Date: 2008-09-22
From: Stealth site 1.2 miles before Long Pond Stream, ME

To: Stealth site to trail to Cloud Pond Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 6.0

Cool nite, but I was warm. It was 43 when I checked this morning. Incessant said she heard me talking in my sleep last nite. I hardly ever do that, so I was sleeping deeply. The first alarm went off, I heard it, and then I slept thru the second alarm. Geez...just don't know what's going on with this other than this being a sign of how deeply tired I am. I yelled over to Incessant and she woke up, it was 5:53 a.m. I did NOT want to get out of my cozy hammock, but forced myself to. We packed up and were hiking by 8:15 a.m. Today had some incredible sights. We started off going down to Wilbur Brook and then to the very beautiful Vaughn Stream, which had waterfalls and golden pools of water. We both could have stayed here all day..so beautiful. We headed on though about 1 more mile and came to Long Pond Stream, which can be a ford, but I used a skinny log someone layed across and then boulder hopped the rest of the way. It was a bit unerving on the log because when I put my poles in the deep water for balance, I couldn't see where they would touch. I stayed dry luckily. Incessant chose another way, stepped on a slick rock and made the save of a lifetime. I thought she was going in, but she didn't....impressive. She got her feet a bit wet, but it could have been far worse. We stopped to eat a snack before starting our climb up the Barren Chairback Range, 1 of 2 major ranges in the wilderness. It was a 4 mile climb...making for a long day. It started off gradually where we hiked along the river for quite awhile. Gosh is it pretty, sights you see nowhere else. Then it was a moment to be noticed. I hit the 100 miles left mark! Incessant used the scissors of my knife to cut a 100 out of some birch bark that was on the ground. Wow...the last moment of triple digits to Katahdin. I remember the 100 mile celebration with Persistent. I believe my snickers had melted. I can't believe now it was 100 miles to the end! We headed on and up and up and came to Long Pond Stream Lean-to and went to it for some water. The source was a trickle, but it worked. This is the last water till Cloud Pond Lean-to, where we were headed for the day, so we both got extra water and headed on. It was about 11:00 a.m. now. The trail got a lot steeper, as expected, but the sun was out, the sky was blue, and it was a bit chilly in the 50's today. I wore my long sleeved shirt most of the day. We kept climbing but decided to stop for lunch around 12:30 p.m. in a great spot in the sun. Wonderful lunch with the warm sun beating down. Several hikers passed by, South Paw and others I don't know. We moved on around 1 p.m. and after a very steep bouldery section, we finally got to a flatter part which led us to Barren Ledges. Wow! This was an awesome view of lakes and valleys and mountains around. It is humbling to see how far you just climbed. We could also see the top of Barren mtn., where we were headed next. We started up again, for about 1.5 more miles. Parts were flatter, but overal it was also steep climbing. The temps were much cooler too, but it sure was beautiful...piney forest green moss, all the stuff I love. A bit before the top, we met Pokey Princess (ME) and her dog Bailey. Great woman. We all gabbed for a bit, then started up some more. At 4:10 p.m., we reached the summit of Barren Mtn. There's an old firetower here, which was falling apart. i opted not to climb it. The views were spectacular here too. Incessant was like, "Wow!" It was beautiful indeed, but we still had 1 more mile to go, so we moved on. Luckily this last mile was easy, as Incessant's legs just got a crash conditioning today. She's got my respect man...climbing for hours and still smiling. We got to the side trail for the shelter. Didn't want to go the .4 all the way to the shelter, so decided to find a stealth site along the side trail, and out of the cold wind. It's thick forest, but we found 1 spot that would work. It's about .2 up the sidetrail. I told Incessant to set up her camp while I went to Cloud pond for water. A bit of a hike, but really gorgeous. Tons of people were tenting, so I was so glad we hung elsewhere. I got water and headed back. I set up camp and made dinner, then hung our food. Before turning in, i told incessant to turn her headlamp off and lok up. Some trees were in the way, but the stars were amazing. It's freaking cold in the 40's already, but no wind thankfully. Tomorrow is a longer day, but you have to go to the next shelter for water, so that's the way it is. Incessant is quite a woman, and has earned my respect. This section is hard hiking, and yet there she is over there snoring away. Amazing to have her out here. I love it. Gotta get some zzz's. My eyes are shutting now.   ~Certain