Day: 132
Date: Sunday, 03 September 2023
Start: ME Route 17 (AT Mile 1964.9)
Finish: Eddy Pond (AT Mile 1981.6)
Daily Kilometres: 26.7 (Ascent 3412', Descent 2969')
GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos
Total Kilometres: 3222.3
Weather: Mild and partly sunny
Accommodation: Tent
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Muffins
Lunch: Ham, chicken & cheese subs
Dinner: Rehydrated meals
Aches: Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.
Highlight: Not really a highlight, but at one point in the early afternoon we had just been passed by two female section hikers who we had chatted to earlier and, as the four of us walked along in single file, we caught an overweight middle-aged guy carrying a big pack and wearing headphones, though we could not see them. The girl in front made various attempts to alert the guy of our approach but he remained oblivious until the last second when he let out a loud shriek of terror with his arms and trekking poles flailing around ready to fend off what ever was about to attack him. Not very amusing at the time, but we all had a good chuckle later.
Lowlight: None really.
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
Our shuttle driver arrived at our motel on time and we were hiking by soon after 7:00am on a beautiful calm morning.
We were hoping for an easier day of hiking and this turned out to be the case, though it started with a significant climb. From there, although we were constantly dealing with roots, rocks and bogs, the gradients were generally good, though punctuated with some short sharp climbs and descents. Although still gnarly trail, it was easier walking than recently and it was nice to cover the ground at a better rate.
At the lower elevations some foliage was starting to show autumn colours and parts of the track were littered with the oranges and yellows of newly fallen leaves. Our journey has taken us from the stark bare trees of late winter in Georgia through the blossoms of spring, the green leaves of summer and now into autumn. It brings home to us how long we have been on the trail and how lucky we have been to see the seasonal changes up close and personal, even if we didn't always appreciate it.
The trail today passed a number of peaceful ponds, both big and small, and we kept our eye out for moose, but only saw some moose droppings.
Towards the end of the day we crossed a major road and then began our ascent of Saddleback Mt, which was a gradual climb at first, but became steeper and more technical as we got higher. We never intended to reach the summit today and, instead, aimed for Eddy Pond where there were supposed to be some tent sites. We arrived at the serenely peaceful pond around 6:00pm and found a site near the shore. It was nice to finish at a reasonable hour and we watched the sun gradually set behind the mountain across the pond as we set up camp and cooked and ate dinner. Magic!
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