The Wilderness of the Mind and the Finale

Day 152

We woke up tired from yesterday’s long hike, but knew we had to push ourselves because we wanted to finish in a few days so we could make it to a friend’s wedding down in Maryland. There were several young section hikers who were staying at the shelter and some were thinking about quitting the one hundred mile section already after one day of hiking, but most got going quite early. The first couple of miles weren’t too bad, and we caught the section hikers at the ford of Long Stream Pond. They were impressed that we plunged right in and quickly crossed when they had made it into a big ordeal and taken a long time. Our shoes, socks, and feet had now been wet for several days. After the ford we passed the one hundred miles left mark and had to climb up to Barren Ledges and Barren Mountain. We hiked slowly and it began to rain, making the rocks very slippery, which slowed us down even more. It was pretty late in the day by the time we reached Fourth Mountain and across to Mt. Three and a Half, and Third Mountain. My body felt weak and I was devastated that we were going super slow. We needed to move through the wilderness fast! We climbed up Columbus Mountain and I was so distraught and weary that I just wanted to stop at the Chairback Gap Lean-to just down in a saddle between Columbus and Chairback Mountain. I picked up my pace, envisioning the horrible day being finally done. I just wanted to sleep, but when we reached the lean-to it was full of what looked like mostly section hikers. We hiked on, each step feeling like a chore and I started to complain bitterly. I told Nepsis I just wanted to be done and didn’t care if we finished the Trail early. I slipped and fell again. Nepsis sped up to look for a place where we could pitch our tent. In a moment of desperation, as often has happened to me, I began to think about how bad my life was. It wasn’t really the present situation that made me angry. I felt angry with God, and raged in my heart about how I had been given no special talents or abilities. Neither had I been given a strong work ethic or deliberating care to have developed any special skills. On top of that, I felt angry about not at least being an extravert, which our culture seems to bestow with the greatest of honors. I felt as if I had been dealt a bad hand in life and had nothing of value to offer. As I climbed Chairback Mountain I felt the lowest I have in a long time and when I reached the top, as the sky reached out before me and mountains rose in the darkness I began to cry. It was so beautiful and the course of my life brought me here to witness this while everyone else was not here. I stood there for a while looking at the expanse before me before moving on a couple hundred feet across the mountain where Nepsis was pitching our tent. I was glad to be done hiking for the day. She cooked our dinner and we stripped our wet shoes and socks off. It was windy up there as we watched dark clouds tumble across the sky and clear out. I really hoped the rain would finally be finished. We ate dinner and a thruhiker named Wingin It passed by telling us it was a bad place to set up camp. He was trying to finish the day before us so we knew it was possible we could make it on our schedule if we really pushed ourselves despite our lackluster performance of the day. As we laid in our tent we began to understand Wingin It’s words as the wind throttled our tent, making it extremely noisy inside.

Miles hiked today: 16.1 Total AT miles completed: 2097.3 Total AT miles left to hike: 88

Day 153

We barely slept with the wind being so loud banging against our tent all night long. As soon as it started brightening up in the morning we began to hear the pitter-patter of rain on our tent. This instantly turned my mood sour again and I didn’t want to start hiking even though we only had four days to hike eighty-eight miles if we wanted to finish on time. It took a long time, but finally Nepsis convinced me to get going. I was waiting for it to stop raining, but it just wouldn’t. We hiked the several miles down the mountain in the cold and wet. It stopped raining, but it was still overcast. We reached the West Branch Pleasant River, which we had to ford and Nepsis suggested changing into our crocs so our feet could dry as fast as possible if the sun happened to show up. I kept calling it evil yellow face as Gollum had in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The water was very cold, but very shallow and even though our shoes and socks were still entirely wet, they weren’t as soaked as they would be if we walked across the branch wearing them. After the ford we hiked on flat ground a bit before the Trail began to steadily incline back up to the mountains. We climbed up Gulf Hagas Mountain, West Peak, and Hay Mountain as the clouds finally started clearing and the glorious sun finally made an appearance. A section hiker on top of one of the mountains informed us that he had just checked the weather on his cell phone and the clouds were supposed to clear out by evening and it was supposed to be perfectly sunny the next few days. We reached White Cap Mountain which was our last 3000-footer before Katahdin. On the north side of the mountain we could see our goal, our final destination for our every step these past five months: Mount Katahdin. Its top was in the clouds, but we could see it, nevertheless. We now felt close. We hiked down the mountain, enjoying the heat of the sun. We hiked past East Branch Lean-to in the evening, trying to get as far as possible. We hiked on to Mountain View Pond so we could set up camp near a water source. When we got there it seemed everybody had that idea because every flat spot in sight had a tent already claiming it. We hiked a bit further into the woods and found a relatively flat place to set up and cook just before dark. We went to sleep happy, knowing the rain was finally gone and the Trail was very flat up to Katahdin.

