From Hazard’s notes:
Day 110: August 27, 2009
Travel:
From: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to, ME
To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to, ME
Beginning: 8:00am
Ending: 5:30pm
Number of miles hiked:
a) Trail – 20.1
b) other -
c) AT Mile Marker – 1968.9
Weather:
AM & PM: Sunny and beautiful. Really windy from Saddleback to Saddleback Jr.
People: Ridge Runner, Houdini, Braid, packed shelter.
Animals:
Money: $0
Notes of the day:
AM: There was no rush getting up this morning since we had gotten up so early the previous morning. The other hikers were talking last night about the four or so miles of alpine hiking we would encounter today so the anticipation was high. The weather was also looking really great early on so I was feeling good about being on the trail. The first five miles of the morning were cake as we meandered around various ponds not gaining or losing much elevation and walking on soft pine straw covered trail. It wasn’t long before we were able to spot the bald mountain top of Saddleback in the distance. When we popped out of the woods onto Maine 4 (to Rangeley) a huge road construction project was underway making a big mess. It was a good thing we didn’t need to get into town here because it looked like a hitch would be pretty tough. Just on the other side of the road an ATTENTION sign warns hikers of the tough miles ahead, to be prepared for sudden weather and temperature changes in the alpine zone, and to make sure you start your hike early enough to get off the mountain in time. I crossed over the Sandy River and switchbacked up the mountain towards Piazza Rock Lean-to thinking I only had a mile to go from the road. When you’ve hiked as long as we have, you get a good sense of what a mile feels like and after 30 minutes I was wondering what I did wrong to not be at the shelter by then. I pulled out my camera and checked the picture I took of the sign back at the road and found out I misread 1.8 to be 1.0. The Piazza Rock camping area was really confusing. I read the information board and looked at the trail signs and couldn’t readily decipher which way the lean-to was located so I took a chance on a side trail that I heard voices coming from. An interesting note about this shelter is that it was constructed by MATC’s team of maintainers from L.L. Bean and has a caretaker on site. I pulled myself up a steep hill looking for this shelter and ended up looking up at Piazza Rock and the small group of people taking pictures with it. I rushed back down the hill a little frustrated and picked another trail that looked like a better bet and finally walked up on the rest of the guys taking a break in the shelter.
PM: While we ate lunch I read an article from a MATC newsletter left in the shelter about the new sign that replaced the existing one on top of Katahdin. Crocstar wondered what the temperature was considering that it still felt chilly for midday. So I pulled out my camera and zoomed in on my picture of the information board which had a thermometer to give him a reading of upper 50s. He told me I take too many pictures and everyone had a good laugh. From the shelter we had 2000′ of vertical to cover in four miles to get up to Saddleback Mtn. The trail was still riddled with pools of water and mud but naturally the closer to the top we got the drier and rocker the trail became. Once I broke treeline, the wind really picked up, blowing so hard I had to pull my hat off and carry it in my hand so it wouldn’t get blown off the mountain. On my way up I ran into a Ridge Runner who gave me the scoop on what to expect ahead on the trail. From there, I followed the rock cairns slowly building my way to the top of Saddleback – the first of three peaks on the same ridge. At the bottom of the ridge I could see a ski resort and looking ahead The Horn. I kept hiking onward trying to catch the guys in front of me. The trail was pretty demanding as the cold wind cut through my sweaty clothes and rocky terrain required you to be aware of every step. Spoon was waiting for me at The Horn and encouraged me to pick things up because it was starting to get late and the other guys were well ahead. I kept pace with him up Saddleback Junior and then down a treacherous descent out of the alpine zone where I could finally put on my hat. A short time later I knew we were getting close to the shelter because I caught the smell of the privy in the air. The shelter was already full of hikers and many more had set up their tents in the few flat parcels of ground including Crocstar and Nick. Spoon and I found a relatively flat piece of ground right up against the rear of the shelter but I ended up sleeping on a root anyway. We sat around the campfire cooking dinner and conversing with the other hikers and found out two people were from North Carolina. Houdini works at the Cary REI and a guy named Braid said he lived in Durham. I would later realize that Braid was Joe Liles who’s blog was passed on to me by my friend Lauren a former students from the School of Science and Math. Here is a snippet from his blog:
“More hikers kept piling in including Spoon and Hazard, two young “maniac” hikers from Raleigh, NC. We hit it off just great. The lean-to was surrounded by tents for the overflow crowd. We had a campfire that night. Just as everyone was turning in for the night, I pulled out my harmonica and entertained everyone with the “I am a Hiker” song.”
Spoon joined in on the chorus and we all jammed out to Braid’s original song and then went to bed. It was already starting to get really cold so I had a feeling tomorrow morning was going to be a frigid one.
