Start: Stealth Site (AT mi 2100.4). Stop: Sidney Tappan Campsite (AT mi 2116.4). Today’s miles: 16 miles. Total AT mileage: 1091.4 miles
Well, today was definitely better than yesterday.. I didn’t make it to my back up, back up destination, but even still.. I’m still on track to summit on August 29th as long as I push hard tomorrow and get either to my goal or very close to it. If I pull up short, then the following day will have to be a longer to keep on track. So all in all things are looking ok! I want to summit on the 29th for many reasons, but the most important is that bad weather rolls in that afternoon.. so I really want to be able to knock the summit out early morning on the 29th in good weather.. if I take too long, the bad weather will hit me, but also if I wait until the following day-it will still be raining. Ha. Motivation.
So, I was supposed to get up at 5am. I didn’t. I finally got moving at 6 and hit the trail at 6:50. I have got to do better tomorrow morning! It was just so hard, because the sun wasn’t up yet at 5, or at 5:15 either.. lol why should I be awake before the sun?! Either way, I slowly finished hiking down Fourth Chairback Mountain.. and to my complete disgust, 0.2 miles down from where I camped was a PRISTINE (hear me here.. FLAT) tentsite. Seriously? I should have just taken a few more minutes to get down to that spot! But my knee is bruised and swollen and oozy, so I guess I needed the rest.
After the rest of the descent, which in all honesty wasn’t as bad as the parts I had already done, the trail headed up a little no named blip of a mountain. I crossed it before even realizing that I had! Then I headed downhill for a quick bit and back up an ascent that felt long and drawn out, but easier terrain than yesterday, for sure.
I hit the summit of Third Chairback Mountain, with no summit sign or anything. I saw some pretty views and lots of lakes that I was sad I wasn’t swimming in. The heat was back, but the humidity was significantly less. Breezes would come through and some would feel like heat being let out of an oven, and others would be cool as could be.. all within the same few feet.
I went down 3rd Chairback, up Columbus Mountain and down it all without issue. I’m not sure why it’s called Columbus and not 2nd Chairback.. but whatever. It was uneventful. Steep ups with nicely put rock steps, and otherwise pretty pine forests. I didn’t even fall today! (I feel safe saying this since I’m laying in my tent already lol).
The climb up Chairback Mountain wasn’t bad at all, it was actually quite short feeling overall. I was at the top before I knew it. Now, the downhill is a different story. There was a rock slide area that I had to use both hands to maneuver down, but even that wasn’t too difficult to manage. Plus it was beyond short! After that bouldering business, the trail continued downhill pretty steeply but very little hard drops. Mostly it was more rock steps perfectly placed.
After the descent I walked along side a river for awhile. My plan was to get to where I had to cross, put on my camp shoes and cross the stream, and then eat lunch on the other side. I was walking along, fantasizing about Mountain Dew and if I should ask the guy doing my food drop if he’d bring me one and I could Venmo him for it. The things you get hyper focused on out here is a little nuts sometimes. Just as I come up to the water crossing, a sign is on display with an arrow pointing down a side trail, “THRU HIKER TRAIL MAGIC! Burgers, Dogs, Sodas, Snacks.”
OH MY GOD! I was so excited that I dropped my pack right there beside the trail junction, quickly put on my camp shoes, got my phone and high tailed it down that side trail to a parking lot. On the way there, my mind was racing.. if I stay here too long, I’ll never make it to my destination.. when they said Dogs, do they mean hotdogs or actual doggie dogs? Because either one would be awesome.. how far is this side trail? Hmmm..
I made it to the trail magic to be greeted by a big ole fluffernutter named Zee. After giving him all the loves, I found out that this kind gentleman will make me a hotdog, too! It WAS both dogs! And he showed me to the cooler to grab an ice cold.. you guessed it, MOUNTAIN DEW! I was so giddy I could barely stand myself. I sat and chatted with the magic folks, the man making my hotdog on the grill Thru hiked in 2019, and his parents live nearby, so when he comes to visit them, they all 3 plus Zee come do trail magic.
I hung around until a little after 1pm, and then got moving again. I crossed the stream and let my feet dry a minute before stuffing them back into socks and shoes. It was somewhere around this moment that I decided I didn’t want to hike over 4 more mountains today.. OR over 3 to a stealth site, either. Lol All this planning and my mood and feet just keep changing their minds. I can tell I made this itinerary while I was “off trail” and not hiking.. hahaha.
From here, I hiked a slow uphill climb for 5.5 miles to a lean-to and stream. I still had another 2 miles to go from here, but there would be no more water, so I had to carry extra. Water carries always suck, this just made me happy and confirmed my plan to only hike 2 more miles with the water and not 4.8 with it all to that stealth site. The climb to the top of Gulf Hagas Mountain was a mile and steep. It got my heart pumping and my sweat rolling, thanks to the added weight of 3 liters of water.
There was no view at the top, and no sign. Bleh. All that work and not even a sign? What’s up with these last few mountains? And why on earth does the wind have to feel like Satan’s hot breath blowing on me? Even still, the rest of the trail was flat for a bit and wandered through a grassy like area with gorgeous trees. It was in this area that I messaged hthe hostel and changed my food drop time from 10am to 2pm. LMAO. Let’s hope I can make 14 miles by then!
The trail dipped back down a steep little descent and I walked right into the aimed for campsite. There was a couple of SOBO hikers there sitting and resting before carrying on to the shelter I got water at. I dropped my pack and chatted with them awhile, before setting off to find the perfect spot for my tent.
It’s a large camping area, however all of the sites are either slanted or covered with roots. I picked the best one I could find and set to work unpacking and changing clothes. Right after I got changed, Kindle and Upwards appeared! They set up a good bit away from me. We talked about the food drop tomorrow. They are also getting up early, but they’re thinking it’ll take them longer than me to get there. We’ll see.
Before long, a group of hikers appeared. All young women, 5 in total I think. Sunflower is the only name I remember now, so I feel bad about that. They all set up their tents in the areas around me, and they too are getting up early to make their food drop, theirs is technically at the same time as mine, but they’re trying to move it forward an hour. I believe they are definitely faster hikers than I am. Lol
We all ate our dinners and now it’s almost 8:30 and I’m in bed. I’m hoping I hear everyone packing up around me in the morning and it motivates me to get up, too. I set my watch for 5, they apparently will be starting at 5 so up at 4 something.. I don’t foresee me getting up before 5.. but we’ll see. There’s a little bit of panic over making sure I get there on time. I don’t like for people to be left waiting on me.
I’ll have to cover 14 miles to get to the food drop location, and the first 4 miles is up and over 2 mountains and to the top of a 3rd. The rest is steep downhill for 7miles followed by another small mountain before getting to the road crossing. Yikes! The good news is, after that 4th mountain, the terrain is mostly FLAT until I get to the base of Mount Katahdin. Literally 70 miles with hardly a blip on the elevation map. I’m praying it’s as smooth as everyone says it is.. or I might be pushing a day back against my will!
Ok, that’s it for today. I better get some shut eye if I’m ever actually going to get up in the morning! Lol sweet dreams!