Author: jpetesd

Day 161 Mtn View Tentsite to Nahmakanta Stream Campsite (23.0 miles) 2145.8 miles total

Rained all night. Was afraid would rain all day today but slowed to a sprinkle about 8:30AM, I quickly packed and hit the trail.

Had to put on wet socks to go into wet shoes. The good thing with having wet shoes/socks is it doesn’t matter if you just slosh through wet areas. Bad thing is you can get trench foot. My feet were pretty wet and pasty by end of day.

After a couple miles I was into the flats. Not as flat and smooth as I hoped, but flat enough to move more quickly than I have for a while. Able to make 3 mph a lot of the time.

 

Rain was off and on for most of AM and partly sunny in PM. Lucky that it didn’t pour all day so I had to sit in tent. Would have gotten pretty low on food by end of Wilderness. Will finish with very little as is.

Tented the other day by river fording with Bobo and Bubba. I know it sounds like a couple of good old southern boys but they’re really from MA. Nice guys. I’d strapped my extra socks on outside of pack in hopes they would dry a bit. Apparently they fell off at some point as Bobo and Bubba caught up with me and had them.

That’s Mt Kathadin you can see in the clouds. Sneaking up on that bad boy. Pic is from about 50 trail miles away from summit.

Tenting tonight in a nice flat spot in a designated campsite. I’m only one here. All the youngsters stay at shelters, or lean to’s as they call them in ME. Pretty sure that’s why a lot of them have coughs. Bobo and Bubba told me last night in rain there were 11 people in lean to that is meant for about 8.

All my stuff is pretty wet. Gonna be wet socks and shoes again tomorrow as I accidentally forded (slipped in) a stream shortly before camp. That sucks!

Hoping to get as close to Baxter State Park as I can tomorrow. That will be the first of many lasts for me. Last night in a tent, etc.

Saturday Kris will meet me at Kathadin Stream Campground in park. We’ll stay at a motel in Millinocket that night and go back to Campground Sunday AM. Then it’s 5.2 miles up to top of Kathadin and the end of this odyssey…except for the 5.2 miles back down!

Crazy close to being finished!

Happy trails!

Day 160 Pleasant River Tentsite to Mtn View Tentsite (17.2 miles) 2122.8 miles total

Light rain all night. Stopped for a bit shortly after 7:30AM. Got packed up and hit the trail.

Rain would come and go all the while I hiked. Not very hard. Just a nuisance. I do not like hiking in the rain. I do not like it at all.

White Cap Mtn (3650′) was a climb of 3000′ over 11.4 miles so not a steep climb but a long one. Highest point until Mt Kathadin. You can see Kathadin in pic below. Looks pretty big above the clouds. All by itself which is reason it’s pretty flat until you get there.

You make lots of decisions each day you’re hiking. Some are trivial and some aren’t. Today I tried to push for more mileage and passed a nice flat camping area. Bad decision. About 3/4 mile later rain started picking up. Now I needed to stop and there are no good tentsites as I’m on side of hill.

Ended up with worst tentsite of trek. Slanted and rocky. Not comfortable and raining hard now.

When I left Monson, rain was forecast for today and tomorrow. They got today right. Hoping tomorrow is wrong. I really don’t want to be stuck in tent in pouring rain this close to finish.

Happy trails!

Day 159 Long Pond Stream Campsite to Pleasant River Campsite (16.0 miles) 2105.6 miles total

You’d think this has got to get easier at some point in time but just keeps coming at you. Crossed 6 mountain tops today. All in the 2000′ elevation but still up and down. So many mountains that they started running out of names. Crossed Mt Three and a Half. It was right between Fourth Mtn and Third Mtn…of course.

Miles are still hard fought in this area. Lots of ups, downs, rocks, and roots. Perfect recipe for a painful fall.

Heard about a thru-hiker who fell and broke her wrist today. A couple came upon her and there was a side trail that went 1.5 miles to a gravel road. Amazingly had cell service and were able to call Shaw’s Hiker Hostel in Monson. They were coming to pick her up. Feel so sorry for her.

