Appalachian Trail - Day 145 - Nahmakanta Lake to Hurd Brook Lean-To

Day: 145

Date: Saturday, 16 September 2023

Start:  Nahmakanta Lake (AT Mile 2157.7)

Finish:  Hurd Brook Lean-To (AT Mile 2179.8)

Daily Kilometres:  38.0 (Ascent 

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3536.5

Weather:  Cool, windy and overcast all day with rain of varying intensity in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Shelter 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals, Pop tarts 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None really 

Lowlight:  A miserable afternoon as we were hit by the outer edges of tropical hurricane Lee.  Strong cold winds and rain made for challenging hiking along a trail of which much was boggy or under water, either flowing or standing, and had the usual slippery rocks and roots to negotiate.  We were cold and saturated and our shoes/boots and feet were sodden.  Up ahead, Dave could hear Julie cursing at each new obstacle was encountered or she sank ankle deep into the mud once again.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got going at 6:00am, happy that the rain from hurricane Lee had not yet arrived and we could pack a dry tent.  Our goal for the day was to get as close as we could to Abol Bridge, the end of the 100 Mile Wilderness, where there was a campground store, but that was 25+ miles away, so we were unlikely to make it all the way.

Hiking conditions weren't bad initially, though the trail was often the usual bogs, rocks and roots.  The wind was blowing strongly and there were the occasional spots of rain, but the hurricane impacts were less than anticipated and we made good progress, passing along the shore of Nahmakanta Lake then climbing over Nesundabunt Mountain before descending to a forestry road.

We chose the option here of following the road which reconnected with the AT a little over a mile later and missing some more bogs, rocks and roots on the AT.  Our justification was that with the full hurricane effects were yet to be felt, we wanted to get to a shelter just short of Abol Bridge so that we could camp out of the weather if necessary.  It didn't save much distance, but it did save time.

A bonus of our route was that we encountered a moose on the road.  It wasn't close, but we did get a good view of it before it sidled off into the forest.

After rejoining the AT and following the raging Rainbow Stream upstream for a few miles we stopped for a lunch break at a shelter.  There were quite a few hikers there, some waiting out the weather and in their sleeping bags, and only a few of us pushed on further.

The weather quickly deteriorated and it was a miserable afternoon (see above).  The only bright spot was that we were moving quickly, despite the trail conditions, to keep warm.  Apart from a brief break under an overhanging rock we kept walking for six hours and made it to our target shelter a little before 6:00pm, with only a short 3+ miles to go tomorrow morning to reach Abol Bridge.  Already at the shelter were friends Christine and Matthew and we chatted with them while we set up our sleeping gear, had dinner and changed into some dry warm clothing.

We feel like we are almost at the end.  We will spend most of the day at Abol Bridge tomorrow, assuming we can get a cabin for tomorrow night, then end our journey by summiting Mt Katahdin on Monday, a 15 mile hike.  Despite the conditions, we were pleased with how much ground we covered today.