Start: Monson
End: Long Pond Stream Lean-to
Well, this is it. Our last stretch on the AT. It’s only taken us four years to get to the 100 mile wilderness but if it killed me, we were going to get here at some point. (OK, so not really, but you know what I mean. I want to finish this thing, damn it!) The forecast was calling for anywhere between 60 and 100% chance of rain for today, but what can you do? This was our vacation, so off we went. We parked our car at Shaw’s Lodging and got a shuttle to the trailhead with 2 other hikers. Amazingly, they seem to either never have hiked before, or perhaps backpacked. Either way, as we headed off down the trail, the last question they had for us was “What’s it like to hike in the rain?” Oh boy… Hope they make it through OK!
The rain came about 3 miles into the hike, just as we reached the first shelter along the trail. On went the raincovers and raincoats. It was a soggy hike, not only because of the rain and low clouds, but because we had to ford not one, not two but three streams. And brrr, was that water cold! The first two we stopped to take our shoes off; the third looked like we might be able to get across without getting too wet, but in the end, Snowman slipped off a rock and was in up to his knees so I just ploughed through the water. I was wet anyway, what was a bit more squish in the shoes?!
We ended up going a bit further than our initial “plan” called for. But that is always how it goes. The plan goes out the window one way or the other! We stopped at Long Pond Stream Lean-to, 15.1 miles in, around 5:15pm. It was already getting dark. We set up in the shelter next to three thru-hikers, K-Bomb, Mocassin and Wookie. Two others, Enok and Orangedust, came in a bit later. Orangedust had fallen into the last ford, getting herself and everything in her pack soaked. She was not in the mood to be around others, so set up her tent and called it a night. The rest of us climbed into our bags not long after.
Flora and fauna notes: One barred owl calling at the shelter. Otherwise, the woods were quiet.
September 15, 2008 | Miles: 13.6
Start: Long Pond Stream Lean-to
End: East Chairback Pond
We awoke to clouds and mist. Everyone moaned as they put on their wet boots and headed out into the wet woods. Today’s hike involved the climbs up and over the Barren/Chairback Range, and we knew it was going to be hard. Lots of ledges and wet rocks greeted us. But the skies gradually cleared out and we finally had clearing and a bit of blue skies as we summited Fourth Mountain.(There is a Third and Fourth, but no First and Second. What’s up with that?)
We stopped in a col by a stream to have lunch and dry out a bit in the sun. Then it was up and over the seemingly endless bumps along the ridge. It was slow going and no one was going anywhere fast. We ended up stopping a bit earlier than “planned” at a cool stealth site at East Chairback Pond. Our friend, Clearwater, had made notes of good camping spots all through the Wilderness and this was one of them. We were super glad for his advice, and were glad to stop for the night after a long, tough day.
Flora and fauna notes: Pretty woods with lots of bluebeads and bunchberries. Also saw a really cool Northern Pitcher Plant in the Fourth Mountain bog. Neat!
September 16, 2008 | Miles: 16.0
Start: East Chairback Pond, stealth site
End: Unnamed woods road
The morning dawned clear and crisp. We had a steep descent down to the West Branch of Pleasant River, which was wide and cold, but luckily shallow. Still, I had an ice cream headache by the time I was on the other side! Brrr! This was also a place I have been before, as it is within the Gulf Hagas area, where I went on my pre-orientation trip as a freshman at Bowdoin. However, admittedly, I did not truly recognize the river or the section of trail that we must have done to do the Gulf Hagas loop. Am I that old? Or is it just that we’ve done so many trails that sometimes they all blur together? Ah well. Anyway, for the rest of the morning we followed Gulf Hagas Brook as it slowly climbed through the valley. Very nice walking, mellow and flatish. Of course, this is where Snowman decided to take his game-winning spill, head-first on a flat section of trail, and almost take me out in the process. His face ended up on my ankle and he ended up with some impressive gashes and bruises on elbows and knees.
After this pleasant walk in the woods, we had a stiff climb up Gulf Hagas Mountain, where we glimpsed our first view of Katahdin! An unexpected bonus. We were treated to even better views of the Big K from atop White Cap and a gorgeous vista of the lowlands we would be traversing before arriving in Baxter.
After descending White Cap, we decided to push on past the first shelter in the hopes of reaching the one 3.6 miles down the trail. However, as we were coming down to a woods road, we noticed a bit of commotion and chatter ahead. We rounded the corner, and who was it but Woodrose, Muleskinner and Bella? They had traveled down many miles of back logging roads to reach the spot and provide a bit of trail magic. What a coincidence! How awesome is that? We had last seen them when hiking with them in 2005 in Georgia! We sat and chatted, ate some fruit, and then later joined them and a few other thru-hikers for soup, wine and crackers. Muleskinner serenaded us with a song of Nicaguaran independence before we all headed to bed. What a day!
Flora and fauna notes: 1 toad, 1 frog, 1 garter snake. Lots of calling blue jays, a Pileated Woodpecker calling in Gulf Hagas, juncos and several warblers that I think may have been Yellow Warblers.
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