Date: 2018-08-18
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Abol Bridge
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

Today was intended to be my last full day in the 100-Mile Wilderness. It was also the day that Which Way would start working her way to Baxter State Park. The original plan was for me to hike to the 11.5 miles to the next shelter. Meanwhile WW would fly into Boston and drive for a few hours towards Baxter State Park. I would then hike 3.5 miles out of the wilderness on Sunday morning, meet WW at a campground just outside of Baxter, then hike into the park together to the base of Katahdin. WW sent me her flight itinerary yesterday and I noticed her flight arrived in Boston a little after 5:30 pmThis meant that she could be in Millenocket, ME (the closest town to Baxter SP) around 11pm. I decided to give her a call when I got signal to see if she would prefer that I hike on out of the wilderness, catch a ride to Millenocket and meet her there. Just one issue, I didn¢t have any phone service. I would just have to check periodically and hope for the best.I started hiking along Rainbow Stream around 0800. It had rained all night and was still cloudy with some light showers when I stared hiking. The trail took me past a large area of dead-waters. I came upon a grungy group of trail maintainers. The young group were part of the Student Conservation Corps. They came from New Hampshire, Montana, and as far away as Alaska. At the direction of the MATC, the group had been laying stepping stones through some of the muddier sections to the north of where we stood. What a productive way for this great group of young adults to spend a summer. I got their picture, thanked them and moved on. It wasn¢t long before I was stepping above the mud and water on some of their handy work. Job well done SCC!Hiking just above the Rainbow Lake I found myself in an enchanted forest of large trees, moss-covered rocks and ferns. Huge boulders covered with moss had ferns growing on top. The loons were very active in the lake below. Their hooting and yodeling continued well into late morning.The trail eventually dropped down close to the lake and I found a spot on a boulder protruding over the water to stop for a snack. I was able to get just enough signal there to get a call out to WW. When she answered the phone I could hear distress in her voice. She was already at the departure airport and said that she had just hurt her back while removing her daypack. She was so upset because she had been feeling great for weeks. I tried to calm her down a little because she was getting ready to get on the plane and she needed to try to let the muscles in her back relax. I ran my option to meet in Millenocket by her and she liked that idea.After I got off the phone with WW my demeanor totally changed. All I wanted was to be there with her to help out as best I could. I also felt our fairly tale ending slipping away. In that moment I couldn¢t see myself hiking through Baxter and up Katahdin without WW at my side. I definitely was in no mood to finish the final 9 miles of today¢s hike. Every wet rock and root was suddenly an annoyance to me again. The mental aspect of a long distance hike is such an important component. When something outside of the hike (family issues, etc) slip into my psyche the mental drain has a real impact on my ability to physically continue hiking. I just wanted to be out of the woods and on my way to Boston to meet WW. But, my energy and enthusiasm was at an all time low. I stopped on Rainbow Ledges to eat some lunch and make some calls to set up lodging. By then WW had landed in Newark and she wasn¢t doing well. She was in tears now and it was tearing me apart. She was already on board for the flight to Boston and not feeling well at all. I asked her to hit the call button and ask the flight attendant to see if she could get a bag of ice. She did. Lunch didn¢t help with my energy level and I continued to walk in a funk for the rest of the hike. To make matters worse, there was bad weather in Boston and she sat on the tarmac for 2.5 hours. I had a decent signal now and we were able to text back and forth. We changed the topic to something more humorous to take the edge off. It seemed to help both of us. After exiting the 100-Mile Wilderness the trail followed a gravel road for a short distance. I crossed the Penobscot River on Abol Bridge. From the bridge there was an amazing view of Katahdin. I took a picture and moved on. A short distance after the bridge, there was a campground with a camp store and restaurant. Rafting and other outdoor activities are popular in Baxter State Park and there were quite a few patrons in the restaurant. I mentioned to another hiker that I needed to find a ride into Millenocket. A young lady who had been rafting overhead me and said she would give me a ride. She hadn¢t eaten dinner yet and I offered to get her burger. She agreed that it was a good deal. After dinner the young lady gave me a ride to Millenocket. As it turns out, that is a long haul with several miles along a gravel road. I offered my trail angel some money for gas and she just said to pay it forward.About the time I was checking in, WW was arriving in Boston. She said the ice took the edge off and she was feeling up to driving all the way to Millenocket. I spent the next several hours talking to her in between hiker chores. At 0130 I met her in the parking lot. It felt so good to hold her in my arms. We will wait for tomorrow to see what tomorrow brings. For now, it is at it should be¢TOGETHER AGAIN!Peace & Blessings - NSp.s. all of the pics from the 100-Mile Wilderness are loaded. Thanks for being patient.Elevation Data:Ascent - 1,540Descent - 1,960Grade - 4.4Weather:Day - 75 / AM RainNight - 53 / Partly CloudyOver The Horizon: Baxter State Park, ME