I passed 200 miles today!

I woke up early in the cozy bunk. Each of the bunks at the Roadhouse has privacy curtains, a lamp, fan, and outlet to charge devices. It’s wonderful!

I packed up before the Jenns (both owners are named Jenn) had out the breakfast spread: blueberry pancakes, cheezy potato casserole, scrambled eggs, bacon, and watermelon. Amazing.

I settled up my bill and got the requisite polaroid photo taken for the hiker wall (so many hikers have already come through this year!) and loaded up on the short bus for the ride back to the trail.

There were six of us headed south today, and we all started in a group up the first climb. I lingered in back, the cheezy potatoes were so rich that I needed to give my stomach a chance to settle.

We were a train of hikers moving through the woods.

At the first good water source we snacked and I ended up hiking out first, enjoying the solo hiking opportunity after having been around so many people. I sped ahead, my legs having thrived with the zero day rest. My back pain was all but gone too! Sterling, another mid-40s hiker and I had been talking about back pain. He’s been struggling with it too, and his doctor thinks it might be arthritis….I haven’t gone to the doctor, but as long as it calms down with rest and ibprophen I’ll chalk mine up to overuse.

By the way, not sure if you know this about me, but I don’t weigh my pack. I usually have no idea who much I am carrying. Sure, I have lightweight stuff, but I also carry luxuries like chacos, a coffee press, and pagna (see this blog post for more on my unconventional gear). At one of the previous town stops I decided to see how much I was actually carrying, and clocked in at 30lbs with three days of food and a liter of water. Not bad! Now, that doesn’t count the fanny pack…but that’s worn weight. On the front of my body. That only matters to my knees. 😁

Back to the hike. I take a break on a jumbled rock pile, eating some cold pizza (my favorite food to pack out after town). I had a good view over to Sugarloaf Mountain and all the ski runs. Sure, I’d come back and ski it.

After that the going got steep, probably because Gormet and I had been talking about how easy and gentle the terrain had been so far. 😵

I slowly picked my way down to a river where a few of us lunched (we were bunched up again….which can be fun too). Matt offered everyone goldfish…he’s trying on Goldfish as a trail name, but it doesn’t quite fit.

After a quick river crossing we run into another trail crew. They are playing in the mud….setting rocks so we wouldn’t have to. I whispered “Thank you” to one crew member as I walked on by.

Up. Time to go up, and the up was bouldery. This was another of those full-contact climbs, but I think the climbs up are better than the climbs down…

I passed a 0.5 side trail to the summit of Sugarloaf, but opted to skip the extra mile of hiking. Thunder was beginning to rumble, and my goal was the next shelter before the rain fell.

Another rocky descent brought me to the Spaulding Mountain lean-to. I arrived first and claimed a spot. Before long several northbounders and my sobo peeps arrived and we were stuffed in there like sardines. Hmmm, I don’t know about this…

By nightfall all were quiet, but eight people in the shelter will make some noise. The crinkle of air mattresses and inflatable pillows was a symphony of awake. I couldn’t get comfortable smashed up against one of the walls, so finally in the depths of the night eased myself out of the melee and clumsily set up my tent. The rain had passed, along with some loud thunder. I made my own symphony of annoying in setting up the tent. When I finally went horizontal there was sleep.

My battered body needs a rest day, and I think I can get it today.

This is a new hostel (opened last year) and there are lots of places I can tuck myself into and chill. 

After a huge breakfast of waffles, eggs, potatoes, fruit, and bacon (!!!!!) I went outside to swing in a hammock and call my folks. It is hot and humid where they live in Lousiana, and as it so happens I met two other hikers from Lousiana this morning! That doesn’t happen very often. The states are well represented out here. I’ve met folks from Tennessee, Arizona, Alabama, Illinois, Washington, DC, Florida… it is a real slice of humanity on the AT, and stepping into the stream of hikers will immerse you in wildly different interactions from one day to the next. I love it.

