Katahdin

After climbing Mt. Katahdin, I had time to kill at Katahdin Streams Campground, where I paid $30 for an over-priced lean-to.  I wandered around looking for some trail magic and an invitation to sit by a campfire or something, to no avail. Seeing the families camping out made me miss my kids, and my mom, remembering all the times we’ve spent camping. I was up early and on the AT the next morning, strapping on the backpack for the first time in over two weeks. I was concerned how I would do after the layoff, but the rest and weight I put back on seemed to help. I felt I had some strength back.

It was a beautiful hike about 9 miles to Abol Stream campground and store, where I had my fill of real food for lunch before heading into the 100-mile Wilderness. The trail was fairly flat and smooth for a change, running along several streams and crossing the large Pendobscot River at Abol Bridge. Upon entering the 100-Mile Wilderness, a sign  was posted warning hikers to take 10 days supply of food, as there were no stopping points along the way. There is one camp though about 40 miles in where you can stay, eat, and re-supply which I was going to take advantage of.

My plan had me going to Hurd Brook Lean-to (they call them lean-to’s up here, shelters in the south, and huts in New England) but I was there by 3:15 and it was a nice day, so I pressed on to the next campground.

Katahdin

The trail began to get more challenging, with lots of rocks, exposed roots, and little twists and turns and ups and downs.  I ended up going 21.2 miles that first day with a backpack on, pulling into Rainbow Springs Campground at 7:00. I met and visited with several hikers there, including my first southbound thru-hiker named Random. He was a young stud from Alabama, with the goal of making it to Georgia before Christmas. He’ll have to go over 18 miles per day to make it, so good luck.  He actually showed up in Monson the day after I got there at the same hostel I’m staying in, so he’s behind schedule already. He later showed up after dinner looking pretty discouraged, as he told us he was flying home and giving up his hike after just 8 days, due to some family problems back home.  I felt sorry for the guy, and also grateful for my stable family and the support they’ve given me on my journey.  I also met a deaf hiker named Caribou and his dog, who had flipped from New Jersey and was now hiking south to there going 20 miles per day.  Don’t think he’s quite on that pace though, as I just saw him at breakfast in Monson this morning a week after we met.

Katahdin from two days away.

The next day I was on the trail by 7:00. Although the guidebook showed little elevation gain and loss, the trail was tough again, with few actual level runs. I was surprised to obtain cell coverage out here, but was able to call home at the mountain peaks. I had another beautiful view of Katahdin in the distance, two days from leaving it.  Since I’d gone further than planned the previous day, I went past my planned stop and found a great campsite on the shore of Lake Nahmakanta. I put up my tarp over some trees, built a great fire, and enjoyed a great sunset in the stillness of this large northern lake.

Sunset at Lake Nahmahanta

I could see a few other campfires in the far distance across the lake by canoe campers, as the howls of coyotes and loons echoed in the stillness of the setting sun.  I pulled out my new fishing pole to fish the lake, only to discover I had snapped the tip off while hiking, which I’m famous for. I did manage to catch one small fish, which I didn’t even know what it was.  It wasn’t a trout, and it wasn’t from Oklahoma or Colorado.

Sunrise the next morning

I was on the trail at 6:30 right after sunrise the next day, as I did not want to miss out on the one-pound hamburger served at 11:00 at Whitehouse Landing. I had a quick 6 miles to cover, blowing the horn at Pemadumcock Lake (don’t ask me what that means in Indian)  before 10:00 for the shuttle boat ride to the cabins. After a well-deserved shower, hand washing my clothes, I enjoyed a 2,800 calorie lunch with a huge cheeseburger, three cokes, and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  It was a relaxing, cloudy afternoon as I tried to enjoy a nap and catch up on sleep that I was having a hard time getting at night.  The cortisone shot I received in May was wearing off, giving me a lot of pain in my left hip at night.  That evening I again enjoyed the company of several folks, including a family from Delaware and two guys my age from Baltimore.

After a good breakfast (does it seem that the highlight of my day is eating), we were boated across the lake to hit the trail.  This day I decided to cut my day short and stayed at Cooper Brook lean-to, since I didn’t hit the trail till 9:00 due to the late breakfast.  And, I wanted to try to fish the stream, which looked ok. There was a NOBO thru-hiker there named Bodacious from Tennessee, and later another from New Jersey named Left Field. I fished with my dependable Panther Martin, only to catch one little Brook Trout not even big enough to eat. The steams were really low, and the water warm, so Trout were hard to find. So much for my Maine fishing license–I’m sending my fishing pole home.

Whitecap Mountain Summit

Since I took a shorter day before, my next day would be 19 miles to Carl Newhall lean-to. The trail was becoming more challenging, with a big climb up Whitecap Mountain that afternoon, along with many other peaks and valleys. There continued to be little level trail on the AT. The. climbs were rocky and steep, and the descents just as slow. The views were terrific at the top, seeing clearly back to Katahdin to the north, and the mountains of southern Maine looming towards the direction I was hiking. I made it to the Lean- to by dinner, and fixed some noodles again. I had re-supplied food at Whitehouse Landing a few days ago, so I had to buy regular stuff, which is not too good, but it keeps you alive.

