Date: 2013-07-11
From: Stealth Camp at White Brook Trail Intersection

To: Stealth Camp at Barren Mountain Summit
Miles today: 22.5

Day 5, July 11. White brook trail intersection to summit of barren mountain. 22.5 miles.What an amazing day. Quite possibly my favorite day on the trail yet.It started slow because my alarm didn't go off and/or I slept through it. I still managed to hit the trail by 7, breaking camp in half an hour. Not bad. Woody must have taken off long before then cause he was nowhere to be seen. I made it my mission of the day to catch him.the trail finally remembered it was supposed to follow a mountain range and decided to make up for the flatness of the past few days. It was a total rollercoaster of scrambles and climbs. Made for some really fun hiking, though it sure was tiring. in the morning we ran along one ridgeline, dipped down to about 700 feet then shot back up to a second ridgeline that had lots of pretty views.Above all else the best part of the day was that the combination of altitude, wind, and the bug gods listening to my pleas made the mosquitos go away. I was able to hike the entire day without bug netting and got less than a dozen bites. Glorious!early in the day I got my fresh pair of socks (and shoes, shorts, and pack) soaking wet as I slipped right into a stream I was getting water from. I literally remember looking at the tilted, smooth rock that had water running over it and somehow still thought it would make a great step. A quarter of a second later I was in the drink. Dumb dumb dumb. I should know better than that by now. Since my stuff was still damp from the night before where nothing dried out I was fated to hike the rest of the day in wet socks. I expected my feet to be a mass of blisters by the end of the day but they held up surprisingly well with just a few raw patches.I felt like I was making good time all day, including stopping for a legit stream ford, but the uphills and downhills all went straight up and down the side of the mountain because apparently switchbacks haven't made it to Maine yet, and by the end of the day only made 22.5 miles, a few less than I was hoping for. I did take a long break on top of fourth mountain (Maine is really bland when it comes to names, as fourth mountain is the fourth mountain as you go along the ridge) to dry out all my gear in the afternoon sun and wind. That stop took a bit longer as my water bottle rolled over the side of the cliff and I had to climb down to fetch it. At some point during the afternoon I caught up with woody and found out he had hit the trail at 5 40. The dude is one hell of a hiker.Towards the end of the day we were looking for spots to hang and he found a place just north of the summit of barren mountain in some thick forest while I found a spot on the south side of the summit. My trees aren't super tall so I hung as low on them as I could and now my butt is 3 inches off the ground. Hopefully I don't gain a few pounds overnight! I also have very little protection from the wind ripping through, just some tiny boulders and the shrubbiest little shrub tree. its going to be a cold night, I'm even wearing my fleece and hat already! Luckily the sky is clear so I don't have to deal with rain or anything, cause I would be in a right pickle if that were the case.The summit of barren mountain is one of those mixed rock outcropping/pine ones, but what makes it exciting is the rickety old fire tower supports perched on top. The ladder is still there and from the top was an amazing panoramic view. I even got some service at the top, but after multiple tries I wasn't able to get any calls or texts through to let my family know I'm still alive. Last they heard from me I was in the airport in Charlotte. Tomorrow in monson I should be able to give them a call and let them know I haven't been eaten by a moose yet.speaking of tomorrow, its looking like a very flat day with plenty of water sources and 3 fords to keep things interesting. If I don't turn into a popsicle overnight it should be a relatively easy 18 mile day into monson, though it will probably be buggy. We're gonna try and get a fairly early start so we can hopefully get into town with enough time left to tackle all our town chores rather than try to do em all Saturday morning. Until then its later than normal and time for bed. I got 10 hours last night, but tonights not looking as good. Might be a normal 8. Boooo!