I love it so much that I talked my good friend Carrie into trying out an AT hike this year. Carrie and I went to high-school and college together and she moved to Bend a few years ago. I’ve been going on and on about backpacking for so long, that when she had some time this year she decided to give it a go. She hopped on at Harper’s Ferry going north with the intention of staying on for 2-4 weeks. It has now been 2 months and she is approaching 500 miles! And she met a delightful hiker named No. 2 Pencil who has been chronicling their adventures on his You Tube Channel. Check out this interview he did with her recently. 

In fact, even if Carrie gets off soon, she will hang out along the trail for a bit and when my path sobo crosses No. 2’s path going nobo, we are all going to take a day off together 🤗.

The rest of the day I watch movies, read, chat, and eat. I don’t have to leave the hostel to resupply because they have a stock of hiker food we can buy, so nice!

All of this reminds me of hanging out at the US Embassy rec center when I was a peace corps volunteer in Burkina Faso. We would hunker down for a whole day, watching movie after movie, eating good food and playing games. I hadn’t thought about those days in a long time, but this hostel reminds me…so many memories!

I snack on cold pizza, cheese, crackers and other delights with Hero for dinner, and then there is cake! It is Jenn’s (one of the owners) birthday today along with two other hikers, and there is cake and ice cream for all. Yes!

I slip away while it is still light out to lay down.

Sleep is a very important part of a rest day.

It’s Kirk’s birthday! I will celebrate by climbing some mountains and not eating cake (I sure hope he eats some cake though).

Ok wet rain soaked trail and rocks…what will you bring me? 

It rained alllllllll night. I didn’t stir super early and emerged when the deluge started to slow down. Three tents had appeared since I tucked myself in last night, and all the occupants seem wet and tired from the ordeal too.

I was the first one out of camp, and wasn’t sure how treacherous the going would be up the two high peaks today. The hike up was your typical rock and root gauntlet, and then I entered a cloud. It wasn’t worth checking out the many view points along the way, there were no views today. 

When I got to treeline my knees started to shake. The wind was howling…like mach force wind howls and I worried about getting blown off the mountain. It was ripping, and I took my first few steps out and felt pushed over by the velocity, so got into a crouch and hobbled my way up and over the exposed summit parts as close to the ground as I could get….sometimes crawling. Thank goodness I weigh alot! I am super nervous, but my mass successfully holds me to the ground. Ok, first one done, now to the next.

I climb up to the second peak. Thankfully this one has less exposure overall, so I’m up and over that one using the same technique. Into the trees and I give a big sigh of relief. I find Trout Lily waiting to go up, unsure of the safety of it all. I share some tips and comment that her pack cover might act like a giant sail in the wind….that could be really scary. 

Ok, time to go down, but the downs out here always involve some ups too. Go figure. My legs are burnt, but I keep going.

I look down and notice a slug on my leg. I’m glad the woodland creatures think I’m one of them, but the slug has to go.

Why do they think it’s OK to call this trail? The acrobatics contine most of the steep way down the mountain. This is ridiculous. 

I finally put on some music to keep the moral up and Annie Lenox’s song “Why” was playing when I was bouldering down vertical waterfalls. Why indeed?

Finally the trail flattened out and the sun appeared. Thanks sun.

Then the road! I cross to the other side and see a man waving me over. Trail magic? Trail magic!!!!! Bourbon Batman has a trunk full of coolers and snacks. It’s my first legit trail magic of the trip! I grab a PBR and some oreos and revel in the luxury. My shuttle ride shows up a short while later….I’m staying at the Maine Roadhouse tonight (and maybe tomorrow night too). My body is beaten: knees screaming, back sore, shoulders tight. It’s time for a rest. All of southern Maine is as rugged as the past few days and I need to mentally and physically prepare myself in the comfort of a cozy hostel.

Jenn picks me up and soon I am showered and wandering around her beautiful place.

The rest of the afternoon/evening involved showers and laundry, burgers and beer, meeting new hikers (Gormet…from Oregon!) And seeing old (Hero pulled in just at dark).

I talk to Kirk and find there is no cake, so I’ll just have to make one when I get home in September.

Not walking tomorrow will be devine.

