Date: 2013-06-29
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Little Swift Pond River Campsite
Miles today: 15.5

DAY 20MILES ON AT FOR DAY- 15.5MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 15.5Woke up yet again to more rain. And it was very cold rain. Between the cold rain, cold air, and elevation it was probably about 50 degrees. Dumb me decided to wear shorts. But once we got moving it was fine. We got moving faster this morning anyways because we had to be in Rangley by 1pm so we hit the trail at 7am. We had 10.7 miles to go over Saddleback Mountain which had 3 peaks. After that it would be easier and be a gradual downhill into Rangley. Tough beginning of the day, easy end to the day.Only about an hour into our hike the rain stopped. But it was very misty just like 2 days prior. But worse. The visibility was a bit lower but again not bad enough that you couldn't see the trail. You just couldn't see something that was 30 feet away from you is all. As we reached our first peak, Saddle Junior, it became hard to hike because it was all rock faces that were very slick. You kind of just had to "penguin" your way up it and hope you wouldn't slip back. From Saddleback Junior to The Horn of Saddleback, which was 4,032 feet in elevation, was 2 miles of walking on just an exposed ridge of rock faces. With the wind and mist it made these 2 miles pretty slow going. You just knew too that if it was a clear day it would have been beautiful.We hit Saddleback Mountain which was the highest of the 3 peaks and then headed downhill. We saw I think 4 or 5 more NoBos as we were headed down. At this point I'm not keeping count anymore because I had seen well over 20 NoBos since I started and I wouldn't be able to keep track of them. As we got further downhill toward Rangley the sun all of a sudden decided to come out. Go figure! We got down to the parking lot closer to 2pm but as we came out of the woods there was my aunt and uncle sitting in the sun waiting for us! It was nice to see them so enthusiastic. We all went and grabbed a burger and a beer, which of course I scarfed down. I said goodbye to Gary as he waited in Rangley for a ride. It was really nice having him with me for a week and now my Aunt and Uncle had tagged in next! We headed to the IGA to resupply for food for the week. Once again my pack was heavy. I could barely fit all the food but you get so hungry out there I couldn't imagine eliminating anything!It was pretty late to be heading out... 5:45pm. We had 4.8 miles to go to our tent site and it was supposed to be pretty flat. Although it was flat, it was pretty mucky which I guess I had expected. We passed a few NoBos on our way... something that was starting to happen much more frequently. Unfortunately right around 8pm it started getting really dark and it also started to rain. I was just tired. I had already done a full days worth of hiking before we even got to Rangley. Eventually we got to our tent site, which in bad weather just never comes soon enough, and we set up quick. This was really only my 5th time setting up my tent and I was surprised that I did it faster than my Aunt and Uncle and we had the same tent. So no cooking out first night out together. Although I was still pretty full from the burger. I just munched on some trail mix and went to bed hoping for no rain in the morning.