Friday, October 13, 2017

Monson, ME to The Birches BSP (2017.3-2184.6)

Monday 10/2; Monson, ME to Wilson Valley Lean-to (2075.3-2085.7)
We're officially in the Hundred Mile Wilderness, which means we've officially started the last week or so on trail. It's crazy to be here! We had our first river ford today which went smoothly, thankfully not swimmingly. We're hiking, and will likely summit Katahdin with, a great group of people! Yard Sale, GWAG, Papa Bean, and Corn Chip. The ford today was fun with this group, and we look forward to the next days together.
We didn't make it to our preferred destination today, but we think it's simply because we got started late. We all had breakfast at Shaw's (so very good!!), finished packing, got a complicated food drop for 6 people situated, paid our tabs, and finally got in trail by about 10. This is late for us. We're usually hiking by 7:30, 8 at the latest. But will make the miles up tomorrow and still make it for our food drop.
We're overwhelmed by the support and kindness that has been shown to us thus far on our journey, and can't wait to share more with you as we finish and begin seeing you all back in home-life. The best is certainly yet to come!
Today 10/3; Wilson Valley Shelter to Stealth before bog (2085.7-2095.7)
And... We didn't make the miles up today. The terrain here in the first days of the wilderness is quite hard. We called the hostel and pushed back our food drop by a day, which all six of us are exited about. This allows us to slow down a bit, not worry about making the miles, and enjoy these last days before finishing and scattering. It's hard to imagine not seeing people who've become so important to us every day. Of course we're so exited to see family and friends back home, and we're all excited for varying things in modern society (like water on demand, showers, and food), but I think most of us will miss the friends we've made. We've all become very close, very quickly.
Today was a good day, despite the challenging terrain. We enjoyed some beautiful views from the Chairback Range, and we met a day hiker who is a photographer and is working on a collection of hiker images/stories. I think he's also working on a piece for Backpacker Magazine. We shared our story and he took our photo. He's a really nice guy who hiked in 2009 (I think he said). Chris is his name, and you can see some of his work at chrissbennettphoto on Instagram.
It's been pretty cold at night and in the mornings, but the hiking weather during the days has been perfect. Hoping the weather they're calling for this week won't be too extreme. Rain in the cold is miserable. Off to bed!
Wednesday 10/4; Stealth before bog to Carl Newhall Lean-to (2095.7-2111.2)
We made it! Today was a long day (for Fresh, anyhow), and we were there first in the group to arrive at camp. It felt like an accomplishment for sure. A lot of up and down, a few views, a rotten attitude coming into camp, and then finally chilling a bit. It was nice to arrive before dark (we don't like night hiking), and get most of our chores done before losing the light. Thankfully Bean got water before I arrived. We are excited to see the rest of our crew here, too. The last three arrived by head lamp. We're all a little excited for a shorter day tomorrow!
Thursday 10/5; Carl Newhall Shelter to Eat Branch Lean-to (2111.2-2122.0)
Wow, what a beautiful day! We started slow, which is a really nice change. I didn't sleep well last night (it rained and I woke and couldn't go back to sleep), so I was a bit sleepier/slower than normal. Anyhow, it was nice to have a leisurely morning. A shorter mileage day allowed for doing so, and breaking throughout the day to take in views. And views we had! Fall colors are really starting to come in, AND we had our first Katahdin sighting!! She's a beast, that's for sure, but we're all excited! We were discussing the fact that many of us have put off thinking about the end until now because it was always so far away. And now we're here. I've also realized that as many times as I've envisioned the end goal (us, on top of Katahdin), I've never envisioned the days leading up to the end goal; what I'm realized it's the sweet stuff. Like tonight, sitting around a fire with our friends. Only missing U-Turn and The Colonel. We found a note from them today in the log book at the last shelter. I've been looking, knowing U-Turn would have left a note somewhere. And we found
one! I couldn't have imagined back in VA what hiking without her/them would be. I miss it. It's hard to be finding the end if this hike with really amazing people who have truly become friends, but without her. I miss you, U-Turn. I have that we aren't finishing this together, but it's ok. It just means we have different versions of the same story to share with each other. I love you forever, trail sister!
