Day: 136
Date: Thursday, 07 September 2023
Start: Little Bigelow Mountain (AT Mile 2022.3)
Finish: Carrying Place Stream (AT Mile 2040.1)
Daily Kilometres: 28.9 (Ascent 2037', Descent 3780')
GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos
Total Kilometres: 3316.2
Weather: Very warm and humid, partly sunny, with thunderstorms in late afternoon and evening.
Accommodation: Tent
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Egg & sausage rolls, pastries.
Lunch: Pop tarts/Trail mix
Dinner: Rehydrated meals.
Aches: Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.
Highlight: We had been told by a hiker we met going the other way yesterday that there was a group offering "trail magic" at the next road crossing and that they will be there until Friday. So, we set off from our campsite at 6:30am, with a little over four miles to the road, with some optimism that we would get a good breakfast, though we didn't want to get our hopes up. With a mile to go, a couple of day hikers confirmed that there was a big spread awaiting us. It was put on by a group of friends who camp out at the trailhead for a few days each year, one of whom had been doing the "trail magic" for 22 years. We enjoyed a couple of egg and sausage rolls each along with multiple cold drinks and other goodies along with interesting conversation. It was a very good way to start our day.
Lowlight: It was hot and humid most of the day (heat advisory for central Maine) making it unpleasant for hiking and also seemed to bring out the mosquitoes which made it doubly unpleasant.
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
We gave ourselves a 30 minute later start because of our late finish last night and were hiking by around 6:30am. We were hoping for a good breakfast when we reached the road crossing ahead (see above), but first we had to cross over and descend from Little Bigelow Mountain. It wasn't a particularly difficult or long descent, though Dave did slip on some wet rock and removed what little skin was left on one of his elbows, but it did require care and was slow.
With a mile to go, however, the trail flattened out and became easy walking and we reached the road and "trail magic" at 9:00am.
After eating and drinking our fill, we got back on the trail, eagerly anticipating that it would be easier for the next few days as we had been told. It was easier, with a better surface and gentler grades, but the day's heat and humidity made it hard work, and we were bathed in sweat and drinking plenty at our breaks.
Most of the remaining day was spent passing a series of beautiful and peaceful large ponds/lakes with low hills in between. Despite the rocks, roots and bogs that dominated long sections of the trail, it was easier walking and we were back to the two miles per hour average we managed before we hit New England. It was nice to feel we were making good progress for a change.
During the afternoon we had our first moose sighting, though glimpse better describes the encounter. Julie, up ahead, must have disturbed it, and it disappeared quickly with the sound of thunderous hooves attracting our attention. Julie got a brief glimpse of its rear end while Dave saw the big black shape galloping through the distant forest.
We reached a good tentsite beside a small stream at the nice time of 5:45pm and decided to call it a day, having gone a little further than anticipated.
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