Date: 2015-08-13
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Camp site 1990.2
Miles today: 21.3

I wasn't ready to get out of our nice comfy bed when the alarm went off at 05:30.   I had tried to go to sleep at 21:30 the night before but wasn't really tired and I never got to sleep until after midnight.   It was sure nice having a zero day but now it was time to get back to the trail. After some morning coffee and a breakfast burrito, Lavender drove Count to the trailhead. Lavander decided to take a few days break so I will be hiking on my own for awhile. Lavander will be busy today doing trail magic for other hikers. She will be taking Silent Force and Iso later this morning to the trailhead and she will be shuttling other hikers from the trailhead to the hostel.    I got to the trail head and started hiking around 06:30. The trail was really nice the first few miles. Just a nice steady climb but not to steep. About an hour into the hike I came across another north bounder and stopped to talk with her. She was wondering how far I was planning to go for the day as she was planning to stop at Poplar Ridge shelter and she didn't want to be alone. I told her I was planning on hiking much further than that since it was only 10 miles away. She explained she was a bit apprehensive about being alone in this section of the trail. Apparently a lady hiking the trail in 2013 went missing in this section of the trail and she has never been found. It is one of the few unsolved missing persons cases on the Appalachian Trail.      I continued my hike up to Saddleback Mountain.   The trail was now much steeper and mostly rock. Before I knew it I was above treeline and in the clouds. It was very windy and you could see the clouds blowing across the mountain. It was kind of eerie looking. I struggled at times to see the trail because it was so foggy but eventually I made it to the top. It had been a climb up more than 2500 feet.   I was above treeline for the next several miles and finally just before starting the descent, the fog started to burn off. I had my first view to the valleys below. Then it was down 600 feet and right back up another 700 feet to the next peak, The Horn. The fog had mostly burned off by now so the views from The Horn were fantastic.    Next it was down 900 feet and back up to the third peak, Saddleback Junior. I stopped here for a short break and talked with some section hikers about the upcoming trail. It was a very steep and rocky descent from here and the going was rather slow. But I finally made it down and made it to the Poplar Ridge shelter.    I stopped briefly but didn't spend to much time there. Apparently this is the last place the missing 2013 hiker was seen. I didn't feel like hanging out here. Not long after leaving the shelter, I started a long 1500 foot descent down to the valley. The trail was again very steep and rocky. Once at the bottom I of course started the next big climb up to Lone Mountain. Part way up the climb I stopped next to a waterfall and had my lunch break. A south bounder came by and also stopped for lunch. Turns out he has already completed an AT thru-hike north bound in 2011 and hiked the PCT last year. We had a nice conversation about hiking and trail conditions but then break time was over so it was time to say goodbye. I said goodbye to Raven and then I resumed my climb up to Lone Mountain. Once at the top the trail stayed relatively flat for the next few miles before starting a very steep climb up to Spaulding Mountain.   This was the 5th peak I've climbed today and I'm getting pretty worn out. After descending from Spaulding Mountain, I came up to a plaque commerating the completion of the last section of the AT in 1937. Hard to believe the AT has been around for nearly 80 years!    I only hiked on about another mile before finding a nice stealth campsite close to a viewpoint. I thought about hiking on but I checked my mileage for the day and found I had hiked 21.4 miles today. That is the first 20+ mile day I have had for quite some time.   I also realized that I now have less than 200 miles to the finish! I am really tired and looking forward to a good night's sleep in my tent.