I can feel my legs coming in.

My speed this morning was helped by the rolling flat terrain. At morning break I came to a stream and met a bunch of new hikers. More sobos! They seem like a fun bunch and I flip flopped with them most of the morning.

The build up to the day are the Bigalow Mountains. One of the peaks is named Bigelow Avery for the man who had the idea for the Appalachian Trail. It’s rumored to be a very difficult range.

And it is!

The approach up Little Bigelow was deceiving.

I had stopped for lunch and a cool down at the lean-to on Little Bigalow, and the trail had been gentle and well-graded. At the time, I had been thinking of going to a campsite between the highest peaks, but I was also keeping my eye on the weather. Heavy rain and thunderstorms were due to start this afternoon. Climbing a steep difficult mountain over 4,000′ in the rain at the end a 15-mile day might not be a good idea. (It never is)

From the shelter I go up, but the trail is short and easy (relatively speaking! I’m comparing to Katadhin here…) to the top of Little Bigelow. So short and easy that I let my guard down and shifted mindsets. Too soon. #^$ got real.

I had already decided to stop at the bottom of Little Bigelow where there were some campsites 0.3 off the trail. I had turned on the computer to check the weather and it was coming in sooner than expected. Ok, quick check of the elevation profile (down) and I went into end-of-day-chill mode.

Just a nice meander through the trees to camp, right?

Wrong.

Welcome to full body hiking. It was an acrobatic descent, and I suddenly realized that I was EXHAUSTED.

Steeps so steep you had to throw the poles aside and lower yourself down. Steps so high that you weren’t sure how short hikers managed. And all of this would be extra terrible in the rain. Yikes!

I kept picking away at the boulder problems ahead of me and at one point switched to my chacos because my left little toe was screaming at me (the only one with a blister….kind of proud about that).

I wasn’t there yet, but the rain wasn’t either.

“Step by step. That’s all you can do. One step at a time. Don’t get lazy.”

I repeated my mantras to myself again and again and the legs got more and more stumbly.

Finally the campsite sign. 0.3 off trail. Uggg! The trail in was like a secret handshake: complicated. It involved caves and more moves than I had left.

I peeked around, there weren’t a ton of options. I chose a wooden tent platform thinking that if it did rain alot that I wouldn’t be stuck in a puddle. I set the tent up before it really started coming down and made my nest.

The only thing that sucked though was when it did start raining, the water splashed off the platform and into my tent. Still wet…but not soaking.

Then my back did a little twinge and I got real worried about it. Just what I need! But I can’t focus on that yet. It was 10 miles to town where I could dry out and probably take a zero day (my back!), but it was over the most demanding climb to date since the big K, and it was going to be wet and rainy.

Oh man.

Some teenage boys were making a racket into the early hours last night. Kids!

I still felt rested when my body gave me the early morning wake up call, and I took advantage of the showers to scrub another layer of funk off.

The plan was breakfast, hitch to resupply, and then hitch to the trail. Over blueberry pancakes Hero suggested seeing if the Sterling Inn down the road could give us a ride (the have shuttles for guests) and once we saw they offered a full resupply too, I called and made the arrangements. We had 45 minutes to eat. Pack up camp and be back at the lodge for the van. Ok, go time!

And we made it with minutes to spare. Resuppy options at the Sterling Inn were perfect….some of these little hostels or hotels will create micro stores for hikers with everything they might need. It’s a win win. The hostel makes a lot more money off hikers who stay there and keep remembering things they need (or want). The hikers don’t have to hitch or move. These places also often feed you things like mass quantities of pancakes (I missed that feast at Shaws in Monson).

Then, the trail. We rode with Puddle Duck (one of the hikers I had been hiking around during the past week). She had gone into the Sterling Inn to resupply while Owl and their dog Smokey waited on the trail.

Then, ferry time! Fording the Kennebec River can be dangerous because un-timed dam releases upstream will unleash torrents that can raise the river 2-4 feet instantly. Hikers have died trying to cross, so there is a canoe ferry for hikers to get across in a sanctioned “aqua blaze.”