Miles hiked today: 22.4 Total AT miles completed: 2119.7 Total AT miles left to hike: 65.6

Day 154              

We woke up early and got to hiking fast. In less than two miles we hiked up the extremely small Little Boardman Mountain and back down. We hiked very fast on a flat stretch with no rocks or roots to maneuver over. We hiked faster than we ever had before and covered many miles in just a few hours. We passed by many wonderful ponds in wonderful weather, but didn’t linger so we cover as much distance as possible. We hiked so far so fast that by the time evening approached we were worn out, but I tried to push us a little further. It was tough to hike up the very small, but steep Nesuntabunt Mountain, but on the other side of it we were rewarded with a view of Mount Katahdin unhidden by clouds. We could only make it a couple miles further before setting up camp almost an hour before dark. At 32 miles, this was our longest mileage day of the whole trip! We tried to sleep early since tomorrow would take us to the base of Katahdin, but the excitement kept us awake for quite awhile.

Miles hiked today: 32 Total AT miles completed: 2151.7 Total AT miles left to hike: 33.6

Day 155

We woke up and began our last full day of hiking. The terrain was flat, but we were not as quick as we were yesterday. We felt the pain of the distance traveled yesterday with every step. Still, since the Trail was flat we moved steadily toward Katahdin, knocking out the miles. We passed by Peaches who said she was also finishing tomorrow, but taking a non-AT route up Mt Katahdin. By late afternoon we exited the 100-mile wilderness and crossed Abol Bridge. From here we got a great view of Mount Katahdin across the water. Just after the bridge we came to Abol Bridge Campstore with The Northern Restaurant inside. We stuffed ourselves with food and felt sick afterward. We sat around for quite a long time and bought a few resupply items from the small store. We were only fifteen and a half miles from the end of the Trail and ten miles away from the base of Mt Katahdin where there was a lean-to. We figured we would stealth camp wherever we could make it between here and the lean-to. We didn’t get to hiking until early evening and in two miles we reached an information kiosk marking the boundary of Baxter State Park. We found out it was illegal to stealth camp and that all thruhikers were required to stay at the lean-to so we took off fast. The Trail was very wide and mostly void of rocks and roots so it was easy-going. We hiked along the beautiful Nesowadnehunk Stream most of the way. We pounded out those ten miles in less than three hours. The Trail led us to Katahdin Stream Campground where there were many campers and a ranger saw us and beckoned us to his vehicle. His name was Ranger Joe and he gave us permits, explained how to get to the Birches Lean-tos and that we could leave our backpacks at the ranger station the next morning and borrow a daypack from them for the climb of Mt Katahdin. We walked over to the lean-tos, tucked neatly away from the other campers and found Silent Bob and a couple other thruhikers we’d never met getting ready to sleep. We ate a quick meal and settled into one of the lean-tos by ourselves for our last night on the Trail.

