4 in the Rain

It has been a rather soggy week here on the coast of Maine. But really, overall it's been a pleasant spring, and I'm sure we need the rain, so we can't complain too much. I headed out early to a get a run in across the street. With the rain, I thought I'd stay off the powerlines and stick to the Mt. Ararat trails instead. I did a few loops up and over and down the "big hill," which is a pretty decent workout. Got in a bit over 4 miles, and called it a day. The woods were pretty quiet, but I did see a towhee singing away, and noticed that the pink mountain laurel is looking beautiful along the powerlines near the Highland Green Road. The blueberries are also out, but they're still pretty green!

In other news, I lost the toenail on my right foot that's been threatening to go since becoming nice and black after the Pinelands race. Isn't that just lovely? I guess I won't be wearing any of my open-toed shoes to the gallery anytime soon! :-)

Yes, This is What I Do for Fun

So, it's your day off. It is an overcast day, misty and foggy, damp and cool. Your husband is up early and out the door before 7am. What do you do with yourself while he is gone? Do you 1) go back to sleep? 2) go relax on the couch and read a book, maybe do a few errands, or 3) get up and go to the nearby state park for a 2+ hour trail run? Yup, go guessed it. You do #3!

After a quick breakfast, I packed up with my fuel belt, some extra clothes and a towel, etc, and headed out the door around 7:45. I wanted to get my run in early in case it started to really rain later in the day. But first, I took a quick detour to our nearby garden center, Skillins, to buy some plants. I have been meaning to add a few plants and mulch the garden for weeks. I know June 16 seems late, but in Maine, you can't plant until Memorial Day, and after that we were in Aruba and then off hiking last weekend. So, today it is. I picked up a bleeding heart, a few native lily of the valley and Solomon's Seal, and a few Coral Bells. My garden is a shade garden, and hopefully these plants will do well.

Anyway, on to the run... I headed to Bradbury State Park. It was misty with low cloud cover. The plan was to get in 12 miles today. As a loop on the Breaker course and a loop on the Scuffle course would net 10.5 miles, I needed another mile or so to get to 12. In light of that, Snowman had suggested I do the Knight Woods loop (approx. 1.1 miles) first, so that I don't wimp out at the end and not do the extra. Definitely a good idea! My legs felt a little tired (perhaps from the 10 miler on Friday? Or just because?), but it was a nice temperature and the woods were quiet. It was a good morning to be out, despite the mist. After the loop, I headed back across the street and onto the Breaker course. This part of the run was about 90% running and 10% hiking. There were a few sections on the Boundary Trail that I power walked up. I also walked down a fair section of the South Ridge Trail, as with all the rain, the rock ledges were pretty wet as were some of the ladders. I also walked up most of the 0.2m Summit Trail. This is a stiff uphill to Bradbury summit. Boy, the Breaker is going to be a tough race! And it is two loops! Aie...

I got back to the parking lot at 1:00, hit the bathroom, and took off again across the street to do the 6 mile Scuffle course. We've run all the trails that make up this course before, although many of them in the opposite direction, so I felt like I was exploring new terrain in a few spots. The trails wind up and down, in and out, through the wet and green woods. I was feeling pretty good, but definitely feeling the fact that I'd now been running for well over an hour. Finally, I reached the Snowmobile trail and knew I had approx. 1.5 miles left to go. It was funny to be on the Snowmobile trail as it looked totally different than when we ran it this winter, all snow covered and packed by, surprise!, snowmobiles. One final hill on the Knight Woods Trail and back to the road. I was soaked, partly from sweat, but mostly from the low cloud cover and constant mist. I was dirty. I was tired. But it was a good run. Finished in 2:05, which given the terrain, doesn't seem all that bad for 12 miles.

Didn't see anyone else during those whole two hours. Did see a few chickadees, a phoebe, a wood thrush and what I think was an owl flapping quietly through one section of woods. The flora highlight of the run was all the beautiful iris blooming in a swampy section along a bridge on the Snowmobile Trail.

