Rattle River to Rangeley
Southern Maine brings it on
My lovely hosts Matt and Ellen offered to host me for a zero day, which I accepted so I could better time the upcoming rain. My day was spent reading, catching up on blog posts, and hanging out. Sometimes I feel rushed instead of rested on town days getting all my chores done, and it was nice to have extra rest between the Whites and the Mahoosuc Range.
Maine has a lot of lakes and ponds
Ellen and I went kayaking in the afternoon on a nearby pond. Almost immediately I could feel arm muscles working that weren't used to doing much. Trekking poles do build upper body strength, but apparently it's not the same as paddling. It was a beautiful afternoon, and there were several other paddlers out enjoying it, too. This summer has been exceptionally rainy in New England, and Maine in particular has been hit by a lot of flooding. Rainfall records and storm records were set - hello climate change in action.
I was surprised to see this little float plane docked outside of the lakeside cabins, though I know nothing about runway clearances for small planes.
Might have already said this, but I rarely watch the sunset due to being in constant tree cover and/or cloud cover. So this was a welcome treat!
Day 144
Can you tell the giant holes where the upper shoe fabric has separated from the sole? New shoe days are always milestone days, and the Whites really chewed mine up.
After a morning bakery run for a last-minute cinnamon roll, I was off. It was a lovely day for hiking for comfortable warm temperatures. As always, after heading out of town with a full resupply, I lamented how much food weighs. I took it slow as I wasn't feeling my strongest and more surprisingly had a decreased appetite. If a thru-hiker ever thinks about more food with anything short of a resounding "yes," that's notable.
I missed the 1900 mile marker, but clearly so did the person who assembled this.
There weren't too many mountains and peaks but instead several ponds today. At Gentian Pond shelter, I shared with a NOBO flip-flopper named Ultra. She had the bad fortune to get COVID and Lyme disease at the same time in the past few weeks. We swapped other funnier trail stories, too, and she gave me a custom-printed sticker.
Looking out over some ledges
Day 145
View from the shelter with low clouds in the distance
Views from when you become the clouds
While the morning was damp and misty, luckily the rain did NOT live up to the forecast and only appeared in scattered 15-minute bursts. The White Mountains of New Hampshire get discussed a lot in the context of a NOBO thru-hike as a favorite and also most challenging section of the entire AT. I was fortunate with my weather windows in that I got tons of amazing views within the Whites, so I was rewarded for the struggle. Southern Maine gets talked about less, but it's arguably tougher terrain. The Mahoosuc Range, the 30 mile stretch I'm currently in, is cited as the most difficult. Today, the Mahoosucs lived up to their reputation.
Views from some marked viewpoint, possibly Mount Success
I had deliberately decreased my estimated daily mileage in the Whites to 10 to 12 miles, mostly due to the terrain but also to the limited camping options. Even where dispersed stealth camping is allowed, these dense forests rarely have decent sites of (mostly) clear and level ground. Over the course of my thru-hike, my campsites have not always been ideal. If you are sloped to one side, stuff extra clothes and other belonging under your sleeping mat to level you out a bit. Air pads are wonderfully forgiving for a rock or root in the middle of the spine, especially compared to basic closed-cell foam mats, and those obstructions never seem to appear under your knees or somewhere less intrusive.
For a mile or so on either side of this border were some solid rock scrambles, as each state seemed to say "I'm not done with you."
Today's 10 miles were hard-won. There were rock scrambles, chutes, butt slides, ladders, slab rock (my least favorite when steep), bogs, you name it. After spending time in the White Mountains, before my thru hike my definition of "steep" was 1000 feet of elevation gain per mile. This works out to about a 20% grade. That doesn't mean everything else will be easy, but it will be doable. I have since amended my definition to include "not conducive to trekking poles" because basic slopes or trailwork stone stairs may still be a workout, but hands-on scrambling is another level. At one point, I checked the next 6 miles to have 3000 ft gain and 3000 ft loss.
As always the photo fails to capture the angles and depth involved. This is what I meant by chute. There was a three-foot drop between footholds, and the side walls were barely wide enough for me and my pack. I ended up turning around to lower myself down and then had to back out of the chute. Welcome to Maine.
