Twig Adventures

Monday August 2nd, 2021, 0730-1700Caratunk to Little Bigelow Lean-to, SOBO AT mm 17321.6 miles4091 gain, 2815 loss It rained again all night but not too hard. I did a better job managing water ingress but still ended up with a wet floor. Some of the rain ran down from the tent wall and got caught between my polycro ground tarp. My tent floor has lots of holes from being used heavily, so it’s to be expected. I’ll have to try folding the polycro to avoid this. At least it was easy to mop up and my thermarest protected all my stuff from getting wet. Speaking of my thermarest, in my fairly new uberlight version, one of the baffles has already[…]

Sunday August 1st, 2021, 0540-1430Bald Mtn Pond Lean-to to Caratunk, SOBO AT mm 151.319 miles3783 gain, 4505 loss Who knew loons called all night long? They were going crazy overnight. I mistook them for coyotes, they were so loud. Still, I didn’t mind their mystic sounds. What did bother me was an animal scraping on a nearby tree very loudly several times. I worried that it was a bear but in retrospect, realized it must have been a porcupine. There was a note about this said nuisance on the privy…close the door or the porcupine will eat the privy! Grinder was up but still packing when I hit the trail. A good-sized climb was the first order of the day.[…]

Saturday July 31st, 2021, 0900-1640Rt 15 to Bald Mt Pond Lean-to, SOBO AT mm 132.418 miles2631 gain, 2621 loss I got a little chilly overnight and had to stay bundled in all my clothes through breakfast. It was the coldest it’s been yet. I opted for Shaw’s famous AYCE pancakes, which also come with home fries, eggs and bacon but just one plate of the latter. It was A LOT of food and I gulped it all down like a pro. Hiker hunger may be starting to kick in already or maybe it’s just stomach memory. I bought a few snack items in the store, which had a pretty amazing selection of all the typical things hikers like. It’s probably[…]

Friday July 30th, 2021, 0600-1200Vaughn Stream to Rt 15, then ride to Monson, SOBO AT mm 114.513.7 miles3576 gain, loss 2982 Steady would be the name given to the rain, all night long. The sound of it put me to sleep early but I woke around 1 am, wondering if my fortress was holding. It was not. Nothing more fun than finding puddles in the middle of the night. Because I was slightly on an incline, my pad had slipped down, pressing on my bathtub floor and allowing water from my canopy to drain into the floor. I just needed to mop up the water and make some adjustments but it took awhile. My rain jacket was the only thing[…]

Thursday July 29th, 2021, 0600-1700Gulf Hagas Brook to Vaughn Stream, SOBO AT mm 100.820.5 miles5095 gain, 5870 loss What a pud-alicious day it was! The Chairbacks did not disappoint in their pud-ishment. But first I got to enjoy a leisurely hike down into a pretty valley, where I forded the Pleasant River. It did not please me to get wet shoes (which had been dry since my first 2 days) so I changed into my camp shoes. My bungee laces make shoe changes quick and efficient. The ford was also easy. Then came the first of many climbs, this being the biggest ascent from the valley. One short spell involved a talus field of sharp boulders that were a trick[…]

Wednesday July 28th, 2021, 0540-1910Antlers campsite to Gulf Hagas Brook, SOBO AT mm 79.828.6 miles6037 gain, loss 5180 I called this hump day because it’s a Wednesday but also because I would be more than halfway done with the 100mw by the end of the day. And boy howdy did I exceed that, going much further than planned for my longest day yet on this trail. To start things off, I visited the privy. It was labeled as ‘Fort Relief’ and had 2 seats side by side. I guess if you want to poop next to a friend or significant other, this is the place. Kind of odd. Then I hit the trail for one of the cruisiest sections yet.[…]

Tuesday July 27th, 2021, 0600-1650Rainbow Lake Dam to Antlers Campsite, SOBO AT mm 51.723.7 miles3140 gain, 3700 loss The bullfrogs sang all night, chanting me to sleep. It was so peaceful and quiet. There was surprisingly little condensation in the morning, a big plus considering my proximity to the lake. Then the most amazing thing happened…the sun rose right behind Katahdin, making it appear as though it was a volcano erupting. I’ve seen a lot of mountains and sunset\sunrises but this had to be in my top ten best of all time. I even woke up the other 2 ladies because I didn’t think they’d want to miss it. It was at 5:30 am. So I didn’t get as early[…]

Monday July 26th, 2021, 0530-1600Katahdin Stream Campground to Rainbow Lake Dam, SOBO AT mm 28.223 miles2726 gain, loss 2726 It was a very restful night, thank goodness. I heard Avery packing and out the gate by 1 am, but her slight rustlings barely registered. The sound of Katahdin Stream and my weariness from the big climb the day before ensured that I was out most of the night. Being mid-summer and so far north, it started getting light around 4:30 am. I usually wake with the light so I was on the trail by 5:30 am…earlier than planned but it felt good to get such a head start on the day. Even my fully loaded pack didn’t feel too bad…[…]

Sunday July 25th, 2021, 0730-1300Katahdin Stream Campground north to Katahdin Summit, then south to return, SOBO AT mm 5.310.6 miles4226 gain, 4226 loss I slept horribly all night. I was just so anxious about all the little things of no importance, worried about the hike and poor weather forecast for the upcoming day. I just laid awake for hours. Naturally, the more one tells themselves that they need sleep before a big performance, the more sleep evades them. Finally 5 am rolled around and I had an excuse to get up. I knew everything would be fine once I was on the trail. Old Man (his given trailname), who owns and operates the AT Lodge, was up bright and early[…]

Phase 1 of my AT journey was getting from one of the most southern locations in the US to one of the most remote of northern locations…all in only one day! This involved a direct flight from Miami to Bangor, a commuter bus ride from Bangor to Medway, and finally a shuttle to the AT Lodge in Millinocket, ME. At the time of my planning, the Lodge offered a $70 SOBO package, which included the shuttle from Medway, 1 night in the bunk room, and a shuttle to Katahdin Stream Campground Ranger Station early the next morning (it was also supposed to include breakfast but this was a mis-advertisment). If a hiker wanted a second night to acclimate, the staff[…]