Miles hiked today: 28.4 Total AT miles completed: 2180.1 Total AT miles left to hike: 5.2

Day 156

We woke up early, left our packs at the ranger station, put our food and water in our daypacks and headed down the Trail. We passed a Sign In/Sign Out clipboard for climbing Katahdin on a post and learned two camping couples and an older thruhiker had already started out. After hiking a bit further we passed the Katahdin Stream Falls and that’s where the Trail started to get steep. It was pretty easy going for a bit, but then it got a little steeper and we had to scramble up a few medium rocks. We passed one of the couples here. A couple miles in, we were out of the trees and we had to climb up giant rock slabs. We had to use our hands a lot to do climbing and there were some strategically placed metal bars to help us have a hold to swing ourselves up. We passed another couple here. At the top of the rock slabs was a sort of giant rock-jumble-staircase we had to climb. We ate a snack while resting, then started up passing the older thruhiker early on. The climb was slow, but fun. It wasn’t cold, but the clouds were moving in and out. They mostly passed around us, allowing for spectacular views. At the top we made it to The Gateway to the Tableland. This was a long stretch of flatness, guided by cairns, a shelf of rocks and small shrubs. We hiked across this, passing Thoreau Spring, to the small stretch up to Baxter Peak! The clouds moved in just as we made our final steps to the northern terminus sign. We touched the sign. We were there. We were done. After five months and two days our journey was done.

Miles hiked today: 5.2 Total AT miles completed: 2185.3 Total AT miles left to hike: 0

Crossing Rivers One Way and Another

Day 147

We awoke from our tilted tent, packed up, ate breakfast and continued our journey. It was only a few feet up to the top of Lone Mountain where it was flat, but we didn’t know how close we were the night before. We hiked across the flatness a short while and passed the mark where we only had two hundred miles left to hike. This close to Katahdin, we don’t pay attention to how many miles we’ve gone, but to how many wiles we had left. We hiked up the short, but steep shoulder of Spaulding Mountain, quickly down a bit, across a ridge a couple of miles, a sharp descent and up the mid-sized South Crocker Mountain. From there we hiked to the North Crocker Mountain and the long gradual descent that took us well into the afternoon. At the bottom we emerged into a parking lot on ME 27 where we found a thruhiker talking with a man leaning against his pick-up truck. The man took us three thruhikers into the town of Stratton and we passed Silent Bob hitchhiking his way back out of town. We found cheap accommodations at the Stratton Motel. It was a very small town and we walked to a gas station where they also made pizza and got ourselves a pie. We resupplied at the grocery store across from the hotel and spent the rest of our time resting back at the hotel before going to sleep.

Miles hiked today: 15.7 Total AT miles completed: 1997.2 Total AT miles left to hike: 188.2   

Day 148

We woke up at not exactly the earliest hour and got a shuttle back to the Trail. Most of the other thruhikers decided to take a zero day because it was forecasted to rain soon and for the rest of the day. The sky was filled with dark clouds. We hiked high up into the mountains, into the misty coldness that was the Bigelow Mountains. These were the last mountains to be higher than four thousand feet until the final mountain, Mt Katahdin. It was extremely windy so high up as we made our way precariously from South Horn to Bigelow Mountain’s west peak to Avery Peak. We hiked down a thousand feet and several miles across the relatively flat Little Bigelow Mountain. We then hiked down the mountain halfway to Little Bigelow Lean-to where we stopped to rest. It finally started to rain and we pushed on down the mountain and several miles across relatively flat terrain. It rained harder and harder as we hiked along near several ponds. The ground became very wet and muddy and the sun was beginning to drop so we hiked faster. It got darker and darker and we were still hiking through the giant puddles when it got extremely dark. I tried putting on my headlamp, but the light lit up all the rain droplets coming down and made it even harder to see. Nepsis took the lead with the headlamp and we stumbled down the Trail for what seemed far too long. We thought we must have missed the lean-to we were headed for and tried breaking out the guidebook in the pouring rain. It didn’t help us out any and we were tired of the hiking, hungry, and tired of the rain, the puddles, and the darkness. Finally, we found the side trail to West Carry Pond Lean-to. There were a few tents set up and a couple hikers sleeping in the lean-to, so we got our dinner cooking on the side of the lean-to under the side-awning and quickly set up our sleeping stuff in the lean-to. We got ourselves in dry clothes and went to sleep without waking too many people up.