My appetite was still lacking, though as always I stopped for some delicious wild blueberries. Other hikers have told me that they haven't seen any berries along the trail, and they are either lying or painfully oblivious. Even if the plant itself isn't recognized, sometimes there are so many berries that the blue just pops out from the green understory. I appear to be more trusting of foraging wild plants as I sampled a new-to-me species today based only on a text description: cloudberries. These Arctic plants are wild-foraged as a delicacy in Nordic countries and may appear in isolated alpine bog environments (read: bogs above treeline on mountains) within the lower 48 in New Hampshire, Maine, and upstate New York. The plant takes years to bear fruit during a limited seasonal window and is threatened by climate change and habitat destruction. It was a little tart and tangy, and who knows when I may ever forage them again?
Thanks to fellow hiker Short Legs (who's a tall ginger) for sharing this photo as I again forget to take pictures of interesting things.
Day 146
The big event today was Mahoosuc Notch, known as the most challenging mile of the Appalachian Trail. It's a boulder field in a ravine and really stretches what "hiking on a trail" should look like. By boulder, I often mean truck-sized. As a ravine, it's quite shaded and may hold pockets of ice into the summer, and the underlying stream and lack of sunshine mean the rocks are often mossy and damp on a good day. The elevation profile doesn't look like much as this scrambling is mostly horizontal, and while there are occasional blazes it's mostly a choose-your-own-adventure. The ravine isn't very wide, so getting off-trail isn't a concern.
Hikers will warn you to pack your poles away and secure anything in a side pocket on your pack. You might take your pack off to crawl through caves. There was sitting and butt-scooting, which is actually challenging with a pack angling you forward. Your shoulders will get a workout carefully lowering you around obstacles or shimmying up a rock chute. It's not bouldering in the climbing sense, but it does require focus, problem-solving, and creativity.
I crossed the Notch in about 2 hours with a group I met at the shelter last night: Sun God, Stakes, Spring Break, and Oats. Having a group to scout options and test out beta (read: climber's slang for instructions) was helpful. Did I get a single photo of this? No, because I was pretty distracted. So please enjoy these photos I borrowed from other hikers on Facebook. We all agreed that even though it didn't rain much yesterday, it was challenging enough on a clear day. And I crawled through three caves.
We all used this convenient log as a step ladder. For reference it was at least 3 feet tall.
After congratulating yourself on navigating the boulder field, you then have a steep climb up Mahoosuc Arm - gotta escape that ravine somehow. I didn't think the climb was that bad, though it was definitely a problem-solving, grab some convenient roots, kind of slope. There were enough handholds and intermediate rock steps, plus I was enjoying a good podcast. Outside magazine does some great reporting. Sometimes their misadventure disaster stories hit a little close to home to be listening to out in the wild!
Earning those views one step at a time
Old Rag peak had some exposed rock slab climbing at the very top that was a little tense. Above treeline the wind can get intense, and I felt like an inferior lizard splayed out on the rock.
Rounding out my day was a lovely fire tower view.
There were lots of other hikers on this smoother side of the ridge, including summer camp groups. While I have always enjoyed hiking and camping, sometimes I wonder if younger me would have had the grit to do much backpacking. I made it down a thankfully non-technical descent (read: used trekking poles and didn't have many big steps/drops) to meet my lovely hosts Matt and Ellen again! Today's culinary delight included blueberry pie with crumb topping. Laundry again after only 3 hiking days is a luxury.
Bonus waterfall
Day 147
Step right up
Back out on trail today for the Baldpates. These have unusual open slabs at the top that were like slanted ledge stairs, if your sidewalk was steeply angled. It was a bit breezy at the top with lovely views and some great blueberries.
Great day for a hike, am I right?
Sometimes you're crawling along the rock
Dunn Cascades
I camped at a stealth site next to Surplus Pond and fell asleep to quite the chorus of frogs. Surprisingly, it wasn't a mosquito fest. There's definitely a genetic component to who gets bit by mosquitoes more and how much they react. A ridge runner told me that her bug bites don't itch. I, on the other hand, get bit more than others but not the most, and I've been woken up in the middle of the night by overwhelming itching. So after learning this lesson over and over again, now when I am swatting bugs I apply bug spray for any break more than 5 minutes long.
Not quite a sunset view but I'll take it.