There was one NOBO there from New York, with 3 others joining us later.  They’d been hiking together for some time, so they knew each other, and really didn’t show much interest in visiting with me. I saw about 14 NOBO’s today all on the home stretch to Katahdin and the end of their journey.

Typical NOBO's reaching the summit. These were nice and friendly.

Most guys have full beards, smell, are lean, and have their eyes focused on the finish.  About. 15% or so are girls, and they look more normal and cleaner than the guys. I did meet and visit with Boston today, who was 40 years old and the oldest thru-hiker I’d met to that point. The next day I did meet a flip-flop thru-hiker a year older than me, who had done about half the AT like myself. Most of the NOBO’s started in Georgia in March or early April, with just a few who started in early May. I congratulated all of them on making it and tried to be friendly. For some reason though, many of these NOBO’s don’t want to visit much. Some leave just downright rude comments in the trail registers, about how all SOBO’s are @!”@€*# or whatever. Of course they know that by the time a SOBO like me reads it, we’re  30 miles going in opposite directions. Maybe they are just tired or focused on reaching Katahdin, but many have some type of problem with hikers who are not hiking north for some reason. Whatever. Some are nice, or at least act nice until they get past me and write stupid stuff about us.  I do admire them for completing their journey, as I know how difficult it is.

The next day looked to be a moderate day of 17 miles from looking at the guidebook and map. As is often the case-they lied. Going over the steep rocky ledges of Chairback Mountain followed by four other peaks was brutal. A light rain in late morning turned into a heavy rainstorm the rest of the day. I had to be very careful in climbing up and down steep slippery rocks and roots.  I only slipped and fell twice, but  one bad fall could end my journey quickly. I couldn’t believe how steep and difficult the trail was versus what the guide showed. Some of the ledges were at a 60-degree angle,  having to scale up by hand with a full backpack on, in the rain. Are we having fun yet?

Trail getting rough!

This turned into one of those survival days. During the last few hours much of the forest part of the trail had turned into a stream, so I was walking in water with soaked boots. It was after 7:00 before I made it to Cloud Pond Lean-to in the rain, so I had only averaged 1.4 miles per hour on this dreary day. At the shelter there was an older couple and a young hiker who had gotten soaked, including his sleeping bag, and was shivering trying to get warm. With the hot water I fixed for my dinner of noodles, I made him my last hot chocolate to help warm him up. It was another difficult night to sleep well, especially with the guy next to me who snored louder than an old bear. He also emitted various other gross body noises during the night and early morning. I wondered why he was on one side of the shelter and she was on the other. They were really taking their time and going slow through the wilderness, so I do admire them for still being able to get out here.  That’s probably what some of these young kids think when they see me, except I can out hike most of them.

I woke up, somewhat, to a cloudy and wet day for my 8th day in hiking through the 100 Mile Wilderness (actually 114.5 from Katahdin).  It was to be a long 19.1 miles to the road leading to Monson. Again, the book showed just a few moderate climbs, but it was wrong. The weather did eventually clear and it became a beautiful day, but another long one, not reaching the road till 7:30. I finally got a hitch into Monson with a nice local farmer, even giving me some fresh produce he had. I checked into Lake Shore House, ate a good dinner, did laundry, and crashed.

On my zero day, my wife had set up for me to get another cortisone shot in my aching hip so I can finish this hike. I arranged for a local shuttle from Nancy to drive me to Augusta about 60 miles away. But after getting there, and spending a good part of the day to get here, I was told they could not do that type of shot. It appeared there was a communication problem between my Tulsa Doc and their office, so I was out of luck. So, I’ll just have to wait till I get to the next decent sized city, which will be in three weeks in Hanover, New Hampshire. Until then, I’ll just have to “deal with it-cowboy!”. I also bought another pad to sleep on, so I’ll double pad this old body, along with Advil, Tylenol PM, etc.  And, I’m getting my hammock back so I can stay out of crowded shelters with snoring, smelly guys.

Porcupine on the Trail

While eating breakfast this morning I looked over and was surprised to seep a hiker I’d met in late June in southern Virginia, Henry Sherman. Henry is a great guy, with a bad knee, laid off from his job, and an ex- wife back home. He is trying to hike the AT, and had to flip in central Virginia as most did and just finished the wilderness. It was great to see him again, and great that he’s still going. He may not do the whole trail this year, but he’s still heading south.  He’d lost some weight, as we all do, but is looking good.  He, like the young man from Alabama who had just left a failed marriage and sold his business, are using the AT experience to help rejuvenate their life and somehow get a fresh start. That’s why some are out here.  That’s good.  All have their reasons. I have mine, and while I do want to do this for personal accomplishment, it’s more about others.  Yes-our charities will benefit, with over $76,000 donated to date. I also hope to finish this for us “old guys”, and help be an example of just an average ol’ guy doing something adventurous, taking a risk, and doing something so difficult that it will challenge themselves and God has to be on it to succeed.  In the business world we call it a BHAG- a big, Harry, audacious goal.

Little Wilson Falls

So after a big breakfast tomorrow here in Monson I’m heading south. A moderate day tomorrow will be followed with some challenging sections in southern Maine, and then it’s on to the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

As we say on the trail – Happy Hiking!

This entry was posted on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 9:06 am and is filed under AT2010. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.