Miles hiked today: 23 Total AT miles completed: 2020.1 Total AT miles left to hike: 165.2

Day 149     

In the morning we hiked quickly on pretty flat ground. It was easy going for other ten miles until we reached the Kennebec River by mid-afternoon. This is the one river on the Trail with no bridge that thruhikers are not supposed to ford. A dam upstream sometimes will unexpectedly allow more water flow. Instead there is a man employed who ferries people across during certain hours every day of the week. When we got to the riverbank we waved to a person on the other side and he got in a canoe and paddled across. His name was Hillbilly Dave and he had us sign some waivers and put on life jackets. He and I then paddled back. The canoe even had a white blaze on the bottom of it and considered part of the official Trail. Hillbilly Dave was friendly and told us the two places to stay at in town would come pick us up for free if we called from the post office. We thanked him and walked to the post office, which was a bit further than expected. We found a hiker box outside and was rummaging through that when a shuttle pulled up and offered us a ride to the Sterling Inn, though it was from the other place to stay. They shuttle hikers back and forth for each other all the time. The Sterling Inn was a very nice bed and breakfast. Our room was small and quaint, but there was a spacious common room with a big television and a large DVD collection. They also had a little room full of hiker resupply goods so we stocked up with what we need there. After resting a bit White Rabbit arrived and we agreed to go to the other lodging option for dinner because it was also the Kennebec River Pub & Brewery. We took showers and then the owner of the Sterling Inn drove us to Northern Outdoors, which was a lodge, a restaurant, a brewery, and where one could learn how to ski. There were several other thruhikers already staying there, hanging out in the large main room with high ceilings. Everything was made of wood, giving it that nice lodge feel. There was a large sitting area sectioned off by a short wall, a bar, couches and small tables near the bar, a pool table, a few arcade games, and a fireplace. Along with White Rabbit, we sat down at one of the tables in the general area in front of the bar and ordered beers and dinners. White Rabbit told us about how he was a television editor from Los Angeles who had worked on The Hills and Cupcake Wars. After dinner the eight or so of us thruhikers went out onto a deck where there was a hot tub and soaked our legs and talked. We stayed unti late in the evening when the owner of the Sterling Inn came back to pick us three up. Back at the inn, Nepsis and I watched a little bit of TV before crawling into bed.

Miles hiked today: 14 Total AT miles completed: 2034.1 Total AT miles left to hike: 151.2

Day 150

We woke up just before seven o’clock and went downstairs for a continental breakfast with some amazing blueberry muffins. At half past seven o’clock the owner shuttled White Rabbit, two middle-aged female thruhikers, and us back to the Trail. We took off up a slight incline. We wanted to go pretty far today and tried to hike quickly. Somehow we just weren’t feeling it and after a couple of miles White Rabbit passed us. After several miles we hiked up the 2000-footer Pleasant Pond Mountain. We hiked down the mountain and ate lunch near Moxie Pond. After lunch we had to ford a brook flowing into the pond. The water came up just below our waists and was rushing harder than it looked. I slipped a couple of times and got wetter than I should have. Within minutes we were completely dry except for our shoes and socks. Most of our clothes dried really very quickly. After a few miles we climbed another 2000-footer, Moxie Bald Mountain. It was evening by the time we arrived at a shelter at the bottom of the mountain. There a southbounder told scary stories about how bad the next couple of river fords were. Two river fords stood between us and the next shelter, where we hoped to spend the night. It was already pretty late so we rushed off on very flat terrain. After a couple miles we had to ford Bald Mountain Stream which wasn’t too deep, but the southbounder said the next one was very bad. Since it was still several miles away and we didn’t want to do a ford in the dark we decided to set up camp before it got dark. So as we hiked next to the stream we kept an eye out for a flat spot, set up our tent, cooked dinner, and went to sleep.

