Date: 2015-08-01
From: Monson, Maine

To: 0.1 Miles Past Barren Ledges
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

Tom gave us a ride back to the trailhead a little after 8 am. It started out muddy. Surprise!!Just before the Leeman Brook lean-to after 3 miles, there was a stream for which I forded in my crocs. Unhinged from Ottawa has long legs and she had stretched to the one rock and made it across without taking off her shoes. As I put my shoes on, Ever Ready arrived. She is hiking with Unhinged but very petite vs Hinge's tall lean build. She wasn't sure what to do. August, Spice and Wookie arrived and August told Ever Ready he could toss her across she was so small. They ended up handing the packs to August who handed them to me to put down. Then helped her across. We stopped at the lean-to but I moved on quickly because I wanted more time to navigate the rocks and mud and more time at the falls, my intended lunch stop. I passed Chimney and finally met Hyrobics whom I had heard of since some time after the Smoky Mountains but never met. She hiked with several people I knew and did big miles in the beginning. We made it to Little Wilson Falls around noon. It was quite a powerful waterfall. We enjoyed lunch and watching a couple day hikers walk around the falls barefoot and stand in some pretty precarious spots. Fortunately we did not have to submit them to the Darwin Awards. We had to ford Little Wilson Stream. August decided to walk across a high log instead of take off his shoes. He made it so Spice followed. She dropped her pole so Wookie had to get back in the water to get to downstream. The log wasn't bad but with a pack, one false step and you were potentially hitting your head on the rocks in the water. Wookie couldn't find his AWOL pages so he went back across the log without his pack to see if they were in the other side. They weren't. So we moved on but had only hiked 6.6 miles and it was 1:20. The AT weather forecast was 80% precipitation with showers and thunderstorms that could produce hail. The sky started changing and as we climbed up, we could see sun in one part and dark clouds forming ahead in the sky. Thunder started rumbling and started sounding closer and closer. A breeze picked up and we knew it was a matter of time. So we couldn't stop for wild blueberries. We started moving and it started sprinkling as the thunder came overhead, which really made me move faster as it started to rain a little harder. I arrived at Big Wilson Stream, which we also had to ford. Ever Ready was getting her stuff prepared to ford. I changed into Crocs and went ahead. It was top of thigh deep but not too bad. The others arrived along with. Section hiker from VT and it felt like rush hour all of a sudden. It was only 0.6 miles to the Wilson Valley Lean-To. I stopped to see it but moved on wanting to get to the next lean-to just in case the weather changes again. I hiked the next 4 miles only passing a day hiker and another man looking for a group of French speaking kids whom I had not seen. I reached Long Pond Stream, another one we had to ford. Unhinged was across the bank changing her shoes. So I changed into Crocs and went across. The day hiked arrived and forded and then August, Spice and Wookie came. August jumped from rock to rock somehow making it across. Wookie slipped on a rock and went down but didn't get too wet but he lost his pole which fortunately got caught on a rock. It's a pain to change shoes back and forth but I actually like fording the streams because it's a nice foot soak and I can wash the mud off my legs and feet that accumulate from the trail. We hiked the 0.8 miles to the lean-to passing by perfect flat piney campsites right next to the stream. Too bad it was too early to stop! We got to the lean-to and cooked dinner. Sadly it didn't have any tent sites but we planned to move on anyway even though we knew flat tenting sites would be tough to find. We climbed uphill which was a good steep climb. I took the side trail to see the Barren Slide view which was spectacular and returned and told Wookie it was worth going. We then passed Barren Ledges which was another great view. About 0.1 miles later we saw a flattish area off trail and decided to camp there. We set up our tents and then walked back to the Ledges to enjoy the view as the light went away. Not a bad first day in the Wilderness!! It was the perfect execution of a weather forecast. It all happened as forecasted but it was great because it didn't rain hard or long enough to soak us and it cooled the temperature after.