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Maine SoBo trip report rated G

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    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      Video clips will still upload


      Sorry. Don't have any. This is all Coach's fault. He demanded I put up pictures. Perhaps I have overloaded the system.
      well you could make a video with your pics, post on youtube and then paste it in here.


      simple as 1,2,3,

      4,5,6,7,8,9,etc.




      Hmmm. Am I young enough to be taught anything? I am not sure.


      You are not unlike Charles Dickens. We are glad we don't have to wait for the next installment to arrive by sailing ship from England. Jolly good entertainment.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      Video clips will still upload


      Sorry. Don't have any. This is all Coach's fault. He demanded I put up pictures. Perhaps I have overloaded the system.


      Well I'm very glad and appreciative that you have posted pictures of your trip. They really speak to my soul, as well as reducing some of the stress I am feeling from trying to get Rose Bowl tickets.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      July 15

      Today was another beautiful day. The walking was getting more aggressive. A lot of planning went into this trip. A few errors were made. Going south was not one of them. We were out of shape. The southern half would have killed us had we started there.

      My hiking partner's feet were still killing him. I let him head up the Chairback Range ahead of me. We were to meet at Chairback Gap Lean-to if I did not overtake him 1st. Elevation profiles, maps, and signs in this area seemed to be a bit off. the 1st part look steep on paper, but did not seem so in person. Regardless, I was sure I would catch Ellie Luggah before the 1st plateau.
      I did not.

      I did see a fisher. For those who have not seen a fisher, imagine an animal that is fast enough to catch a squirrel and tough enough to kill a porcupine. This thing is a souped up black weasel. It is a ghost of the woods. They are very common, but seldom seen. This was only the 3rd one I could recall seeing that was not in one of my traps from when I was a teenager. It is a beautiful and graceful animal that I am happy to never kill again.

      The 1st rise to the top of Chairback Mountain is a rock scramble similar to many portions of the Hunt Trail. I turned around at about 3/4 the way up this climb to enjoy the view. As my eyes moved from the horizon to the steep boulder slide below, I saw a disturbing thing. I saw a water bottle perched on top of a large boulder that looked like my hiking partner's. I debated for about 5 minutes if I should climb back down. In the end I moved on.

      When I arrived at Chairback Gap Lean-to, my partner was not there. I started texting him frantically. A NoBo arrived shortly. He described a person that could have been my partner that he passed just moments before. I scurried up over Columbus as fast as I could to see if it was him. I questioned 2 more NoBo's. I was half running at this point. As I reached the top of Columbus Mountain, text messages started coming back. My partner had taken the Blue Blaze to East Chairback Pond. I had barely missed him as he took this detour. His choice was reasonable. We were taking many Blue Blazes. I told him I was low on water and would meet him at brook between Third Mountain and Columbus Mountain.

      We had a happy reunion at the brook. It was agreed to not separate as much and to have more frequent meetings. I moved faster on the ups and he went faster on the downs. We eventually got into a rhythm where we were passing each other often. We hiked together until 4th Mountain. That is where I lost him until the bog on the other side.

      4th Mountain sucked. I went up over that thing without stopping, but cursing it the whole way. By the elevation profiles, the 1st hill of the day should of been harder. It was not even close. I did not meet another up like this until Hall Mountain. The bog on the other side was full of Pitcher Plants. I lingered there for about a half hour until we met again. There we agreed to meet and stop at Cloud Pond.

      By the time I got to Cloud Pond, I was exhausted. As I walked between several tents that were already setup, I was asked if I needed help. Yes, I said, show me the quickest was into the pond. I was directed to continue ahead and go right in. I dropped my pack, stripped a bit, strolled in. A little advice for those visiting Cloud Pond: Do not dive into it! There are huge hidden boulders everywhere. It was my habit to dive into ponds. I was too tired and walked into this one and discovered the rocks.

      In a bit, my partner arrived. We pitched shelters and discussed the day. After talking with many of the NoBo's we decided to stealth camp at Little Wilson Stream the next day. A mother/son hiking team was particularly entertaining. I described our experiences going over the last 2 ranges. I asked them both at once if we were biting off more than we could chew. The son said, oh yes. The mother blurted an emphatic NO! She was emphatically right. I don't fault the boy. After all we are old. We slept good that night and prepared for the down.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      July 16

      The theme for today was down. Yesterday was 11.7 miles of mostly ups. Today would be 12.6 miles of mostly downs. I have meniscus issues in my right leg. The downs of today started a series of leg issues for me that would last most of the rest of my Maine walk.