Miles hiked today: 20.8 Total AT miles completed: 2054.9 Total AT miles left to hike: 130.4

Day 151

We woke up early and hiked quickly on flat ground a couple of miles to our ford of the West Branch of the Piscataquis River. It was cold, but the water only came up to our knees. It must have been much higher the day before with the recent heavy raining. We continued on the easy terrain until we reached the East Branch of the Piscataquis River. That ford came up to our waists, but there was a rope strung across we could hold on to help us across. We continued on very quickly and at one point I slipped, but my trekking pole did not and my face landed on it hard, bruising my lip. We weren’t going to let that keep us down and pressed on. As we were hiking I heard Nepsis scream behind me. A bee had stung her on her upper left leg. It hurt a lot and left a large red-hot welt that would last for weeks. As we hiked, we passed J5, an older thruhiker we had met a long time ago who was hiking with his wife, Dragon Lady. Dragon Lady had hurt her foot, but was following her husband the entire way with her little dog in their jeep. She supported him by allowing him to slackpack most of the Trail. The last time we had seen them was in New York right before we took a long break in New York City and he was surprised we caught up to him since he mostly got to slackpack. After a little bit we came out onto ME 15 and found Dragon Lady in her jeep in the parking lot across the road. She offered to take us to town and soon J5 appeared from the woods. We squeezed into the jeep and we drove the three and a half miles to Monson, our last Trail town. We got some of our last resupply from a gas station and some from a bakery that had a stash of hiker supplies available for purchase in a small side room. Right out of town the one hundred mile wilderness began so we had to bring enough food to last us that long. We decided we could hike that one hundred miles in four days. After stuffing our packs with all that food, we ate lunch at the bakery. White Rabbit came in at one point and told us he was staying the night in town. We were happy that it was still afternoon and we were already done with all our errands. We could knock out several miles with the remainder of our day. Within a couple minutes of stepping out on the road to hitchhike back a man in a pick-up stopped to pick us up. He lived in Monson, but was kind and went out of his way to take us all the way back to the Trail. Back in the woods we hiked a few minutes before reaching a sign that read: CAUTION/ THERE ARE NO PLACES TO OBTAIN SUPPLIES OR GET HELP UNTIL ABOL BRIDGE 100 MILES NORTH. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS SECTION UNLESS YOU HAVE A MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS SUPPLIES AND ARE FULLY EQUIPPED. THIS IS THE LONGEST WILDERNESS SECTION OF THE A.T. AND ITS DIFFICULTY SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED. We laughed at the sign and continued on. That would be an incredibly slow pace for us at this point, but at the beginning of our trek we may have had to of heeded it. After three more miles, passing a couple of ponds along the way we came to Leeman Brook Lean-to. Inside we fond something that surprised us greatly. Three skinny thruhikers were sprawled out by the names of Mayonnaise Pockets, Speedy G, and Impact. We had not seen the two since Erwin, Tennessee and according to the logbooks, we thought they were way ahead of us this entire. Well, they were until just recently when Mayonnaise Pockets fell ill. They were taking it very slow and joked about how badly he was slowing them down. Feeling good about it being early evening and passing by three strong hikers that had been way faster than us this entire time, we hiked on as quick as we can. The terrain became a little more jagged and after a few miles we forded Little Wilson Stream. We hiked a couple more miles as darkness fell. We really wanted to make it to the next lean-to. We hiked on as darkness completely enveloped us. We took out the headlamp and made it to Big Wilson Stream, which we had to ford. The current looked strong, but there was a rope and we had to do it. We attached our packs to the rope and descended into the cold water. We pushed our packs ahead of us and reached the other side safely. We unhooked our packs from the rope and set them on a large rock as our nostrils filled with a strange smell. As we strapped them back on Nepsis noticed a strange bone as I noticed the entire carcass of a deer on the rock. I had set our packs halfway on it. We scampered away and up a small hill less than a mile to Wilson Valley Lean-to where there was some tents set up, but still room in the lean-to. Of course, again, everyone was asleep and we had to quietly and quickly cook and set up our sleeping system before we shut our eyes for wonderful sleep.

Miles hiked today: 26.3 Total AT miles completed: 2081.2 Total AT miles left to hike: 104.1