Date: 2007-08-12
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Miles today: 0.0

part 3..... Thoughts on Southbound hike though Maine: I can't stress it enough. Two past southbounders told me this and I am really glad. Bring your fall gear. Do not bring only summer gear. Sure there have been some really hot days, today was surely one of them. But there have been some really cold and rainy nights. I have seen a few nights in the mid 40's, in July and August. In the evening I have been sitting around with my short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, fleece hat, 100 weight fleece top, and rain pants or mid weight long underwear on. It gets cold up here year around. A lot different from what I'm used to in Ohio. Maine is a freaking hard state to start in. I think starting southbound is way harder than northbound. Starting up Katadin is tough. It has the steepest climb on the trail. After that it is 114.5 miles to Monson. That is the first place you can resupply and switch out gear. That is 9 or 10 days out. Which means you need to carry that much food. It's hard to guess ahead of time what you need. If you don't know how to use your gear or something doesn't work, your kind of screwed into making due for awhile. There is white house landing 40 miles in. It is pricey, but has some food. It isn't to be missed for burgers and pizza. Alo carry lots of deet and a headnet. It will keep your sanity. Thanking back I could easily do that stretch. Southern Maine is a lot harder. But starting out you don't know any different. Also due to the miles you are forced to do more per day than the average northbounder. Going northbound there is an outfitter on the trail and complete! resupply 30 miles in. There are also more people around should you need some extra help. There is an easier stretch passed that. Up until southern Maine the climbs were not bad and there were some pretty easy stretches. Get hiking and great swimming to be had. Definitly not a section to speed though, but you can if that is your thing. Then there is southern Maine. That is the toughest hiking that I have ever done. Definitly some rock scrambles. I now know that I can do short stretches of rock climbing with a full pack. What really surprised me is the sustained hard sections. It wasn't just a little part of the trail, but a constant bombardment at times. There were days with 3 or 4 tough climbs or decents. Not to mention lots of rocks and roots. And my favorite the mudd and bog bridges. It is also one of my favorite sections with amazing view from all the peaks. I love being above the treeline. All in all I loved my time spent hiking in Maine. I had some really high mental and physical highs, and corressponding lows. The terrain can be very hard and demanding. But it is nothing that can't be done. Just take your time and enjoy. Definitly bring extra food in case you find the prefect spot to stop for the day. Or maybe you need to stop short of what you planned for a couple days, or maybe you need that extra meal a couple days. One thing that surprised me was a lot of southbounders started early in June. This from what I hear was a really mild year for the bugs. It peaks in June and was going down when I came though. And I the mosquitos were the worst I have ever seen in my life in July. Why would you want to come in June when them and the back flys are so bad you cannot enjoy any of it. July is also a warmer month that leads to great swimming. I am surprised by how many hikers I see not swimming. I haven't lately as much lately, but that is going to change. The shelter 3 miles north is supposed to have a great swimming hole. I would love to come back and spend a month going around Maine and seeing more off the AT.