Sunday, November 20, 2016

Lame post about lots of mountains

The paper says yes
As I recover from a very long work week, I realized I missed posting about a whole lot of hikes. A whole bunch.  And the AT too.  It was not like I was so busy outside, but with school starting, a sick cat (mostly, he is just a jerk), and work, all my free time has been resting or planning. And a night or two with some Hooliganz.  And being sick. I mean really, do we need to have a new infectious plague every week?  At some point my liver will run on Vitamin I.  It is a short week, so maybe I will have energy, while preparing to go to Maine and break out the trail to South Crocker.  Again.  UGH.

Yeah, lots happened.  

The AT (I have friends with good phones)


That's Moxie Bald you damn defacing thrubies 








Flags on the 48 (Halfway up courtesy of Casey)



Finished Baxter 4Ks on North Brother



Mansfield (awesome shots courtesy of Alvaro)






breaking trail in October (not quite South Crocker)





I have the rest of the Maine 4Ks and Ellen/Camels Hump in Vermont to finish the 67.  I can do it by my birthday.  If the logging roads are open Thursday/Friday.  If not, I am going to have some long ass trips, possibly involving camping in winter.  I can do this.  I better stock up on 5hr energy and coffee.

Friday, August 12, 2016

24 hours in Baxter

The signs are there if you pay attention.

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In college, trips to Maine meant trips to LL Bean.  Then it was trips to Ogunquit.  Acadia was next.  Now it is 5hr drives to Baxter.  And yes, this time it was a spur of the moment trip up.  But it was so worth it.  I would not have forgiven myself if I stayed home.  The weather was perfect, there was a space in the Roaring Brook bunkhouse.  So I packed up and got ready to make the drive up.  I even filled my water bladder so I would not have do it in the morning.  Maybe the third time would be a charm.  I knew some friends who were going up too, would I see them?  So after realizing that getting gas at the Bangor Mall exit was a bad idea (hint, take 95 South for one mile and turn around), I drove the loneliest 50 miles ever.  I have no idea whether a Sasquatch would jump out at me or run me off the road.  The speed limit is 75, so anything is possible.


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And yes, they remembered me.  Kinda nice.  But they are all nice up in Maine.  Must be in the water or something.  And another nice surprise, I had the bunkhouse to myself.  Nice, but I do not know how to use the gas lamps.  That’s OK, I have headlamps.  The wind made it kinda creepy at night.  It was hard to sleep as it was.  There is a reason that air mattress is 8 bucks at Walmart.  And it is too  big for the space.  It worked OK.   I got some sleep listening to the Catholic radio station.  My antenna broke, so choices were limited.  I was hoping for a French lesson.  And the weather band helped me learn more than I ever wanted to know about the weather trends in the area.


So I mosey myself to get ready.  I was up at 4:40, but I took forever to get ready.  And I prehydrated, that might have slowed me down. So, I get on the trail and join the Chimney Pond Trail Conga Line.  No lie, 20 of us started together.  There are several options from Roaring Brook.  Helon Taylor for Pamola and Knife Edge to Baxter (Katadhin), Saddle and Cathedral from Chimney Pond to Katahdin.  I took a few bypasses to Hamlin Ridge, skipping Chimney Pond.  I almost got here last month before my toes spasmed.  I used my Oboz this time, so my feet were happy.  Took some great pics at the view and noticed the swampy area was completely dry.  I got my feet wet there last month.  And people, for the love of God, pack out your damn TP.  Finally made it to the bypass, complete with a beaver dam.  Dam beavers. It was messy, but doable.  Then blueberries..  Oh the blueberries.  Easily spent a good half hour eating blueberries.  On to Hamlin Ridge, a few steep pitches and you are above treeline.  And the fun begins.  


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Those fluffy clouds tried to beat me up.
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Damn beavers.
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Going up to Hamlin is much like Lafayette.  You think you are there and NOPE.  You see the top, but it seems to get further every step.  It’s one of those rocky trails with a scramble or two for fun.  I budgeted 2 hours for the 1.1 mile to the summit.  I did not take into account the wind.  MAN OH MAN, the wind.  I met a friend who turned around because of the gusts.  Some reached 60 or more IMHO.  I thought it would slow down, and it did for a while.  But they came back with a vengeance, and sometimes no warning.  You have 5 minutes of nothing and the BLAM, you are blown into a boulder.  Step, step, step, hunker down.  Step, hide behind cairn.  I was terrified a few times, but did not want to go back down that ridge.  I wanted to be on top and go back to safety.  I had met a nice older couple from VT on the way up.  We kept a pretty similar pace, but they were smart and took more breaks.  I kept thinking that if they keep going, I should too.  So I did.  Hiking in Baxter is hard enough, but the wind made me slower and more careful.  It took forever, and the time kept flying, as did stuff off my pack.  But I finally made it.  Over 3 hours, but I made it.  I got on my knees, said a Hail Mary and Our Father, and took it all in.


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My kingdom.  Just had to say that.


I was so happy not to do Knife Edge.
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?


Are we there yet now?
Soapbox:  I was so happy I was not on the Knife Edge.  I mean, I have no desire to do it and after this, I feel like I had the life changing experience people say I am missing.  It’s a choice.  If you want to, do it.  If not, don’t.  But don't tell people they are missing something.  They have their reasons.  Show some respect.  Would you tell someone with a peanut allergy that they are missing out on peanut butter?  Let people hike their own hike.  Some people have a more adventurous manner, some don’t and just want a smaller, just as liberating challenge.  We are all different.  I don’t put down people who do Everest or climb rockfaces.  Why put down someone who does not want to do that?


