Date: 2014-06-30
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Monson
Miles today: 106.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's been 10 days since my last journal entry, because I've been out in the wilderness for the last 10 days. But I made it! I am K2, conqueror of the Hundred Mile Wilderness.Because so much has happened in the last 10 days, I'm going to go day by day through my journal entries, and try to give as much info as I can/should.6/21:The first day hiking after Katahdin, and by coincidence also the Summer Solstice; the longest day of the year, the beginning of Summer, and interestingly enough 'Hike Naked Day'. I did not participate in the last of these. None the less, it was a late start (11:00 AM! seems ridiculous now) to a 13 mile day to Hurd Brook and entering the HMW. It was extremely flat for the most part, yet I was extremely new so it took my longer than I would have hoped. There were also quite a few bogs to get over and through; one time I waded through the stagnant water up to my mid thigh, seeing little fish swimming out of my way. At these moments I remember thinking "What have I gotten myself into". Eventually, at around 6 that night I got to the shelter where 7 other SoBo's already were at (I left really late, remember). There was Shana, Karrin and Jim, who had yet to get trail names, and Kodiak, Foodie, Brew and Boone, who all had theirs already. Upon entering camp one of the couples (Karrin+Jim and Brew+Boone) asked me if I was Kyle, and that they had talked to my parents already while I was summiting Katahdin. Weird. In addition, Kodiak eventually talked about how he was a guide for a Wilderness Therapy program in Utah; which I presume to be Second Nature, although I never got the chance to ask him since he went on to do 18 miles the next day, way ahead of the rest of us.6/22:Left camp at 7:30 or so, with 11.5 miles until Rainbow Stream Lean-To. On the way there met up with Foodie, who I hiked the remainder of the day with. He talked about how he had just gotten his degree in food science (flavoring, current market trends in food, etc; not nutrition), hence his trail name. Near the end of that quite beautiful hike my left knee started to give out as all of the downhill caused flare-ups in my Osgood Schlatter (sp?). None the less, we arrived at a truly remarkable shelter, with a nice bridge in front of it. There we met William, who had twisted his knee and was going to return to Abol Bridge in the morning.6/23:Easy hike today; only 8.7 or something similar. Foodie left earlier in the morning than me, so I did most of the hiking alone, except I kept passing and getting passed by Shana. Upon arrival at 1:30 or so at that shelter, I met Rain Melon, who was hiking north from the Maine/New Hamphshire border. Her boyfriend was going to hike the Knife's Edge of Katahdin and meet her up there (He totally proposed. Calling it right now). She shared a wealth of knowledge about the trail and Maine in general, and four of us ended up sharing a meal of some left over dehydrated beef stew.6/24:Woke up early and was hiking by 6:00 to see if I could fit in 20 miles that day. At about noon, with 11 already under my belt I decided to give my feet a break (as I had developed quite a nasty blister on my heel), and call it quits at that shelter. I hiked with Foodie for about half of it, but his new trail runners were rubbing his feet raw, so I continued on without him. He would eventually stay at the Lean-To we stopped at, so I haven't seen him since. After a three hour break, I eventually decided to go another 3.5 to Antlers Campsite, where Shanah, Brew and Boone already were and turning a 19.5 mile day into a 16 the next day. It was well worth it, as the campsite was glorious and had a two seater privy. How intimate!6/25:With 16 miles in front of me, I left the campsite early and made it to Coopers Brook Lean-To for lunch. It was a beautiful place, with a swimming hole and waterfalls that made a pretty neat waterslide. Unfortunately, it was also raining, so I declined to swim. In addition while getting water from the water source my phone fell from my front pocket, of which I was unaware. It was about 15 minutes later that I found it. It still worked (kinda), and to get it in operable shape I traded some beef jerky to Shana for a rice meal type of thing. This proved to be a VERY bad idea, as the flavored rice just gummed up and made my phone completely inoperable. 