Date: 2007-09-08
From: South Arm Road ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 1927.6

To: Sabbath Day Pond Shelter ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 1944.6
Miles today: 17.0

This morning we tackled Old Blue. It was one of those mountains that have about a dozen false peaks that the profile map does not show. Each time you hit the top of one of these peaks you are sure that you are on the true summit. Maine actually takes the time to put signs on the major peaks. So you get up one of these false summits and start to feel jubilant and then realize there is no sign telling you that you have made it. Maine is really a beautiful state and the trails tend to be well maintained even though this is some of the most rugged terrain that we have been on. You go over some serious mountains and some of the climbs are incredibly steep and tough but you do not get the sense that you are routed over every little bump they can find just to give you a workout. In Maine the work usually leads to a reward.I talk a lot about the hardships of the hike in my journal and tend to document the beauty with my camera. So until I get more pictures posted I am sure some readers will wonder why the heck I keep going if it is so hard. I will get more pictures up soon.There is also the people aspect. There is a terrific sense of community out here. Like brothers and sisters in arms. At this point of the trip we are all survivors with a shared experience. We all joke out the distant look in a through hikers eye and how, even in the beginning, you could spot those of us who would make it all the way to the end. I do not write a lot about other hikers because there is also a ¢privacy¢ out here that does not get violated. Kind of ¢what happens on the trail stays on the trail¢. There deep friendships and even romantic liaisons that seem innocent to another hiker that could have severe implications in the ¢real¢ world if mentioned in a web journal. So I prefer to let my fellow hikers tell their stories and only mention them if seems relevant to what happen to me and my hike on a particular day. So today was Old Blue, then Elephant Mountain, Bemis Mountain, Third Peak, and then lunch with the crew at Bemis Mountain lean-to. After lunch it was down the remainder of the Bemis range with the small climbs over second and first peak.We are running out of the big mountains. As you look at the sections ahead you realize you are nearing the end. It is a bittersweet feeling. We are all tired with a weariness that builds over days and months of hiking. I think everyone is ready to be done. But there is also an anxiety about what lays beyond Katahdin. What happens after the hike? Have I changed? Today we keep hiking and try to savor the remaining days.It is another hot and humid day and the spring at the shelter was dry. I started out with 2.5 liters of water but ran out somewhere around second peak. We are all in trouble on water and when we find the spring at the base of the Bemis Range it looks questionable but we treat the heck out of it and drink it anyway. I was pretty dehydrated so I decided to hang out and wait until my purification drops had time to work and ¢camel up¢ on water before I started again. We are all headed to Sabbath Day Shelter and there is only one last climb left to get back out of this deep valley. The climb proved to be a challenge between the heat, dehydration, and the fact it is the end of the day. Once I top I went back into cruise mode and tried to make time. The terrain is good and the trail passes several ponds that give me some false hope of being close to camp. At one point the trail almost disappeared and I thought I had gotten of on a moose trail. After about 10 minutes of what seemed to be bush-whacking I suddenly found white blazes again. (When I mentioned this at camp it seems everyone else had the same issue.) The shelter is on the far side of the pond and I am flirting with darkness when I finally arrive. The days are getting shorter now and the rugged terrain takes its toll on the speed that you hike. I get to see the sunset from several spots around the lake but cannot seem to capture the true beauty and colors with my camera.