Author: Julie Blouin

Miles today: 13.8

Total miles: 270.7

It was just me, Cool Blue, and Google hiking together all day today. Shuffle and Wolf Bird had to wait for the post office to open back in town so they got a later start than us. 

We climbed the Baldpate Mountains, which were beautiful. It was cold and windy on top and as I got to the summit I had a great view of a cloud drifting across other mountains toward Baldpate, covering the trees below me. It was surreal. After Baldpate we had a nice smooth downhill to Grafton Notch.

The boys always want to hike further and without Shuffle there to back me up in being lazy, they convinced me to push onto the top of Old Speck Mountain. A northbounder had told us he hiked to the top of Speck (about 0.3 up another trail not on the AT) and had the summit to himself. He said there was an observation tower with outstanding views and he stayed the night and highly recommended it. We decided to do the same. 

I hated that climb up Old Speck Mountain. From Grafton Notch, it was 3.8 miles to the top, which isn’t all that far. But the trail was at juuust enough of an incline to make you tired and out of breath, but not enough of an incline to make the trail steeper and thus shorter. So it was a prolonged, tiring uphill climb. It was also cold and rainy and by the time we got to the top I was exhausted. 

We hiked up to the summit for the fantastic views and were met with…. grey mist. We were basically in a cloud and could not see anything except for the trees directly around us. It was also freezing and windy. Soo we quickly set up camp among some trees for shelter, made dinner, and went to bed. Even though it didn’t rain at all, it was one of our wettest nights with the wind blowing the condensation off the trees onto our tents all night long. In the morning there was still no view. Oh well, at least the thought of potential views pushed us to go further than we otherwise would have.

Miles today: 10.1

Total Miles: 256.9

Yesterday ended with a relentless and steep downhill so of course this morning began with a steep uphill. Luckily it wasn’t as long, but we went right back down and then right back up again. These mountains aren’t kidding around. 

The day went by quickly. Our goal was to get to the road that goes into Andover, Maine so we could go into town to resupply at the store and go to the post office and then hitch back to the trail where we’d find a place to camp. 

I was behind the boys all day today, as usual, but luckily I wasn’t too far behind. As I saw the road into town through the trees I noticed a car stop and the boys begin loading their stuff in. They’d successfully secured a ride 9 miles into town! I screamed at them through the woods and ran downhill to catch them. I asked if there was room and my friendly hiking companions all said no. The driver was confused as there was clearly definitely extra room and I explained that they are just cruel people. Ha. We packed into the car as I yelled at them for being rude. The driver was actually a guy who’d started thru-hiking in Georgia earlier this year but hurt his foot so had to stop. But now it is healed and he is on a mission to hike the tallest peak in every state–he was doing Katahdin on this leg.  He said after hiking and having to hitchhike into towns he’s now vowed to always pick up hitchhikers. I’ve always been creeped out by the thought of picking up hitchhikers but now after having done it myself, I feel the same way.

Andover was a tiny town with just a general store, a few shops, and a post office. We resupplied, ate some real food and ice cream and relaxed for a little bit. Wolf Bird and Shuffle decided to stay the night for various reasons so Cool Blue, Google, and I hitched back to the trail.

We only had to wait about 1 minute and this guy in a pickup stopped for us. His dog was in the front seat so we loaded all of our bags into his already somewhat full bed of the truck. Then we had to also get into the bed of the truck. We were basically sitting on the tailgate… and he had this cover for the back of his truck that goes over his stuff that we had to hold up over our heads as he drove us the 9 miles. It was a funny sight and all the more comforting once we realized we were sitting on the obituary page of the newspaper. Once back at the trailhead we found a campsite right near the road and went to bed for another day of hiking tomorrow.

Day 23: Rangeley to Sabbath Day Pond Lean To
Miles today: 9.4
Total miles: 229.8
It sure was tough to get started hiking again after our relaxing lazy days in Rangeley. What made it even more difficult was the steady rain we woke up to. We’d considered getting an early start to do an 18 mile day but that plan was dropped pretty quickly once we saw the rain.

Our group tends to take long breaks and I think each of our lack of motivation and laziness is amplified when we are in a group. We lazed around in the hotel all morningjust watching tv and laying in bed, only venturing out in the rain to get food. Finally by 1 pm we worked up enough motivation and called a shuttle to take us to the trailhead by 130.

