Date: 2012-09-05
From: Stratton

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning we woke to the sound of driving rain. It started raining after midnight - and we were glad to be inside Vs out in our tents on the trail. Hikers had been streaming into Stratton late in the day on Tuesday night to get inside before the weather had hit so town was busy last night with the influx of hikers off of the trail.I looked at the RADAR on my phone and checked the National Weather Service and other resources I use when check the forecast, and announced to Greenie that the rain would be done by 9:00 AM. Greenie quipped at me with skepticism, but I stood by my analysis and reconfirmed that the rain would end by 9:00.Susan had given us the keys to a Jeep she had for hikers to use when in town, so we invited the hikers in the "bunk house" to join us for breakfast but there was only one taker.We went down to the Looney Moose for breakfast, which was something (eating breakfast out) we had been looking forward to enjoying while in town. While enjoying breakfast we found out that about three inches of rain had fallen overnight - so the rivers (water levels) were now a concern.We were back at the motel by 8:30 and sure enough, by 9:00 it stopped raining. Greenie congratulated me on my prediction - but still with some doubt in his voice that it would in fact stay that way.Susan drove us over to Caribou Valley Road and when she got out of the car to see us off, she remarked that she had serious doubts on our ability to cross the Carabassett river given how loud it was at the distance we were at from the river. She said she would wait for us to let her know if we could cross or not before taking off. When we got to the river it was a roiling torrent - and there was no way in hell we would be able to cross.We went back to Susan who was still waiting at the car with a look of "I told you so" on her face. We opted instead to head over to the base of the Sugarloaf Mountain ski area and hike up to the summit via the ski trails and then take the blue blaze side trail to the AT. This would allow us to keep on schedule and only skip a 2.2 mile section of the trail. The bottom line is that this was the safe way to proceed and keep on schedule.It was sometime after 10:30 by the time we were hiking, and the climb up the ski slopes was no easy task. The runs are designed to go down....not up. We reached a warming house and thought we were at the top - but when we did not find the side trail and after checking one of the trail maps on the slope we realized we were only half way to the top.We picked up the tote road leading to the summit and followed that the rest of the way. The wind was ripping and the clouds were blowing across the face of the mountain as we made our way up. Hypothermia was a real concern given the conditions, and we were pleased and fortunate to find that the warming hut was "open" at the summit in which to take refuge. The hut was really trashed with the door missing from the east side - but we entered to get out of the weather, dry out and eat lunch.After eating we followed the cairns that lead to the blue blazed side trail. Some workers were just over the ridge line taking down an old tower and we stopped to talk to them for a minute before heading down to the AT. Once we dropped into the trees, the wind died down and the chill factor became a non-issue. The trails however were now running streams. We had one more river crossing between here and Rangeley at the Orbeton river to be concerned with, but we hoped that the levels would come down by the time we got there. "At least water will not be an issue" I commented to Greenie as we discussed what was ahead of us and the possiblity we could have to wait an extra day for the water levels to drop. We had food for three days but could stretch to four if we needed to do so.Once we hit the AT, we turned south bound heading for the next shelter. Greenie commented that "we are home again" seeing comfort in the white blazes marking the trail.As we intercepted north bound hikers we provided them with the status of the river ahead of them and suggested that the take the side route as we had - but that the decision was theirs to make with the information they hadWe reached the Spaulding Mountain shelter by about 3:00 where we were eventually joined for the night by two NOBO hikers "Pain" and "Warrior". Honest Abe was a the shelter when we got there - but only to take a break before continuing on. He planned to stealth camp at the summit warming hut since he knew it was open.Today was an adventure- but we had made the right decisions for us and our safety. As night fell we climbed into our sleeping bags and bedded down for the night.