Date: 2013-06-25
From: hall mountain lean-to

To: sabbath day pond lean-to
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: moderate rain

After being woken up by the early morning chatting I was able to catch a few more zz's after they stopped talking and went back to sleep. I awoke at 430 to my 'pleasant' neighbor the chatter sound asleep snoring in my ear. I had enough and decided to peace out for an early start, and hastily packed up my belongings. I was even hushed by mr chatter for being too loud.. I told him too bad and continued packing at normal pace and sound level..I left in a rage right at 5am and raced down the steep descent to sawyer notch. I stopped at the bottom for a much needed breakfast of peanut butter on bread and then made the steep climb up and over moody mountain. From here I made the long and steep climb up to the summit of old blue mountain, which offered some decent views amongst the scattered clouds. I descended off the main summit and traversed along some pleasant bog bridges in the now full sunshine. The guidebook indicated it was only a few miles over several small peaks to the summit of bemis mountain and then down a short ways to the lean-to, where I planned to make myself a nice energy boosting hot lunch. The trail took a much longer route by several miles it seemed, and went up and over what I thought was bemis peak only to find another peak ahead. I passed by a whole SOBO family heading towards Springer, who I wished luck to before making the final climb up what was supposed to be a small uphill.Finally I reached the top and started making my way down the mountain to the lean-to. My heels felt like they were on fire and I almost stopped to re-duct tape them but as luck managed I reached the shelter just in time. I laid out my socks to dry in the sun and quickly cooked up a meal amongst a sea of biting black flies. I gobbled down the food and taped up my feet in prep for the final 10 miles to my destination. I made my way down the mountain as the trail wound its way over several rock summits of the lower bemis peaks. As I descended a thunder shower rolled through and it actually felt quite nice and cooling, although it made the hiking very slippery. I eventually reached the bottom and forded a small brook before making the climb up to the road for the last 5 miles of moderate hiking. When I reached the road I was greeted by a pleasant view of the nearby lake and mountains, with an approaching thunderstorm in the background. I enjoyed the view while it lasted then made my way towards the shelter. As I hiked along over the many small ups and downs a few showers rolled through but fortunately it did not downpour at all. In due time I reached the heavily mosquito infested shelter, where I set up my tent for the night. The bugs were so bad that I had to risk it and cook from inside my tent. thankfully my jetboil and cozy cooking method means for short boil times and I was able to enjoy a nice meal. I awoke in the middle of the night for a break to the boys room but was unable to leave my tent. I looked with my flashlight and saw several hundred mosquitoes in between my tent and the rain fly, and as I opened the fly to sneak out 15-20 flew straight in. I had to close it immediately and kill them against the tent wall. This made for a harsh night, and in the end I had to sacrifice my gatorade bottle, which is now my new bug escape bottle....