This was our first day hiking in the rain. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t exactly fun. Raincoats trap in your sweat so you’re hot yet also cold from the rain at the same time. And the mud was terrible. Luckily we only went a measly 9 miles to the first lean to. And the rain stopped by late afternoon. I walked by the lean to because the trail wasn’t well marked but luckily turned around and found it. But, me being the idiot that I am, walked right by the trail to it again when I went to get water. Goodness!

Day 24: sabbath day pond lean to to South Arm Road
Miles today: 17.0
Total miles: 246.8

It was cold this morning and started to rain again as we packed up and our laziness set in once again. We were pretty much ready to go but once the first raindrops fell we huddled up in the lean to, me in my sleeping bag and wolf bird and two older ladies queenie and dot com doing yoga. We lounged around for an hour or so until it cleared up a bit.

We climbed up Bemis Mountain for much for the morning which had three peaks. The trail was so wet and muddy from all the rain. It was a six to ten inch deep stream in some places. It took a significant amount of additional energy to hop from rock to root to whatever other footholds we could find to avoid our feet getting completely submerged. Of course my feet ended up soaked anyway. The trail was oddly windy (not wind as In a breeze but as in it looped back and forth). Wolf bird put it best when he said it was as if someone just threw out a piece of spaghetti and declared that the trail with all the twists and turns. Or as if a little kid drew a squiggle on a map. At times I felt like I was walking in a circle. However a highlight of my day was passing a family out on a day hike. They asked if I was hiking the whole trail and I told them yes. The mother looked so awed and then declared “wow you look great!” I most definitely did not as it was as I was sweatily trekking uphill however her sentiment put me in a good mood for a while. Everyday I stop and chat with passing hikers, both northbound thru hikers and day hikers like this family, and the short conversations never fail to brighten my day. The nobos always provide advice on the trail ahead or where to stay in towns and day hikers are usually so supportive and genuinely interested. Sometimes it makes me sad to meet the nobos because some, if not most, of them seem like such great people yet our relationship will never amount to more than a few minute conversation in the wilderness of Maine. It’s a bittersweet reality.

Anyway, after Bemis mountain the trail was flatter for a while. We took a very long and, yep you guessed it, lazy lunch break at a lean to. I’ve resorted to pullin out my sleeping bag on long breaks as I get cold when I stop moving.

Usually wolf bird and google lead our group. They are so fast tht I imagine they just run the trail. Cool blue follows them at a closer to normal but still fast pace. Then comes me and then shuffle. I imagine us as slow little caterpillars compared to them. Anyway today was a miraculous day in my life. I left the lean to after lunch behind google with wolf bird and cool blue a little behind me as they were still packing up. I figured they’d pass me In a few minutes as usual. However TWO HOURS later they still hadn’t passed me. I actually got scared someone was hurt because they always pass me easily. When we got to the top f the next mountain, wolf bird had just caught up to me and cool blue was no where in sight. And google got to the top of the mountain obly minutes before me. This may sound inconsequential but I can’t emphasize what a crazy happening this was. I am usually like an hour behind wolf bird and google. And today I kept pace with them. I can only attribute it to this new crystal light energy mix that I started using today. I don’t know what’s in that stuff but I’m now assuming steroids and possibly drugs because there is no other explanation for my ability to walk that fast (and also not really realize I was doing so).

The day ended with a super steep downhill that eliminated any and all cartilage that existed in my knees. We hiked the latest we have yet, until after 7 (keep in mind my bedtime is usually 8:30-8). It would have been earlier if we weren’t such lazy bums. It was a good day.

Miles today: 10.2
Total miles: 183.1

The boys caught up to us today! They hiked 20 miles yesterday and caught up with us around noon today. It was nice to be all back together again. It’s crazy how much we’ve become like a little family. The day was consumed by huge climbs up and over the bigelows. These 4000 footers are the biggest mountains we’ve climbed since day one Katahdin and after a 17 mile day yesterday my legs were sure feeling it.

