Date: 2009-09-30
From: Highway 17 (done NOBO)

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 13.3

Today was a wet one. I got up extra early (5:00) because I was worried about the trail. I knew it would be more difficult than yesterday and it was. Bob got me to the trail by 6:30 and I took off. First there was a nearly 700 ft steep descent in half a mile followed by a steep 750 ft climb in half a mile. Then less steep climbing interspersed with a bit of downhill for another 500 ft of elevation gain over 2 and 3/4 miles. The trail, as per usual in Maine, was rough, although I have seen worse here. It started to rain at the bottom of the descent and basically continued to rain or at least mist most of the rest of the day. It took me almost 4 hours to do the 4.4 miles to Bemis Mountan Leanto where I stopped to eat and evaluate. I could already tell that at that pace I would not complete the hike in daylight hours as it is fairly dark by 6:30 now. I ate my lunch, figuring this was the last chance to eat under shelter from rain for the day. When a zipper stuck on my coat trapping my cell phone I almost had a meltdown and I almost turned around to go back to the road. I looked at the hiker log and saw that Night Train had gotten in at 8:30 the night before. I told myself that if he could hike a little in the dark, so could I. And so, after some fiddling with raincover adjustments I went on. Now that I was no longer stressing about getting there before dark I actually hiked better and certainly with more enjoyment. I am from Washington. I can hike in the rain. I had run into a NOBO, Gnarly, before reaching the shelter. And some time later, after Bemis Mountain, I ran into Bad Camper. At the usual hiker greeting of "How are you doing?" I answered, "Not as well as I would like to today." He came back with, "Oh, you mean the weather stinks and you are all wet but it is so good to be outside." I laughed and agreed. He hit it on the head. His comment helped me chuckle through the day. And it was a wet one. And even though my mood had improved, I decided not to have any more stops than absolutely necessary. I stopped to water the ground once and that was all I stopped for the rest of the day. So, today I climbed, First Peak, Second Peak, Third Peak, Bemis Mountain, Elephant Mountain and Old Blue Mountain but I saw no view except raindrops (sleet on Old Blue). Still, I found ways to enjoy the day and it was an interesting hike. I got to Old Blue at 5:00 and called David, the shuttle driver/hostel owner in Andover. (I had eventually freed my cellphone from the zippered pocket.) David said he would be at the road waiting for me. I estimated I would be another 2&1/2 hours. (I actually took 3.) Going down was very steep at first, not bad downhill in the middle and then very steep again for the last 750 ft. During the day and especially on the steep downhill sections there were about 6 pitches where rebar had been embeded in the steep rock to make stairs to help get down. The first steep down section lost 650 ft in less than a quarter mile. The last lost 750 ft in half a mile. That is STEEP. And the last section was done in the dark with only my headlamp to find the way. I was grateful for the rebar and for some nice fresh white blazes on the trees and rocks. I kept telling myself over and over. "Just be careful, Go as slow as you want. Just be careful. Don't fall." When I neared the bottom David turned on the car lights and I cheered. I was almost there. I was going to survive intact. But I was still extra careful even for the few last steps. David very thoughtfully gave me a big glass of lemonade. Good. I am very tired. I showered and ate some cup o soup tomato soup and 2 cheese roll ups and I am going to bed. I am alive. I am off the mountain. I am clean and life is good.