Hero and I loaded packs into a canoe, our oresman was a boater dude who mostly works as a raft guide in the summer and liftie at Sugarloaf Ski Area in the winter. We talked Oregon rivers as he paddled us across. I tipped him some PBR money when we got out, and he said it would probably be Modelo money instead (Modelo beer is better when warm).

The hiking was good. We followed a series of waterfalls up and when on top, ran into Bob, the trail maintainer for this section. We were near Harrison’s Pierce Pond Camp…which offers hikers lemonade during the day and some of those AT pancakes in the morning. A shelter on Pierce Pond (appropriately named Pierce Pond Shelter) was the ideal spot for hikers to camp at night, and then walk over for breakfast in the morning.

Bob took us up to the lodge, which offers cabin rentals…I want to come back!…for a look at the place. It was a rustic log cabin with the feel of history. We sipped ice water and got a tour of the place. The windows overlooked the bridge we had just walked over, and upstream, a waterfall. Just about as idelic as they come. The porch hung high off the forest floor and hummingbirds flitted about in the trees and flowers. Ahhhhh.

It was not a surprise when Hero said he wanted to camp here and eat pancakes in the morning. He actually said that later after we got to the shelter and he had gone swimming in the beautiful lake… I was eating my cold pizza at the time. I wanted to carry on, so we said our goodbyes. We will surely see each other again down the trail, for that is the way of the trail.

I lumbered through the forest, wearing my chacos again. They just feel so good and I like having my feet out.

I crossed paths with another new hiker, a retired nurse from Tennessee who was finally able to take the time for a long hike. She was hiking solo and I enjoyed talking with her as we continued to leap frong each other. (She stops for a break, I pass her. I stop for a break, she passes me, and so on).

I caught back up to her (completely spacing her trail name right now), and we walked along the shore of another pond (really the size of a lake). We talk and she finds a campsite, so decides to stop. I carry on and pass Puddle Duck, Owl and Smoky making camp, say my hellos, and keep going. When the trail turns into the forest I decide to try and find a spot too. There is a lake and views!

And then I am reminded that this is the land of the leech. I watch them poke around in the rocks after I took a carefree dip in the pond. Shudder. Hero and I googled leeches last night on wifi…they have sharp teeth and will drink from mammals, fish, birds, and even other leeches. Akkkkk!

Dinner is ramen.

I said I would be ramping up the miles, and here we are. With yesterday’s easy miles and today’s promise of pizza and a hot tub, I decided to go for it. I mentioned towns and services would be getting closer together, and here we are…Caratunck was just over 18 miles away. Let’s go!

I had been hoping to see Hero again, we had great fun last time we hung out, and what would you know, when I climbed up Moxie Bald Mountain he was having coffee on top! I threw down my pack and hung out for a while and told him my plan of hiking to the Northern Outdoors near Caratunk for dinner and hot tub soak (camping on site), and convinced him to come, even though he did 20 miles yesterday. We had a few climbs between us and town, but most of the terrain looked like cruising. 

On we go!

We chat and laugh….Hero has been living in Alaska but has recently moved back to Alabama where he was from. It was good to have company on trail again. 

We hiked and hiked, taking lunch on one of the mountains….it was a steep climb up and down, but when is it not?

His legs were starting to scream at him and I started getting a blister on my little toe, but town!

It was after 6 when we reached the highway, Northern Outdoors was 2 miles down the road. We stuck out thumbs out as we walked, and went to a small pull out where we stopped and gave the road our biggest smile as we hitched. Finally it worked, a couple that was summering up here from Tennessee picked us up; we were their first hitch hikers. Nice folks.

We got out at our destination…a stand-alone little resort…and got a campsite. First order of business: tents up. Then dinner and drinks. I hadn’t had a pizza on trail yet, so I took the opportunity to get my standard pepperoni and mushroom….so cheesy…it was perfect. After dinner I took a short shower and jumped in the hot tub. It was close to closing time,  but even that little bit of hot immersion was divine.

