Date: 2015-07-31
From: Piazza Rock Lean-to

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: broken clouds

It rained during the night and the air was hot and humid. The synthetic fabric of my sleeping bag clung to my skin and I was generally uncomfortable. I listened to the raindrops drum against the tent, though the noise wasn't enough to drown out the sound of other hikers tossing and turning in their bags. We began hiking at a good pace. The Trail was wet and the low-lying pine branches soaked our legs. Maine is quite boggy; we frequently need to balance along rotten wooden planks and many times our foot slips or the plank collapses. The thick, viscous mud is particularly odorous and my boots emanate a permanent stench.We began climbing Saddleback Mountain. It was quite a challenging climb as there were numerous rock slides to overcome. The mountain side was chiral, that is, I always had to support myself using the same arm (it was with my right-sided one, which was, of course, the side on which I fell and hurt my shoulder a few days ago). I grew increasingly irate at the slippery, smooth, bulbous rocks that offer no hold or grip. I needed to hike around them, grasping small shrubs and uncovered roots. Prior to entering the exposed areas of the Trail, there is frequently a sign warning hikers that they are nearing the "alpine zone" where they should take extra precautions and that the vegetation is fragile above treeline. At this point I was mad and had a mini-meltdown. I began a long ranty monologue about how the Trail should not even exist here: not only is it dangerous, but constant human inteference is clearly incompatible with the delicate wild and plantlife. I felt bad that I was partipating in its slow degradation. I came to the AT to live a different life, to stretch my mental and physical boundaries and, more importantly, to suspend my "real" life while I sought a different experience; the fact that this was to be done in "nature" was secondary. I know that many could say that I, a city-dweller, am guilty of producing mass quantities of pollution. This is true, but I dislike the fact that nature is a source of entertainment. Hordes of hikers of all types pass through the AT like Crusaders, trampling and pillaging, leaving a mess in their wake. Even if I do my best to practice "leave no trace", I was saddened today by the realization that the AT as it currently is may not be sustainable and that I was part of the problem. Shrugs listened, stoic and impassive.The Trail crawls over Saddleback Mountain (4,120') and follows an exposed ridgeline connecting the mountain to other peaks. We had many steep up and downs, including some awkward and tiresome rock-climbing. The views were nice: I saw many ponds, ponds which we had seen the previous day, and they appeared as murky puddles on the mountain side. The wind was strong and large clouds ran past us far away beyond our line of view, a strange scene as we usually are the ones fleeing the clouds. The strong gusts blew on me as well. I was off-balance, tripping often and the straps of my pack whipped my face mercilessly. I think my heavy pack bursting to the seams with food did not help my mood or my performance today.I felt a bit better as we hiked back down below treeline. The sound of the howling wind suddenly stopped and there was finally silence.Shrugs and I continued hiking while having lengthy conversations so I momentarily forgot my troubles. The day was cool and sunny and, while this is perfect hiking weather, we both wanted to stop early and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Hopefully, we can eat a lot of food and lighten our packs a bit.It really is a nice afternoon: clear sky, sun, cool breeze. I was glad we could simply appreciate this beautiful day and our time together. - Axon