Date: 2014-08-05
From: wilber brook

To: west branch pleasant river
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: scattered clouds

It didnt rain all night but it was cool so nothing dried. Putting on wet cold clothes is on the list of things i will not miss but it is part of the trail and i am still on the trail. I ate my oatmeal and put on my hiking clothes. Today was the first of two days with hills. They are not very big but they are called mountains. I got going early to make up the 1.5 miles i stopped short yesterday. The first of the mountains was barren mt. The climb was broken into two parts, the first a thousand fett then a flat shoulder and the rest of the climb of 700'. When i got to the top of the first bit i saw the sign for the side trail to barren slide. I dropped my pack to go check it out, thats the nice part of having plenty of time to get to my destination. The slide was a mess of huge boulders that had slid down the mt and made a pile on the valley floor. Off to the left of the boulders is a huge lake with many an island. I sat out on a perch for a bit with my boots off. My plan was to take em off everytime i stopped in hopes they would eventually dry. This beautiful overlook is just one more reason maine is my favorite of all the states. Gorgeous rugged terrain with lakes and ponds. It seems to be all about the water. After a good sit i went back to the trail to get to the next good place to sit. Up and over the rest of barren mt i got to fourth mt bog. There was a sign saying 'stay on the log walkway'. Who in gods name would step off the logs into the bog? The mud is the blackest, gooeyest mud that you would sink up to your knee in. There is no choice but to stay on the trail. On the way up fourth mt i passed a couple out hiking the wilderness, we talked for a quick bit. On the 4th mt i found the place to sit and again remove my boots. I took a long time sitting and thinking. The couple passed me by, i didnt care, i was busy sitting. I had a couple little hills to get over before chairback mt. I again came to the couple, their names are zig and beth. They were sunning on a rock so i stopped and we talked. Zig has clumb all 48 4000' mountains in new hampshire. I was impressed. Not only that but he did that by the time he was 16!! I was real impressed. From there i clumb chairback and again sat to dry my feet. I took this time to nibble on some blueberries. The down side of the chairback i had heard a lot about, it was supposed to be horrid. It turned out to be a bit of boulder hopping but not too long of a stretch. At this point in a nobos hike it would take some real bad stuff to be something we have not seen already. Thunder again? No worries, i sat in the lean2 to eat a late lunch while it rained. A section hiker came in and had a ton of questions while i ate. He asked if i trusted my water filter, i said i did. He had the same one but said he did not trust it so he carried bleach with him and threw some in just to be safe. What? You carry bleach? Well, there you have it, trailname, Bleach. Then we talked miles, he was doing 5 per day. What do i say to that? I couldnt say much. I moved in as soon as i could. On my way off he warned me it might thunder later. Thanks friend. Well i was a couple miles from my camp when the thunder kicked up. I hustled to get there so i could get my home set up before it started. I made it, so happy. I got set up and started cooking. The bad weather held off for me to finish eating AND to hang my bear bag. I actually hung my food high in a tree not wanting a bear to steal my food in the 100 miles. Just as i got into my mobile home it let loose. It rained rediculous for a half hour, then stopped. I again had a nice stream next to my tent. I laid there and listened to the river rise as i looked over the guide for the next day. I was glad to be out of the rain but stopping early was getting to me. I really like walking all day, thats the way i have done it the whole trip so far. Old dog, new trick was not working well for me. I was going to have plenty of good sleep tonight. Maybe get a few more miles tomorrow and throw off my plan. Again, i have not planned anything the whole trip so why start now? Im uncomfortable with plans in stone.