Date: 2005-08-02
From: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to

To: Cranberry Stream Campsite
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Miles hiked today : 15.4I woke up this morning at 6:05 a.m., packed, ate breakfast, and hiked out at 7:00 a.m. My first obstacle of the day was a steep 800 foot climb over 0.8 mile, which took me 40 minutes to complete. My slow rate was partially due to the slippery trail, but also because my left knee was acting up. Continuing on, at 8:00 a.m., I passed a bronze plaque commemorating the completion of the final lef of the AT in 1937. Reaching this plaque also let me know that I had less than 200.0 AT miles remaining on my hike.At 8:45 a.m., I passed a side trail to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain, the second highest peak in Maine. At the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain is a house where hikers are permitted to stay overnight. The house has a functioning microwave, toaster, radio, and telephone. It might have been a fun place to stay last night if I hadn't already hiked 16.9 miles t the previous lean-to.From the side trail to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain, I faced a steep 1,550 foot descent over 2.2 miles to the South branch of the Carabassett River. I traversed this descent slowly for the sake of my knees and reached the river at 10:20 a.m. It was listed as a ford in the data book, though I was able to rock hop across it. This crossing is said to be tricky during high water, which I believe, as the current appeared to be moving rather quickly. After crossing, I stopped for a 15 minute water, snack, and rest break.Next up was a 1,910 foot climb over 2.2 miles to the South summit of Crocker Mountain, which I completed at 12:10 p.m. I had previously intended to stop here for lunch, though I decided to push on and eat lunch at the slightly higher North summit of Crocker Mountain. At 12:15 p.m., as I descended into the sag between the 2 summits, I stepped on a slippery rock and lost my footing. I almost regained my balance, though I ended up gently falling on my backside. Cha-ching, fall #36.At 12:45 p.m., I reached the North summit, though a light sprinkle of rain had begun to fall, so I decided to wait for lunch. At 12:55 p.m., sheets of rain began to fall, so I dropped my pack and quickly put on my rain jacket. The worst of the rain was over within 20 minutes, though I kept hiking with my jacket on. At 1:30 p.m., I arrived at a small stream and decided to stop to gather and treat a liter of water while eating a quick meal. While eating, the sprinkling rain picked up again, so I quickly finished and hiked on at 1:40 p.m. From the site of my lunch break, I continued a gradual descent toward ME27. At 2:35 p.m., I happened upon a patch of wild raspberries and found about 10 ripe berries, which were quite delicious. I've never been much of a fan of raspberries, though these were really good.By 3:00 p.m., the sky had cleared and I was beginning to overheat, so I stopped to take off my rain jacket. I was standing around for about 5 minutes staring off into space when Sean caught up to me. We hiked together at a moderate pace, but stopped at 3:55 p.m. when I spotted a backpack in the trail. I commented that it looked like Michael's pack, which it turned out to be and I found Michael sligtly off the rail resting on his sleeping pad. He had left the lean-to the same time as I this morning, though he had already hitched into Stratton, retrieved his and Sean's maildrop, hung out for a bit, and hitched back to the trail to wait for us. I dropped my pack and rested for 10 minutes while he packed up, then the 3 of us walked to the road to hitch into town. On the way to the road, I spotted a cooler. Trail magic! Inside were cold cans of root beer and mini candy bars, courtesy of the Stratton Hotel.I was at the side of the road hitching with Michael and Sean at 4:10 p.m. and, 15 minutes later, we were picked up by a gentleman named David. At 4:35 p.m., he dropped us off at the diner in Stratton and we went inside for a very tasty meal of sandwiches and fries. After the diner, I stopped by the grocery store for snacks, chocolate milk, and ice cream. I returned to the picnic table in front of the diner to eat my ice cream and repacked, while Michael and Sean sorted through the contents of their maildrop. There were a few dinner items that they didn't want, so I added them to my stash, which means I probably won't have to resupply until Monson.I began hitching out at 6:15 p.m. and a car pulled over at 6:30 p.m. The driver was a lady named Barbara who seemed a bit disoriented when asking whether we needed a ride. I didn't think too much of it until we loaded into the car and I discovered that the gentleman in her front passenger seat, Mike, was drunk as a skunk. He offered me a drink from his fifth of coffee flavored brandy, though I politely declined. It seems likely that Barbara had also been drinking, as she was weaving a bit and babbling along with Mike, though we were delivered to the trailhad intact. Along the way, I spotted 2 red foxes running across the road, which was something I had yet to see on my hike. Sean stayed in the car while Michael and I unloaded our gear, then we set off down the trail at 6:40 p.m.While hitching out of town, the sky had been clear, though during the ride, it had turned dark and I could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. While my knee had stopped hurting after the rock hop ford, my pack was chafing my lower back, which burned quite badly. Despite the pain, I hiked quickly and at 7:05 p.m., as I was stepping from one bog bridge to another, I poorly placed a step and fell, jamming my left shin into a log. Ouch! Cha-ching, fall #37. In all, I covered the 1.9 miles to the Cranberry Stream Campsite in 35 minutes, arriving at 7:15 p.m. Wow, it had been quite awhile since the terrain had allowed for that rate of speed.As I set up my tent, light rain began to fall, though it soon stopped. I finished setting up my sleeping gear and crawled into my tent, just as I saw a brief flash of lightning. While journaling, the thunder continued, as did the intermittent rain. If the weather is poor tomorrow, I may be hike 13.4 miles to the Little Bigelow Lean-to. Then again, if the weather is nice, I still may only hike that far, as that particular lean-to has "tubs" to swim in.Bedtime at 10:00 p.m.