to pick my feet up higher for the rest of the state so I don't face plant.

There are lots of piles of moose scat on the trail but most of them are look pretty old and dried  One of these days hopefully I'll see one.  As I'm climbing up the hill  southbounder heads towards me. His name is Jonesy. He thinks he is way behind other Sobos, but I let him know that he's not far behind many of his fellow hikers. This is definitely a late start group who are just now getting through Maine. It's cold getting cold and they will have some winter weather to contend with soon. 

The trail goes up for about 800 feet over the next mile and a half on fairly easy inclines and comes to Surplus Pond. I look for a moose but I don't see any.  I'm really going to have to try to camp next to pond while I am in Maine to try to see one. 

The trail leaves the pond rather abruptly and then crosses Surplus Pond Road before heading uphill once again. The woods change quickly from predominantly hardwoods of beach and birch to spruce, which is so thick that the trees thankfully blocks the wind. Along the way I start seeing pile after pile of moose dung, and some of them look pretty fresh.

Occasionally I can make out a game trail and see more fresh piles.  Unfortunately the only wildlife that I see other than chipmunks and squirrels are grouse, that I disturb as I hike through the woods. I jump when several grouse launch into the air from the thick undergrowth.

After five miles and 1,800 feet of relatively easy climbing, I crest Wyman Mountain.  The summit is wooded, but just a short hike down is a nice view to the east of the Andover Valley to the distant Ellis Pond.

I'm getting hungry but decide to wait until the next shelter.  I hike downhill from Wyman another 1.3 miles to the Hall Mountain Lean-to. While I am hiking I can hear someone hiking behind me,  but they don't catch up until I reach the shelter. 

I drop my pack and get it the ham sandwich and blueberries that Dad packed for me and sit next to the fire pit to eat. A man emerges from the trail and he sits on the shelter platform and we talk while eating. His name is Expendable. He hiked with his son, who needed to finish last week to get home for a new job. His son is much faster than he is and he let the son go ahead and he flipped up to the Hundred Mile Wilderness to summit with his son, then came back to Gorham to finish his hike. 

We finish eating and leave at the same time. He steps aside to let me go first, saying that I was going fast up the hill to the shelter. I tell him to go ahead because I'm going to be a lot slower on the descent. I want to rest my knees and take it easy. I never thought that I would think going downhill was harder than going uphill until now.

I'm glad I let him go ahead because the next mile and a half is pretty steep in spots. The trail descends 1,500 feet, with some rocks but mostly dirt, which is loose and slippery on the steep Traverse.

At the bottom the trail crosses an old forest road and a wide, mostly dry stream bed. The stream is flowing though, and the water is clear and looks beautiful. I should have enough water in my bladder to last me through the rest of the hike, but I can't resist filtering some and drinking a half-liter of the fresh water. It's cold and refreshing. 

From the stream the trail goes straight up a rocky climb where I gain 1,300 feet over a mile to the summit of Moody Mountain. Thankfully there are several rebar ladders attached to the rocks in the really steep sections. 

At the top is a small and limited view of the same valley I saw from Wyman. I don't stop, as I am meeting Dad at the next road crossing, 2 miles and 1,000 feet down Moody Mountain. 

I make good time on the descent and reach the road crossing at 2:30 p.m.  Dad is entertaining two thru hikers, who are sitting in the grass behind his truck. He is given them snacks and sodas from the cooler, and is joking that he's giving them all of my food. 

While I am packing my backpack with everything I will need for a night in the woods,  nine more hikers show up. I am soon going through the truck finding snacks for all the new arrivals. The cold sodas are gone but I have some warm Frescas and the hikers take them gratefully. I also find an unopened box of Nutter Butter packs and pass them out. Dad sees how much everyone enjoys the sodas and snacks and puts them on his shopping list to keep on hand.  I recognize one of the hikers. It's Planet Caravan! We hug in greeting and he says he fell behind due to a leg injury. 

All the other hikers are waiting for shuttles to local hostels, but I plan on going back in the woods and trying to get a little farther up the trail to make tomorrow's hike a little easier. I have exchanged my summer quilt and sleeping pad for my heavier cold weather gear. I also top off my water because I will be dry camping tonight; the next water source is 5 miles away and I am definitely not going to make that until tomorrow morning. 

I give Dad a hug goodbye and he takes off. I say goodbye to the hikers and shoulder my dreadfully heavy pack and head back uphill on the trail. The wind is howling and coming out of the north. I pass a likely campsite near a view, but it is really cold and windy here. The comments say there is another campsite a half mile up so I continue on hoping that it's more protected from the wind.

I hike a mile and gain 1,000 feet since leaving the road when the trail veers to the opposite side of the mountain. I come to a campsite in a mixed woods and I'm delighted to see that the wind is not nearly as bad in this location. 

I drop my pack and set up my camp and eat dinner. It is now 7:15 as I write this and I am about ready for bed. I'm really thankful that I brought my colder weather gear because it is quite chilly with a breeze as the sun is setting behind the mountain. 

Today's Stats: 11.5 miles, 4,416 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,952 miles, 402K feet gain

Miles to Katahdin: 242

Appalachian Trail Day 166 - Grafton Notch to East B Hill Road (Mile 1,931 to Mile 1,941)

I wake up bright and early at 4:45. I don't want to text Dad in the event that he's still sleeping, so I work on my blog a few minutes and then pack things that I need for the day. I will be slackpacking, so thankfully I don't need much. I hang the "Do Not Disturb" tag on my hotel room door because the contents of my pack are covering every bare space in my hotel room.