Had to do my first, and I hope only, river fording today. About 30 ft wide river 15 inches deep. Have been able to rock hop the others but not possible here. I’m tented just past river. Wanted to get past in case river gets higher.

Rain in forecast for next few days. Looked like rain pretty much all day today but didn’t start until 7PM.

One more big climb tomorrow, White Mtn, then pretty flat to Mt Kathadin

Happy trails!

Day 158 ME 15 to Long Pond Stream Tentsite (14.3 miles) 2089.6 miles total

Happy 25th birthday, Kerri Peterson!

Rained pretty good last night so trail was pretty slippery today. Makes for some slow going.

Welcome to the 100 Mile Wilderness. I wonder if the sign scares anyone away. I would think most people know what they’re getting into here.

Had a few slips and falls today. Falling on rocks is no fun. Smashed my left elbow on a rock…again. That thing has taken a beating. Pretty sure I’ve had more cuts, scrapes, and injuries on this trek than previous 25 years combined.

Did find a nice lunch spot with a stone chair…with a back!

Fall is definitely beginning here. Seeing more trees with leaves changing color every day. I started in GA when trees were just budding.

Next 35 miles of Wilderness is quite a bit of ups and downs and then 50 miles of relatively flat cruising. Anxious to reach that point. Lower likelihood of injury.

Happy trails!

Day 157 Monson, ME Zero Day, 2075.3 miles total

Staying at Shaw’s Hiker Hostel in Monson. They have the main house and 2 bunkhouses. Also allow tents in yard. Must be at least 30 hikers here.

They serve a great breakfast in AM. 3 eggs, potatoes, bacon, and unlimited blueberry pancakes.  

Got supplies for 6-day trek through 100 Mile Wilderness. Tortillas, peanut butter, tuna, beef jerky, trail mix, and a bunch of candy bars will be my diet for next 6 days.

Food drop thing isn’t like I envisioned. You pay $80 and they meet you at a road crossing in Wilderness at a specific date/time. Decided not to do it. Good thing about food is that what you carry gets lighter each day. Only problem is you end up carrying a lot of trash.

I don’t expect much communication service for next several days. Blog delivery will be random at best. I’ll be stretching to keep phone charged for 6 days as well.

Happy trails!

Day 156 Bald Mtn Stream Tentsite to ME 15, Monson, ME (15.4 miles) 2075.3 miles total

Good, quick hike into Monson. No big ups/downs so really was like a walk in the woods.

Been very fortunate that it hasn’t rained for almost 2 weeks. Besides the fact I’m not getting wet, the boggy areas are fairly dry and a couple streams that you normally need to ford are low enough you can rock hop.

Stream below would have to be forded most of the time. Hold on to rope that you see and wade through knee deep water. Today, however, I was able to walk across on piles of branches you see.

Monson is a really small town. 2 bars and neither has ESPN. Hitched a ride 10 miles to another town with Chewy just to watch some college football. Finagled a ride back from waiter as it was dark by then. Quite the adventure!

Decided that I will take a Zero tomorrow to rest up for final 115 miles. That means I should finish next Sunday.  

Happy trails!

Day 155 US 201 to Bald Mtn Stream (21.1 miles) 2059.9 miles total

Today was about getting myself as close to Monson as I could. 15 miles away so I’m pleased.

The number of lakes and ponds in ME is amazing. Some are very large. There also are few cabins or residences on most that I’ve been near…probably because it would be a long walk to get there.

Crossed 2 peaks today, Pleasant Pond Mtn (2470′) and Moxie Bald Mtn (2829′). May not sound very tall, but when you start at 1000′ it’s still some work.

Wind was howling most of day. Blew my hat off on Moxie Bald (below). Luckily it got caught in some brush or would have been sayonara to hat. Trail was not well marked here. If I didn’t have app on phone would have taken me some time to figure it out.

The bright green area is sun shining through on island. I thought it looked cool.