Friday 10/6;  East Branch Lean-to Antler campsite (2122.0-2138.0)
And just like that, I'm reminded how amazing this whole experience is! We blazed through 16 miles today. An hour for lunch, some random breaks, and a two hour wait (we were early) for our food drop, then a quick last 4 miles to camp tonight. We got here a bit late, but so enjoyed hanging around among the beautiful fall foliage! The colors are so vivid and just breathtaking! Poet arrived with our food drop and we chatted with him for a bit. He's such a super nice guy!! A few minutes later Bear Pop, Smash, and Tricia showed up. We we're excited to learn they'd be camping with us tonight! The group here is the there of them, three sectioners, and the six of us. It was such a fun evening! We watched the moon rise over the lake, which we all loved! It was full last night, and was orange while rising tonight. It was quite an experience. We've really come to enjoy Papa Bean's and Corn Chip's company. We all marveled at the moon (it was orange and huge, and came up over the pond looking like James's Giant Peach), and enjoyed time around the fire discussing the great day and the trip to this point.
Side note: I saw a beaver tonight! It was swimming and I heard it slap it's tail on the water. Very cool. Now, I just need a moose and a porcupine. Moose is still possible. Not so sure on the porcupine. More great things tomorrow.
Saturday 10/7; Antler campsite to Wadleigh Stream Lean-to (2138.0-2151.6)
After yesterday, nothing really compares. Today was a good day. Nothing bad or wrong, just less ideal. We got a little sprinkle this afternoon. First rain in weeks, and unfortunately, I think it'll be followed by more in the next few days. We've pushed our summit date back a day, as a matter of fact. It would have happened regardless when we decided to push our food drop back a day, but it worked for the best as the 10th (original prospective summit) looked to be rainy. So, we'll summit the 11th. We've all been planning for the last few days how we'll celebrate. It's been fun brainstorming all the things we'll eat, and how we'll get where we want to be! We've agreed that we'll camp at Abol Bridge (there's a cabin where we can all stay), and GWAG's "lady" (Janelle) will bring us food (food!) To eat. Sort of a pre-celebration. Then we'll walk the ten miles, camp at Katahdin Stream, and summit. We're excited to summit and celebrate together. This group is just so great. We feel so grateful to have met these people, and to be spending the last days with them. They're kind and generous. And we've had fun talking and planning it all.
Sunday 10/8; Wadleigh Stream Lean-to to Rainbow Lake Campsite (2151.6-2163.5)
Sometimes, it takes almost 7 months to find the beauty in the everyday. As you may recall, I (Fresh) don't much care for hiking in the rain. This hasn't changed, nor likely will it change. However, today it rained for a while in the middle of the day, and I'm not entirely miserable. Admittedly, it isn't freezing, we will likely do laundry and get showers tomorrow, and we've only got 3 more wake ups on this adventure: These things may sway my opinion on the topic anywhere from slightly to significantly, but I'm actually feeling pretty optimistic as we lay in the dark with thoroughly damp packs under our heads and equally damp clothes stuffed in our sleeping bags (in hopes they get mostly dry--or at the very least aren't cold when we put them on in the morning). All that said, I don't think I'll ever get used to wet hiker smell. Think wet/dirty dog, add something rotting, and you might have some idea of the stink that we're currently wafting in the direction of any unsuspecting passersby. It's nasty. And the packs under our heads are at least half the problem. They are Gross! We'll run a write-up when we get home and clean all our gear. The pictures are sure to be scrumptious!
I turned around today after the rain subsided. I think I thought I'd heard someone hiking behind me. The afternoon light after the rain never ceases to amaze me. It was glittering through the yellow Birch leaves as they blew in the wind. And through the pines that line the lake, you could see the same light shining on the colors as the rode up the opposite bank. I stood there for a minute trying to name all the colors I saw. I didn't know that fall leaves might be varying shades of pink. On the hill I saw pinks, oranges, reds, yellows, golds, greens...It was so amazing!