Now that I've showered, had a bit of lunch and watched a few holes of the US Open play-off round between Tiger and Rocco, I'm headed out back to plant those plants and get the garden set. After that, though, I might take a nap :-)

Scuffle Report

Congrats to Snowman on a great 8th place finish in the Bradbury Scuffle under not-so-great conditions, raining with lots of slippery roots and rocks! He sounded really happy with the race he ran, and I know that feeling good today will do wonders in feeling like he can do well on Saturday in the Mt. Washington Road Race. Way to go Snowman :-)

I'm sure you can read more about it later by going here.

All Work and No Play Today

In 15 minutes, Snowman will be headed off in a pack of other racers for the start of the Bradbury Scuffle. I, on the other hand, will be headed to work. I am really sad to miss this race. One, it's always better to be running than working! Two, it's odd to have Snowman racing when I am not. And last but not least, the race is put on by a really cool running group, Ian and the Trail Monster Runners. I wish I could join them racing! They did a fabulous job with the Bradbury Bruiser last year, and a few weeks ago with the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge. However, I will have a chance to participate in their next race, the Bradbury Breaker (sounds tough!), which is in August. Snowman won't be running that one, as he has to work that day. So, in the end, I guess it evens out.

With Snowman headed over to Bradbury, I headed to the Commons for a mellow 3 mile run. It was drizzling slightly, but cool. Tomorrow I have the day off and Snowman doesn't (do you see a trend here?! Ugh.), so I'm planning to head to Bradbury myself to run one loop of the Breaker course as well as the Scuffle. Should be a good workout.

Beautiful Morning for 10

Finally! I managed to get out of bed for my scheduled 10 miler. I added an extra layer of insurance last night when I asked Snowman to be sure to prod me into getting up should I attempt to roll over and go back to sleep. He did. I got up, and he promptly rolled over and went back to sleep!

I headed out into the Commons at 6:20 am. Although getting up this early to run is a bit of a chore, there is something about running at such an early hour that is really nice. I didn't see a soul in the Commons, and at the end, turned left to head into the Pennellville area of Brunswick. This is a great place to run, bike or walk. The roads are quiet, and with the mix of old stately homes, rolling farmland and deep woods, it feels like you're out in the middle of nowhere. I ducked into the port-a-potty at the Pennellville soccer fields for a much-needed stop. Thank you Town of Brunswick! And they had been cleaned yesterday, even better.

As I headed out through the fields, the birds were everywhere. I guess they love it out here too. Bobolinks (what a cool bird! Doug, if Lucy still needs the bobolink for her life list, come to Brunswick! There were at least 4 males out in the fields this morning!), red-winged Blackbirds, goldfinch, a pair of Tree Swallows, sparrows and others. At the end of Pennellville Road, I turned left again to head down to Simpson's Point, where the road ends at the water. This bright and beautiful morning the water was calm and smooth as glass, reflecting the pine trees and the blue sky above. What a wonderful thing to see in the early morning light.

The route looped back around to the Commons again, and I headed back through, finishing the 10 miles in 1:27. What a way to start the day! I'm also pretty happy that I managed to get the 20 miles in as I had planned, given that our hike on Sunday/Monday was pretty exhausting. A solid week as far as I'm concerned.

Snowman Says: On the AT - Rt. 2, Gorham to Wright Trail

June 8, 2008 | Miles: 11.8
Start: Rt. 2, Gorham
End: Gentian Pond Shelter

Here's an idea: Go on a backpacking trip. Not just any trip, but go on one of the hardest sections of the AT. For your first backpack of the season. Then choose the hottest weekend of the year. Don't forget the 90% humidity. Height of bug season? Yeah, throw that in, too. Sound like the worst idea ever? Well, it is the worst idea ever. And, it's exactly what we did.

