Date: 2020-09-27
From: Spaulding Mountain Lean-To

To: Route 27 (Stratton)
Miles today: 13.5

I was up very early, planning to bag the remaining five of the eight 4000 footers in this section. Sugarloaf is a half mile off trail, but today's biggest challenge is Redington, a summit that has no official trail and requires 2.5 miles round-trip of navigation skills.Very early on a short but steep climb up a side trail brought me to Spaulding's 4000+ foot summit. It was wooded with little view. #4 done!Sugarloaf is over half a mile and six hundred vertical feet off the AT. The summit (#5!) was covered with antennae, ski lifts, huts, and a helicopter pad. And a huge pile of loose rocks. But although the mountain itself wasn't much to look at it, Sugarloaf offered incredible views in all directions. Clouds rested in the valleys and fall colors spread everywhere. I could see the Saddlebacks to the southwest, the Crockers and Bigelows to the northeast. Three dayhikers in their sixties arrived having walked up the ski slopes.Coming down Sugarloaf I felt a warm wind. Not what I expected this late in the season. For a half mile the descent became a steep boulder scramble. Several dayhikers were coming up, there being a dirt road access in the valley.A southbounder named Abe Lincoln stopped to chat. Didn't get the story but his beard must've inspired the name. Told me he's trying to beat his previous thruhike time of three months. I later learned from other hikers that he has 12,000 miles on his feet and has done the AT two or three times.I am continually astounded by the magnificent colors. They covered the hillsides and the banks of the Carrabassett River, itself strewn with large boulders. The climb up South Crocker became quite steep, but nothing new for this part of Maine. At the summit (#6!) I found an unmarked and unmaintained "herd path" that began a narrow route to Mount Redington. The tread was mostly dirt, better than the AT, but the trees were so close they constantly brushed and grabbed at me. I appreciate better now the value of clearing a proper trail. I thought I'd be alone on this stretch but, it being Saturday, I encountered a trio of girls out peakbagging. They pointed me in the right direction at an opportune time as I reached the saddle between Crocker and Redington. The summit (#7!) was wooded, like the Crockers, with only a limited view. But a 4000-footer is a 4000-footer! This side trip alone added over 1200 feet of vertical gain to the day.Back on South Crocker I headed north. I rested going up North Crocker. My ankles and calves were exhausted from the constant climbs. I heard some coos or chirps nearby, and watched as four guinea hens or maybe grouse emerged onto the trail and pecked around for several minutes, mere feet from me. I passed the girls again as they left North Crocker on the way back to their car. Despite North Crocker being almost as high as Sugarloaf, it had no view. But I was now 8 for 8 with 4000 footers. As I descended I passed three young boys hiking up to North Crocker, their parents trailing well behind.And just a minute later I crossed the 2000 mile mark. Someone had spelled out the number with stones. Over 90% done. Less than 200 miles to go. It hardly seems real. The enormity of it hasn't hit me yet. The last few miles went quickly, comparatively, over leafy if rooty and rocky downhill. Justin from The Hostel of Maine picked me up at the road. We onboarded four more hikers at the hostel and went to the Sugarloaf ski resort to do laundry and eat large burgers. They are open in the summer to serve hikers and mountain bikers.Two of the hostel hikers, Equilibrium and Donald, are young guys sectioning Maine. They were arranging transportation to end their hike a couple days early to avoid forecasted rain. Freight Train is a young flip-flopper who has hiked from NJ to Vermont and from Katahdin south and plans to finish this year.Spruce (Bruce) is a retired electrical worker from West Virginia who is hiking Maine southbound. He hiked the southern half of the AT last fall and early this year. All four guys slackpacked the Bigelows together yesterday.Justin and his wife own and run the Hostel of Maine. It is immaculately clean, like a high-end ski lodge. They have a new baby so we didn't see much of them in the evening!It was another tiring day. The official milage doesn't do it justice. In addition to four bonus miles, the day was filled with steep climbs and descents. I appreciated the soft bed and I could easily have zeroed. But I have a deadline. The Kennebec ferry stops running on September 30th. If I don't want to wade across or charter a private ferry I need to hike the next two days.