      Just after cresting Barren Mountain, we entered a section of fir trees. As I walked just behind my partner I heard a sound that stopped me in my tracks. It sounded like a chickadee with a cold. Maine is littered with Black-capped Chickadees. But there is another chickadee that lives here that I have never seen. I knew instantly that there were Brown-capped Chickadees in these trees. I tried in vain for 20 minutes to get a picture of one. They were all around me, but the contrast of the firs against the sky would not allow a good photo. I was glad to see them though.

      I caught up with my partner at the Barren Ledges. The views from the ledges were spectacular. I imagine many miss these views if the weather was not good. We had no such hindrances. The weather was good every day through the 100-mile Wilderness. We "wasted" quite a bit of time on these views.

      Next was a couple mile long down. A little over half way down, we met a trail crew that appeared to be made up of all women. There might have been some men there, but I saw none. They were moving large rocks to create a stairway. One of the workers asked us to be careful. I said I would go around because I stunk. What appeared to be the leader said not to worry and that they stunk too. This started a small debate over who stunk more. Finally, seeing I could not win, I said "Sounds like someone wants a hug". This was enough for my sane partner. He lowered his head and made for the nearby Long Pond Stream Lean-to. I sheepishly followed.

      I do not recall which stream or brook it was that we swam in at the base of this long hill, but they had great bathtubs. We swam in so many of these that we started calling them our jacuzzi. The cold water was hard to get into at times, but it was a life saver for my legs.

      We climbed the next hill and walked past Wilson Valley Lean-To. After another bath in Big Wilson Stream, we climbed over our last hill to Little Wilson Stream. This stream looked like it should be full of trout. Maybe it is. I could find none. I grew up fishing for trout in Maine. After the 100-mile Wilderness, I felt like I did not know how to catch a fish.

      We made another campfire and set up our shelters. Just as we finished eating a NoBo couple arrived. Some here may recognize the names of Zippy and Diddo. They are a very upbeat couple. I asked Diddo if her name meant that she was Zippy too. She laughed but did not really explain the meaning. They summitted Katahdin just a few days later.

      Tomorrow would mean an easy 7 mile walk to Monson. Our packs were getting lighter. They were not getting light. That would happen in Monson. Monson would mean a new tent, resupplies, and a zero on the 18th.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      Trillium wrote:

      Why did you trap the fishers? For the meat, for the fur, for a bounty? or were you trapping something else and the fishers just happened to be caught? Just curious.


      In 1979 a good female fisher would fetch $180 and a male about $150. I killed animals for money. I grew up doing it and did not think ill of it. I am not opposed to those who do it still. I just like them more alive than stretched on a board these days.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      July 15
      show me the quickest was into the pond. I was directed to continue ahead and go right in. I dropped my pack, stripped a bit, strolled in. A little advice for those visiting Cloud Pond: Do not dive into it! There are huge hidden boulders everywhere. It was my habit to dive into ponds. I was too tired and walked into this one and discovered the rocks.


      THANK GOODNESS that you did not dive in!

      As a former Red Cross certified Lifeguard Instructor, I cannot stress strongly enough that no one should ever dive into water unless they are fully aware of what the depth is and if there are any obstructions!!!!!!!!!!!

      PLEASE be positive that water depth is a minimum of 7 feet and that there are no obstructions on the bottom before you dive in. Failure to do so can lead to paralyzation, closed head injury or death.

      I sincerely hope that you will all heed the above and urge you to teach your children and grandchildren that they should carefully check water depth and possibility of obstruction before diving into water. It's been about 8 yrs since I have taught a Lifeguard Training class but the stats at that time showed that males aged 15-24 were most at risk to engage in diving into too shallow water or water with obstructions and sustaining a spinal injury. When I was in 8th grade, one of the boys dove into a river to save one of the girls, hit his head on a rock and died. Total shock to all of us. I personally know another young man who dove into the shallow end of a pool and ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I had numerous documented reports of spinal injuries and paralysis due to same from diving into too shallow water, including competitive swimmers.

      So, please, take care before diving and ensure that your loved ones know to take care as well. Thank you.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      Trillium wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      July 15
      show me the quickest was into the pond. I was directed to continue ahead and go right in. I dropped my pack, stripped a bit, strolled in. A little advice for those visiting Cloud Pond: Do not dive into it! There are huge hidden boulders everywhere. It was my habit to dive into ponds. I was too tired and walked into this one and discovered the rocks.


      THANK GOODNESS that you did not dive in!

      As a former Red Cross certified Lifeguard Instructor, I cannot stress strongly enough that no one should ever dive into water unless they are fully aware of what the depth is and if there are any obstructions!!!!!!!!!!!