Originally, Ghost was going to come with us. Ghost had gone for a hike the day before. He decided that it was going to be too hot for him. He chose wisely. However, he was still nice enough to help us with our car spot. (Thanks, Ghost! We owe you a fine dinner at Monsieur Pizza.) So, at 7:45 we met him in Bethel, and headed up to the Wright Trail to park our car—this would be our end point. Then at about 9:00am he dropped us off at the trailhead on Rt. 2 in Gorham, so we could begin our hike. The first .5 mile was along the road. This was the last easy walking of the whole trip. Within the first 1/2 hour, I was completely saturated with sweat. After about an hour, I thought I was done. I was soaking wet, struggling under the weight of the pack (which I've lightened to under 30 pounds, which makes my laboring that much more pathetic), losing blood rapidly from bug bites, and generally unhappy. We contemplated turning around, but trudged on. We had an out at 3 miles, so I decided to make my decision there. This out was at the top of Mt. Hayes. I didn't feel particularly better, but I didn't feel any worse. We kept going. And going, and going, and going. Drip, drip, drip. Swat, swat, swat. Grumble, grumble, grumble. There was a brief break during this time for lunch: hummus, carrots, cucumber, pita, cheese...we go first class. (Oh and a Reese's Fast Break.)

Eventually, we descended to Trident Col. It was steep. Then a funny moment happened: D said, "Well, they weren't kidding about the col part." That was the last and only funny moment of the day. We stopped at the spring at the campsite, 0.2 off the trail, for water. It was early afternoon, but I'd already emptied my 100 oz. bladder. Drip, drip, drip.

More walking, more sweating, more bugs, more grumbling...then it got worse. A black fly flew in my eye. Really into my eye. It wouldn't come out. It hurt. No seriously, it sucked.

Eventually, we arrived at Gentian Pond Shelter. It took us 8 hours. We got water and made dinner. Pad Thai from Backpackers' Pantry. It sucked. Pretty much the only thing you want after a hard day is a good meal. This was not so good. Grumble.

Since no one else is as dumb as us, we had the shelter all to ourselves. At about 7:30, we sent up the tent in the shelter. Poor shelter etiquette? Yes. There was still enough room for at least 6 people to come in if need be. We could tell it was going to rain, and it was still way too hot to sleep in the tent with the rainfly on. So, into the tent we went. I laid there...sweating, nay dripping. But at least I wasn't getting bit anymore.

June 9, 2008 | Miles: 7.3 (plus 4.4 miles on the Wright Trail)
Start: Gentian Pond Shelter
End: Wright Trail, South Fork

At some point, I stopped sweating and fell asleep. I woke up at one point and realized it was raining. We were still alone and comfortably dry and bug free in the shelter. Then at 11:00, I saw headlamps. Two people had shown up. WTF? Who shows up at 11:00 on a day like this? We asked them if they wanted to come in, but they said they had set up tents. OK, back to sleep.

The day started with a climb...of course. Well, first we had to pass through the tentsites. The two were actually a group of about ten. We exchanged pleasantries, apologized for hogging the shelter (they said they wouldn't have used it anyway) and we headed on our way. This was the only human contact we had on our trip. We didn't see anyone else. Well, because it was so awful out. Today was less sunny, but no less hot or humid. And, don't forget the bugs. At some point, I offered the second and last funny moment of the trip, when I said: "Why don't we have any hobbies that are fun?"

We climbed Mt. Success. It was hard. We were sweating. We stopped and had a snack it was buggy. We kept going. We came to a ridiculous jumble of rocks that was supposed to be the trail. It was basically straight down. The rocks were wet. It was tricky. It sucked. It took us about 20 minutes to go about 100 feet. Soon after this we reached the Maine border to no fanfare at all. We took a photo and moved on. We were too hot, too wet, too tired to really care. We knew we still had a long way to go.

We hit another ridiculous jumble of rocks. This time we had to take of our packs. It was both exhausting and annoying. Don't forget the bugs and the heat. (Or the smell at this point.) Actually, I had stopped worrying about the bugs. I was sweating so much, they were drowning before they could really bite me. After this obstacle, we reached the trail to the Carlo Col shelter. This was good news because we were out of water. This was really bad because the water was 0.3 miles down, down, down. So much suckage.

