It's time to get back on the Appalachian Trail. Let's try Maine's 100 mile wilderness. It's a tough area for drop offs and pick ups, so rather than have Lynn crew me, I've decided to backpack it. Brent from work has joined me. I'm not used to carrying a heavy pack, and I don't sleep well on the ground, so we'll be going at a fairly easy pace. In fact, we are not doing the entire 100 mile wilderness, just 70 miles of it. On Friday night we drove up and spent the night sleeping in our vehicles outside Baxter State Park. The next morning we left Brent's truck at Abol Bridge and drove around to the defunct Katahdin Iron Works. It was six bucks a piece to get in. This is all that remains of the former iron works.
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We then drove up the road and parked my car in the lot for Gulf Hagas. I put on my 32 pound pack which contained 5 days worth of food. I'm looking forward to the last day when it will be a lot lighter. We took a .2 mile access trail and hit the AT.
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We had just put on our boots a few minutes earlier, and it was already time to take them off as we crossed West Branch Pleasant River.
Brent crossing West Branch Pleasant River
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I originally hoped I could squeeze in five bonus miles to hike the Gulf Hagas loop, but decided I didn't have the time. Today's goal was to get up and over Whitecap Mountain, but there were 3 smaller mountains to climb first.
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Brent in front of the Carl Newhall Lean-to.
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After a short break and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I put my 32 pound pack back on and tried to think of a way to lighten it.
"Brent, I have an idea," I said.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Why don't we share food. The first two days we'll have my food. The next two days we'll eat your food."
"What? Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Hey, you can't blame me for trying."
We began the steep climb up Gulf Hagas Mountain.
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There were lots of stone staircases to assist us.
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With four peaks to climb, I couldn't stay right with Brent. He was moving at a good pace, but I wasn't used to carrying this pack. I went ahead to each peak, took my pack off, and waited for him to catch up. First we made it to the top of Gulf Hagas Mountain.
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We then dropped down into the col and took a break at Sidney Tappan Campsite.
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This was a perfect spot for a break.
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I had to learn to think like a backpacker and not a day hiker. I had to keep checking the map for available water sources. If a lot of water was available, I learned to carry only a quart or two at a time. It was time to refill, so we walked down to a nearby spring to pump some water through my filter. I found myself eating more snacks than usual, just to lighten my pack. It reminded me off Bill Bryson's book, A Walk in the Woods. In order to lighten the load the first day, Katz threw away some of the food. Here's a few lines from his book
Katz gave me an apologetic look. "I threw out the brown sugar, so there won't be any sugar for the oatmeal."
"Actually, there won't be any oatmeal for the oatmeal. I left it in New Hampshire."
He looked at me. "Really?" then added, as if for the record: "I love oatmeal."
"What about some of that cheese?"
"He shook his head. "Flung it."
"Peanuts?"
"Flung."
"Spam?"
"Really flung."
My pack isn't too heavy, so I'll do my best not to discard items that I may need later. Brent and I continued on, heading up the steep West Peak.
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We reached West Peak . . .
. . . and then Hay Mountain.
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We dropped into the col before White Cap and crossed the junction with the White Brook Trail. Just a little over a mile to the summit.
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As I neared the summit, my hopes of getting a view on the alpine summit had faded. The blue sky we had earlier was now overcast with rumbling thunder in the background.
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I reached the top.
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For nobos, this mountain offers the first unobstructed view of Katahdin, but I quicly realized that was only on a clear day. I'll see Katahdin soon enough. Maybe someday I'll return via the White Brook Trail. I tried to look at the positive. It was an extremely hot day (for Maine) and the breeze at the top was refreshing. A few minutes later Brent reached the top and took my picture.
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We still had 1.5 miles to go for the day, but at least it will all be downhill.
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After walking down a long stone staircase, I came to an outlook which would offer a great view on a nice day.
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Looking back up to White Cap.
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The trail levelled off briefly.
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The trail dropped again, and a few minutes later I reached Logan Brook Lean-to. I was surprised to find it crowded. There were several people already there. They were all sobos. There was one spot open in the lean-to. I decided to save it for Brent who was a few minutes behind me. There were just a couple spots for tents, and they were already taken. I found a rocky spot just barely big enough for my tent. I spent a few minutes clearing small, loose rocks out of the way and set up my tent. Fortunately, I didn't have to spend the night on the rocks. I brought a small 3 inch thick air mattress which I promptly pumped up.
That night Brent, and I each had a can of ravioli. We wanted to cut the weight of our packs and that was the heaviest thing we had. We had barely settled in for the night when the most impressive thunder and lightning show I had ever seen came ripping through. It was worth missing the view on White Cap just to see and hear this storm. My tentsite was slightly on an angle, and I could hear and feel the flow of water running under my tent, but my LL Bean tent kept me as dry as could be. It felt like I was on a water bed. The storm lasted nearly an hour. I am sad to say that the storm claimed at least one life. I learned two days later that lightning struck and killed a person at Katahdin. I worried that Lynn would think it was me. I was hoping that if she heard the story, she would realize it couldn't have been me since I wouldn't be at Katahdin for several more days. The storm calmed and I drifted off to sleep with all the other weary hikers.