We were thinking of going a full service breakfast but we end up making a Dunkin stop for expediency. I don't know how long the hike is going to take today; I don't think it will take much more than six or seven hours but I'd like to get back early enough to have some down time and prepare for my day tomorrow.

Dad drops me off at Grafton Notch and I'm on the trail before 8 A.M.  I'm pretty curious to see what the trail is going to be like since this will be the first full day of hiking where the trail is maintained by the Maine ATC and not the AMC. 

The trail starts out straight uphill from Grafton Notch,  but its easy enough to maintain a steady pace. When I get to the turn off for the Baldpate Lean-to (all Maine shelters are called Lean-tos), I start down this blue-blazed trail because I want to check out the Maine shelters and see how they compare to other states. Additionally, I like stopping by the shelters and reading the logs to see if there's any familiar names in them and I can see how far behind I am from other people I might know. I get halfway down the trail and then decide I'll wait until the next shelter, which is right off the AT.

Once I am back to the split with the Appalachian Trail I see a woman hiking up. She has a small pack and a very long pony tail and the look of the thru hiker. Her name is Rapunzel. She is section hiking and just started from Gorham. She is going to Katahdin for this section,  where she will finish her journey of the Appalachian Trail. We chat for a few minutes and she says I can go ahead since I'm probably faster because I've been hiking longer, but I defer to her and say that I am taking it easy today. I really don't like to break a sweat when it's cold and blustery. 

We chat for a few minutes but the chatter ceases when we encounter hundreds of tall rock steps up to the summit. The trail starts to get very steep and I follow her up. She sets a good pace for the next thousand feet of gain. She says she doesn't like to "stoppy until I get to the tippy toppy," which I think is super cute, but a little masochistic. 

We reach the summit (3,332 feet) at the same time and stop to take in the gorgeous views.  Two men are hiking up in the opposite direction. They are flip-floppers who flipped up to Katahdin from the Vermont/ Massachusetts border and that is where they're going to finish.  One gentleman is named Father Time and he is almost to his home in Massachusetts. The other man hiking with him is from Ireland and named Blue Jeans. He says he is really enjoying his time on the AT.

There are some pretty views on West Baldpate, but the mountain that stands out is East Baldpate. It is a huge rock monolith directly in front of us. Rapunzel and I say "happy trails" to the hikers and we descend from our vantage and then go up Baldpate.

The short hike up Baldpate is a series of rock ledges that are stacked on one another at a canted angle. They are quite easy to climb up and walk across, with no strewn boulders. It's easy to navigate with many cairns to lead the way. At the top of Baldpate Mountain we have the most incredible view - 270 degrees of mountains. I use Peakfinder to identify the mountains around us. I don't recognize most of the names, but I do recognize Mountain Mitchell that's in Northern Vermont. 

To the South, I can see many mountains I've summited for the last 70 miles, from Mount Washington in the background to Goose Eye Peak to Old Speck in the foreground. 

I was going to eat my lunch up here but it's way too cold. I don't stop to put on my down puffy, I want to descend to take me out of the wind. Rapunzel plans on stopping at the next shelter and that sounds like a great idea.

The descent down is rock scrambly but manageable with several well placed ladders. I like the Maine ATC already!

As soon as I descend a short way, I stop to shed layers and tell Rapunzel I will meet her at the shelter. I take it easy on the way down, because my knees are still sore from the Whites.

When I arrive at the shelter It's 12:15 Rapunzel's pack is here,  but she is not. She must be down filtering water. There is an older gentleman sitting in the shelter and I guess from the gear that is laying behind him that he is trail maintainer. We introduce ourselves and he confirms my guess.  

He is out here scoping out trail maintenance projects. Rapunzel returns and he tells us how the Maine ATC is replacing every single privy along the length of the trail. A southbounder arrives and we are all captivated by his description of the process; a helicopter lifts out the old privy, then up to 3,000 pounds of supplies are lifted or carried in, and it takes 20 to 30 people to do all this work. They are also flying in bear boxes when they do the privy replacement. This guy and the other volunteers who do this are amazing!

My stomach is filled to the brim with a ham sandwich and blueberries Dad packed for me. I say goodbye and thank the gentlemen for all of his hard work and effort and how wonderful it is to have people like him taking care of the trail that we love and enjoy. 

From the shelter the trail starts another climb over large rocks for 650 feet of gain. On the other side of the rise is a delightfully level dirt path.  While quite rooty, it's still very nice compared to the constant rocky torture of New Hampshire. 

The vegetation looks like summer is waning and fall is here, even though it's only the middle of August.  Fallen leaves cover the ground in spots, and many of the plants that I've seen green and lush for the last few months are turning yellow and dying.  The witch hazel, Solomons seal, and the toxic red baneberry are yellow and brown. I wonder how much is attributable to normal New England weather or due to the drought.

The next three miles of hiking are absolutely heavenly. If this is what Maine is going to be like I will take all the rocks scrambles just to have these little stretches of nice dirt trails. I am just enjoying the wind blowing through the trees and watching the leaves flutter to the ground, not a care in the world!

I'm almost to the road when I near a stream with a waterfall. The Dunn Cascades are very pretty even with the lower water levels. There's a much larger waterfall on a side trail above the AT but I pass on that one because Dad is going to be waiting for me at the road crossing.

I make it to the trail head on East B Hill Road by 3:00 p.m., which is one of the fastest days since leaving Vermont! 

Today's Stats: 10.5 miles, 3,655 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,941 miles, 398K feet gain