Climb back up to the AT. Climb Mt. Carlo. Go down the other side. Then it was back up to West Goose Eye. As we started this climb, I said to D, "I really don't think I can keep going." I wasn't kidding. I was toasted. We climbed up West Goose Eye. It was steep and rocky. There was a ladder. It was ridiculous. D yelled, "I don't want to go up anymore." She wasn't kidding. We reached the top. We ate a snack. We moved on.

Soon after, we hit the Wright Trail to begin our miles that "didn't count." I'm sure the Wright Trail is a really nice trail. It sucked on this day. We had 4.4 miles to our car. It felt like 444.4. Down, down, down. Drip, drip, drip. Grumble, grumble, grumble. Somehow, we reached the car. We'd been out for nearly 10 hours. Count 'em. 10.

This was the hardest trip we've ever done. I'm never hiking again.

Commons

I was all set and planning to get up at 5:45 am to go for a 10 mile run. However, when the alarm went off, all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. So I did.

So much for my good intentions.

I did manage to get up and get in a 6 mile run in the Commons before work though, so the day was not lost. Things has cooled down overnight, and there was a nice breeze. It actually felt pretty good to be out running.

I'll try for 5:45 am again tomorrow. Who's willing to place a bet that I actually get up?! :-)

Tired Feet

Finally dragged myself out of bed this morning to get in an abbreviated run before heading up to work for an early meeting. Headed across the street onto the powerlines. After the thunder/lightening and rain last night, things seemed to have cooled off a bit, but the air still felt heavy. I was happy to notice that my legs didn't feel sore, but they did feel tired. As did my feet. My feet seem to have suffered the most from this weekend's hike. Perhaps it was because they were wet for 36 hours straight due to lots of sweat and a few slips off bog bridges! Regardless, they were feeling a bit tender. I got in 4 miles, shorter than I had planned previously, but oh well. These things happen.

I talked to Snowman on my way up to work. He appears to not be recovering very quickly, and is still feeling wiped out. Poor guy. I'm sure a super long and busy day at work yesterday didn't help, and hopefully he'll feel better with a good night's sleep tonight. As we've seen over our years of hiking, my body seems to handle the heat better than his, so I guess his body is just letting him know it wasn't too happy with this weekend's adventure!

On the AT - Rt. 2, Gorham to Wright Trail

Photos of our hike.

June 8, 2008 | Miles: 11.8
Start: Rt. 2, Gorham
End: Gentian Pond Shelter

Danielle:
This weekend's hike could be summed up as follows:

Ghost was smart. We were dumb.

and

Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Bugs. Bugs. Bugs. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat.

Throw in a some really stiff and rugged terrain, a few nice views and some spring wildflowers, and there you have it.

Now for the long version:

Ghost decided to skip out on this weekend's adventure due to the forecasted hot and humid weather. He had been out hiking on Saturday and said it was pretty awful. He was going to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing inside. We decided to go ahead with our plans. One, we are dumb. Two, we have a lot of things going on this month and only had this one weekend to get out backpacking. Three, we really want to finish up all the miles we have remaining before we do the final stretch in the 100 mile wilderness this September. So. All of the above being noted, we met up with Ghost on Sunday at 7:45, so that he could help us with our car spot. That really made things much easier. Thanks Ghost!

About 2 minutes into the hike, we were sweating. And it was buggy. Not even an hour into the hike and Snowman was saying "This is too hard. Too hot." This was going to be a rough day. I seemed to be faring better than him, but we still had a ways to go. We took it easy and trudged onward. The terrain was rugged and the trail not well used. It seems the Mahoosucs were living up to the rumors, as a beautiful, but rough and rugged stretch of mountains.

