The Last Section: Part 3

This is part 3 of a 188-mile northbound section hike of the Appalachian Trail in Maine in September 2023. I started hiking at the road crossing near the town of Stratton, ME and finished at Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, the northern terminus of the trail!

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Day 6: The Sterling Inn in Caratunk, ME to Stealth Campsite just north of Baker Stream

After getting dropped off at the trailhead the next morning from the Sterling Inn, I hiked out aware but still a little naive of how much of a logistical puzzle the rest of the hike would be. It didn’t matter if I was doing big miles or not, because weather, river fords, and regulations would all set me on a schedule of having to make it to a certain point each day, just on a different scale than the thru-hikers who had to do the same thing. 

That wandering, low-mileage section hiker stereotype that can sometimes exist was not this. I had to make sure I was going to get where I needed to go, and the trail sure didn’t always make it easy. 

My first taste of this reality was that evening, when I faced my first actual river ford of the AT. For those of my friends and family reading at home, fording the river means that we have to wade across because there is no bridge. 

After coming out of the woods and down a short walk on a dirt road next to a stream, the white blazes that mark the trail seemed to end. One of them led to a little opening in the patch of trees right at the river, but that was it. I walked back and forth a little bit before looking at the guide and realizing yikes, this is the trail. Straight across that water. I would quickly get used to this prospect that when I’d come to a river from here on out, I’d likely be crossing it. 

I hadn’t really done this before, and I’m the cautious type. The water didn’t seem too deep, but it was moving swiftly. I told myself that the key would just be to go slow, pause if I needed to, and stay humble. So I took a breath and did everything I had learned about river fording between reading, videos, and word of mouth, but hadn’t actually put into practice yet. 

Unbuckle my hip belt, face upstream, sidestep, three points of contact at all times. 

Little by little I started. Then I realized I needed to go back. I swallowed my pride and decided that even though this river didn’t look too bad, I should try to see if anyone else would come along. It just seemed stupid to do my first ever actual river ford by myself, even if I knew the right techniques I was supposed to use. 

Sure enough, another couple hikers did show up eventually, and I asked if they didn’t mind if I crossed while they were there. My “stay humble” voice spoke louder than my “I’ve got this” voice and I’m pretty sure they had a complete mutual understanding. 

So I went first, the other two not far behind me. It wasn’t that bad! The water was just above knee-high on average, the rocks creating white patches of mini rapids, but it was definitely manageable. I was a few feet from the other side and back to ankle-deep water when a little bit of stage fright kicked in knowing the other two were watching me. I started mentally celebrating early, thought I’d just turn and take my last few steps quickly, and ungracefully slipped on a rock and fell with a yelp. I caught myself in time to keep my upper body dry, but my leggings were completely soaked. 

It was another two and a half miles to the next shelter I had been hoping to reach, but I accepted defeat after that completely unnecessary slip, opting to be alone at a stealth campsite not far past the river. I’d wait until the morning to think about what my day would look like with the extra 2.5 miles tacked on at the beginning.

Some camping nights are just made for being alone, attempting to dry off, then exhaustedly cuddling up into my sleeping bag and contemplating my life choices. Looking back, I’m glad that first river ford happened exactly the way it did. Some of the upcoming fords would prove to be much harder, and it was like I got the jitters out in a practice run that was level one of the games to come. 

You can find yourself in a rabbit hole of videos of people celebrating too early with a quick YouTube search, and if anyone had been there to film me crossing that stream, you’d know where to find me. 

Read Part 4 here!