2180miles
  • Home
  • Adventure Blog
  • Overland
    • Meet The Jeep
    • Mods & Installs
    • Overland Gear
    • Trip Reports & Videos >
      • Allagash Winter 2019
      • Greece Adventures 2019
      • Overland Expo East 2018
      • Allagash Wilderness 2018
      • Trans-Canada Overland 2017
      • QB-5 Adventure 2017
  • Long Trail
    • Trip Summary
    • Photojournal
    • Hike Statistics
  • Appalachian Trail
    • Trip Summary
    • Photojournal
    • Gear Talk
    • Hike Statistics
    • Financial Planning
  • Bicycling America
    • Trip Summary
    • Photojournal

Maine Marathon Day #2

7/21/2014

0 Comments

 

Day: 106

Day mileage: 23.4

AT total mileage: 1,999.0

Time: 9 hours 

--

I was interrupted from my sleep repeatedly throughout the night as hikers emerged behind the shelter to pee. We were equally surprised to see each other, and I never realized how many people relieve themselves immediately behind the place where we sleep. Regardless, the night passed quickly and I awoke at 5:30 to begin packing up for the day. I had to rouse Santa a few times before he actually woke up, and we were on the trail by 7:00. 

Descending 1,500 feet first off in the morning, my knees (doing much better, by the way!) were unhappy with the sudden descent. Reaching the Orbeton river at the bottom of the mountain, we rock-hopped across the wide body of rushing water and began our climb up the other side. Over 3 miles we would ascend 1,800 feet to the summit of Lone Mountain. Stopping in at Spaulding Mountain lean-to for a snack and meeting some SOBO hikers, we continued on with another 1,000' climb to the peak of Spaulding Mountain before descending back down a few hundred feet to a ridge that we would follow for 2.5 miles. We hiked by a few weekend hikers throughout the day, making small talk and telling them about our journey. Passing by a bronze plaque marking the last completed section of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, we continued on skirting the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain, a famous northeast skiing area. From here the trail would plummet 1,500' over seriously rocky terrain, dropping us to the Carrabassett river. We would cross here on a 2x10" board and then begin the long trek up to the summit of South Crocker mountain. This climb was obnoxious as there were multiple false-summits and the humidity was stifling, but we summited rather quickly and pressed on towards the North Crocker mountain summit and beginning a horribly long 6 mile descent to Maine Rt. 27 which would lead us towards the town of Stratton. The trail to the road from the north summit wasn't challenging, wasn't rocky, and wasn't overly rooted. The frustration came from the fact that it was the most gradual grade imaginable, which is why the 3,000 foot descent took miles and miles to complete. It got to the point of being annoying simply because it felt like we weren't going anywhere. Eventually we hit the road crossing, turning our efforts to hitching a ride 5 miles west into Stratton. 

It took only about 10 minutes to get a ride, and my American Flag never came out to help with the job. A middle aged guy in a pickup truck pulled over to get us, having us hop in the back as he had woodworking equipment in the cab and was towing a hydraulic wood splitter behind the truck. The wind felt amazing as we sat in the bed traveling along at 55 miles an hour, a different kind of freeing feeling that isn't attainable on the trail. Dropped off at the general store we quickly resupplied and headed across the street to the White Wolf motel where we heard dinner would be good and cheap. It was nearly 1900hrs, later in the day than we had anticipated being there, and we did our best to order quickly and get back to the trail. Despite effort on our part it took nearly an hour for my mozzarella sticks and chicken quesadilla to make it to our table, and Santa grew restless as the service was quite horrible. As we waited to pay our check one of the couples we saw day hiking hours before came in to pick up their take-out dinner, and we talked for a while about the Appalachian Trail. The couple (I apologize, I later realized I never got their names) are in the process of hiking the New England 3,000' peaks. As dusk was settling in over Stratton, Santa and I were concerned about hitchhiking the 5 miles back to the trail. I felt a bit awkward asking, but approached the young couple to see if they had a car that could bring us back to the trail. They said of course, simply that they would need to move some stuff around in they're awesomely predictable Subaru; adventurous people seem to always drive Subaru or Jeep vehicles.  We were back at the trailhead 10 minutes later and after thanking them we parted ways. 

Santa and I made it 2.5 miles into the woods to a large campsite alongside a river. We're cowboy camping for the second night in a row, and in the morning will begin by hiking the 3.2 vertical miles up to the shelter we had intended to be at tonight. I'm not thrilled that we aren't making the mileage we intended, but the meal break took too long to warrant a risky climb in the dark.  The plan tomorrow is for a big day, so hopefully a good nights sleep is attainable. 

We shall see how things work out. 

Texaco

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Missing Hiker from 2013
Picture
Late Arrival
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    SUBSCRIBE

    Join Over 2,000 Readers On The Search For Adventure!

    Delivered by FeedBurner


    Author

    Hey there! I'm Ryan McKee, a free spirited adventurer, photographer, and digital media creator who calls North Carolina home. I travel incessantly, carry a camera with me everywhere, and am always dreaming of my next big trip.

    Picture

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Picture
    Picture

    SPECIAL THANKS To

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2013


      Quick Survey

    Submit

    Categories

    All
    Allagash Wilderness
    Appalachian Trail
    Banff National Park
    Bears
    Canada
    Caribbean
    Connecticut
    Georgia
    Greece
    Hiking
    Italy
    Jasper National Park
    Jeeps
    Katahdin
    Long Trail
    Maine
    Maryland
    Massachusetts
    New Hampshire
    New Jersey
    New York
    North Carolina
    Overland
    Pennsylvania
    Photography
    Sailing
    Tennessee
    Travel
    Vermont
    Virginia
    West Virginia

    RSS Feed

ADVENTURES

Trans-Canada Overland Expedition
The Long Trail
Appalachian Trail
Bicycling Across America

Overland Build

Meet The Jeep
Backcountry Gear
​Modifications & Installations

Everything Else

Read The Blog
Photography
Guest Book
Contact

Picture
© COPYRIGHT 2019
​All Rights Reserved