Date: 2007-07-28
From: Monson, Maine

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: broken clouds

We had a plan. I had crunched the numbers of mileage markers and shelter locations. It all seemed to fit nicely on my little pad of paper. Instead of finishing on August 3rd, we could put in a few extra miles today, get a head start on the "wilderness", and be at Katahdin by the 2nd. Everyone was in agreement. The hike would be challenging with a couple of good climbs and descents. The key was to get an early start. But at Shaw's, the hostel in Monson, this would be challenging. The big deal at Shaw's is their breakfast. And how could we refuse breakfast. (besides, we had already signed up and paid extra for it.) Sitting around the tables were myself, Tapper, Cottontop, Catterpillar, Renaissance man's crew, and Diablo. I guess there were also some southbounders scattered into the mix and we had fun laughing at their expense. their little 100 miles under their belts. Still brimming with enthusiasm for the trail. So cute - just wanted to pinch their little baby beard cheeks. We finally made it to the trailhead at 8:30, sluggish from too many scrambled eggs, and carrying heavy packs loaded with 5 or 6 days worth of food. I weighed mine before leaving: 36.75 lbs. not bad, considering.. but still heaviest of the group. The hike was quite enjoyable until around 5:30 pm. By this time, Lost had joined us since we promised her we would get her to Chairback lean-to. We made it to the trail to the shelter before Chairback and were at a cross-roads of decision making. One one hand, it was starting to rain a little. On the other, this shelter was 0.4 miles off trail. Walk 8 more miles in unstable weather sticking to our plan, or 0.4 miles "off trail" to the nearby shelter. This goes to show that 8 miles "on trail" will trump 0.4 miles "off trail" any day. We kept walking. Or at least I did, and they all followed. The rain came and didn't want to stop. We kept walking. Conversation stopped. Just footsteps. I was leading. I didn't stop. Just kept walking. Over, up, and down slippery rocks and mud bogs. Kept walking. At 8:30, it was dark and we still had at least a mile to go. I couldn't see what was in front of me and relied on that weird 6th sense of perception to know where to put my feet for that next precarious step. It was slow going..but I just kept moving..and they, the four of them, kept following. At 9:00, I couldn't see any blazes, and was just praying to whoever that we were still on the trail. I started to do an inventory of how horrible the day had turned out.1. We were tired from walking so far.2. Wet from being rained on.3. Thirsty and hungry from not stopping to break over the past 8 miles.4. Cranky and irritable from being thirsty, hungry, wet, and tired. The only thing worse, I thought, would be to arrive at the shelter and have it be 1. full of hikers with 2. a crappy water source and 3. no good tent spots available. Upon rolling up to the shelter at 9:30, that's exactly what happened. No room at the inn. Water 200 yards away down a steep rocky trail. And, the flat tentsites were already snagged. Perfect. At this moment, we pretty much all went into personal survival mode. I had enough water to survive the night, so I put on my headlamp to find a place to pitch a tent. The headlamp just reflected back the mist in the air and didn't help me see. I wandered around like a blind man and put my tent up in the dark. Somehow I found a spot amid trees, bushes, and rocks, with just enough room to curl up like an S and sleep. The next morning, at around 6:30 am, I heard the loud creaking sound and crash of a LARGE tree falling. We saw the tree later had landed no more than 6 feet from cottontop's tent. scary. We packed up in the morning and were set to go again around 7. "Where's Lost?" we asked each other and the other hikers in the Shelter. "Oh, Lost took off around 6." we got the feeling she was trying to get away from us and our crazy rainy night hiking antics.. Who could blame her. Somehow, from this day of days I developed the reputation of being the type of unforgiving leader who doesn't allow rest breaks or stops for water or food. This earned me a secondary trailname, "Pharaoh"   nice.