Total trail mileage: 1977.8
Starting location: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Ending location: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Weather: 65 degrees in the morning. 65 - 79 degrees during the day.
Partly cloudy most of the day. Cloudy, thunder, and showers in the
late afternoon.
I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=44.995683,+-70.341478
The hike today was great. Again, I lucked out with weather and had
fantastic views from Saddleback Mountain, The Horn, and Saddleback
Junior. The trail was above treeline for a lot of that hike and the
climbs weren't too bad. This was the terrain that I had 5 months of
training for. There is a lot of elevation gain and loss, but I could
hike it rather than climb it. And then the latter part of the day was
really, really nice. There weren't too many rocks or roots and the
trail was gradual and dry. It was going through a forest that was
fairly open, but it was green because of the ferns and moss.
I passed the 90 percent point today. About 200 miles left to go! I
want to finish, but I don't want the trip to end.
Apple Juice and I were sitting and talking at the previous shelter
when I noticed a creature emerge from the woods. I thought it was a
dog, but then realized it was a rabbit. A very big rabbit. Apple
Juice thinks it was a snowshoe rabbit with its summer coat. The feet
were huge.
In the late afternoon I started hearing thunder, the sky got very
dark, and the wind picked up. I was expecting to get drenched at any
moment, but the rain didn't come. It did shower a little bit but only
after the thunder cleared off and the sky got less dark.
It seems like everyone is falling apart as soon as we hit Maine.
There have been a number of people sick, and they have been forced to
take 3-4 days off. There have been a number of injuries. A few have
been talking about the possibility of quiting. Fortunately my only
problem has been my pack falling apart (my repair job is holding for
now).
Tomorrow I head into Stratton for a night off and to get more
supplies. It is my second to last resupply point. I am a day ahead
of my revised schedule, but now that I am so close to finishing I will
need to make the rest of my schedule more firm.
No comments:
Post a Comment