Date: 2008-07-11
To: Monson
Miles today: 114.5
Weather: clear sky

So I'm in Monson...unfortunately, I have lost the cable to my camera, so there are no pictures this time...just journals...I'm just going to make one entry and space it out by day...July 1st - Day 0As if I needed more motivation, the thought of another 36 hr bus trip has me ready to go. Met Cy-Fi on the bus from Bangor-Medway. What a small world to meet an '04 Shiloh grad starting to hike SOBO. The AT Lodge is wonderful, and I have gotten to meet some interesting folks. Two guys my age began two days ago and came back today because they had the wrong equipment. On the flipside, two NOBOs came in, finishing today (in 4 months). I will be leaving in the morning for Baxter SP, and will be joined by Bootstrap, a gentleman from South Africa. He has been at the lodge acclimating to the weather/time now for 3 days and will start tomorrow. I am looking forward to hiking with him for at least a little while. As for mne, I am both excited and nervous to begin the journey...only time will tell the outcome.July 2nd - Day 1 - Katahdin (Baxter Peak) - Katahdin Springs Campground - 0-5.2What a first day! I hiked with Bootstrap up Katahdin (all 5.2 miles and 4200 feet up!). We had a nice comfortable pace going the whole way and ended up making excellent time - 7.5 hourse up and back. The climb down was the toughest part, as taking the impact on kness & feet were substantial. Still, no issues and still 100% after day 1. As far as my nerves, they were pretty much gone on the second step - I love hiking and know how to do it, so there is no reason to worry. The bugs are about what I expected - a constant nuisance. You just kind of get used to them after a while and they become part of being here. Ran into a father/son Ace & Cash from NY. This is the first hiking trip for the dad...I wish them well. I saw Cy-Fi today on my way back down as he was coming up...I hope he got down ok...he still isn't back as I'm writing this, but he's still got a bit of light left. Anyway, tomorrow's hike looks benign compared to today's...we'll see...July 3rd - Day 2 - Katahdin Springs Campground - Hurd Brook Shelter - 5.2-18.6Let me start my saying I know they are lean-tos, but I will call them shelters because that's what they are called in the south...enough on that...Today's hike in the south end of the park was amazing. Ended up fording two creeks today while in the park - pretty cool. There was also a good bit of log balancing today while going through the wetlands/ponds near the Penobscot. Got drizzled on a bit in the last 3 or so miles today, but nothing bad. Entered the 100 mile wilderness today...only 97 miles to go...the shelter tonight is packed with me, Bootstrap, Red Hat, a 4 some of gals who went to school together in VT, and Charles (a NOBO 2 days from the finish). We're supposed to have at least 3 days of nice weather ahead - that'll be nice for the first half of the wilderness. The feet are holding up ok and the pack is now the heaviest it will be all trip...guess that means it's time to start eating a lot (after 3700 cals today). Well, time to sleep for tonight...4th of July hiking tomorrow!July 4th - Day 3 - Hurd Brook Shelter - Rainbow Springs Shelter - 18.6 - 30.1Lots to report today...as I'm learning quickly, everything in Maine is wither overgrown or wet & muddy because of the rains. The first half of today was great. The second half was buddy and muddy as hell. It made for a difficult hike. I had originally planned to go another 4-5 miles today, but called it quits. Besides a few small blisters, my feet are holding up well. My back, however, isn't. Adjusting to the distance/elevation/weight is slow, but steady. I've felt better everyday, but there is a lond way to go. Seeing as this is Independence Day, I'm sitting around a campfire with the 4 VT gals, Bootstrap, and a 3-some of Georgians (Dakota, Kelly, and Jason). Kelly and Jason are from Athens, and David has a BS from UGA in Geography as well from 2008 (but is GIS, not Atmo. Science). What a small world. It's been nice to have a small group start/end at the same place through the 100 mile "Boot Camp" of the AT. Hopefully, at least a few in the group stays together til' Monson. 