It was better that I dreamed of.  And yes, still windy.  It seemed more windy.  Right in my face too. And I had to ask, "is this all you got?" Apparently not  The couple from VT made it up too.  We took pictures of it all.  There was another group, but I think they might have turned around.  Lots of people were going down the ridge. We made our way down to the Saddle on the Tablelands.  AH, the tablelands.  I remember them being a nice flat and level dirt path to a steep pitch and Katahdin.  I do not remember boulder fields.  I hate boulder fields.  I made it, but still, the hate lives on.  Now the top of the Saddle is a slide.  I hate slides, but I was not going back down that ridge.  The Saddle is protected from the wind, but it is steep, gravelly, and loose scree.  The first half mile was trying not to slide to my death and the navigating some large rocks.  FUN, not.  A mile in Baxter is honestly 3 miles in the real world. I was not the only person struggling, many were.  It is steep and unstable in some parts.  Of course, there were people on a mission to get past the slow people.  I lost track of the VT couple which  was sad.  I always meet great people hiking, and I was only halfway down the Saddle.  


Time for a new sign.
One more gust and this would have been x-rated.


Big K.




WOAH, that is a long way down.
As I prayed (yes, I did a lot of praying going down the Saddle.  Some of those prayers may have been laced with ungodly words) and picked my way down, I stopped to let another hiker through and to my absolute shock, it was Roberta.  OMG, no way.  I knew she going to be at Chimney Pond and I planned to leave a note for her.  This was just amazing, we could never have planned this.  We made plans to have dinner at Chimney Pond.  I continued down but that last half mile is rocky and still steep.  Sigh.  Met the cute ranger for Chimney Pond on the way down too.  I finally made it.  I figured I would use the privy before trying to find Roberta, who I was sure was asleep by then.  First was occupied so went to the other one.  It was a double stall.  Peed like a racehorse on diuretics.  There is no privacy above treeline.  You either hold it or hope you have enough time to take a quick pee and that the wind does not blow it back on you.  Of course, I had to take pictures of the signs in the privy.  And I kept thinking that the person next to me must think I am a nut.  So I leave, as does the person next to me.  And yes, it was Roberta.  Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.  Yup.  I am sure we ruined someone’s quiet wilderness experience, but hey, we were enjoying life.  


Photo by Roberta.  We both had no clue what was about to happen.



Photo by Roberta.   I gotta get of those tripod thingies.
So we had a nice dinner by the unreal Chimney Pond.  I love Carter Notch, but this was just otherworldly.  It was as if we were no longer in Maine.  She did Knife Edge.  Yes, with those winds.  If there is anyone I believed could do it, it is Roberta.  Nice calm yoga teacher by day, badass hiker outside the studio.  We had a grand time, enjoying every moment and the strange coincidence that we met where we did.  Yeah, I was not going to get back until dark, but really would you pass up dinner with a friend in such a beautiful place?  We’ve been friends on FB for a while and how funny that we meet on a trail in the middle of Maine Wilderness.  It was like we were too schoolgirls who met after 30 years.  And thanks to her, I realized bunchberries can give you a nice boost and that I need to hydrate more.  The bunkhouse was full, but I had my winter bivy and was tempted to stay the night, but I knew I had to go.  So we said goodbye and the people at the campground were probably rejoicing that one of those loud ladies left.



Roberta and I enjoying life thanks to her photo skills.
Going back, I realized how dry things have gotten.  I believe this is the third worst drought, at least in MA.  There were bridges over dry stream beds.  There was not much mud the whole trip.  It was getting dark and I heard all sorts of noises.  The only animal I saw was a deer in the trail.  She moved aside so I could pass.  Things were beginning to hurt.  I took some Vit. I at Chimney Pond, but my feet did not care.  And I had to pee again.  So I make my way back, pee, and get ready to go home.  It was 8:30 and there were still some cars in the day use lot.  Why I took my phone off airplane mode, I do not know why, but I did find that there are a few places on the Tote Road what get text service.  Even for 3G.  Oh the Tote Road at night.  My poor car must hate me when I say we are going to Baxter.  Oh well, she is a tank.  


I decided just to drive home because I wanted to save some money and I had things to do.  I didn’t do them because my body took a whole two days to punish me.  The only tough part is the 75mph zone with the speeding trucks and shadows that look like moose.  I was on a hiker high, so no drowsiness.  I did take a nap, but I was fine for the drive.  Except the peeing.  I do not take hydration lightly.  Everything was just fine until I hit the MA line.  The bathrooms are closed at night and no portable toilets.  And ONE lane to 495.  Oh and no one told the speeding trucks.  It was interesting, but I watched from the rest area trying to find a place to pee that is acceptable to civilization.  No such luck.  So I get into the traffic and speed home.  Let me tell you, commuters can fly at 5am.  Luckily I missed the usual tie ups and made it home just after 6, as my neighbors were going to work.  Breakfast and sleep.


It is going to take more than 40 minutes to get home.
Yes, that guy has a tent on top of his van.
When the signs are there, sometimes you just have to take the chance and do something awesome.  I did.  This was attempt 3 (first was no go with weather and leftover flu).  It was the charm in so many ways.  There were just so many wonderful things that happened on this trip, I lost count.  I could not have asked for a better trip.  If you listen and are open, life tells you have to do things that will make you happy.  It may be risky.  You may be living on ramen for weeks, but you have to take those chances.  They do not come around too often.