Over the last week, Alice and I have done some long mile days and some night hiking to catch up to the rest of the Shady Creepers! The terrain has finally started to level out a little bit, which has allowed for us to do higher mile days. It has been a nice little break from all of the steep ups and downs of southern Maine. With all of the high mile days, we have left behind one bubble of hikers and have caught up with another bubble full of people that we've been hiking with for the last few months. It has been fun meeting so many new people, and also seeing familiar faces we haven't seen in a while. Because we are near the end of the trail, and everyone has a different hiking speed and desired finish date, we have had to say goodbye to some people who we probably won't see on trail again. It's a weird feeling, realizing that you may never see any of these friends again. I'm trying to subscribe to the idea that I will run into all of these people again someday in some fashion.
After leaving Rangeley, and doing some hard days, Alice and I decided to head into Stratton for another night with a warm meal, bed, and shower. It was a tiny little town, but had a nice store to resupply, and a cafe for us to hide out in the next morning to avoid torrential thunder and rain. We got back on trail after the storm passed, and had to hike our last "hard" mountain range before Katahdin - The Bigelows. While the storm had passed, the winds associated with the cold front behind it were incredibly fast; I'm guessing somewhere in the 70mph realm. I was almost blown over on multiple occasions. The views, however, of the lakes around the mountains were just stunning. Maine has no shortage of amazing ponds, lakes, views, and mountains. This could easily be the most beautiful state on the trail. We've stayed at multiple shelters on or near a lake, and the sounds of loons calling has lulled me to sleep. What has really instilled that fact that there are lakes everywhere for me, is that I'll be walking through the woods with no water in sight, and hear loons calling in the not too far distance.
We caught up to the Shady Creepers in the town of Monson, the last town before Katahdin. We have decided to take a zero today to recharge our batteries before entering the One Hundred Mile Wilderness. This is a 100 mile stretch of trail between Monson and Baxter State Park with no road crossings or bits of civilization. Unfortunately, this means we need to carry food for about a week, up until the summit of Katahdin. I usually only carry up to four days worth of food, so carrying seven or eight days worth will be an adjustment. It's really weird to think that in a week I will be on the top of Katahdin, and will be saying goodbye to the Shady Creepers and all of our other friends. I know that I will embrace the break from hiking, but I will totally miss the camaraderie and simplicity of trail life. It's so very bittersweet.
The next time you near from me, I'll be in Vermont and resting on the couch. Not too much, as I'm already scheduled to work three days after my summit of Katahdin. I need to replenish the bank account before heading back down to Virginia to make up the five-hundred miles that I owe to the trail. Back to the woods!
After leaving Rangeley, and doing some hard days, Alice and I decided to head into Stratton for another night with a warm meal, bed, and shower. It was a tiny little town, but had a nice store to resupply, and a cafe for us to hide out in the next morning to avoid torrential thunder and rain. We got back on trail after the storm passed, and had to hike our last "hard" mountain range before Katahdin - The Bigelows. While the storm had passed, the winds associated with the cold front behind it were incredibly fast; I'm guessing somewhere in the 70mph realm. I was almost blown over on multiple occasions. The views, however, of the lakes around the mountains were just stunning. Maine has no shortage of amazing ponds, lakes, views, and mountains. This could easily be the most beautiful state on the trail. We've stayed at multiple shelters on or near a lake, and the sounds of loons calling has lulled me to sleep. What has really instilled that fact that there are lakes everywhere for me, is that I'll be walking through the woods with no water in sight, and hear loons calling in the not too far distance.
We caught up to the Shady Creepers in the town of Monson, the last town before Katahdin. We have decided to take a zero today to recharge our batteries before entering the One Hundred Mile Wilderness. This is a 100 mile stretch of trail between Monson and Baxter State Park with no road crossings or bits of civilization. Unfortunately, this means we need to carry food for about a week, up until the summit of Katahdin. I usually only carry up to four days worth of food, so carrying seven or eight days worth will be an adjustment. It's really weird to think that in a week I will be on the top of Katahdin, and will be saying goodbye to the Shady Creepers and all of our other friends. I know that I will embrace the break from hiking, but I will totally miss the camaraderie and simplicity of trail life. It's so very bittersweet.
The next time you near from me, I'll be in Vermont and resting on the couch. Not too much, as I'm already scheduled to work three days after my summit of Katahdin. I need to replenish the bank account before heading back down to Virginia to make up the five-hundred miles that I owe to the trail. Back to the woods!
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