14 miles more tomorrow...6 days to Monson...hope the body adjusts...at least the food bag is getting lighter...til tomorrow...oh, and I'd like to express my shock with the 20+ people around this shelter tonight - so much for the remoteness of being a SOBO!July 5th - Day 4 - Rainbow Stream Shelter - Potaywadjo Spring Shelter - 30.1 - 48.3It has been said that hikers experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Today was that. The first eight miles were both beautiful and challenging...including the first real "climb" since Katahdin. I stopped for ~35 minutes at the shelter and then a mile later thought I really injured my knee on a rock. I hobbled 2.6 miles to Nahmakanta Lake, where there is a nice sand beach. I ended up resting for over an hour. There were 2 families and a couple and 3 dogs coming in from Kayaking on the lake. I enjoyed talking with them and playing with the two labs and golden. After that, I felt extremely refreshed and the knee was ok again. As I started up again, I was thinking about how mentally drained I have been and how the scenery was magnificent, but I was having trouble shaking the negative aspects of the hike so far. It has come to my attention that I probably do that too much in life...more on that later I suppose...Well, I ended up getting to where the rest of the group stopped. But, I felt so refreshed mentally and physically from the lake that U trekked on til' 8pm and got to the next shelter. 18.2 miles is a lot on Day 4, but I felt great after that lake stop. Suddenly, the blisters, back pain, knee pain, and bus nuisance lessened. My mental approach to each day has shown to be very important on this trip. At the shelter tonight was a couple doing a NOBO section in the 100 mile, Mike & Mike going SOBO, and a couple of others I didn't get to talk to. The shelters tomorrow are at 11.5 & 19.5 miles. It is generally flat, but I have no set plans...we'll see how tomorrow unfolds - oh, and the button on my pants got stuck on a branch and popped off - going to need to get that fixed in Monson - Ha!July 6th - Day 5 - Potaywadjo Spring Shelter - Copper Brook Falls - 48.3 - 59.7Today's hike sucked. It was a boring 11.4 miles. The only thing I got out of today was a bad blister on my left heel and a shit-ton of bug bites. Definitively the worst bug day so far. The best view today is the end view, where the shelter is. The body is still trying to adjust, but progress is slow. Tomorrow starts the bigt climb section of the 100 mile...4 days of climbing mountains to Monson. At least the bugs and mus will be better higher up. This is the lowest elevation I will be sleeping at for the duration of Maine (and prolly NH too). Time to get climbing!!!July 7th - Day 6 - Copper Brook Falls - Sidney Tappan Campsite - 59.7 - 76.8Yes! Yes! Yes! Today is what I expected from the beginning...up & down...lots of tall mountains with some of them having an awesome view. Today's 17.1 was long in week 1 or week 20 of a thru hike. Today took me up and over Little Boardman Mtn., White Cap, Hay, and West Peak. The 2400' ascent to White Cap is the largest in the 100 miles (and over only 3.3 trail miles). TOtal elevation gain today: > 5000 ft. I am exhausted. I took 2 one hour breaks today and still only was out for 11.5 hours...not too bad. I now find myself 3 days and 37.7 miles from Monson. Today's campsite is the buggiest so far, but I am too tired to care. I have lost the entire starting group now...the 2 TN guys and 4 VT gals stopped at Whitehouse Landing and are at least a day behind. I lost Red Hat 2 days ago, and Bootstrap is 5 miles behind me, butis planning on a zero or near zero (nero) day tomorrow & will be at least a day behind me getting to Monson. It's ok, though, as I am joined tonight by a big group of Canadian teenagers doing some kind og camp thing. I am now in a great position for the next 3 days, as I have days of 11.7, 15.6, & 10.4 miles left. The weather might be bad in the afternoon the next few days, so I'll be nice to have some lower mileages. I've picked up a couple more blisters today and my feet are pretty swelled up now, but the rest of me did very well today...we'll see what unfolds tomorrow!July 8th - Day 7 - Sidney Tappan - Chairback Gap Shelter - 76.8 - 88.5You just never know...today began with a quick up & down and then 5 miles of boringness. Then, I ran into a couple day hiking the Gulf Hagas Loop and BOOM!!! First Trail Magic