5 days of pictures, gone! I eventually just said 'screw it', said goodbye to Brew, Boone and Shana, and kept on going to where my food drop waited, courtesy of the AT lodge. Unfortunately for myself there was a small mountain right after it, and with my pack now 7-8 pounds heavier than before, it proved to be quite challenging. I made it to East Branch that afternoon and fell asleep in the Lean-To alone, overall dissatisfied with the day.6/26:It rained ALL night, making sleeping rather sporadic. Whitecap Mountain was in front of me for that 10 or so mile day, so I put on my pack cover and rain gear and headed on. Halfway up Whitecap I met a family in the middle of a birdwatching trip. I talked with them quite a bit, and they gave me two delicious sandwiches, as well as some cookies. The picture in this entry is with them, at Logan Brook Lean-To. Now, summiting Whitecap was something else. I was alone through the hike, through the clouds and the green tunnel. When I got above treeline... It was breathtaking. All around me was cloud, creating a blank canvas of matte white. Trees extended below me into nothingness, and various streams flowed down the side of the mountain as if it was expunging itself of the rain of the night before. The cold wind served to be both a reward for the effort of the climb and a warning to get off of the summit before hypothermia set in. All of this to a backdrop of Explosions In The Sky, which I was listening to throughout the day. It was like I stumbled into a portal bringing my to a primordial age where the elements of air and earth collided. The rest of the day was ups and downs though the next few mountains until the next shelter, where I met Thomas and Claire, two recent high-school graduates, strangely not dating, who were backpacking the Gulf Hagas Trail in celebration of the end of their high-school days.6/27:In the morning I said goodbye to the pseudo-couple, forded a couple of rivers (rocks are slippery, yo) and made my way up Chairback, which proved to be quite more difficult than even Whitecap. Spending the night alone at the shelter just past Chairback, I started to wonder if I was really cut out for the trail, as my speed was drastically cut short during the technical climbs and really any sort of uphill at all. Throughout my hike so far from the NoBo's I kept hearing stories of Southern Maine and the Whites; the two hardest parts of the trail, right next to each other and coming up quickly. If I had such a difficult time with these mountains, then how was I going to fair with those? Concerned, I finished my book (Cormac McCarthy is a deeply troubled, yet brilliant author) and slept soundly.6/28:Hiking alone again, still a day or two in front of my 'summit of Katahdin class', I went through a series of mountains that a NoBo said were a taste of Southern Maine. As predicted they were absolutely killer to my already tired body. It's amazing what 40 lbs can do to slow you down while hiking. During the hike I passed a fair number of summer camp groups, who I felt very sorry for; I imagine none of them really knew what kind of hiking (read: technical, hand over hand climbing of rocks) they were getting themselves into. At the shelter some MATC people gave me some starburst, of which I was quite thankful for, and I slept alone in the lean-to again.6/29:Perhaps my lowest part of the trail so far, I forded a few rivers naively thinking that my gaiters would actually do anything. Combined with a few missteps through the bogs, my feet were perpetually damp throughout the day. Although it was only 12.1 miles, when I got into camp I was absolutely spent. Through the technical there were some days were I averaged a mile an hour, just because my legs had such difficulty getting me up. It didn't help that it was by far the hottest day so far, causing me to drink 6 liters of water throughout the day to keep up with how much I was sweating. With my last night before Monson, I slept alone yet again in the lean-to.6/30:Today! after a fairly easy hike out to ME 15, I was able to hitch a ride the rest of the 3.5 miles to Monson (never done that before, was kinda exciting). I registered at Shaw's Lodging, a common spot for thru-hikers to stay in Monson. My first look in a mirror in over a week was rather astounding; I looked so much older, so much dirtier! Seriously, I was filthy and smelled like death. The shower was absolutely glorious, and afterwards I got myself some ice-cream and a taco salad. Tomorrow I think I will probably take a zero day, to recuperate my strength and get some shopping done (knee brace, some extra food, etc).So in conclusion, I am alive and mostly well on the other side of the Hundred Mile Wilderness. My phone is dead, and my SPOT thing has been working rather inconsistently, so I imagine my family is a bit freaked out. I passed a fair number of NoBo's, each putting in 20+ miles per day and saying just how horribly difficult the upcoming sections are. I hope I can make it through them, but I know my mileage is going to suffer. I mostly just hope that I can stay positive throughout the next 400 miles and not let the difficulty get to me. Quitting at this point would be a travesty."Journey not to find, but rather to accept yourself" - random scrawling at East Branch Lean-To