Date: 2011-06-19
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: South Pond
Miles today: 12.9

A heaping helping of oatmeal with a hand full of raisins is the start to my day today. This day was only planned to be 8.9 miles over the Saddleback Mountain Range, but with a little motivation that would soon be altered. About 7:45am, I am having a slow morning and experiencing slight difficulties in acquiring the proper motivation needed to move. After checking the mini thermometer that Southpaw Sparrow gave me on day 3, I find it to be 38 degrees in the lean-to. Hmm, I guess that's why it was so hard to put on wet socks and shoes. My feet literally screamed at me! It's fairly close to 9:00am by the time I leave camp, which is roughly an hour after Woody headed out.There are three mountains to climb today, and Saddleback Junior begins thetriad. The summit is just above tree line and the wind is fairly strong, butnothing too noteworthy. Next, I have The Horn, which is above tree line. I will remain above tree line until descending Saddleback. This time, the wind above tree line is quite noteworthy. With every step, as I attempt to bring my trekking poles forward, they are forced quickly to my left. In order to place the pole tips even remotely where I desire, I have to attempt to push them to my right and hope they end up in front of me. The wind is a continuous roar as the next couple of miles are completely exposed at roughly 4,000 feet. I enjoyed a chocolate bar while making my way from The Horn to Saddleback, and it was quite crunchy and cold (probably frozen), although I never checked my thermometer. It is now a continuous decent to camp. As I'm walking, I realize I will be making camp by 2:00pm. I also know that the highway to Rangely, ME is but a mere 2 miles from the aforementioned intended camp site. So the new plan is to keep hiking to the highway, get a ride the 9 miles into town, eat, eat, eat, get a ride back to the trail, hike south until around 7:00pm, and stealth camp at a suitable site. Woody is already at the previously intended campsite and partially unpacked. I tell him my plan and he agrees that it is a good idea, however voices concerns on the logistics working out. I tell him just to have faith that everything will fall in place and work out. During the hike he continues with his concerns and what-ifs, and my response is still the same. We arrive at the highway to find a motorcycle off the road at pretty much the exact placewhere the A.T. crosses the road. Emergency crews have the road shut down to one lane. We walk briefly towards town and away from the scene of the accident before attempting to get a ride. We are picked up by a nice couple that was doing a day hike on the A.T. south of the highway. They drop us off at the town's pizza joint called Red Onion. Woody still voices some worries bout getting back to the trail this evening, and again I tell him to have faith. The irony sets in when our waitress goes to get our drinks, a large tattoo is visible on the back of her neck reading: FAITH. After she is out of earshot, I ask Woody if he has faith now that it will all work out. He just laughs. I had several glasses of water and root beer, a chicken tenders plate with all the sauces, a large Hawaiian pizza, and triple layer chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. After dinner, we got a ride back to the trail from a couple of super nice guys from Portland that had brought their families up for some hiking this week. These guys weren't even going to the trail, but they went almost 20 miles (round trip) out of their way just to help us out! Oh, and they also gave us candy. After all of the food, we pushed through a quick 750 ft climb and after hiking a couple of miles came to South Pond. Before I even made camp I spotted an older, rusted, overturned canoe near the shore. The question hadn't yet left my mouth and Woody was helping me take her to the water. Nearby we found a broken 2x4 and a piece of wood that looked as if one day, many years ago, it could have been a paddle. Immediately we started paddling around the lake. We spent a solid half hour or more just exploring. It was quite refreshing to make my arms do the work for a while. After a complete counterclockwise circle around South Pond, it was time to get ready for bed. No cooking tonight!! I am soon in my tent enjoying the feeling of a full stomach, but quite displeased with the birds (it is now around 8:45pm). I assume them to be screech owls due to the ridiculous volumes of anything but a pretty song. It's past time for bed; don't these birds know? I wish I knew what they were, but future research I'm sure will tell. All in good time. Tomorrow I continue south to Georgia, all in good time.