I slept in a bit this morning - one person at camp was gone by 6:30, and the other was barely moving when I left after 8. This all worked in my favor when I saw my first ever moose on trail! The moose was super chill. Since they aren't interested in your food and aren't predators, you announce your presence and let them wander off at their pace.
This was 3x zoom, for the record. I observed from a safe distance.
Stone stairs continued, but with my trail legs I could do a hundred steps and only be held back by cardio fitness, not muscle strength. Wildberry (the early-riser and also a vlogger, apparently) gave me a heads up that her friend was doing trail magic today! He was a previous thru-hiker who picked a few people to follow on YouTube and meet up for trail magic - 3 times each. So I enjoyed a great second lunch including fresh avocado before pushing on well into the evening.
This may have been from Moody Mountain, or maybe not
The afternoon summits were socked in by fog, but luckily the storm didn't hit until well after dark. I hiked into the shelter by headlamp. Let me tell you, even though grizzly bears don't live in the East and I have encountered many bears on trail with no fear, listening to a podcast episode about grizzly attacks while hiking into dusk in a foggy forest with no one around and only the sound of wind through the trees is not advised for the faint of heart.
Even dry in the shelter it was not the best night of sleep. The wind through the gaps in the log cabin-style walls were large enough that I had a steady breeze of cold air across my face. I ended up sleeping in my down jacket with the hood up AND with my hiking shirt (stinky as it was) thrown over my face so I couldn't feel the breeze.
Myron Avery played a huge role in establishing the Appalachian Trail. He pushed for the trail to end in Maine rather than at Mount Washington as first intended.
Height of Land behind me is a famous scenic overlook.
Interpretive trail or stream
Smiles and dry feet in the morning
Finally saw the lake
Got to love a great big thinking chair
Day 149
Trail on shallow bedrock
I hiked out in fairly steady rain in the morning. The trail traversed a lot of rock ledges/slabs where the water has nowhere to go but into an ankle-deep puddle. I don't think I've mentioned this detail before, but starting sometime in New Hampshire, bedrock trail appeared. Geologically, bedrock is very shallow across New England due to glaciers from the last Ice Age, and on some peaks and ridges there are mere inches of soil (topsoil takes thousands of years to form). Again, from an erosion perspective, having hikers walk directly on bedrock is ideal. It makes the trail very distinct and easy to follow, but when steep and wet it can be treacherous. In a downpour, these rock channels act like paved waterways, and water gushes down them.
I met my parents by lunch time. Careful readers may note that their last visit coincided with another record flooding storm in Vermont...
I welcomed the break in town with food, laundry, shower, and more food. Thru hikers can burn 4 to 5000 calories per day. I haven't run a nutritional analysis on my diet in a while, but I almost certainly am not carrying quite that much. Ideally, really nutrient-dense and dried/lightweight food averages upwards of 150 calories per ounce, so a day's rations may be 1.5 pounds or more. Fats are denser than carbs, so nuts, nut butters, and olive oil win out there. But you might need a less-dense tortilla as the vessel to eat your peanut butter, or maybe you want dried fruit with your almonds, or maybe a treat of gummy bears keeps you motivated. Thru hikers talk about food in terms of weight AND calories.
The hard downpour continued all day, so we didn't explore much of Rangeley. The town is known for its lake, which draws fishermen, and nearby ski mountains including Saddleback, which is why I had visited this past winter.
Day 150
Today's plan was to slackpack with my mother joining me for a portion of the day, but it quickly was complicated by a washout on the same road where I had been picked up yesterday. I later heard that this region of Maine got up to 6 inches of rain. As someone who has worked on roadway drainage, no one designs for 6 inches of rain.
While this section appears relatively flat on the elevation profile, it was complicated by water running down the trail and overflowing streams and boggy areas. Plus the ever-present rocks and roots. I still picked some trail blueberries and was happy to end the day mid-afternoon in time to get ice cream and use the hot tub.
I also did a trip to the grocery store to round out my final resupply box! This will be sent to me ahead of the 100-mile wilderness, which I will start in a little over a week. It's kind of crazy to start thinking of all of these trail "lasts."
Happy hiking!
Height of land is beautiful on a good day. Lovely pictures! Mud, rocks and wet trail. You got this.
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