From the Bigelows to the Wilderness: On the Home Stretch

Stats: Tuesday night 8/23, MM 2074.6

(73.7 new miles, 2083.4 total miles)

Only 114.5 miles to go!

It's been a great week. Made up some time, and the weather has been good. I also ran into some people I haven't seen for a long time, good to see them. (It's amazing how you keep running into people at stopping points but then don't see them for weeks or months.)


Best of all, I'm about a week from the finish line and heading home!


Friday, Gray Ghost and I left Stratton, started out with a 2,000 climb into the Bigelow Mountains, and back down to our stopping point, Little Bigelow Lean-to. Weather was beautiful, cool and great views, hiked 15 miles total. The terrain was the usual rocks and roots. I wore my old pair of boots over 1,200 miles and they held up well, these new boots are already showing signs of wear after just a few hundred miles due to the rough terrain.

On the way down Bigelow Mountain, we passed a group of about 15 teens hiking up who were ready to be at the top ("are we there yet?").

The trail was much easier on Saturday - map showed a level hike and it was great, weather also still very good. We hiked 18 miles to Harrison Pierce Pond Cabins, known for their 12-pancake breakfast.

Gray Ghost and I stayed in one of the small cabins. No electricity or wifi, had beds w/mattresses so we slept in our sleeping bags on the beds. Overnight we heard mice moving around, glad we had beds!

The next morning we had a huge, excellent breakfast: 12 pancakes, with blueberries, apples, or strawberries; sausage and eggs, coffee, and juice. About 10 people were staying there, including Blacksmith and Mishap (met them back in the Smokies!), Crisco, Sprinkle Toes.

After breakfast on Sunday we had to cross the Kennebec River by canoe, too wide to hike through. We had to sign a waiver and wear a life vest. A guy rowed us across 2 by 2, no charge. It's part of the hike.

We also had to walk through a few more streams this week. The weather was still really good as we crossed Pleasant Pond and Moxie Bald mountains. 

A bit blurry (sorry), but you can see what I mean about roots on the trail

Our goal was to get to Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-tos, a total distance of 22 miles. I prayed for strength and got it, I was worn out. It's been a while since I hiked over 20 miles in one day.

It rained really hard overnight, stayed dry in my tent, but again, everything was soaked when I packed it up. Monday (my sister-in-law Donna's birthday - happy belated birthday, Donna!) it rained for the first few hours of our hike into Monson: last stop before the 100-mile Wilderness.

Hiking was a bit harder today, rocks and roots were slippery from the rain. It got cool and windy toward the end of the day when we reached our pick-up spot after another 18-mile day. We called Shaw's, the place where we stayed, and they picked us up.

Got back and had time to air-dry my tent, fly, and footprint in the sun, thankfully they dry quickly. Shower felt really good! We planned to take Tuesday off for a full day of rest, so I didn't need to do laundry right away. Had dinner at a gas station, burgers and pizza, the hiker staple.

A lot of people were staying there, we were in a hiker bubble: many people ending up at the same place. Some planned to go out Tuesday, some were staying until Wednesday. Met up with a few people I knew, including Mountain Goat, Daypack, Pockets, Professor, Olive Oil.

Picture courtesy of Sweeper

Also ran into Chopper and his brother Mountain Goat. I haven't seen them since Erwin when we passed each other (they flip-flopped, started mid-Virginia and hiked south, then back to the starting point and hiked north). We met on the AT blog before the hike and talked a bit, thought we may hike together at some point since they started on the same day I did. But we haven't seen each other since until today, and now we may finish on the same day.

Tuesday had another great breakfast: all-you-can-eat blueberry pancakes, eggs cooked to order, bacon, homefries, and coffee. Sweeper came to town (thru-hiker Mary and I met earlier, lives in Maine) to hang out for a bit and take us shopping for re-supply. It was good to see him, and he enjoyed visiting with everyone. He gave us good tips for the Wilderness and for hiking up Mt. Katahdin, he's hiked it many times.

Sweeper at the finish!

Heard about a woman who left Monson this week and made it 3 miles into the Wilderness, turned her ankle and broke it. It's not the first injury I've heard about - Moondog and others I know have had to end their hikes because of injury. Really makes me appreciate how blessed I am that I'm still going!

Perspective

Wednesday morning (today) I was packed up and ready to go. Had more food than usual, which means more weight than usual, because there aren't places to re-supply in the Wilderness. The first three days will be a bit rough, then it's smooth sailing to the foot of Mt. Katahdin...where I'll meet Mary for the final 5.5 miles to the top. I can't wait!

I'm in the book, registered for August 30th to climb Mt. Katahdin.
Recognized many names of people I met along the way. Congrats to all!

Thank you for the great encouragement you've been posting, and for all your prayers and support. Please pray for good weather so we can finish on August 30th, for no sickness or injury, and for strength to be able to hike 109 miles in 6 days.

See you at the top!

(PS from Mary - received a voice mail from Nailgun tonight, he made it 19 miles his first day into the Wilderness. Go Nailgun, Go!


I can't wait either, I'm beside myself, so ready for Nailgun to be home!)