Lynn dropped me off at the same place as last week. The difference is this week I would be heading north. I hiked up the same access trail and then took a short bushwhack to where I started last week. I walked along Long Pond Stream before coming to Slugundy Falls.
Here's a video clip.
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Long Pond Stream Lean-to
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After an easy first mile, the real work began. It would be a long day of ups and downs as I traversed five peaks. All peaks were low in elevation, but still had a fairly decent amount of elevation gain.
I started heading up to Barren Ledges when I came across a tent. It was laying out, it looked in excellent shape, and had a sign reading "free tent". All I could figure out was that someone got tired of carrying it and decided they really didn't need it that bad. It reminded me of Katz in Bill Bryson's book 'A Walk in the Woods'. When he was asked where the food and gear were, he responded with 'flung it'. I was hesitant to take the tent. I still had over 14 miles to go. Too bad I didn't go south today, then I would have only had to carry it for two miles. I can't pass up free stuff, so I took it.
As I climbed up to Barren Ledges I came across a short 250 foot side trail to Barren Slide which I decided to check out.
Here's a video clip of Barren Slide.
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A few minutes later I reached Barren Ledges, the highlight of my day.
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Here's a video clip of Barren Ledges.
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Looking up to Barren Mountain
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Stone staircase heading up to Barren Mountain
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Tower at the top of Barren Mountain
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This would be the highest elevation I would reach today.
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I climbed the ladder to no where since there was no top on the tower. I got a great 360° view. Here's a look back to Barren Ledges.
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Here's the view north.
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Cloud Pond sounded nice, but it would have brought me too far off the trail, so I skipped it. Below, walking through Fourth Mountain Bog. Yes, that is the actual name. Very creative huh!
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Up I went to the top of Fourth Mountain where I met two southbound hikers doing the 100 mile wilderness.
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View from Fourth Mountain
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Next up was another mountain with a creative name, Third Mountain. Along the way I went over a small, unnamed mountain. Perhaps it should be named Three-and-a-half Mountain. (Maybe not). I came to some open ledges . . .
. . . where I had a good view back to Fourth Mountain.
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Third mountain also offered a great view. Here's the view of Long Pond . . .
. . . and another video clip.
It was an exceptionally hot day, especially for Maine. I decided it was worth the extra mileage to take a quick swim in West Chairback Pond. Here's a clip of the beautiful pond.
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Columbus Mountain was the only mountain today with no view.
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Chairback Gap Lean-to was squeezed right onto the trail. There wasn't even enough room to back up and get the whole thing in my picture.
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4.4 miles to go.
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By now I kind of wished I hadn't picked up the tent. What was once light was now heavy. I thought of ditching it, but then realized I would have carried it all this way for nothing. What's a few more miles.
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Here's a clip from the last peak of the day, Chairback Mountain.
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Here's a look back up to Chairback after a very steep scramble down.
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I decided not to take the side trail to East Chairback Pond. One dip in the pond today was enough. It was getting to be late afternoon, and the weather was not as hot. Down I went to the logging road. I was surprised to find some trail magic. Trail magic is a rare treat in Maine, especially in a place this remote. There were sodas (which I passed on) and whoopie pies. I took one to share with Lynn later. A few minutes later I was at the West Branch of Pleasant River where Lynn and Madison had come to meet me.
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Lynn took a picture of me by the nearby sign.
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This was an important moment. I had completed the Maine portion of the Appalachian Trail. Since I live in Maine, it felt great to finally have it done. I've been working on the 281 miles of the A.T. in Maine for 3 years. It took so long because I've been concentrating on the rest of the trail. This was an important moment for another reason. For the first time since I decided to hike the entire A.T. over 3 years ago, all the sections that I have done so far are connected. No missings gaps. I have completed the trail from Katahdin, Maine to about 7 miles south of Fontana Dam in North Carolina.
Lynn, Madison, and I then walked .2 miles down the access trail back to the car. So, I have completed 2020 miles of the Appalachian Trail. More importantly, I only have 155 miles left. When? Right now we are planning our last A.T. trip for next spring, probably April. Don't worry, I've got lots of hiking to keep me busy until then. In fact, I leave in 5 days for another trip to Baxter State Park where I hope to climb Katahdin for the 2nd time.
