Date: 2018-07-09
From: Stealth Campsite mile 2100.7

To: Mountain view pond
Miles today: 24.3

So weird, I did the same mileage two days in a row!The breeze that had started last night continued into the morning. It was a bit cooler up here and so I did what I could to pack up while still in my sleeping bag. Not cold at all but I was just spoiling myself.I got out before 6 even though I told myself I could sleep in. I think that's impossible. I like hiking in the morning air even if it is hard to get up and get my body back in the groove. I passed by Skutch early on and learned that the last few PUDs had been tough for her and Apollo too and that they had in fact stealth camped just around the corner from me. The first few climbs went quickly then I was headed down hill towards the West Branch of the Pleasant River. Here, I ran into the ridge runner for the area. I had in fact ran into the other ridge runner for the wilderness yesterday and it was nice to see them. They are there to educate hikers and both gave me some good information on hiking Katahdin and how to have my family meet me at the end because there are a lot of rules and plenty of logistics to take into account.I forded the river in my shoes then sat on the North bank and made some coffee while allowing my shoes to dry a bit. They didn't really but I tried. I had a double dose of instant coffee which helped my mood a lot then pressed on up towards Gulf Hagas which is supposedly the "Niagra Falls of Maine." Unfortunately the trail doesn't go by it so I couldnt tell you if it is but someday I'll come back out and see it!I continued the nearly 8 mile gradual climb and reached the top of Gulf Hagas Mountain from here the trail then went over the west peak, Hay Mountain and then White Cap Mountain with drops in between each. I had finally made it up to White Cap. Considered the last of any significant elevation until Katahdin. White Cap sits at 3650' and the highest I would get in the next 70 miles was 1980' until the end. Crazy! They call White Cap the "phone booth" because it is one of the only places with service in the wilderness and I was able to call Abby and my mom to solidify plans for summiting and getting out of Baxter.I had been surprised with the amount of day hikers and people on these summits. At one point I turned a corner and had 15 teenage girls staring at me as I awkwardly said hello and passed by with small talk. I guess I just expected fewer people. I even saw two trail crews out today too along with plenty of SOBOs.From just north of the White Cap summit, I got my first glimpse of Katahdin. It was massive and looked so close. My first reaction was "so that's the damn mountain I've been hiking towards for four months." Then it became crazy thinking less than 70miles would separate me from it tonight.I hiked down to the next Shelter and grabbed water while relaxing. There was a SOBO named face plant there who gave me some tips for Baxter and I met a NOBO named Shaggy who I hadn't met before. I sat and hung around for a bit before pushing another 3 miles to the next Shelter. This had been my goal for the day but it was early and I was feeling good so I pushed another two miles. I had to stop here to get some food in me though because I had skipped lunch and ran out of snacks allotted for the day.By 430 I made it to a pond and found some nice stealth spots. I walked an extra 0.3 miles to get water from a spring just ahead instead of from the pond because the spring water was nice and cold. From there I had plenty of time to hang around, do some extra chores and eat as much as I could. The only bad thing about the easy terrain to Katahdin are the bugs and heat but with 66 miles to the top of Katahdin I think I'll survive!