Hoping to get into Monson by 3PM. Usual routine of shower, laundry, resupply, dinner, a few Buds, and, now, football…lots of football.  

There is allegedly a system to get supplies half way through the 100 Mile Wilderness. Buy in Monson and someone, somehow, leaves a bucket along trail for you. Curious as to how this works. Big difference (about 6 lbs) between carrying 3 days of food vs 6 days.

Happy trails!

Day 154 Flagstaff Lake Tentsite to US 201, Caratunk, ME (19.9 miles) 2038.6 miles total

Tenting on the lake was very scenic but also very cold and damp. Probably don’t need to do that again.

Decided to hike to Kennebec River today. Knew I would get there after ferry closes at 2:00. Plan to meet Drinkle and Twinkle Toes there and pay $30 for private ferry to get us across.

At least I’m not portaging a boat through here like Benedict Arnold and his men.

Hike today was relatively flat, easy, and fast. 20 miles in less than 8 hours. That’s more like it!

We met at the river to call private ferry. Unfortunately no cell service. Thought we would be stuck across river from town for night. Bummer.

Another hiker, Torch (a month younger than me), was able to contact his wife and she contacted the ferry.

Got all 4 of us across and we were in Caratunk (population 75) by 5:30.

Stayed at a very nice country inn, Sterling Inn. Great little hiker supply store at Inn and really nice rooms.

On to Monson from here. About 37 miles. 2 good days of hiking.

Happy trails!

Day 153 ME 27 to Flagstaff Lake Tentsite (17.1 miles) 2018.7 miles total

Lots of good climbs and good views this AM. This view is from South Horn towards Bigelow Mtn and Avery Peak. Little Bigelow Mtn is at very right. Yes, we walked over that.

The views are incredible in every direction.

Hiking near group of about 10-12 youngins. I’m twice as old as most but I hold my own pretty well…most of the time.

From the top of Avery Peak. Not sure what body of water is but it’s huge.

Took a tumble late in PM. Some folks up ahead must have heard it as yelled back to ask if OK. Meekly replied yes as I inventoried body parts. Right pinky dislocated. Fortunately, through sports, I’ve seen that before…just not to me. Couple pulls and popped back into place.

Easy Going, Drankle, Twinkle Toes and their dog, Kenya, were waiting up ahead. Asked if I was OK. Said if you consider dislocated finger OK, then yes. Told them I had popped it back in place and Easy Going said “Just Pete is just a bad ass”. That made me feel a little better!

Tented on the lake shore. Pretty but cold and damp.

Have to cross Kennebec River tomorrow afternoon. ATC provides ferry service across but stops at 2PM.?? May have to try to hitch a boat ride across because won’t get there until about 4.

Happy trails!

Day 152 Lone Mtn Tentsite to ME 27, Stratton, ME (15.7 miles) 2001.6 miles total

Couple big milestones today: more than 2000 miles hiked and less than 200 miles to go!

This plaque, near Spaulding Mtn, commemorates the completion of the final section of the AT from GA to ME. Few miles shorter 80 years ago.

It’s been chilly early AM’s. Low 40’s. Been very fortunate with weather in ME. Hasn’t rained for about 10 days. Makes the muddy/boggy areas more fordable.

Not that I should need reminding but this reminded me that mountains are really just giant rocks and rock piles.

Had lunch along this stream with Shades (been hiking around him last 2 days) and Lil’ Wayne. She is 23 and came on trail to hike for 2 months. She loved it so much, she’s now hiked 1000 miles.

3 good climbs today then 5 miles down to road. Hitched a ride 5 miles into Stratton. Small town full of hikers. Saw many I knew or recognized, including Goddess.

Before I started this trek, I would tell people that I’d never hiked. Now have to say never hiked before this. 2000 miles. Holy crap! That’s about 4,500,000 steps…just on the trail.

Will be going over the Bigelows tomorrow. Only about a half dozen big climbs before Kathadin.

Happy trails!