Day: 142
Date: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Start: Barren Mountain (AT Mile 2101.9)
Finish: Gulf Hagas Mountain (AT Mile 2121.6)
Daily Kilometres: 26.2 (Ascent 4268', Descent 4478')
GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos
Total Kilometres: 3440.9
Weather: Mild, foggy in the morning and mostly overcast with occasional light rain.
Accommodation: Tent
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Pop tarts
Lunch: Trail mix
Dinner: Rehydrated meals
Aches: Dave - the usual niggles plus some wasp bites (see below); Julie - nothing reported.
Highlight: None really
Lowlight: While looking for a place to cross a stream, Dave disturbed a wasps nest and was stung many times, mostly on the legs but also on the butt, groin and back.
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
It rained a lot overnight as was evidenced by the huge deep puddles on the trail when we began hiking at 6:00am. They were very difficult to negotiate, along with plenty of bogs and the usual rocks and roots, and the hiking was not enjoyable. It was hard to see how we would cover the distance we wanted for the day when it took 3.5 hours to cover the first 4.5 miles. We were in the cloud/fog and there were no views even though we were quite high.
From comments on our crowd-sourced navigation app, we were aware that there was an alternative trail that took us down off the mountain and reconnected with the AT in seven miles, missing the last section of the Chairback Range, so we took it. We weren't going to miss anything in the weather and the trail conditions were so difficult we were unlikely to stay on schedule if we kept to the main trail.
Down the mountain the trail was better walking and our pace and mood improved. Then there was some road-walking back to the AT which included finding our way across a raging stream where a bridge has been washed out and was being replaced. While looking for a place to cross the stream, Dave disturbed a wasps nest and paid the price (see above).
Once back on the AT, it was easier walking until we reached the West Branch Pleasant River which had to be forded. The rain of the past few days had the river running fast and wide and the ford was a little nerve-wracking, though we both crossed safely, getting wet to mid-thigh.
The trail then entered the Hermitage Preserve of the Gulf Hagas wilderness passing through some old growth forest and then climbed steadily following Gulf Hagas Brook upstream. Conditions alternated between good and the usual rocks, roots and bogs, but we made reasonable progress and decided to push on over Gulf Hagas Mountain to a campsite on the other side which we reached at 6:30pm.
The tent site was much better than last night and we were congratulating ourselves as we washed before eating dinner when it began to rain, and is still raining steadily as the blog is written. We ended up eating our dinner in the tent and are happy that nothing got too wet.
We've had enough rain, rocks, roots and bogs to last a lifetime.
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