Date: 2010-09-08
From: Rangeley, Maine

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

Day 148: Blazin' Saddleback I woke up to the smells of french toast. I love when that happens. Boss, Donna and I ate breakfast and then we slowly packed up to get going back to the trail. It had rained last night, but the day looked like it would be a good one. Sun peaking through the clouds and good temperatures. It would be a climb out of the route 4 notch, but it shouldn't be too bad. A short day. On the way to the trail, we saw Sandbagger trying to get a hitch. We gave him a ride and got an update on his foot. A day or so before Gorham, NH, he stepped in between two rocks and stress-fractured his foot. Poor guy. He'd gotten it checked out, but even with pain medication, he could only walk two miles or so before it hurt too much. He was planning to lay low and hang out for a week or so, then hopefully flip flop south from Katahdin.  I hope it works out for him. Donna dropped me and Boss off at the trail head, and left shortly after to take Sandbagger to Walmart. We thanked Donna profusely for her generosity and loving care, and we said see-you-later to Bagger and wished him the best with his fracture. Hope to see them both again. Uncas was back at the trail head! We hadn't seen him since Gorham, and we were happy to catch up and hike with him. We hiked up from the road to the Piazza Lean-to (famous for its two-person privy with a cribbage board in between) and had a snack break. The weather had turned colder than it had been in Rangeley, and it had begun to sprinkle. Motivation was lacking in all of us, so we dawdled a bit before beginning the real climb up to Saddleback. Up and up until we were above tree line. The wind was BLOWING and the sprinkles of rain were like bb's up and down the left side of our bodies. Snot was flying everywhere. My bare legs and hands were the color of the roses that grew in my front yard growing up - bright pink. There was a point when I thought about maybe considering the option of perhaps an action other than pressing on. It wasn't quite that bad, but we were both thinking about thinking about it. The wind was strong like when we were descending Madison back in the Whites. You have to lean into it because it will blow you over, but you can't lean into it too hard because as soon as the gust stops, you could fall over. And my pack acts as a sail and gets blown off to the side as well. It's a fun balancing act, walking on rocks atop mountains in 50+ mph gusts with a pack in the rain. After passing a dozen false summits in the 25-yard visibility fog, we finally hit the real summit and just kept going. We wanted trees and protection! Too bad about the lack of views. On a clear day, one can see Katahdin from here. We climbed down a steep, wet section and I had a few slips. I'm not sure if it was the day off or the two days of hard hiking before the day off or the cold or the almost-2000 miles I've walked, but my knees hurt. This was the first day of the whole trip that I wish I was going uphill instead of down.It took a while, but we got some trees - what a difference they make. But then it was right back up into the fog and wind to climb the Horn peak. After another no-stop summit, we began our descent. We got back into a tree-lined section and had a short snack break with advil. We had one more peak to hit before we were done for the day. It was supposed to be an easy day - only 11miles. When we were climbing up Saddleback Jr Mountain, the sun poked through the clouds at little. I saw my shadow. We made it up to the top and got wonderful half-views of the landscape. The clouds were rolling in from the west, but if they weren't too big, we could see out to the east. It was nice. Onwards to the shelter. The rain had stopped, so that was good. And it was only three more miles, mostly downhill. I slipped a few more times (without falling), and stressed out my left knee a bit, but I made it. Boss made a fire with the wet wood (impressive), and three section hikers rolled in. It began to rain again while we were making dinner. Ugh. Shortly after finishing up, we went to bed despite the early hour. It was a tough day back on the trail. A good night's sleep will be nice. Happy Birthday Xan!!!