Date: 2015-07-16
From: Rangeley

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: light rain

I woke up about 6am. My bed was comfortable but the room was freezing. It was so strange to be cold for the first night in forever, especially when I was inside. I managed to fall back to sleep for a while longer, then eventually had breakfast (english muffins with Nutella- which is also my lunch at the moment). I also had poptarts, and actually toasted them. I had forgotten that poptarts are supposed to be eaten toasted. My shuttle was supposed to be at 8, but we didn't leave until 8.20. I was back on the trail just after 8.30 though. The day started off sunny but a little chilly. The weather yesterday definitely cleared up some of the humidity. I can tell because I sweat slightly less today than in previous days (my bandana wasn't even completely soaked). I set off North. There weren't any hikers around for a while, so I had the usual joys of catching all the spider webs. The first part of the day was just a long climb up Saddleback Mountain. Part way up it went into the alpine zone and the trees shrank away. I remembered to put sunscreen on my arms and face, since I was hiking on bare rocks again. In bad weather it would be horrible to be so exposed, but with the sun out it was just fine. There was a fairly strong wind though, which kept me moving. Poppins warned me yesterday that Saddleback has a lot of false summits and she was absolutely right. About four times I thought I must be near the top, but it still went on further. I eventually reached the top, then I had to go down. Then up another, called The Hump. There, I met a day hiker who gave me an apple. I had lunch on top, taking shelter from the wind behind a small pile of rocks. Then I was down a bunch of incredibly annoying rocks, and then back up to Saddleback junior. I stopped briefly at Poplar Ridge shelter. Something I really like about Maine, many of the privies are right by the trail so I don't have to walk so far anymore. I noticed in the shelter log that Smasher had been there for lunch. I thought he was probably a couple hours ahead so I would catch him later. After that, I managed to fall over twice. The first time my shoe got caught on (yet another) root and I face planted the trail. The second time I was trying to avoid the mud puddle in front of my but slid straight into it. Fortunately, someone else had done the exact same thing and my foot went into their hole, sinking only up to my ankle (rather than covering my entire shin). I got down to another river I had to ford. I noticed someone on the other side . It was Smasher! I shouted over to him, and then rock hopped quickly over the river. His beard and hair have grown even more ridiculous since the last time I saw him in Front Royal (about 1020 miles ago). It was so great to see another friend after saying goodbye to a couple yesterday. We hiked for a few miles together, chatting about our adventures from the past couple months. Then the trail got rocky and steep, and he sped ahead as I fell behind. I got to the top of the mountain but felt very unwell. I felt dizzy, sick, exhausted. I drank more water and kept yawning every few steps. I saw a sign that said I was a mile from the shelter, but I had to stop to eat a honeybun, I felt starved. It didn't help though, and my stomach still felt bad. I eventually made it to the shelter and I had to just keep my head on my knees for a bit. I chatted with the other hikers and made dinner. I started to feel better after a while, and now I feel fine. I think that I must have lost too much salt and hadn't been able to replace it until I ate my instant mash, which is why the honeybun didn't help. Or maybe it did, and just needed more time to be effective. Either way, that was an unpleasant couple of miles that I hope not to repeat. It's a bit cold again tonight. My sleeping bag is very warm. There are a few mosquitoes about but my tent smells so disgusting I don't want to sleep in it until I can air it out some more. Every hair that tickles my skin feels like a mosquito, so I'm constantly rubbing my face and neck.Tomorrow it's about 12 miles to Stratton. There looks like one steep part that I bet will be rocky. Not sure what my plans are yet, but I think I would rather stick with Smasher for a bit longer. BigBen has gone ahead, so I don't want to spend the last part of my hike alone (or surrounded by SOBO strangers).