The views were amazing and rewarding. We could see the ski trails of sugarloaf in the distance and other mountains and lakes all around. Our weather has continued to spoil us. We haven’t had one day of rain. We had maybe an hour of light drizzly rain a week or so ago but besides that it has been warm and sunny. I’m so grateful for the fantastic weather (although the days in the 90s certainly doesn’t make hiking easy). I feel almost guilty because we have talked to so many northbounders who had to hike in record breaking rains in June. One group last night said they had 19 days straight of rain. I’m hoping this dry sunny stretch lasts for as long as possible though! As I write this shuffle and wolf bird are talking about clouds forming and how it may rain tonight so I may have just jinxed us. Oh well.

Yep. It stormed hard. 60 mph winds and pouring rain. We abandoned our tents and stayed in the shelter just to be safe.

Miles today: 17.7
Total miles: 172.9

We got up early today and skipped the option of having pancakes at 7 in order to do more miles today (and save money). It’s just shuffle and I. We had to split from the boys because they went rafting yesterday and weren’t back in time to catch the ferry by four. I’m not too worried about them being able to catch up. It does feel like something’s missing though without them around.

Hiking today was generally good. Some uphills but nothing too extreme. It was our longest day to date! And I’m tired but not dead at the end of it like I was after previous long days. I must be building endurance!

Highlights of the day included scaring a camper so that she fell off a big bridge onto her butt. We also passed a 2000 mile marker for the northbounders which now means we have under 2000 miles to hike!! Obviously that’s still a ton but its exciting to see that number slowly go down. I also found and ate a bunch of ripe blueberries today. Tasty.

Also after hiking ten miles we stopped at west carry pond lean to for lunch. There we ran into our first trail magic! Trail magic is done by trail angels. People will leave food and drinks on or by the trail for hikers to take for free as they pass and the trail angel will later come pick up the trash. Our trail magic included homemade cookies and brownies, chips and salsa, and tootsie rolls. Judging by the trash we unfortunately missed out on pasta salad and franzia. After eating we actually got to meet our trail angel. An older man came to pick up the trash and said he and his wife live across the lake and leave treats a couple times a week. What sweet selfless people! They sure made my day a whole lot better.

I saw a snake today and about 20 frogs hopping along the trail. ‘twas a good day but I’m already sore. We have a big climb tomorrow up the bigelows. It’s only ten miles but it will be a tough day for sure.

Day 13: stealth campsite to different stealth campsite

Miles today: 12.8
Total miles: 139.5

Nothing too notable to report on. The main takeaway from this day was at the end of the day when I took my pack off and walked my butt felt stronger and bigger. Too much information? I guess all that walking is finally giving me some muscle!

Day 14: stealth campsite under power lines to northern outdoors caratunk Maine

Miles today: 11.9
Miles total: 151.2

Today was a great day full of surprises. It started out with a climb up pleasant mountain. It was four miles to the summit which wasn’t horrible but there were at least three false summits which was frustrating each time we discovered we were not at the top. Once there the view was beautiful. There were tons of blueberry bushes the whole way up but unfortunately there was only one or two ripe blueberries. We took a two week anniversary photo at the top. It’s crazy how quickly time has passed.

The rest of the day was downhill pretty much for the next eight miles. At the bottom of the mountain was pleasant pond where we of course had to stop. It was the first pond or lake we have stopped at where there have been other non hikers. This one even had houses and jet skiers on it. We took a quick dip and had lunch on the dock followed by 45 minutes of napping in the sun. It’s a real tough life as a thru hiker.

Then we walked the rest of the way to caratunk. Our plan was to camp right by town then go to the post office to pick up food boxes in the morning (can’t today bc it’s Sunday) and then catch the ferry across the kennebec river. Our plans are dictated by this ferry as its part of the trail but only runs 9 to 11 am or 2 to 4 pm. As we got to caratunk we decided it’d be nice to get into town and grab a beer as we’d read there’s a brewery and then come back and camp.

We read there was a free phone outside the post office 0.3 down the road. From there we could call for a free shuttle to bring us to the restaurant and brewery (where we might also atay at this point as they have tent aites). We set about finding the phone but walked about a mile down the blazing hot road to no avail. We then reread the info and the post office was down a road practically at the trailhead. We’d have to walk the mile back. And then call. And then wait for the shuttle.