We went to our tents much later than usual, but it was worth it. I have pizza to pack out tomorrow and we’ll have some breakfast at the restaurant before getting on trail. Tomorrow is the mandatory canoe shuttle across the Kennebec River! A major milestone 🙌.

P.S. Please forgive my spelling and grammar errors, I’m in the woods! And know I don’t catch them all.

I feel discombobulated as I hike the first hour of the day. Too much food. I take it slow….but the terrain isn’t slow today. It’s flat and fast. The nobos speed on by. This flat trail is perfect for the town day push.

The forest helped me ease me into the day; a gentle roll of tread held me by the hand, sunlight filtered in through lush leaves, and the birds chirped the day awake.

Earlier Ron had dropped me off at the highway where I hitched in two days ago. I know I’ll be seeing Ron again, he is section hiking the ODT afterall! (Ron’s trail name is Zen Quake…I don’t think I’ve mentioned that before.)

The ease of the terrain lets the brain play. Thoughts wander and flow around topics and ideas…I’m having so many ideas out here… I have this incredible need to learn and grow and evolve continually. Hiking the AT again 20 years later is giving me a good touch point…where I’ve been, where I want to go, and what I want to do. I’m taking lots of notes (again, another useful thing about having a computer in your pocket.)

I listen to music today, it’s amazing how the miles flow…I heard a bunch of new and wonderful songs from one of my favorite podcasts: All Songs Considered. This was one favorites from Yard Act and Elton John, “100% Endurance” – fast forward to 19:10 for the song.

I laughed out loud as I walked on the soft forest floor. Yes! How can you not want to hike forever when you hear a song like that. I love it!

I play lots of good hiking music. I’m loving this song too: SAOKO by ROSALÍA: (my favorite part starts at 1:58. Imagine walking to this beat…

I am Chaco walking too…there were a couple of fords today and I just left them on. They felt so good until I gave my toes a good zing…actually it took me two good zings to where I thought I had certainly gashed something wide open before I put my shoes back on. Yikes!

It’s hard to stop walking, this is legit PCT tread.

But then I do at the Moxie Bald Mountain lean-to. I claim a tent spot and go check out the water. I find Shorty (nobo) napping on a granite slab that stretches into the water: a perfect spot. We chat for a bit, she seems rad, and I go to get my things for a pond-side dinner.

I splash off a bit, just standing in water up to my ankles when a 6″ leach comes swimming over to take my blood. I jump back…can it smell my funk? How did he know to come over? 

I won’t be swimming today. He approached me like a heat-seeking missile. That guy meant business and I don’t want to give him the opportunity. 

I make mac and cheese and struggle to eat it. Maybe I snacked too much, maybe I’m still feeling the food from yesterday. Regardless, it’s a lovely evening on the water.

I lay back for a minute and it feels so delicious that I could stay there forever. That’s a good sign that I should be in my tent before I fall asleep for real.

I start a new book on my phone (World of Wonders by Amiee Nezhukumatathil.)

My eyes close well before dark…

A day off!

I filled the time with eating, napping, resupply, organizing, eating, reading, and multiple great conversations with Ron.

This will also be a day off from extensive writing. 

Until tomorrow folks!

Everything is dirty and wet. I am becoming one with the forest floor. Where do I stop and the earth begin? I think you will have to use the smell test.

Town day! 

I’m packed and ready to go by 6am with visions of warm water and clean hair dancing through my head; food can come after I defunk.

I turn to see Bilbo had camped close on the other side of a grove of trees, and here I thought I was stealth…guess not! We start up the next climb (of course there is always a next climb) and my town-legs-to-be power up and soon I can’t see Bilbo behind me anymore. No friends on town days!

I hike full speed ahead, but everything is wet, including the slabs of rock that are sometimes called trail. My feet slide…the tread on my shoes is deteriorating quickly (they weren’t new to start, but I had hoped to get more miles out of them) and I go down. Wooooop! I don’t damage anything, but take the wet slabs a little slower the rest of the morning. I pass nobo after nobo, they smell cleaner the closer I get to the highway. Really! A feral nose can pick up on the soap, detergent, and deodorant of the freshly washed like it was fresh bread. Mmmmm, fresh bread….Ron said he would make some for my stay. Hike faster!

