Date: 2015-09-11
From: Long Pond Stream

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, my luck with the beautiful Maine weather ran out last night, when it started raining. It rained through the night, though never very hard, in so far that I could hear. But when I got up at 6, it was still raining.The nice thing about hammocks though is that you can take shelter under their tarp. So we had breakfast with Sasquatch sitting in the hammock and me on my rain pants (my usual seat is my rain jacket but I was wearing that), both under the tarp. After yesterday's rushed setting up camp, I wanted a more leisurely breaking down, so we didn't hurry. While we had just started our coffee and tea, a number of the Doylies came by. They clearly did get an early start. I think Sasquatch and I left camp around 7 or maybe a little later, so not too bad.We were set to start with a 1700 ft climb over two sections, up to Barren Mountain. Because it was raining, there would be no view at Barren Ledges or Barren Slide, and it was cold and windy at the summit itself.Sasquatch waited for me at the side trail for the next shelter but because it was .4 off the trail, we didn't want to go there. It was still raining and it felt as if the temperature was in the fifties but the weather app says it was in the low sixties. All the same, it was chilly and I changed into my heavier hiking shirt. With that and my rain jacket I was fairly comfortable.Breathless had been at the side trail as well and she and I hiked together for a couple of miles. Which took a long time because a) the trail was a mess and b) we had to go down and up steep mountains. They were named (and again, I'm not making this up) Fourth, Third and in between those two a littler one name Three and a half. It did stop raining around noon which made the day far less unpleasant, but the terrain and trail conditions still made for very challenging, and very slow, hiking. Sasquatch was waiting again at the top of Third Mountain, though he thought it must be Chairback just because so much time had elapsed. I suppose it's a bit of mental switch to go less than 2 miles an hour if you usually go a lot faster. This trail in Maine is not like a run in Suburbia, that's for sure!It was 2.3 more miles to the next shelter, and more of the same steep up and down terrain, so by the time I got there, it was really too late to go another 4.6 to our originally planned camp site. We made an early camp and Sasquatch took the opportunity to try out his camp shower. He said carrying that thing was worth it even if he only gets to use it once. I deemed it much too cold for water that was not tea to come anywhere near me, and still have mud on my legs. Having learned our lesson yesterday, we shared a freeze dried meal today, supplemented with Trail Mix, chips, Skittles and dark chocolate for dessert. It was a much better evening than yesterday. It is colder though, so I hope Sasquatch will be ok in the hammock. He slept ok yesterday, which is a much better verdict than the night on top of Killington!The terrain is said to be easier tomorrow, though I sure can't see it in the profile. If it is, we might be able to make up some time, but I am not overly optimistic. However, when I checked the weather earlier, it is not supposed to rain again for the next couple of days, yay! So I do think tomorrow will be more pleasant , even if it isn't necessarily more productive.PS: today we passed both 100 miles to go as well as the 2100 mile mark, but neither was noted on the trail.Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?