Brittani and I decided to try to hitchhike. We figured its easier to do as girls anyway. We waited a while for cars to pass in the right direction and the third or fourth car stopped! Of course with my luck it was a white van that you imagine kidnapping people but hey at least someone stopped. We got in and it was three guys our age who are rafting guides. We sat by their paddle boards in the back of the van while all three (driver included) sipped on beers as they drove us the few miles down the road. One was actually from Lexington mass which was cool.

We got to northern lights and it was like walking into heaven. A big log cAbin and a bar and restaurant and big TVs and a pool and porch and hot tub. It was great. We sat and got a couple freshly brewed beers that were so delicious and waited for the boys. They showed up a few min later. Someone had stopped for them. We decided to tent at this place for only eight bucks each and full use of their amenities. We all got big burgers and beers and were so full we could barely move. We of course then had to lug ourselves over to the hot tub. Once there we chatted with a group who were very interested and excited we are thru hikers. They are here rafting (in their own boats) an after talking for a bit they invited us to join them tomorrow! They switched around their plans just to make room for us out of the goodness of thei hearts. We got so excited! Free rafting trip! Rather than the $80 a person one this resort runs. We capped off the night with a big brownie sundae and ice cream sandwich sundae. We even get to sleep in layer than usual tomorrow for rafting. We are so lucky and strangers have been so kind to us. This trip has already repeatedly restored my faith in the goodness of others. Well I gotta get to bed its way past my bedtime. 930!!! Night.

Update: it’s the next morning and we found out one of the people who had offered to take us rafting hurt their hand since we last saw them. So they can’t take all of us any more and can only take two. Don’t think I’ll get to go but that just means I get to hang out at this resort place a bit longer which I’m not complaining about. Then off hiking again later in the day!

Miles today: 12
Total miles: 126.5

Today was great in every way. It was my favorite day on trail so far. I woke up naturally around 630 and finished packing my stuff. Thankfully my bag is lighter now that I don’t have to carry 10 days worth of food! It is about 31 pounds including food and water which is still slightly higher than I’d like but feels much better than the 40ish I carried through the 100 mile wilderness.

We headed over to the other hostel, Shaws, in monson for our second day of their amazing all you can eat breakfast. I loaded up on eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, French toast and coffee. Then thorny so kindly drove us the three miles to the trailhead. It was sad saying bye to him and Popeye. They’ve done so much for us (thorny even gave me an extra pole he had so now I have two, saving me $100 or so). They were like our trail dads and just such a positive and fun presence. We will miss them dearly but they have of course kindly offered to help us out and feed us when we pass by their homes in PA and VA so I hope we will see them again.

The day was beautiful, sunny and probably 75 or so but it didn’t feel too hot while hiking. The terrain was generally flat, only a few little ups and downs and very few roots and mud and bugs for once!! My new shoes feel sooo much better. It makes a world of difference to walk on good feet. My blisters are still healing but I wrapped them good and felt almost 100% and was able to walk relatively fast (well, for me at least).

I’m still with the four others and its nice to have our little crew still going. We walked together for a good part of the day rather than the boys speeding ahead so that was a nice change. I forced everyone to play two truths and a lie and ghost while walking which made time fly and had us all laughing. We even did truths and a lie for Mabel (wolf birds dog).

We had planned on just doing 9 miles to the first shelter but we got there early around 3 or so. There were about six others we’d met in monson there already so it was a bit crowded. We all felt good so we decided to keep walking for a while til we found a decent place to stealth camp.

I listened to music as I walked for the first time. I haven’t listened to music much at all in the past two weeks so it felt like a special treat and I was in such a happy mood bopping along down the trail with the sun shining walking next to a beautiful stream and just feeling good and grateful for good feet. I spent a lot of time thinking about everyone I miss back home and across the country. Chances are if you are reading this I probably thought of you and how great you are and how I miss you. It’s hard to describe but I just had this nice serene feeling while walking this afternoon where I saw things in my life in proper perspective. I wasn’t worried or anxious about anything and was content in the current moment and grateful for all the people in my life and happy in the moment doing what I’m doing.

This wonderful day ended with finding a great spot to camp right by a river. We had a campfire and roasted hot dogs and had bacon in addition to our dinners. We just enjoyed each others company and went to bed happy and full.

I think the rest and chance to reenergize both physically and mentally in monson really helped me today and I hope it lasts. We climb a mountain tomorrow and plan to do 10 miles but may do more if we feel good.