of the trip. A hydrating pack from Crystal Light, a handful of caramel candies, some raisins, and a power bar later, I was full. Big thanks to them for the pick-me-up. Then came my favorite hike so far on the trip up to Chairback Mtn. It had a bit of everything and the mountain got closer into view as I went. The pictures probably won't come out great because it was so hazy today (85 and humid again). I'm in the shelter tonight with Slow & Steady, who are doing a section hike SOBO thru the wilderness. My body is exhausted from the last couple of days. My feet are the most angry, and they are really going to need some rest in Monson. I'm going to see how tomorrow goes as there are 4 mtn up and downs in the first 8 miles. There is a shelter at 10.9 and 15.6. After the first 10 miles the road to Monson is somewhat flatter, so it'll depend on how I'm feeling., It also doesn't help that I keep sleeping in and starting after 8:30. We'll see if I can actually get up and get out tomorrow (2 to 1 odds on that one). 2 days to Monson...I can almost taste that burger, pizza, & beer!July 9th - Day 8 - Chairback Gap - Wilson Valley Shelter - 88.5 - 104.1If you are reading my journal and are concernede about my safety, skip this entry. Now...today started off with Columbus, 3rd, 4th, and Barren MOuntains all within the first 8 miles. They were pretty ahrd, but after climbing Chairback yesterday, it wasn't too bad. As I was on top of Barren, I startedto see a T-Storm coming, and thunder began. I had a 2000' drop off of this mountain to the next shelter and pretty much ran down it. I made it just before the downpour. I stopped to get some food and then the skies cleared up and it was blue skies and sunny. Since it was still early enough, I figures the storms were gone and so I headed off for the next shelter at Wilson Valley, 5 miles away. After fording a stream early on, another, worse T-Storm came out of nowhere. For the last 2.5 hours, it was thunder, lots of lightning, and lots of rain (3 inches that day). I was completely soaked, it was getting dark, and everything became a slippery muck. At one point, I thought I had gotten lost, but it turens out this section is the most overgrown of any so far. Well, after going up and down a 700' high hill, I arrived at the shelter just before dark and am now drying everything out. I did ewnjoy the challengfe of the rain and am glad I got in safely. There are 2 other SOBOs in the shelter tonight. 10 miles tomorrow and I'll be in Monson!!! Oh, & I crossed over the 100 mile mark today! On a side note, I had my 1st actual fall today 3 miles in when I slipped on a wet rock...thankfully nothing too bad to report.July 10th - Day 9 - Wilson Valley - Monson, ME - 104.1 - 114.5Well, today's hike was PUDs (pointless up & downs) except for a nice view of the valley early in the hike. I did get lost today for about an hour, but figureed my way back on the trail. I also, while lost, found my first bear...he was 20 yards into the woods and grunted at me before heading further into the woods. I needed new boxer briefs. Anyway, I made it into Monson around 5:30 after hitchiking the 4 miles into town. I'm staying at Lake SHore House tonight and will probably stay at Shaw's tomoeeow. I've got to visit the library tomorrow afternoong to post all of this on the net. Other than that, my body is going to get some much needed rest tomorrow. The hostel is fairly empty except for a couple going SOBO. I did have dinner with the couple from the shelter last night as well as some section hikers going north...will post tomorrow...July 11th - Day 10 - MOnson, ME - Zero DayThis town is awesome...all you can eat tacos last night and all you can eat fish fry tonight...hmmmmm...the people here are really great. On Friday nights, the general store is full of people for a country/bluegrass jam session...should be fun. I town is filling up since it is Friday, and supposedly a big group of SOBOs (the guys I was ahead of) just got into town and Shaw's seems to be full. For a town of less than 700, it's pretty cool. I also found out today that 2 fellow IFPers, Sergei (NOBO) and Collin (SOBO 3 weeks ahead) are also on the trail My body is already starting to feel better...next update from Stratton or Andover in a week...hopefully I can get a new camera cord soon so that I can post pictures!!!