Date: 2004-10-05
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Crocker Cirque Campsite
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a beautiful day and a lovely hike today, with perfect blue skies and no wind. Cold, rain, and ice are predicted for tonight, though, so this may be our last day of gorgeous weather. So far, though, Maine in October has been beautiful. We had another two alleged fords today, but the weather has been so dry lately that all the streams and rivers are low, so we still haven¢t had to get our feet wet. We passed the side trail to Mount Abraham, a 1.7-mile side trail that allegedly offers spectacular vistas and is almost entirely above treeline. I had read about it last night in the FAQ in the shelter and was tempted to do it, even though it meant an extra three-odd miles. It¢s so beautiful that hikers were complaining that it wasn¢t on the AT and asking the caretaker when he thought the trail could be rerouted over the mountain. Evidently the MATC just purchased the tract of land, too, to make sure that it could never be misused. The next mountain was Sugarloaf, the famous Maine ski destination. It¢s a 4000-footer, but the AT only goes within a half-mile of the summit, not even breaking 3700. I really wanted to summit that one, too, but it was evidently a brutal half-mile, over 500 feet of elevation in that half-mile, and there was no real reason to. So expediency trumped experience yet again.There¢s a summit house on top of the mountain where thru-hikers have been permitted to stay for years, and that was actually my destination for the night, which would have given us a 10.9-mile day, perfectly respectable, but County convinced me that it would be unwise given the ice storm predicted for that night, both for sleeping up above 4000 feet and for hiking down an rime-covered mountain in the morning. Plus it was barely four when we reached the side trail, and the lure of doing our first day in the teens since New Hampshire was undeniable. So we pressed on.The descent of Sugarloaf was by far the most difficult part of the day, much more difficult than the ascent. A rock-filled zigzagging path descended straight down the mountain, evidently right back the way we came. The trail descended to the Carabassett River, another of the apocryphal fords for the day, and then straight up another mountain range. The trail winds mysteriously in Maine, with the seeming goal of hitting every mountain it can. Which, I suppose, is the trail¢s goal throughout the Appalachians, but the never-ending vistas in Maine just make it more apparent. But the descent was fun, another of the trails that seem like they¢re carrying you through a war zone, paved in dust and dusty, loose rock, where you can skid twenty feet down if you¢re not paying attention. The sky was still beautiful and the fall colors were spread out before me as I descended, and I was in good spirits. County accomplished the descent far faster than I did, as usual, but this time he decided to take a brief nap behind a log before the ford, waking up and scaring the crap out of me right as I passed. The ford was little more than a rock hop, with a beautiful campsite on the far side of the river, with a weird log apparatus on the other side.It looked like someone had built a teepee for storing wood, or hauling wood, or lifting wood, or something bewildering. I don¢t know how many people camp at that spot that would make such an elaborate campsite necessary. I guess it was close to a gravel road, so Mainers could drive in and camp. But we headed back up the mountain, another 700 feet, to the official campsite, which would give us a head start in the morning. The campsite is evidently a favorite with youth groups¢the privy is filled with graffiti, mainly Pink Floyd quotes. We were tempted to hike on even further, all the way to Stratton, another seven miles, but refrained. For one thing, hitches after dark are tricky. For another, we can¢t really afford another town stop, so we haven¢t really decided whether or not we¢re actually going into Stratton. It definitely appeals, especially on our diet of exclusively simple carbohydrates, and there¢s a really cheap motel in Stratton, $30 for a double room, which is cheaper than the last town¢s hostel. And I haven¢t taken a shower since Gorham. There¢s another Maine challenge: to not take a shower from Gorham to Katahdin, but I don¢t think I¢m going to make it. Cleanliness isn¢t that important to me, but it is occasionally important. Showers do make you feel better about life in general.I love the woods, but there are things about civilization that are very nice. Showers, for instance. Hot water. Beds. Couches. Sheets. TV. And pizza.