Days 89, 90, and 91

Day 89, July 1, Cooper Brook Falls lean-to to Carl Newhall lean-to

Hiked today 18.9, today’s ascent 4900, total hiked 1386

About 2 1/2 miles into my hike. I’m crossing over a giant rock pile that forms a bridge across a river emptying a lake.

Today there’s a wonderful breeze, which seems to be keeping the insects at bay. There are a lot of bugs in Maine in July apparently.  The repellent  Picardin seems to really work. Yesterday, the insects still buzzed around me, but every time they tried to land they took right off without biting. I also noticed that I must’ve missed a spot on the back of my neck about 2 in.². Black flies would buzz around me for a long time and then finally land on that spot. I would swat them because I would feel them immediately. I killed at least 10 black flies this way. Griff 10 blackflies 0!

This is the view from near the top of lLittle Boardman mountain, about a 2000 foot peak.

Here’s an even better view about a 10th of a mile further. The mountain in the foreground is Bug Boardman mountain and the mountain in the background is Baker Peak.

Wow! This is the view about 2/3 of the way up Whitecap mountain. You can see Mount Katahdin in the distance.

I’m at the peak of Whitecap mountain.  It’s incredibly beautiful. For me this is better than Katahdin because Katahdin was clouded in when I summitted it.

At the peak, there were only views to the south and the west. The views to the north and east are blocked by trees. Below is a picture to the south and then to the west they are spectacular.

The steep descent down Whitecap mountain includes views along the way.

The last 3 miles of todays hike were really tough!  It involved steep descents through roots, boulders, and mud where concentration was required for every step.  I arrived at camp exhausted and in a zombie-like state.

Day 90, July 2, Carl Newhall lean-to to Long Pond Stream lean-to

Hiked today 21, today’s ascent 4300, total hiked 1397

I got up at 4:45 AM today and was on the trail by 6.  I think it will be a long day.

This is the view to the north north east from the top of Chairback mountain.

And this is the view to the north northwest. The views basically north for this mountain.

I’m 13 miles into the hike and really tired. I’ve decided to sit down and have a full lunch with coffee on top of the third Chairback mountain. Although this mountain is only a little over 2000 feet high, it has incredible panoramic views for about 180 degrees.  Here are pictures to the west, north and east.

Deep in the mountains of Maine in the 100 mile wilderness.

Around 1 o’clock today, I started feeling really tired and I decided to stop on the third chair back mountain and have a full lunch. I had an extra dehydrated meal and I cooked it as well as eating a pro bar energy bar and a bunch of ground up corn chips. I also made coffee. Surprisingly I couldn’t finish the dehydrated meal after eating all the other stuff. I think my stomach wasn’t ready for it.

My last pic of the day from the top of Baron Mountain. There are some views between the trees. This is one of them, but mostly it’s overgrown.

Well, 100 yards further on which a much better view from Barron Mountain.

Today was a really long day for me. It wasn’t just the 21 miles, it was all the up-and-down and obstacles that just wore me out. I hiked for 13 hours straight, from 6 AM until 7 PM. I needed to make my 21 miles today so that I could get a shuttle to Monson and Shaw hostel tomorrow. I packed just enough to make it five days in 100 day wilderness. All I will have left when I get picked up tomorrow is a little milk powder some pecans and one dehydrated meal.

I’m really looking forward to staying at the hostel and I’m considering staying two nights and taking a zero day.

Day 91, July 3, Long Pond Stream lean-to to Maine Route 15 (Monson, Shaw’s Hiker Hostel

Hiked today 15.1, total hiked 1413

I slept in till almost 6 AM this morning. I got up, had breakfast, broke camp and was on the trail at about 7:20.

I think I’m getting used to the roots rocks and mud holes that are an integral part of the Appalachian Trail in Maine. If I concentrate, I seem to be able to find a way through and over these obstacles with only a minor slow down of about five minutes per mile.  However, this takes toll on my legs and on my mental ability to concentrate. I’m noticing that I have a much lower energy level today after completing four 20 mile days previously.

I finally got to a view about 7 miles into the hike after three river fords.

This is a picture of the top of Little Wilson Falls, a 60 foot falls, dropping through a crack in granite cliffs.

Although today’s hike was only 15.1 miles I struggled with it. I seem to be on a bit of an energy roller coaster, sometimes feeling great and striding at about 25 minutes per mile and other times feeling really tired and struggling to stay at 30 minutes a mile. There was a 300 foot climb near the end of the hike and it fell as hard as 1000 foot climb would normally feel. I think after averaging over 20 miles a day for four days through the hundred mile wilderness, my body is finally giving me feedback of how tired it is. I also think that I didn’t fully account for nutritional needs aside from purely calories.

I will be taking a zero day at Monson. I’m going to rethink my meal strategy and try and give my body a chance to recover.

I got to the main route 15 parking lot at about 420 and was shuttle back to Shaw‘s Hiker hostel. I had a beer and then ribeye steak dinner with another beer and finally a fudge brownie à la mode dessert. Unfortunately, something in the meal made it so I could not sleep at all, and I stayed up most of the night.