Day 124 - Monday, August 9, 2021

I know I’ve gotten a little behind in my journal but we have been hitting the trail hard the last few days and we’ve been getting back late. By the time I shower and have some dinner,  I’m just about ready to call it a day 😴 .  I think this post gets me all caught up 😉.  And it will probably happen again 😳, especially when we enter the 100 Mile Wilderness at the end of this week. 


Today we are hiking from to ME 27 (2004.9 NoBo) to East Flagstaff Road (2021.6 NoBo) equaling 16.7 miles. We are driving to the trailhead and the road is closed. By the time we found a detour, driving back around the mountain, we didn’t get started to 9:45 am 🤬. We know it’s a long, difficult hike with 4 big climbs, and now we might not get out til dark 🥴.





Climbing…




Climbing…




Still climbing… no visibility today with the low cloud cover. It started raining inside the cloud.



Every day brings more memories… 








Summit of Avery Peak.




There are shelters on some of the higher summits to give hikers relief from the high winds and elements. 



Myron Avery commemorative plaque.


Well, well, well… when you least expect it, look who we ran into, again! We have met “Drifter” & “Hun” several times on the trail. They should complete their thru hike this coming weekend… Congratulations 🎉! 


Resupplying water. The steri-pen makes fast work of sterilizing/sanitizing water. Only takes 90 seconds to purify a liter of water. 



Summiting Bigelow Mountain West Peak. Winds were gusting 30-40 mph, thankfully it wasn’t cold today.

Oh, I most forgot to mention… at about 12:15 pm my &@#%* trekking poles kicked out causing me to “touch down “ evening the slip/fall scorecard.  I’m sure it will happen again … “Que Será, Será. Did I just say that …🤭.





Horns Pond day shelter. It was not built or intended for overnight stays but could be if needed in an emergency.





The Maine Appalachian Trail Club (M.A.T.C.) posted a 2000 trail mile marker from Springer Mountain but it doesn’t match up with the thru hikers guide mileage? Perhaps this was the original 2000 mile marker as the trail does change. 




One last view as we’re descending. But we have to hurry it’s getting late. 

We finished hiking at 8:15 pm. It was beyond sunset but I didn’t need my headlamp to get out. Another long difficult hike in the books 🙏🏻. 

We have realized  that there are many details in the Thru Hikers Guidebook that are “unintentionally” left out 🤔. I’m guessing they don’t want to tell you everything that you can expect on the trail, good or bad.  You must go for the “walk in the woods” to find them out for yourself.   Its been an amazing adventure so I far and I’m sure there are a few more surprises left for us to “enjoy and experience”… 🤫🥴.



Till next time... Happy Hiking  🥾 

😋


“Acts of generosity in this wild and primitive setting…where basic amenities…are intentionally absent–are often received in a heightened sense of wonder and gratitude by hikers. These acts of generosity are referred to as “trail magic.”

                  (Appalachian Trail Conservancy)

Comments

  1. ChrisAugust 12, 2021 at 2:38 AM

    It wouldn’t be fun if the guidebook told you everything 🤔😎🥾

    ReplyDelete

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