Date: 2017-07-24
From:  Wildcat Shelter Tent Site 

To: Fingerboard Shelter Tent Site
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

7/25Wildcat Shelter Tent Site to Fingerboard Shelter Tent Site 14.3 milesTotal Miles:  1388.3I awoke at 6:10 this morning to the sound of a steady rain on my tent. I decided to wait a few minutes before getting up and promptly fell back asleep.  I woke back up at 7:30 to find that the rain had stopped.  I began packing up. Before too long the rain started again, and I ended up breaking down camp in a steady rain. I kept things as dry as I could and was on the trail by 9:00.  Although this was over an hour later than my usual departure time, I "only" had 14.3 miles to go to my planned stop at Fingerboard Shelter.  I was looking forward to getting in several hours before dark to get things dried out. I failed to factor in New York Hiking Time.  Bigfoot, who I've mentioned before, completed the AT last year and has made many helpful and informative videos.  One was about his ten biggest surprises while hiking the AT. His number one surprise?  How difficult New York was.  I hiked straight through today, stopping once to send a few texts and upload my journal and once for lunch. I made it to Fingerboard Shelter at 8:20 this evening as the sun was setting.  It was quite a day.  I started off in a steady rain, and reached Fitzgerald Falls in good time.  Just before the falls, as the rain was letting up, I met Tony, Tracy, and their daughter Hannah.  Sometimes you can sense when you meet people who are joyful and full of life, and this certainly goes for every member of this wonderful family who are hiking a section of the AT in every state. After sharing friendly hellos, we chatted awhile about hiking and about family.  I told them I would be hiking with my daughter soon in Vermont, when Becky flies out to visit her friend Julia and hike with me for five days.  Hannah is a special education teacher who works with students with behavioral and emotional disorders, so we have that in common as well.  We parted ways after only a few minutes together, and I  was in a good mood when I met them and in a better one for having met them. I love meeting people who put an extra spring in my step, and this family certainly did that. Fitzgerald Falls is a pretty waterfall right along the trail.  The trail goes up alongside the falls on steep rock steps. I would now be challenged the rest of the day with steep ascents, descents, and rocky trail. Unlike the last few states where easy trail was interspersed with challenging sections, with one exception when the trail followed a road for 0.4 miles (although even that was uphill), you worked for what you got today.  I hiked up and over Buchanan Mountain, Arden Mountain, and Island Pond Mountain, each one sporting challenging rock scambles that often required climbing with hands and feet.  The descents were also quite steep, and the conditions were made more interesting by the rain-slickened rocks and the wet dirt and leaves.  I slipped numerous times but never fell.  In spite of the difficulty, I tried to remember to look up and appreciate the rugged beauty of the land through which I am journeying.  On the way up Island Pond Mountain, I encountered the famed Lemon Squeezer. The trail goes through a short tunnel, and then you literally squeeze your way through this very narrow crevice. Both sides of my pack were scrapping against the rock walls of the squeezer as I forced my way through. After feeling thoroughly juiced, I then faced the arduous task of climbing out of the squeezer.  I was feeling at a loss on how to get up and over a particularly tall rock overhang when I was met by Ten, a fellow thru hiker I met a few days before.  When she first heard the sounds of my juicing, she thought I  was a bear.  She then entered the squeezer herself and saw me.  We puzzled over the task at hand for awhile and finally took off our packs and muscled them over the top of the overhang. Ten then was able to pull herself up and over the obstacle, and I followed behind.  I was making it, but I gladly accepted the hand up she offered as I pulled my way on top of the overhang. We paused for a minute before tackling the rest of the ascent and agreed it was good fortune we met when we did. She was the first hiker I had seen in quite some time.  Thanks again, Ten, for your help!  The Lemon Squeezer is only two miles to the shelter site, but there were still several other scrambles to be completed before arriving just before dark.  I threw my bear line over a branch and then finished the rest of my chores by the light of my headlamp.  Today was another day that really challenged me. I like the challenges because they are what makes for memories and stories to tell later.  If the whole trail was easy peasy, there would really be no reason to do it. I'm not sure how far I will go tomorrow, but it would be nice to get into camp a bit earlier than I have the past two days. Rain has started falling again as I write fhis, so it could be another wet day tomorrow.  Oh well.  No rain, no pain, no Maine.