We learned this morning that Operation Feed Team GWAG is a go. So we're all super excited to get to the campground tomorrow and devour whatever Janelle picks up for us from the grocery! Thank you, Janelle!! We are hopeful that we'll be able to rent a cabin where we'd all sleep and be able to dry out a bit. GWAG will go with Janelle tomorrow night, and rejoin the group on Tuesday evening, then... We'll all summit Wednesday!!
Surprisingly, we are all talking about Katahdin and how we're feeling about the end, but no one is really talking about expectations. I'm not really sure what to expect, and maybe the rest of us aren't either. We are just enjoying the ride as we coast in to the finish. Tonight we all hung around a fire (Bean can start a fire after a whole day of rain!) Talking about tomorrow and what the plans are. It's very one day at a time. We all ate and decided to go check out the stars at the lake. If I could take a picture of the sky down there tonight, oh my! The big Dipper in the fall sky up here is GIANT, and looks like you could throw a lasso around it! We we're lucky enough to see a number of shooting stars, too. It really was something else. A spectacular end to an absolutely gorgeous week in The Hundred Mile Wilderness! Today is one we won't forget. A great day in the books on our way to the finish line!
Monday 10/9; Rainbow Lake Campsite to Abol Bridge Campground (2163.5-2174.7)
(Singing) We made it through the wilderness. Yeah we made it through-ou-ou.
We're finished with the Homered Mile Wilderness! Which means... We're almost at Katahdin! It really hit us today when we took a break at Hurd Mountain Shelter and we're looking at the log book at all the notes from friends and fellow hikers getting ready to finish. I went, "Holy shit! We're gonna do this!"
We had a little rain while walking today. It wasn't bad really. We got up and out by 7:40 which is about typical, though this last week we've struggled to stick with that. One day we intended to relax and didn't get hiking until 10, another day or two it was 8:30: It's hard to maintain the motivation to get up and move when the end is so near. We're all very glad we choose to take it way through the wilderness. I don't think we had a day over 15 miles when all was said and done, and though it didn't help motivate us to get up and go, it was nice to be able to make it to camp desire the late starts. The days have become so short so fast! It's all but dark by 6 now. This makes our days hours shorter than we'd become accustomed to in the summer months.
We hoped over Rabbinical like Rainbow Ledges today. I turned the phone on (we do this at the top of mountains to see if we have service) and turned to my left at the same time to find a stunning view of Mt. K! She's a beast, but she's gorgeous! I also took some pictures of the beautiful leaf color up close. It's indescribable. Wait till I can get through some of the images and post them!
So we were up this morning and out of camp on time, all in an effort to make it to the campground in hopes of staying in a cabin tonight, and partaking in the Feed Team GWAG event. Corn Chip beat us to the campground by a few minutes and when we arrived, we learned there were cabins available! Now, when we say cabin, we mean a shed with some bunks. No electricity, no attached bathroom. But... it's GLORIOUS to have a roof over our heads tonight and hear the rain on that roof. We're dry, bathed, fed, and laundry is in the works. We are happy hikers! Speaking of food, Janelle brought something like 32 pieces of fried chicken (of which we ate nearly all), salads (potato and pasta assortments, all gone), fruit, sweets (chocolate chip cookies!!), and beer and wine...It was AMAZING!! We are happily stuffed!
Other important notes from the day (this post is quite discombobulated--there's so much going on!):
1. U-Turn and The Colonel made it to Harper's!! That means they're finished! Congratulations, Friends! We're so, So proud of you! I can't wait to hear all about it! I've missed you so much, especially in the last days as we near the end!
2. We saw 3+ moose today...in the back of trucks. This is moose hunting season, and evidently the location at which we're camping tonight is an official checkpoint. There's a process including measurements and weight and whatnot. One of the bulls weighed in at 767 pounds. That's a lot of moose! It's strange seeing them dead on a truck--I'm a city girl when it comes to hunting. I'll eat it, but I don't think I want to see it. They lifted it to weigh and the ice bags fell out. I didn't know they even did that. I really wanted to see one in nature. There are still two days left, I guess.
3. We received trail magic from a section hiker/hunter, and it was fabulous! Dried apricots, trail mix, chips, crackers, you name it! Thanks, Rambo!!
