Date: 2020-10-06
From: Katahdin Ironworks Road

To: Logan Brook Lean-To
Miles today: 13.3

Everyone in the hostel is leaving today. Snorlax, Muck, Spurs, and Wild are all headed to Otter Pond to start up the Chairbacks. Fossil is headed south. Dutchman and Red Beard are headed into the Wilderness from town, without even taking a zero. Two women who finished their section are headed home. 5-Oh and Water Queen left yesterday, and the foursome of Shark Boy, Lava Girl, etc were shuttled back yesterday as well. Merik, who was born in Slovakia, and his girlfriend, who is hiking to New York, joined me on the shuttle to Katahdin Ironworks Road. They had come in yesterday from there for a night in the hostel. Poet shuttled us out. He and Hippie Chick have run Shaw's for six years or so. Before thruhiking they were both high school teachers, and bought the place when the previous owner, a woman who still lives on the block, wanted to retire. Business this year has been off about a third, but has been better than expected. They opened in June and have had no real issues. Their biggest challenge, as for many hostel owners, is finding reliable staff to lessen the burden during the hiking season so they can take a day or two off from time to time. It's a 24/7 job for five months a year. Later this month they'll close up and head down to Florida with their two young children where they've been slowly developing a small homestead near Ocala. Poet left me with a little haiku which he penned in my souvenir AT passport:Drink your deepest now,For the richest stuffSettles in the final swig.In other words, enjoy these last few days on trail.Shortly into the day I forded the Pleasant River. I greeted Sunset, Colonel Clothesline and their friend Joanna again, who were already across, then searched fruitlessly for a way to rock hop. Finally I gave up and doffed my shoes and socks and waded across. The water was bracingly cold. It was worth it to keep my shoes dry, as tomorrow will bring rain and Thursday will be freezing. Shortly after fording I turned off the AT to take a six mile loop along Gulf Hagas, a granite gorge carved by the Pleasant River with multiple waterfalls and dramatic chasms. It's a national natural landmark and billed as the Grand Canyon of Maine. The Rim Trail out was rough and I was constantly taking spur trails down to the edge of the gorge for views, which were quite dramatic with sheer cliffs and a river squeezing through the narrow gap. The views had names like Screw Auger Falls, Hammond Street Pitch, The Jaws, Buttermilk Falls, Billings Falls, and Stair Falls. Even in a relatively dry season the falls are beautiful and the cliffs imposing. This is one of those places I'd return to with the kids.The tote road back to the AT was much smoother. I'd passed a handful of dayhikers on the Rim Trail but saw almost no one the rest of the day. I passed two small groups of tenters who were already set up for tonight. And a girl backpacking who alerted me that someone had seen a moose up ahead. I saw plenty of fresh scat and some moose-friendly, boggy terrain but no actual moose. They're out there though. You can tell when you're in their backyard.I climbed over the four peaks of the Whitecap range. This included the last 3000-footer until Katahdin. Unfortunately the peaks were fogged in so I couldn't get a view of the mother mountain in the distance. The climbs were steep but not overly long, and in many places a lot of work had been put in to build stone staircases. I'm used to the climbs now, I almost prefer them to flat terrain because at least all that work is to some purpose. This range didn't seem any easier than the Chairbacks, despite what everyone says. It may have had something to do with me carrying all my gear and six days of food versus slackpacking the Chairbacks.Had to pull out the headlamp as light faded quickly after six o'clock, with a mile and a half still to go - steeply downhill over slick rocks and roots - to the shelter. One of the nice aspects of the Wilderness is how shelters tend to be right on trail. My first indication the shelter was near was seeing it loom into my headlamp beam. Two mice were scurrying around the platform as I arrived. They were the only occupants. They boldly investigated my Fritos bag as I cooked potatoes, salmon, and tea, despite my attempts to deter them with non-lethal force.The temperature dropped quickly this evening as the sun went down. There were even snow flurries as I descended Whitecap. I expect it'll be in the thirties tonight.