Date: 2003-08-24
From: Sugarloaf Mtn Trail (3650') 

To: ME27, Stratton, ME (1400') 
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

Aloha! Oh wow! What a great day this has been! I swear they just keep getting better and better! I LOVE THIS JOB! Okay, it may not be a real job but it's my job right now... and I LOVE IT!   Once again it started off with a bang by Coffee serving me coffee while still wrapped in my sleeping bag. He's such an awesome trail husband. Every gal should have one like him. Anyway, he served coffee and we both snuggled back down in our bags to wait the sunrise. We just knew the sunrise service was going to be as spectacular as last night's. It wasn't quite as spectacular but it was still pretty awesome.   Before braving the cold and winds to leave, we took some time to play. Below the floor in which we slept we enjoyed the wood stove and views is of a "room" where the old gondola came through. It's currently boarded off, sort of since the wind has blown in at least half the boards, but there are still old gondolas inside. You guessed it, we had to play and take pictures. It was mandatory. From there it was to the outside ski lift chairs. Now that was fun! There was one low enough for me to climb on and with the sustained 40 mph winds; I also got a bit of a ride! I'm not sure I would like the trip to the top with winds like this morning's. My motion sickness wouldn't appreciate it for sure! But we played on them anyway and had a blast. It wasn't until we couldn't feel our fingers anymore that we knew it was time to get off that mountain. But not before we went to the very peak of it first though. Fighting major winds we did make it the 50 yards but had to sit down to take any pictures. The winds were knocking us off our feet. We didn't last but long enough to enjoy the view on the other side of the mountain for a moment and then run for the tree line. At the tree line my thermometer registered 30 degrees... I believe that makes the wind chill at the top bout -4 degrees. Burrr... no wonder I couldn't feel my fingers! Once below the tree line, it didn¢t take long to have to remove the multiple layer of clothing I had been wearing to play. With the winds howling across the tops of the tress, as long as I was hiking I was okay in my sleeveless top. Stop for very long on a vista or even in the trees and I was shivering within minutes. I do believe someone has forgotten to tell Maine that it's AUGUST!   Our descent off Sugarloaf Mountain was a steep one. We descended from 3650' down to 2100' in two miles with last 1100' being in the final half mile. It was steep and a grind on the already grinding knees. Umph!   At the bottom we did what we do every time, turn around and go back UP. I will admit that by the time I finished going UP the Crocker Mountains I was more than frustrated, I was really pissy. For the life of me I can't see the need for dragging hikers needlessly across these. We went UP from the 2100' level to South Crocker Mountain (4010') in 2.75 miles. For whatever reason it went on forever! We didn't even make it all the way to the top before we gave up and had lunch. From the peak, with absolutely no views, we went down through the saddle and back UP to North Crocker Mountain (4228') to turn around and go back down. This time for 5.5 miles. Again there was no view at the top. On the way UP the south mountain we did get a few views of Sugarloaf behind us and the Bigalows ahead. That's when it hit me, we had u-turned once again just so we could come back and do these two peaks! We could have gone straight across to the Bigalows but noooo.... we had to needlessly climb these two mountains! Frustrating, very frustrating. Or at least it was today.. to me. Grrr...   We did arrive at the road to Stratton much earlier than anticipated though. I'm not sure if this was good or bad since it took 32 cars passing us by before we got a hitch to cover the five miles in to town. A very nice local that we thank a lot gave us the hitch. He delivered us to our desired doorstep. Well not ours exactly but the White Wolf Inn's anyway. Our home for the evening. This place is wonderful to hikers. They discount the room¢s half price for AT thru-hikers. For $15 each Coffee and I have a clean and decent room with a tub and cable. We did have to flip the key to see who got the double bed and who got the twin though. I'm happy! Continuing... there's also a restaurant downstairs that serves decent food at pretty good prices. The salad bar seems to be a big hit.   While waiting to check in we enjoyed lunch and meeting CeeBee's friend from Massachusetts. Until you do this you'll never know how great it is when a friend comes out to cheer you on. They may not all understand why you have to, or want to, do this but they do "get it" that support is a big player in the overall game. It's a major morale lifter even if yours isn't low.   Now that's where my phenomenal morale lifter begins. As I was chatting with two owners of my next mid-life crisis, Honda Goldwing owners, a car pulled in and interrupted our conversation with something sarcastic about smelly hikers. As I turned to glare at whomever I got a huge surprise - Tumbleweed and Happy Feet! Two thru-hikers I knew and hiked with in 2001! They had come to offer their services as my trail angels for the day! How awesome is that!   Tumbleweed and I met on our very first day on the trail in '01. We were both camped at the Hawk Mountain shelter. Both being tall, we were pretty much on the same trek from that day forward. To give you an idea of what kind of guy Tumbleweed is - he carried two small bottles of Everclear for me for hundreds of miles because he had heard that I was unable to get a Bloody Mary anywhere in the first 450 miles. Now I repeat, how awesome is that? Now I'm not sure why he chose Everclear over Vodka but that doesn't matter. The fact that he carried it for me for that distance just makes me smile big thinking about him. You gotta love these guys out here. You really do.   As for Happy Feet, we met not long before the Partnership Shelter in Virginia. It was at that shelter that she gave me one of my biggest laughs. Without offering a reason why she would choose to climb the ladder to the second floor loft in this shelter, she left me contently sitting as the only woman downstairs. Little did I know she had a secret. That night I almost beat up an older gentleman, whom I've come to love, for his non-stop horrendous-every breath snoring! Happy Feet had already experienced it and thought I should too! Mean woman, very mean woman!   Tumbleweed chased Happy Feet halfway across the southern end of this trail and I'm so glad he did. They are perfect for each other. They are one of the trail romances that actually ended up working out and being the real thing. Two years later they've announced their engagement and will be married next year. I'm tickled pink for them. Congratulations you two.   The rest of my day was spent catching up with these two and totally enjoying the fact that Happy Feet is a Reflexologist by trade. My feet have never felt better. Even before I started hiking! She's a saint for being willing to even touch my feet at this point much less work on them. A true saint. Coffee thinks so too since he got the same. He's coming to love my friends as much as I do.   Our day ended with our having to find a place to eat outside of town since the ones in town seem to roll up their sidewalks at 8p or earlier. We found a wonderful and excellent Italian place called Hugs (?) outside of town. It, and the company, were perfect. I came back totally content and ready to call it a day. And I did, right after Coffee got his own personal reflexologist.   Now, my eyes will barely remain open. I'm content, satiated, and very very happy. It's time for me to dream of all the good things this trail has given me - friends. You too. Goodnight.