Date: 2014-07-29
From: mile 1966.5

To: carrabassett river
Miles today: 22.8

The rain stopped sometime in the night but i could still hear the wind whipping up above. I got going early knowing i had a big day in front of me. The first thing was saddleback mt. That would be a 2400' ascent. The climb was steep but the air was cool and a good breeze kept me pretty cool. Then as i got close to tree line i could see what the weather was up higher, not good. I put on my pack cover and rain jacket. This was the first time i had hiked with my coat on since early in north carolina. Once above the trees i was getting battered by the wind. It was hard to walk straight on the trail and the fog that was blowing by kept things wet. This was the windyest wind yet on the hike. It was hard to breathe through my nose the air was going by so fast! Sounds funny but its true. I summitted saddleback in blistering wind. My pack makes it so much worse with the wind pushing you in all directions. It was bad going directly into it, bad going at an angle, and real bad with it at your back going downhill. The worst is that the trail is above the trees for a good long time with no place to hunker in for a bit, just keep going i told myself. I pushed on toward the horn. Over the top of the horn i made my way for the trees and safety. On the way down with the wind at my back it got the best of me, it oushed me off a rock and i fell. I scraped my knuckles pretty good, nothing hurt but my pride. I got to drop down into a notch before climbing saddleback junior. By the time i got there the sky had gotten lighter and the wind had calmed just a touch. I crossed the summit again with no view but a little better conditions. Down at poplar ridge lean2 i sat and had lunch. Amazing how quiet and peaceful it was down here. The only bad thing was that my boots were soaked from the rivers running down the trail. The funny thing about maine is that they make you ford rivers, no bridges. When i got to the orebeton stream i walked right thru with boots on, they couldnt get any wetter. The weather had gotten much brighter by now and the sky was blue. I made my way up along the stream for my next big hill. It was 2000' feet up to lone mt. Then another thousand feet up to spaulding mt! It was a bit sad passing the spaulding mt lean2, im pretty sure this is the area that a hiker went missing last year and was never found. I just hope she didnt have a horrible death. At the height of the trail there is a 0.1 mile trail to the summit. I dropped my bag and ran up to the top so i could say i was there. After the peak i came to a nice plaque on a rock to commemorate the completion of the last section of the AT. Thanks trail people. Glad to have my climbs done for the day it was a long ridge to a steep drop back into the valley where i wanted to camp. The real steep downs are a killer, just as slow as the uphill and rough on the knees. Pooped by the time i got to the river i was glad to find a good spot for my tent. It was later than i normally like to get to camp, 8:00. I got the night chores done as fast as i could and got into my tent. It was going to be a cool night, i could already see my breathe. I prefer the cold nights for sleeping and it keeps the bugs down. I was happy to have day one of three long days done. I can see the light getting brighter at the end of the tunnel.