      PLEASE be positive that water depth is a minimum of 7 feet and that there are no obstructions on the bottom before you dive in. Failure to do so can lead to paralyzation, closed head injury or death.

      I sincerely hope that you will all heed the above and urge you to teach your children and grandchildren that they should carefully check water depth and possibility of obstruction before diving into water. It's been about 8 yrs since I have taught a Lifeguard Training class but the stats at that time showed that males aged 15-24 were most at risk to engage in diving into too shallow water or water with obstructions and sustaining a spinal injury. When I was in 8th grade, one of the boys dove into a river to save one of the girls, hit his head on a rock and died. Total shock to all of us. I personally know another young man who dove into the shallow end of a pool and ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I had numerous documented reports of spinal injuries and paralysis due to same from diving into too shallow water, including competitive swimmers.

      So, please, take care before diving and ensure that your loved ones know to take care as well. Thank you.


      Thanks - that's sobering information and a good reminder for all of us .Last year I hiked the AT in Connecticut. I arrived at the Housatonic River falls outside of Salisbury just in time to witness the evacuation of a teenage boy who had been playing around at the top of the dam in the middle of the river. He either dived or fell, no one was sure. I never heard what happened to him, although I asked around town the next day. One of the locals said "Oh, at least one or two kids get hurt every year jumping off the dam". yikes.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      TrainWreck wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      I can tell you about our 8 day trip to the Whites that involved more mileage in blue blazes to get to the AT than actual AT miles 2.gif


      Will do. It might be after Christmas though. I have to pay for a licensed version of Photoshop since my trial ran out.


      I will be waiting with silly comments and much thanks.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      I can tell you about our 8 day trip to the Whites that involved more mileage in blue blazes to get to the AT than actual AT miles 2.gif


      Will do. It might be after Christmas though. I have to pay for a licensed version of Photoshop since my trial ran out.


      I will be waiting with silly comments and much thanks.


      Don't expect a comprehensive report on the Whites. We only managed to cover the AT between Zealand Falls Hut north to the summit of Mount Washington. I can give much better details on pubs and gift shops in the area. We also got to hang out with Oz, Army Ant, and Invisible Man quite a bit.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      TrainWreck wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      I can tell you about our 8 day trip to the Whites that involved more mileage in blue blazes to get to the AT than actual AT miles 2.gif


      Will do. It might be after Christmas though. I have to pay for a licensed version of Photoshop since my trial ran out.


      I will be waiting with silly comments and much thanks.


      Don't expect a comprehensive report on the Whites. We only managed to cover the AT between Zealand Falls Hut north to the summit of Mount Washington. I can give much better details on pubs and gift shops in the area. We also got to hang out with Oz, Army Ant, and Invisible Man quite a bit.

      Make stuff up. I want a good report.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      I can tell you about our 8 day trip to the Whites that involved more mileage in blue blazes to get to the AT than actual AT miles 2.gif


      Will do. It might be after Christmas though. I have to pay for a licensed version of Photoshop since my trial ran out.


      I will be waiting with silly comments and much thanks.


      Don't expect a comprehensive report on the Whites. We only managed to cover the AT between Zealand Falls Hut north to the summit of Mount Washington. I can give much better details on pubs and gift shops in the area. We also got to hang out with Oz, Army Ant, and Invisible Man quite a bit.

      Make stuff up. I want a good report.


      Ok. We actually power hiked from Moosilauke all the way to Gorham in 2 days. Then we spent the remaining week lolling around town and annoying the mooses.

    • Maine SoBo trip report

      TrainWreck wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      TrainWreck wrote:

      I can tell you about our 8 day trip to the Whites that involved more mileage in blue blazes to get to the AT than actual AT miles 2.gif


      Will do. It might be after Christmas though. I have to pay for a licensed version of Photoshop since my trial ran out.


      I will be waiting with silly comments and much thanks.


      Don't expect a comprehensive report on the Whites. We only managed to cover the AT between Zealand Falls Hut north to the summit of Mount Washington. I can give much better details on pubs and gift shops in the area. We also got to hang out with Oz, Army Ant, and Invisible Man quite a bit.

      Make stuff up. I want a good report.


      Ok. We actually power hiked from Moosilauke all the way to Gorham in 2 days. Then we spent the remaining week lolling around town and annoying the mooses.


      That is a good start. Now let's have long drawn out details, like how you rode the moose and stuff like that. But get your own thread. no thread drift allowed in here.

      How 'bout them Patriots?
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.