These last days have simply been unimaginable. We pushed long miles for so many weeks, and we maxed out our bodies so hard, that these last few days of easy miles/short days have just been so sweet. I'm recalling the realization that I prefer the shorter/medium length days. They're fun, enjoyable says full of daydreaming and less stress. Breaks are so important, and when were pushing big miles, there's this constant feeling of go-go-go. Yard Sale and I were agreeing today (for about the twelfth time) that we're so glad that all has worked out the way it has. I just can't fathom the next two days to the end. We have ten miles to Katahdin Stream Campground tomorrow, and summit on Wednesday. The weather looks to have cleared to only a 5% chance of rain tomorrow, and still looks ideal for summit day (we did this on purpose). Looking forward to more time with amazing friends as this chapter draws to a close.
Tuesday 10/10; Abol Bridge Campground to The Birches Lean-to & Campsite in BSP (2174.7-21846)
Holy moly, we're here! We made it to the base of Mt. Katahdin. It's so unreal that after 7 months of effort, energy, laughs, friends, tears, and amazing...everything, we'll complete this epic journey tomorrow. We've got 5.2 miles left to hike (and then 5.2 back down to the base). We'll either take a shuttle, or we'll hitch into town for the last time. We still have some logistics to sort out and decisions to make about where we'll go on the way home, but it'll all be done from towns, mostly with WiFi, and many with computers. The logistical challenges will mostly be complete. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Days like today are why we're out here. The weather was so perfectly gorgeous. The Fall colors are out in full force, the streams are full, the hiking was easy (we joked it was the red carpet to Katahdin), and the company was ideal. We hiked about 10 miles. The morning was leisurely with breakfast at the campground, laundry washing packing, and hitting the trail by 11ish. We plowed through the first 6 miles and took a long break. Yard Sale wanted to see "Big Niagra Falls," and they were so beautiful! Definitely worth the 150 foot spur trail! We kept going and found our way to Katahdin Stream Campground and the Ranger Station here where we officially signed up to sleep at The Birches (the long distance hikers' site in the campground), and got our official permits to climb the mountain tomorrow! This way we can start first thing in the morning and won't have to stop and take care of it then. Ahhhh! We're climbing Katahdin tomorrow!!! I'm still hoping to see a live moose, and Ranger Justine says it's possible on the Abol Trail (which we plan to take down from the summit). Here's to a last wish on The AT!
One thing we won't miss is stupid questions from day hikers. I got one today from a couple who knew nothing about the AT. As in, I'm not sure they even know it existed. It came up that we'd been out for 7 months, we're hiking the Appalachian Trail, yada yada. To which this man says, "I guess I can't ask, but I have to ask, what's wing with you?" I told him he could, and that we all ourselves that often. I thought it was a ridiculous question. I mean, "What's wrong with you sir? You like a monotonous life, doing the same thing day after day for years on end?" It really was quite entertaining.
It's trying to decide if it's gonna rain tonight. Our last night of a 7 month journey, in our tent, in the drizzles. Tomorrow night we'll be back under a roof permanently. Or at least for a long while.
We were discussing among the group this morning that we'll get home and many of you will congratulate us on a goal accomplished. And we'll appreciate the support and the congratulations. In reality, though, Yard Sale is absolutely correct when she characterizes this as an experience more so than a completed thing. Yes, we will have checked this thing off of our list of life goals. But over the course of these weeks, we have tasted life in a way that is entirely different than any goal ever simply accomplished. We've learned more about ourselves and our abilities than I ever imagined possible. This has certainly been an experience. One we hope to appreciate and continue to draw on for many years to come.

I've got so many things buzzing in my mind tonight. I'm hoping I'll sleep well and be well rested tomorrow for a great summit day! We'll write tomorrow after we go up! I just can't believe we're here. Never in a million years did I imagine I'd get the opportunity to be in this tent, here at The Birches, writing this post. We must have done something right at some point to be so lucky to live this choice, and to chase this dream. 

(Many photos in these last days are on the camera. We'll go through those once we're home. Here's a sneak peak of a few of our favorites from the phone)











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