The 11.8 miles took us 8 hours, which considering we took at least an hour worth of stops through the day to rest, drink, eat and fill up our water, isn't too bad. But we were both spent by the time we got to Gentian Pond Shelter. The heat and the terrain had taken their toll. The shelter was empty, and had a great view out into Shelburne with the mountains beyond. A pretty spot. After dinner (by the way, the Pad Thai by Backpacker's Pantry is not recommended. Neither of us could finish our portion, which is really unusual for us.), we set the tent up in the shelter. Not good shelter etiquette, but as no one had arrived by 8pm, we figured it was just us for the night. It was hot, but we finally fell asleep. I awoke at 11pm to rain and a couple of hikers coming into camp. 11pm? What were they doing?! We felt bad for taking over the shelter, but they said they had already set up their tents... Ok. back to sleep. We needed it.

Flora and fauna report: Lots of moose poop and prints, but no moose. Lots of overly friendly black flies. Two grouse, one junco, one gray jay. One black and yellow garter snake. A few toads and frogs. Lots of pink and white ladyslippers, false lily of the valley, goldthread, bunchberries, blue bead lilies, mountain laurel, violets and rhodora.


June 9, 2008 | Miles: 7.3 (plus 4.4 miles on the Wright Trail)
Start: Gentian Pond Shelter
End: Wright Trail, South Fork

Danielle:
The rain during the night had cooled things off slightly, but the air was still heavy when we awoke at 6:30. Turns out what we thought was two hikers last night was a group of 8 or 10 wilderness camp instructors out for a training backpack. Still don't know why they arrived so late. We headed off up Mt. Success at 7:50am, in an attempt to beat the heat. The rain had turned the overgrown trail into a car wash, but it was good. Still, it was slow going. The roots and rocks were now wet, and the terrain had not gotten any easier.

In a few spots, upon first glance, we couldn't figure out how to get through the obstacle course of boulders that was the trail. Snowman had to help me up and down numerous times. My skirt was totally dirty. I was soaked, again. My legs were covered with sweat and mud and pine needles and heat rash. Lovely. It took us forever to get the Carlo Col Shelter for lunch and water refill. From there, we trudged onward and upward to Mt. Carlo and one of the Goose Eyes. Snowman was falling back. I kept urging him on. He was not looking good. This was not looking good. But there was nothing to do but keep going. Wingfoot had definitely gotten some of the mileage wrong, and we kept going and going and going. We did pass through some beautiful high bog areas, where the cotton sedge and mountain laurel were blooming. Still, neither of us were having a great time. I, again, seemed to be better off than Snowman but this did not stop me from swearing a good number of times at the rather impossible climbs up slick rocks or the bugs trying to gnaw at my arms and legs.

Finally, we reached the Wright Trail junction. The 7.3 miles (although I'm pretty sure Wingfoot was off by 1 mile at least through this section) had taken us until 3pm. Man... The Wright Trail was rugged for the first few miles, but had some gorgeous views. We finally dropped down to Goose Eye Brook, which we followed for the last few miles. Definitely a nice trail, but all I wanted was to get to the car. It had been a long day. We hit the trailhead at 5:40. D***, that was tough.

After a refreshingly cold wash in Goose Eye Brook, we had dinner at Sunday River Brew Pub. After a quick unpacking and a much needed shower, we were in bed by 9:30. Perhaps we shouldn't have chosen one of the toughest stretches of trail for our first backpack of the season, on the as-of-yet hottest weekend of the year, in early June when the bugs are at their worst. But then again, we're dumb. Who would have expected anything else from us?

Misty Morning

Although the weather channel was calling for temps in the high 60s today, it sure didn't seem like it at 7am this morning. The clouds hung low in the sky and a steady but light mist fell. Maybe in part due to the weather, or perhaps the early hour on a Saturday, the Commons were quiet. I didn't see anyone until the last 10 minutes or so, as I neared the college. The woods have come alive, looking lush and green. The pink ladyslippers still abound, joined by many false lily of the valley and bunchberries.

This week tallied up to 17 miles, pretty paltry, I know, but I put in some good weeks leading up the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge, so I figure a week of "rest" is not such a bad thing. Next week is the first of the summer's 3/2 weeks, meaning I'll be running 3 days and hiking 2 days. This will be an interesting experiment, as I still want to keep my running miles up over 20, as well as get in at least one long run a week. Next week I'm planning two 5-mile days and one 10-mile day. The mileage isn't the problem, but the time is. Although I realize I'm lucky with that my work day doesn't start until 10:00, getting 10 miles (or approx. 1.5 hours of running) in before 8:30am is still going to be a challenge.

