Date: 2016-08-02
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: ME Route 4 (Rangeley)
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

The rain stopped by 10:00 pm, leaving much of the night to start drying things out. By the time I began hiking at 8:00 am, the trail was still a bit wet, but ready for the day to wring it fully dry. With fluffy white clouds replacing the evening's stormy ones, the day held ideal hiking conditions: intermittent sun, a brisk breeze and pleasant temperatures. Last night's Poplar Ridge Lean-to sat just shy of 3,000 feet, so my ascent to the first of the three Saddleback peaks, Saddleback Junior, went by fairly quickly. At 3,655 feet, Saddleback Junior isn't particularly high, but its summit is fully above tree line and offered tremendous views. There, I met a couple from New Zealand, Cow Pie and Dusty, who have a future at the New Zealand Tourism Council. By the time I stepped off the summit to head to the next peak, I was ready to sign up for three weeks of hiking in New Zealand and Australia. Next in line, The Horn rises to 4,021 feet after a steep climb from the notch between it and Saddleback Junior. Very rocky, with long, large slabs of bedrock, the trail up took some real effort. But once at the top, hikers are offered a true alpine treat. For the 1.5 miles between the summits of The Horn and the adjoining Saddleback Mountain, the AT stays entirely above tree line. Granite bedrock and boulders host the trail and cairns mark its serpentine progress toward Saddleback Mountain's 4,120 foot summit. With alpine flora stubbornly clinging to the exposed rock and breathtaking views in all directions, the mile and a half walk was an utter delight. Before I left to climb the Saddleback Range, I had arranged with Alison and Holly to meet me at the summit of Saddleback at noon. They would embark from the parking lot at ME Route 4 and climb 2,500 feet over 5.7 miles, a significant day hike. I arrived at Saddleback's summit from The Horn at 11:30 am, donned a light fleece and shell, and thoroughly enjoyed passing the 25 minutes until their on-time arrival. With a stiff breeze blowing, we ate lunch, took in the views, stood for today's photo, and rested before our long descent back down to the parking lot. I loved having Holly by my side, sharing a small part of my AT adventure, as we moved from above tree line to below. A college sophomore, astute and highly attuned to others, Holly is a real force for good. On the way down, I had the pleasure of running into two NoBos that I had met outside of Hiawassee, GA, in late April. Rattle Bee and Banana Pants, very seasoned and fast-moving hikers, broke into wide smiles when they recognized my trail name, and couldn't have been more genuine in their delight to see a flip-flopper from their early AT days. We spoke for a bit, I introduced them to Alison and Holly, and we all drank in their very pleasant company. These two had made quite an impression on this rookie thru-hiker way back in Hiawassee, and I couldn't have been more happy than to see them again. They had just 215 miles to go, and will finish the AT in under four months.Arriving back at our camp at 5:00 pm, we all agreed it was a wonderful day, and I'm thrilled that Alison and Holly had the chance to join me on the AT. Tomorrow, I will take one more zero with them, and then head out to finish the last 46 miles in Maine.