Date: 2011-08-11
From: (126) Monson ME

To: (127) Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke early today and was glad to discover that it was no longer raining. I said goodbye to Twigg, Hand-Me-Down and River Rat even though they were still half asleep, because I knew that I would never see them again, though I hope I do.It took me a long time to catch a hitch out of town, as there was little traffic in the morning and it was a cold wet day. As a result of this I was not back on trail until 7am, a late start. Almost immediately upon entering the woods from the road crossing, I encountered a sign announcing the beginning of the Hundred Mile Wilderness. It read: ¢Appalachian Trail. Caution. There are no places to obtain supplies or get help until Abol Bridge 100 miles North. Do not attempt this section unless you have a minimum of 10 days supplies and are fully equipped. This is the longest wilderness section of the entire AT and its difficulty should not be underestimated. Good Hiking!¢ I shouldered my pack, 3 days worth of food and 11lbs of gear, and smiled daringly. So this was it huh, the last stretch before the end. I looked down at the base of the sign and saw that there was a box with a trail register in it. I read through the entries and saw a lot of comments about how much food hikers were taking, how overly prepared they were, the miles they had planned out, and the like. With a grin, I signed at the bottom of the registry, ¢Three days or I starve! ¢ LEMUR¢. I snapped off a picture of what would likely be my own demise, and then dived into the wilderness without a second thought. My miles will be very simple: two days of around 25 miles depending on landmarks, and then a 50 miler ending me near a water source, though I don¢t know where yet as this depends on where I stop on the second day, rain, etc. If I mess up at all, I starve. A few miles into the wilderness I hit a shallow river crossing that had ropes tied across it between two trees. Another hiker named Trek, a multiple finisher of the AT, was already making his way through the water. It seemed manageable, but I decided to give the ropes a try and see if I couldn¢t climb across without getting wet. I swung myself up to the height of the ropes, threw a leg over so that I was hanging by my knee, and then pulled with my arms to slide my body down the length and over the water. Unfortunately the rope began to sag, and I soon found myself dangling inches from the surface of the water. I groaned and stubbornly held on for a few seconds until I gave up and dropped down onto a large boulder that was nearby. I stood on the boulder looking around, but I was completely trapped with nowhere to go (I could hear Trek hooting at me the whole time), and so I slid into the water and walked the rest of the way across. Trek was still shaking his head and laughing on the opposite shore, and as I approached he told me that out of all the times he had hiked the AT he had never met anyone dumb enough to try that! I began to laugh as well. Why do I even bother?Later I hit another river and went though it barefoot. On the other shore I turned and saw that none other than Tridub was starting across, knee deep in water. It looked like I would have a hiking buddy for the day. Shortly after the crossing it started to rain and I became very wet and cold, but continued hiking shirtless anyway as I wanted to keep dry what little clothes I owned in case the temperature should drop further during the night. The Rain stopped for awhile and Tridub caught up to me. Together we hiked and talked while going over large areas of flat slippery rock or through pits of mud that sucked at us like quick sand (I leaned on one of my hiking poles and it sunk into the mud up to its handle!). While hiking and talking Tridub told me more about his life and that he was going back to school soon to get his PHD in Plasma Physics. He began talking about plasma and clean energy and how he wanted to help the environment, and that he might be able to apply his degree and skills in computer programming to Physics in order to create visuals of such projects, among other things. It was all very impressive, and hey, as long as I am hiking I may as well learn about the states of matter or the differences between fusion and fission, right? By evening the rain had picked up again and turned into a torrential downpour that never ended. The trail became a stream for all the runoff, and Tridub and I were soon soaked to the bone (And then some), yet still had fun forging deep puddles and leaping over rock ledges while the rain blasted down. We arrived at Chairback Lean-to after 26 miles of hiking, which we shared with two section hikers, a father and son. It had been a miserable day, and we hung our soaking wet clothes inside the lean-to in the hopes that they would dry out some (In my case socks and shoes). While rummaging through my pack, I discovered that the foam back pad had a large tear (It was rotting), and that the rain had soaked into my pack through the hole and dampened my gear including my sleeping bag and fleece (The garbage bag I use to keep these dry also has a hole in it). The night is cold, my bag is wet, but I will survive. (Really all of my gear is falling apart, but at this point it is simply a matter of holding out until the end.) Tomorrow Tridub and I are planning on doing an easy 24 mile day to set ourselves up for a 50 mile attempt through the second half of the wilderness which, somehow, I have talked Tridub into doing with me. The 50 miler, if all goes according to plan, will be our second to last day on the trail, with a summit of Katahdin the next. It doesn¢t feel real that I am about to finish the trail, yet I have little remorse as finishing is what I set out to do. I am about to accomplish the impossible, and soon I will be home with family, friends, and the rest of summer to look forward to!