Date: 2018-07-13
From: Summit of Katahdin

To: Mahar Tote Road and the White House Landing Lodge
Miles today: 46.5

Mileage is for the previous four days, the 7th through the 10th. Annie and I arrived in Bangor, Maine on the third of July. Our plan was for her to drive me to Millinocket and I would stay at the Appalachian Trail Lodge for one night, the fifth, then, take the shuttle to Baxter State Park the next morning. Well, Friday morning thunderstorms were predicted across the area and one does not want to be on exposed mountain top with lightning flashing about. So, I spent the day visiting with hikers just about to start their SOBO thru hikes and those who had just completed their NOBO thru hike.  I was the only flip/flop hiker amongst the group and gladly answered questions about the southern portions of the trail, while I was asking questions about the northern parts of the AT from the hikers who had just completed the hike.  The climb up Katahdin the following day was spectacular but very challenging, especially the climb down. I say climb, because lots of the trail going up it was, literally, climbing on boulders through the rock slide portions of the trail.  It was great seeing other hikers, who had shuttled to Baxter with me, up at the summit. We swapped phone cameras around so everyone got their picture taken with the famous sign on the summit. Some folks really hammed it up climbing on the sign framework to get the picture, whereas I was happy with a relaxed pose.  Actually, I was too tired to climb any more. The descent was, at times, terrifying for me. I guess I hadn¢t turned around while climbing up, so when I faced over the edge of where I had to go to come down I¢m sure I gasped. Fortunately, no worse for wear, I safely managed the descent. I can¢t say that for my Mechanix gloves. The fingertips were worn through to the skin on all ten fingers. The granite was comparable to # 20 grit sandpaper. I was able to share a tent site with another hiker at Katahdin Stream CG, which meant I didn¢t have to hike the extra two miles to the Birches lean-to.  Unless a NOBO hiker has a reservation at the Park for two nights, they are limited to only one nights¢ stay at the Birches, typically on the day they get to the Park, which adds that two mile walk. The next day, after summiting they are told to leave, most having to hitch-hike into Millinocket, or try to get a tent site at the privately owned Abol Bridge Campground, just outside the Park boundary.   I feel this is an undue burden on NOBO AT hikers because it is very hard to predict ones arrival several months in advance to make a reservation. The first night in the 100 Mile Wilderness I camped at Hurd Brook lean-to. The day was very hot and I was still very sore from the previous day¢s climb up Katahdin. Leaving Hurd Brook I met a LASH (Long A$$ Section Hiker). Bret, a retired diesel mechanic from North Carolina, had hiked the 100 MW three previous times so I was anxious to gather as much info as possible about the area. We talked and hiked to a tent-site that was not identified in any of the trail guides that he knew about, on the banks of Pollywog Stream. Again, I¢m still aching from the Katahdin, he suggested one should take a day off after that climb. NOW you tell me. Well, right now, there won¢t be another.  It was that tough, for me. Bret was gone by time I rolled out of my tent the next morning (5:00am). He did say he was going to hike 23 miles that day, not me, my goal was to get to Mahar Landing to be picked by boat and be shuttled to The White House Landing Lodge, on the shores of Pemaduncook lake.  The lodge is a little pricey, but well worth the expense. Homemade hamburgers and pizza (huge) for dinner and a big breakfast was available to all hikers for a modest cost. The resupply items were limited and very pricey, though. Unfortunately, I had to leave the trail from there and was shuttled to Medway the next morning, where Annie picked me up. The pain (not blisters any more) in the balls of my feet has gotten worse even with the custom shoe inserts a foot doctor made for me in Charlottesville, Virginia. I¢m not sure, right now, whether I will return to the trail in the near future or not.  If anyone has followed my posts from the beginning, I talked about blisters developing in the affected areas every since I started training for the hike. I feel it is all related to my current circumstance. I will finish the Appalachian Trail, one day. GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.