Date: 2015-07-25
From: Hiker Hut - Rangeley, ME

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 10.7

Stacy, the owner of the Farmhouse Inn, stopped by this morning. She moved to Maine a year and a half ago from Colorado. Steve gave her the idea of turning her property into a hiker hostel since she could offer amenities (electricity, wifi, hot showers, etc.) he cannot. It has worked out well and they are building another bunkhouse. It's great to see hostel owners work together instead of compete. Stacy took me back to the Farmhouse where I could do laundry, charge my phone and catch up on electronic communications. Wolverine was there. Stacy took us to the IGA where I purchased some extra supplies and walked the half mile back to the Farmhouse. Several SOBOs and Six Strings arrived. Diane stopped by to pick me up. We stopped in town so she could get better Wifi at the cafe. Then we returned to the Hiker Hut. Moon and Straps were hanging out by the fire pit with Steve. We chatted and then they decided to hitch to town. I repacked. Steve is a sports masseuse and gave my legs a massage. I highly recommend staying at the Hiker Hut if you are open to it. I admit I was wary when SOBOs told me no electricity; however, it was a wonderful stay. And all the proceeds benefit kids with facial tumors in India. It was such a peaceful and relaxing experience . . . different from the social bunkhouse which is fun too. But this was a unique experience.I was about to leave when I saw Sugar Magnolia at my cabin door. She and Crafty had just arrived and Crafty was picking up her shoe mail drop. We chatted and caught up. Sugar's parents had driven up and picked up Sullivan yesterday. I had not heard from Wookie. So I was planning to nero out this afternoon. They planned to spend the night at the Farmhouse. So we would still be separated by miles. Wookie needs to summit August 7th so we are trying to summit together. But I do not want to be forced to hike big miles or skip ahead. So I am trying to keep moving at my pace so I can join them. Otherwise I face a tough decision - maintain my continuous northbound journey vs summit with friends even if I am not done and go back and hike the miles skipped. I am torn because in my mind, I can't cross the finish line if I haven't hiked all the miles. However people hike the AT in many ways and many flip flop or make up missed segments after. So I am hoping to avoid having to make that decision even if it means hiking alone now. So I walked back the 0.3 miles back to the trail. Crafty and Sugar had just gotten a hitch as I got to the road. I then had to wave them down and give Crafty her new shoe package she had left on the roadside. The trail head had a warning sign not to start hiking to Saddlebrook Mountain after 12 noon because it's a strenuous hike. It was after 1:30 and I had planned to hike beyond. Was the 12 noon for the average day hiker? Am I with a fully loaded pack equivalent to a day hiker? If I didn't go all the way, I would not hike less than 2 miles. I set out and decided to see how long it would take to hike the first couple of miles. I reached the Piazza Rock side trail, dropped my pack and ran up the 0.1 mile side trail to see the rock. I climbed up through the rock but didn't see any views. So I returned, ate some cookies and hiked on. I was going to go for it. It was a nice long climb towards the mountain. It was nice to have new shoes where mud, rocks and pine needles didn't get into right away. I tried to keep them from submerging in mud on day one which was difficult considering there was a lot of mud. I made it up the side of Saddlebrook and enjoyed a nice view from where I had hiked. However as I got higher I was in the clouds and any views disappeared. I chatted with a couple day hikers and kept climbing to the summit which had several false summit layers first. The trail was exposed and the views would have been amazing had there been no clouds. It was only a little breezy instead of super windy like I expected. I finally reached the summit sign and then hiked down and back up to The Horn 1.7 miles later. Another steep wet descent and I passed the campsite I had considered spending the night but it was really muddy and it was only 6:30! So I kept going. I didn't see any flat spots and ended climbing up and down Saddleback Junior. I kept going and finally arrived at the Poplar Ridge Lean-to a little before 8:30 which I expected to be full but wasn't. Happy was there. He had left early this morning. A few other hikers were there but there was tent space!