Monson to Caratunk: Mile 151.2
I feel a little badly about all the complaining I had been doing in the last few posts. However, I think I effectively conveyed how challenging the 100 mile wilderness was for us. With a little bit more perspective, I wanted to start this post off with some of the delightful things we encounter daily in the hikes. For example, there are times when we're hiking in A forest of fir trees. They smell just like those Christmas tree candles you buy in the winter, except it's the actual smell from the trees! We often fall asleep to the sounds of rushing streams and babbling brooks. Seth likes the sound of the wind in the trees. Of course, the views are spectacular. A northbounder told us Maine is his favorite state because the views are so wild and there aren't any tourists, so perhaps we're getting the best there is right now! We've also been enjoying drinking cool, clear water from the abundant springs throughout Maine. Lastly, all food feels earned and tastes very delicious after a hard day's hike. I think I've been able to get a little more perspective because the last three days of hiking have been more varied in terms of mental ups and downs.
Poet, the owner of Shaw's Hiker Hostel, took this photo of us at the trailhead before heading out Monday morning. The guy on the right is "Big Tex" from Dallas, TX. We've been hiking with him basically the whole time. He's a good fellow.
On the day we were heading out, I felt a bit wary. I didn't want to put my hiking clothes on and when we got dropped off at the trailhead, I felt apprehensive because of how drained I had felt last time we were at that spot after the 100 mile. Once we started hiking, however, I felt enlivened. My legs felt great after our rest day and the terrain was easy. We expected rains storms in the afternoon, so we planned for a short nine-mile day to a shelter to wait out the afternoon showers. Seth's foot continued to bug him during this hike despite the easier terrain, so it's something we are really starting to plan our days around. We arrived at the shelter before the rain and had a relaxing afternoon reading and resting- hoping the short day will give Seth's foot a little bit of a break as well.
Hiking through Maine includes a lot of fording rivers. We have actually had an easy time of it so far. Even rivers that are normally high have mostly been shin- deep. Seth is easily fording this river in the morning.
Reading and resting. The sound of the rain on the shelter roof was a soothing background noise throughout the afternoon and evening.
So we had this great plan for missing the rain in afternoon on the first day. It worked splendidly. I wasn't thinking about the next day. We started hiking in the morning and it was drizzling a bit, but the rain started to increase steadily as the day proceeded. Also, due to all the rain the day before the trail was soppy and swollen with water. For about two hours of hiking we were basically walking in a stream because of all the water running down the trail. Seth's shoes got soaked pretty immediately and all the slipping was hell on his already aching foot. I asked Seth what adjectives I should use to describe his mood on this morning and he responded, "private." With pressure, he said I could say he was "not great" during this part of the hike. I would describe Seth's mood as "dejected" with a touch of "fury" based on observational data. The weather was definitely a drag, but overall I felt able to stay in an ok headspace. I was able to focus on getting to our destination and feeling mostly numb to the badness. We also happened to have a lot of fording to do this morning probably due to all the rain that had been dumped. Fording can be really nice on a hot day because you get to take off your shoes, cool your feet in the water, and let the sunshine dry your feet before putting your shoes back on. When it's raining, you have to take your shoes off, get more wet than you already are, and put your shoes back on your wetter feet. I also tend to forget to mention the mosquitos, but just imagine their ever-present buzzing and swarming, so stopping to do anything invites them to feast on you. Even though rain normally tempers them a bit, they were particularly bad this morning for some reason.
The rain stirred up a lot of sediment in the rivers as well, so we couldn't tell how deep some of them were. This one ended up not being as deep as we thought, but one part of the river had a fairly strong current, which did actually require the aid of the rope.
Seth and I planned to hike 8.9 miles to the next shelter and have another short day due to the crappiness of the day so far and the state of Seth's foot.
Day over.
So we're at the shelter and our spirits are crushed, however, the skies clear up and the sun does start to emerge. I check the lake near the shelter to see whether there's a place Seth can easily soak his feet and see that it's a gorgeous spot. I was able to lay out our wet clothes on the rocks and we warmed ourselves in the sun.
Little butterfly snuck in the right hand corner there. There were a lot of butterflies fluttering around us.
Seth drying out on the rock- recovering from the morning.
Feeling much better after taking in some rays.
Not too long after our arrival, Big Tex rolled in and said he would be moving to the next shelter, but planned to dry out and take a long lunch beside the pond. He has been carrying a fishing pole with him, so we got to do some fishing and relaxing.
Big Tex with his big catch.
Fishing with a pipe.
Caught a little sun fish.
This is where I started to see how people can stay on the trail after some truly miserable days. Sitting on the rocks, fishing, and sun bathing felt like a whole new day. Like the rain-soaked morning felt far away.
Seth surprised me by saying that he felt like we should push on to the next shelter, which was 4.1 miles on the other side of Moxie Bald Mountain. The break and sunshine certainly shifted my spirits and I think the fishing and pipe also had a positive mental effect on Seth.
We hiked up the mountain, which wasn't too challenging and had a lot of fun on Moxie Bald. The views were great and it felt good getting the miles in.
Look at this much happier boy.
The space on top of this mountain was vast. We got a clear view from every angle.
We decided to do another 14- mile day to get to Caratunk, Maine a day early. People had said the trail near town was really flat so we figured we could push it.
June 21st is National Hike Naked Day. I didn't do all that, but did shed my pants for a ford, so I got a little sassy for the occasion.
We had another mountain to climb on this day and it actually sleeted on us on the way up. We had our rain gear ready, so it wasn't too big a deal. And, again, the sun came out as we reached the top, so we were able to have lunch and let the sun dry us out a bit. It was kind of cold up there, but still, we felt grateful for the sunshine.
I have food in my mouth.
The last six miles into town were definitely easy, but felt long for some reason. We walked straight into Caratunk, Maine (population of 69 in 2010 census). The Caratunk House Bed and Breakfast is right off the trail, so we got set up pretty quickly. This little stretch started to give me some confidence that we could really finish the trail. Of course, Seth isn't has an injury and is constantly feeling pain, so we will wait and see. Everything is riding on how Seth's foot shapes up in the next couple days.
What the next few days are going to look like.
And like this!! BOOM! The Kennebec River Pub and Brewery has a hot tub for patrons. Someone from the B&B dropped us off for the afternoon. Burger and hot tub? Yes, please.
