Soooo Close!!!

The trek through Maine continues and it does not disappoint!! We were warned that southern Maine would continue to be as, if not more, challenging than the Whites and that was a fair statement! But the views are spectacular for every hard climb and along the way there are beautiful lakes, mossy forest beds and balsam and spruce that permeate the air while cooler temps are setting in. Our weekly mileage is about 2/3rds of what it had been earlier in the trip and while it’s certainly due to the challenging terrain, we also find ourselves savoring these last miles as our journey draws nearer to its close.

To pick up from our last post, we left the lovely town of Bethel, Flash’s hometown, and resumed trail life with a hike up Bald Pate Mountain. It was a challenging hike of several peaks but was a special day as we celebrated Flash’s 39th birthday with a trail life charcuterie at the summit complete with vino!! ☺️

Feeling cheeky at the summit

Birthday charcuterie

The day was cloudy but the skies opened up for us at the summit and the rain put off until later that afternoon where we caught cat naps in a shelter to wait out the rain. We began our descent later that afternoon and into the early evening. Flash’s brother picked her up at the trail head but brought along pizzas for everyone! Great way to end the day even though the rain fell throughout the night.

The mornings are getting chillier now and fall is in the air as leaves are beginning to sport their bright colors. We had tough climbs up Moody Mountain and Old Blue that had extremely steep ascents AND descents coupled with intermittent rain and unfortunately offered limited summit views. At Bemis Mountain we started to get limited views but who cares when you walk up on a mountain top covered in Maine blueberries. We had been hiking with several others and stopped for well over an hour to pick some delicious berries 😛

One of Maine’s great delights are the numerous lakes, sometimes every few miles. The Appalachian Trail Clubs leave rowboats or kayaks near the trail head and it makes for lovely breaks in the day. After numerous days of mountain summits, we camped along several beautiful lakes and side excursions, or “side quests” as they have been named, were in order every time a boat was available.

We continue to search for moose along the shorelines or even loons settling on the water for the evening but haven’t seen either yet in Maine.

We hit Rangeley, a small town just off the trail and had a wonderful stay at the Hiker Hut hosted by Steve. It was “off grid” and pretty primitive but his hospitality and the hostel itself were an incredible experience replete with an outdoor shower, campfire and amazing three egg breakfast sandwich!!

The climb of Saddleback Mountain was our next adventure and fueled by Steve’s breakfast we took on the challenge. The day a beautiful but SUPER windy and we quickly learned that flat bottom row boats don’t do well on windy days if Ryan Gosling isn’t at the helm.

We may not have gotten far in the row boat but it was a good arm workout…for those that actually rowed…

Saddleback Mtn saw tremendous wind gusts but the views were incredible!!

On our hike up Crocker Mtn the next day the wind was less contentious and we met Casper and Spook, a young lady hiking with her kitten that she fondly referred to as her 5 pound bundle of endorphins. I will carry a lot of crazy things, but a kitten? Have to admit though, he was pretty darn adorable!! We posted camp that night at the summit of South Crocker Mtn and the views of sunset and the stars late that night were stunning.

Oh!!!! And did we mention that we hit the 2000 mile mark?!?! It’s so hard to believe that we have come this far!!

Celebrating 2000

Next stop was to the Maine Roadhouse for resupply and laundry in the town of Stratton and it’s been a treat to run into old friends…especially as we get nearer to Katahdin, we find we are running into folks we haven’t seen in months. It’s also been fun to hear of everyone who has summited to date. Too real!

Heading out from the Maine Roadhouse, we set out on an ambitious day to conquer the Bigelow Mountain Range in one fell swoop. A 16 mile swoop that is. We took one last opportunity to slack pack and we chose a good place to do it! The views were spectacular, showcasing a myriad of sprawling lakes and mountains as far as the eye can see.

Unfortunately, our group has a tendency to get a little too lost in the moment, and therefore lose track of time. We rolled into camp that night at 8pm, though our spirits were none the worse for wear. We enjoyed some trail magic for dinner, dare I even say a dinner of champions: blue raspberry Mountain Dew and tacos in a bag, delish! The stars were incredible and we tucked in for a nights rest in the gravel parking lot. If you can’t tell, our standards have certainly changed since the start of the trail, ha!

The next day out was a glorious one, with blue skies and more trail magic that morning from Mary and Tom, a hilarious couple married for 56 years or as Mary explained, “No!! It’s Fifty SEVEN years, TOM!” We couldn’t help but giggle at their antics while they fed us alarmingly bright hot dogs and baked goods.

We hiked along for another ten miles and came upon yet another trail magic! This time we were met by Jethro who rewarded us with ginger ales and ramen.

We stealth camped next to East Carry Pond, where we swam and washed up a bit. As it turns out, It was an inopportune time for skinny dipping on account of the flux of hikers that seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving poor Ember stuck out in the water for nearly an hour. She got lucky though because we later noticed a plethora of juicy leeches just along the shore line, EEK!

The following days remained hot and neared 90 degrees. We got up at 5am to hike ten miles to the Kennebec River, where we waiting for nearly an hour to be ferried across. We got a full lowdown from the ferryman, Rob, and opted to stop in briefly at the Sterling Inn. We got free showers, laundry and a shuttle to and from the trail side. What a delight! At the store inside the Inn we were able to get our resupply for the upcoming days and of course polished off two pints of Ben and Jerry’s. May we highly recommend the raspberry cheesecake!

September 6th was a struggle of a day! The sun was hot overhead again and the humidity was energy crushing as we pushed 13.5 miles. There was a brief respite during lunch while we sat by a lake and enjoyed a small dock to ourselves. Peeta read the next chapter of our trail book, “Call of the Wild”. A fitting title, right?

It was one of those special moments in time that you know will stay with you for a long while, given the totality of our presence in that moment. It was one that I thought we would’ve had more of on trail, the lounging about and watching the clouds go by next to an awe-inspiring landscape, but it was that much sweeter by a passerby shouting to us, “Now THATS how ya live!”

Our final night before town was a treasured one. A rowdy chorus of owls and loons took charge of the otherwise silent night with their eerie calls. We sat out on a nearby rock to reminisce of the many miles behind us now, and watched the Milky Way unfold above us.

We took our time getting out of camp the next morning. The constant heat took a toll on our energy, leaving us completely and utterly drained, struggling to put one foot in front of the other. We tried our best to keep energy up through maple syrup shots and Disney playlists, but to no avail.

Despite having some of the flattest terrain on trail to date, it was one of the hardest hiking days simply because of our complete and total exhaustion. While I can’t speak for the other members of the group, I can’t remember a time when it was quite so difficult to simply move. The last miles into town seemed impossible ones, for each step became a more and more monumentous task. We were damn near belligerent with heat exhaustion when we finally rolled into Monson, and have never been more grateful for a cold ginger ale.

Our accommodations for the night were in the “Onion”. A rudimentary glamping tent just adjacent of an impressive stand of marijuana plants.

Shaw’s hostel has been an incredible stay. The staff, the location, the amenities were every thru-hikers dream. We rested, ate, ate some more and prepped ourselves for what will be the last 115 miles of trail.

And with that, you will not hear from us until our hopeful ascent of Katahdin. With roughly 10 days left, the emotions are raw as we near the end of this incredible journey. Words can’t begin to scratch the surface of what this trip has meant to all of us, but as always, we are grateful as ever for our devoted readers and your support. Thank you all, and see you at Katahdin!