2000 Miles!

Day 157 Rangely ME To Poplar Ridge Lean-to – AT Daily Miles 10.7; AT Total Miles 1987.5

I listened to it rain all night. I was so happy to be dry and warm inside the cabin. It would be a leisurely morning since we weren’t getting shuttled to the trailhead till 8:30 AM. I wasn’t excited about leaving Cabin 43. They really take care of their customers. Only six hikers stay there at a time and there’s two showers which is a ratio that we usually don’t see on the Appalachian Trail. Ken and Jill, the owners, are so flexible and kind. They are always shuttling one of us one direction or another at no charge. Staying there is known as platinum blazing on the AT. Its just a little more money for a lot more service and luxury.

Today wasn’t very easy, but it wasn’t super tough either. I would call it tedious and sloppy. There  were so many roots. And after two hard days of rain, the trail was really swampy. We also went over three different mountains, so the 10+ miles we did felt like much more. The top of the mountains were actually really cool. It’s hard to get there, but I love to hike above tree line. You can see forever. We think we even saw Katahdin today.

Our goal for the day was a shelter that was probably shorter mileage wise than we would normally do. We had a special circumstance this time. There’s a stream just a couple more miles ahead that can be impassable after hard rains. What we were hearing from southbound hikers was that it was passable after all, though waist deep with strong current. We’re hoping by giving it overnight to subside that it won’t be as bad in the morning to cross.

If all goes well, we get in about 14 miles tomorrow and that will leave us about 7 miles to get into the next resupply stop in Stratton Maine. I like doing the half miles into town because we have plenty of time to shower, do laundry and get dinner. And then we can get an early start the next day to the next town. Also, it  might rain on the resupply day so it’s always nice to have a dry place after a rainy day.

Maine Pond

Airhead Celebrates

High Up View

Day 158 Poplar Ridge to Crocker Cirque Campsite — AT Daily Miles 14.2; AT Total Miles 2001.7

Today was one of those days that went as planned. That doesn’t happen often out here. The goal was to ford two streams and climb over four mountains and get to a campsite 14 miles away before it was too late in the day. That would set us up for a 7 mile day tomorrow to get into town to resupply. We will have to make the decision whether or not we want to stay or head out and get in some additional mileage. My guess is we stay, have a good dinner and sleep in a regular bed under a roof.

We were at the first stream crossing within 90 minutes of leaving camp. It was the one that we had several reports of people crossing it with the water reaching their waist. Our plan though worked by letting it recede some overnight and it was only up to our knees. The current was swift, but we made it across safely.

The remainder of the day was climbing steep mountains and creeping down the other side of them. It’s typically easier to go up a very steep mountain then rock hop down one. Again with all the rain, the trail was quite muddy and was like hiking in a stream. It makes the hiking slow and tedious, but you just have to keep at it. Towards the end of the day, we were at the second high water crossing but the water had receded here too so crossing wasn’t an issue.

I should mention a milestone was hit today. Airhead and I crossed the 2000 miles hiked mark about a mile before making camp. We have roughly 197 miles left to go. I’m hoping that it doesn’t take more than two weeks. Fingers crossed the weather holds and we have no other issues.

Airhead Fording

Hundred Mile View

2000 Miles!

Day 159 Crocker Cirque To Stratton ME — AT Daily Miles 7.3;  AT Total Miles 2009.0

I had a great night sleep at the campsite. I set up on a tent pad because there was a chance of rain and that makes a big difference not being on the ground. Sure enough it rained hard and I stayed high and dry on the wooden pad. There was a fast moving stream not more than 10 yards from my tent which provided very soothing white noise.

We got on the trail at 8 AM. We wanted to give our tents a chance to dry out from the overnight rain before we got moving. Of course we climbed a couple thousand of feet and elevation in 2 1/2 miles. It seemed like it was straight up to begin the day. The rest of the day was not bad. The next 5 miles or so were downhill. We were at the pick up point by 1 PM and commenced with our town routine.

Will will head out fairly early in the morning. Tomorrow sounds like it will be the hardest day we have left except for the final day. There are certainly other hard and long days as well but I think this one will be the most challenging. We’ll go over the Bigelow mountains and probably only do about 10 miles. That will leave us about 26 miles to split up among the next two days to get into Caratunk Maine. From there, it’s about another two long days into Monson Maine, where we will get ready for the 100 Mile Wilderness.

There’s a lot of rain in the forecast currently over the next 10 days. Fingers crossed that the weather improves and we can make some miles down the trail. So far so good though, and I am satisfied with the progress we’re making towards finishing.

Above the Tree Line

In the Clouds

Maine Trekking

Day 160 Stratton ME To Little Bigelow Lean-to — AT Daily Miles 15.3; AT Total Miles 2024.3

It ended up being a very long day but a very productive one. We got started at 8:15 AM and didn’t quit until 6:45 PM. We got 15.3 miles in and over the last of the four thousand footers until we get to Katahdin itself. Getting this much mileage set us up for the next two days. There’s rain in the forecast tomorrow afternoon and on Thursday so the more miles we can get it on a nice day the better we are down the trail.

The Bigelow Mountains were the real prize of the day. They’re considered the hardest of the rest of the 170 or so miles we have left. Again that doesn’t include the end which is considered very hard, Katahdin. By the end of the day though, we had gone over five mountains. My feet really felt it. Hopefully my hiking partner Airhead will let me sleep in a little bit tomorrow.

I wanted to say what a great day I had last night at the Main Roadhouse hiker hostel. They really know how to take care of us. The resupply options were fairly priced, the bunkhouse intelligently designed, and the homemade breakfast the best on the trail so far. I can’t say enough about my stay there.

A congratulations and shout out to my hiking friends Panda and Quirk. They summited Katahdin today together. They’re both great people as well as hikers. I’m so happy for them and envious at the same time. I hope my turn comes soon. It still seems far off even though it is down to about 12 days of hiking, plus whatever zero days I take.

Scenic Stream

Mountain Top View

Night Woods

Day 161 Little Bigelow To Pond Camp — AT Daily Miles 18.1; AT Total Miles 2042.4

Airhead and I were able to do the 18+ miles by about 4 PM. The trail was mostly good, but there were sections of roots and mud that made progress slower than it should’ve been. We were both happy with the mileage which gives us encouragement for the next two weeks  worth of hiking.

The day really flew by as we were hiking with a lot of old friends off and on today. We kept playing hopscotch with them. Sometimes we were ahead. Sometimes they were ahead. We all take our breaks at different times and hike at different speeds so you never know who is going to be ahead of you or behind you. I mentioned Chickpea and Chickadee earlier in my blog and they were two of those hikers. They are a lot of fun and you can hear them laughing from miles away as they approach.

Another great addition to the day was morning trail magic! Step and Beave really outdid themselves. We had fresh blueberry pancakes and coffee. Plus since they were through hikers and cells, they knew all the three treats that we crave. Thanks for making my day men. Much appreciated!

In the end we decided to stay at Harrison Pierce’s Pond Camp. It was very rustic, but had a shower which is always nice. Plus we have a roof over our heads and there’s a good chance of rain overnight. I was disappointed that the breakfast was sold out already, but at least the owner discounted our stay. In the end, I think it was a good move to stay here.

Tomorrow we only need to do about 4 miles which includes a canoe trip over the Kennebec river. We might have to wait in line in the rain but fingers crossed it goes by quickly and we’re in Caratunk for a day of resupply and rejuvenation.

Trail Magic

Calm Lake