Tomorrow we head out to do a section of the AT in NH. Our friend Ghost is joining us. Should be fun :-)

Powerline Run

In a total shift from our runs earlier this week, this morning's run featured mist and temps in the high 50s. A bit of an overcast day, but nice to be out. I hit the powerlines for a 5 mile run, and enjoyed the peace and quiet, broken only by the birds singing away. Things have come into full bloom in the last week or so - bunchberries, wild strawberries, white violets, rhodora, even a beautiful iris along a swampy part of the trail, and many flowering shrubs I'm at a loss to name. Also saw my first red eft of the season, always a favorite of mine to come across on the trail, whether running or hiking!

The Many Sides of Aruba

For a full look at our Aruba photos:
Aruba Photos #1

Aruba Photos #2

Home Sweet Home

After a long day of travel yesterday, starting at 4:45 am, we are now back in Maine. As Snowman said when we were driving north yesterday from the airport, it's very odd to think that yesterday morning we were in Aruba and only hours later are back on the coast of Maine.

Although we had a wonderful time in Aruba and really enjoyed our tropical vacation, we are glad to be home! There is nothing like your own bed and your own meowing, purring, drooling cat alarm clock to wake you up in the morning :-)

...and the aftermath

After quite a few tasty margheritas and a late 1am turn-in, Snowman awoke at 7:30am and went down to reserve shady hut #41. He then came back to bed, where we debated whether to get up and eat, or get up and work out in the fitness center, or just go back to sleep. I fully intended to get up and go run on the treadmill, but instead promptly fell back to sleep and woke up at 10:30! So much for an early start to the day!

We went down to the hut, had some lunch, read and relaxed, and enjoyed one more swim in the ocean. After a few hours, I was getting a bit antsy, so Snowman good naturedly humored me, and off we went, walking down the strip in search of Bubali Bird Sanctuary. We asked directions from a nice Westin attendant, who sent us in the direction of the Butterfly Farm. We figured since we were walking right by, we would stop in and check it out. A bit expensive, but really neat. They've created a protected butterfly sanctuary and boy, were they beautiful! Pretty cool to get such close-up views of so many different kinds of butterflies.

Turns out the sanctuary backs up to the Butterfly Farm, but you have to access it from another road, so off we went. As usual, it was HOT, and I was sweating, even with the nice wind. Oh well. The bird sanctuary was not much more than a covered high bird watching tower at the edge of some marshy land between the roads and hotel area and the beach. Still, we had some good looks at a few cattle egret, one fly-by yellow warbler, one HUGE iguana, many ground doves and grackle, some sort of plover I have yet to identify, and some neat looking ducks. We also saw a brown-throated parakeet on our walk over, talking up a storm in one of the divi divi trees. Neat!

Feeling pretty sweaty but with me still a bit antsy upon our return to the hotel, we enjoyed the AC in the room for a bit and then went for a mellow 3-mile run on the treadmill in the fitness center. Nothing like a bit of exercise to make me feel better!

The Wedding

Congratulations to Meg and Chris!

Last night we all attended their beautiful wedding on the white sand beach outside the hotel. It was a gorgeous evening with a really nice sunset and was the perfect setting for the ceremony.

The dinner and reception were in the restaurant where earlier in the day we had spent 2 1/2 hours eating at the ridiculous buffet, feasting on everything from french toast, omelettes, homemade donuts, meat from the carving station, sushi, a dessert station and more. We all enjoyed the reception-food was good, band was talented and of course, best of all the company was great! A good time, and lots of drinks were had by all :-)

I'll also take the time to thank Meg, Chris, Irene, Dana, Regina and Mike for a wonderful time! We really enjoyed our once-in-a-lifetime tropical vacation, and were honored to join the families and friends in such a nice place for such a special occasion!