I speed by a shelter, not stopping to sign the register or even say hello to the hikers still packing up.

When I can start to hear the trucks rumbling up the grade, I know I’m close. I pass a large group of hikers and they tell me I just missed the shuttle to Shaws…the hiker hostel in Monson. No matter…I’ll hitch.

The road!! I walk over to a gravel pullout, take off my wet and smelly shoes and put on mu sandals and then stick my thumb out. 10 minutes, nothing. 20 minutes, nothing. I see a car in the small parking lot is leaving, so I jog over and ask the driver if I can pay him 5 dollars to take me into town…it’s only 4ish miles away. Success! I stink up his car and we are off.

First stop: Shaws. I check out the gear store and buy a few things. I’ve desperately wanted a second sports bra…my bra has been wet for a week and I want something dry to put on. I will keep a pair of socks dry and now this bra dry while hiking….camp clothes! Then I pay them $5 for a shower. Ron offered to pick me up from the trailhead, he only lives 10 miles north of the trail, but I wanted to do the hiker thing in town for a while. I see Hero and we make plans for lunch. I tour the hostel…they have a great thing going here! Hikers everywhere… Hero and I walk to the Lakeside for an amazing sandwich and beer on the shore of Lake Hebron. This is living! I hope to hike with Hero after a day off…he’s great fun.

I meet Ron and he whisks me up to Greenville. I claim a room and take another shower, do laundry, eat, chat, eat some more (that fresh bread is amazing!), and relax. Ron made a baked chicken dinner and I turn in early after chatting with Kirk. 

It was a great day for my first town stop…tomorrow will be a zero (no hiking day) as I ready my body for the next miles ahead. 

I take it slow. My back has started to give a few little aches that has me paying attention, and so I move through the world intentionally this morning. Sometimes the mantra I have to repeat to myself is “Gently.” That is today.

The rain will come later, but as I sweat up more rocks and roots I decide I will welcome it. It won’t really matter since my clothes are soaking wet already; it might actually help the smell.

I have this good thing going with the world. We take care of each other, scratch each other’s backs if you will. On a snack break the sun broke through the clouds to give me a quick hello and help dry out my sweatiness. I love it out here.

I take a selfie and note my haggard look. I look rough with bags under my eyes…but no matter. Nature doesn’t judge, I’m free to be me….crows feet and all. 

I go down the other steep side (all sides are steep sides out here), and walk with the threat of rain through the neon moss greens. I don’t drink a ton of water out here. Am I desert acclimatized to the point that my body absorbs the thick humidity through my skin? Feels like it.

Nobos come and go. No one is real talkative today. And then 100. An enterprising hiker made the sign out of sticks: 100 miles from Katahdin! I met both 100-mile markers today: the one celebrated in sticks, and my total mileage. I’m counting everything I walk in this blog total up top, that climb up Katadhin? Counts. The extra 0.2 (both ways) to a camp spot? Counting it…that’s almost half a mile! 

It is a quiet contemplative walk today. I really really like hiking solo. I can do exactly what I want to do when I want to do it. It’s a real asset out here to be comfortable alone. I’d love to see more people enjoy their own company. Don’t get me wrong, I love hiking with friends too…the perfect hike is a mix of the two, so far this trip is winning.

A staircase of tree roots stretched into the sky – a spiderweb of footholds and tripping hazards. I had to pick my foot up just above the eroded tree root or risk a faceplant.

I can do it!

More walking and I cross a few fords that could be dangerous in high water…which makes me a bit relieved to be over them before the heavy rains start…which they do about dusk. 

I look for a hidden spot for camp…by the way, hikers mention “stealth spots” for camping in the comments of the Far Out app all the time. There is nothing “stealth” about a camp spot right off the trail for all to see. Stealth means hidden, and so I stealth for reals and find an amazing waterslide/falls/swimming paradise for my day-end dip. Amazing.