Date: 2013-06-27
From: Stratton Motel

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 13.5

DAY 18MILES ON AT FOR DAY- 13.5MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 13.5"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat."- Theodore Roosevelt Woke up at 6:30am and felt super groggy. I guess probably from the late night the night before. Not getting my 8 hours really effects my energy in my hike the next day. Sue told us she could shuttle us to the trailhead at 8am the earliest so we prepared to be ready for then with our packs. Mostly everyone except for Firefox, Woodchuck, Froggie Pete, and Gus were sleeping. We had our chocolate milk and donuts, said goodbye to those who were awake, and were off to the trailhead with Sue and her dog Knucklehead. Unfortunately the weather was rainy and cold and supposed to storm later. Go figure. It is Maine after all. Our first 5 miles was a gradual uphill to North Crocker Mtn which was the 2nd tallest on the AT in Maine at an elevation of 4,228 feet. Sue dropped us off and we headed up the trail but I just didn't feel right. Gary took off ahead of me because he is much faster than I am on uphills but that wasn't anything different than usual. I was on my own and I just mentally wasn't feeling it. After a half a mile into the hike I just stopped and stood there. I felt like I was moving so slow and the weather just sucked and I couldn't believe it but I just started to cry. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the lack of coffee that morning, or the weather, or the long incline to the peak first thing in the morning, or the stress of needing to get to Rangley on time... I just don't know. All I knew is that I mentally was not prepared to do the hike for the first time since I had started and all I wanted to do was go back to Stratton. I knew that this type of thing was bound to happen eventually from what people had told me. It can't be all sunshine and happiness everyday. The reality is that it's tough. Mentally and physically. And some days you don't mentally have it. And you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other when you feel that way. I had a good cry, talked to my Dad and my boyfriend which helped, and then just pushed forward. There isn't really another option right? A few minutes later I came upon what looked like someone had just dumped their entire pack of stuff on the trail. Clothes, food, everything! I guess that could have been another option? I was in a bad mood but not THAT bad of a mood to just say screw it and dump everything. Because I was a bit flustered though, I slipped and fell a few times which only made me more flustered. I started hiking a lot faster, especially because I knew now Gary was going to be waiting at the top for even longer since I had to stand still to make a phone call. When I went to step over a rock I let out a small shriek because if I had out my foot down I would have stepped on a porcupine! Thank goodness I didn't. I tried to snag a picture of him but all I got was his butt as he hid under the rock I had just stepped over.As I was feeling better hiking and getting closer to the top I passed two NoBos, a boy and a girl, who were doing a NoBo SoBo. They were going to turn back around on Katahdin and then go back down the trail again southbound. Now THAT'S crazy. I also passed another two NoBo hikers named Sweet Brown and Shake n' Bake. They were cruising along just listening to their headphones. I'm always so envious of how the NoBos just seem to bounce down the trail. One day ill have that pace hopefully. I could've used it a few miles ago.I finally got to the peak and there was Gary. He had been up there for almost 30 minutes. I felt bad but he knew. He said he could tell I was having an off day. I'm sure it won't be the last but at least I know I can get through them. There wasn't any view from North Crocker because it was hidden by trees, which is surprising for such a tall mountain. I ate a quick snack and we continued on to South Crocker. As we hiked he mentioned how he had talked with the two NoBos about their experience so far. Apparently they've liked Maine the least of the entire trail. It made me feel at least a bit better about how I had been feeling that morning haha. As we continued we met a third NoBo named Buzz. He was with the other two but was a bit behind. When we asked him about his thoughts on Maine he said he hated it more than any other state haha. Oh well. But he did say the Whites were beautiful. Again knowing how much the NoBos were struggling through Maine's rugged terrain gave me a little confidence.We hit South Crocker and the hike wasn't too bad. No view but oh well. It was pretty misty so we couldn't see much but it was actually kind of nice to hike in. It kept is cool as we hiked. We had a long decline off the mountain and as we were coming off it and going up to Sugarloaf you could catch some views as the most moved around and cleared a bit. The sky wasn't too clear but the clouds looked cool settling on the mountains. After going around Sugarloaf we hit one more "quick up and down" or the shoulder of Sugarloaf and then came down to the lean-to. We successfully got through the day with no rain! And got in at a reasonable time of 6:00pm (all things considered). Overall I felt much much better. Once I had gotten to that first peak I felt like I was back to normal. When we arrived at the lean-to a NoBo named Blues Man was the only one there. He had a lot of stuff but come to find out he carried a heavy pack and liked to hike with comfort. He was really nice and told me about a cool plane crash to check out in NH and slack packing in MA. It's really nice to get insight from people that have already been through it all. And just like the other guys we had met today, he wasn't the biggest fan of Maine. We ate our dinners and went to bed early. I was surprised that no one else from Stratton came along. It started to rain but I hoped it wouldn't last into the morning. That would really slow us down for getting to Rangley on time to meet my Aunt and Uncle who were joining me for the coming week on Saturday morning, but what can you do. Can't control Mother Nature!P.S. I hit my 200 mile mark today