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Maine SoBo trip report rated G

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    • Maine SoBo trip report

      Per TW aka L in R request, the following thread will contain a summary of my walk across Maine. It won't have many pictures (sorry RS and ATM). It will contain things I learned along the way and hopefully a few helpful tidbits. I am certain it will have at least 40% thread drift. That should be about right for a straight forward topic.

      Day 1 is in next post........
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      Per TW aka L in R request, the following thread will contain a summary of my walk across Maine. It won't have many pictures (sorry RS and ATM). It will contain things I learned along the way and hopefully a few helpful tidbits. I am certain it will have at least 40% thread drift. That should be about right for a straight forward topic.

      Day 1 is in next post........


      BB....we NEED pics.... not for confirmation.....but to get us thru our day of no hiking!
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      Day one:

      Our support group (Ellie Luggah's wife and my wife) drove us to KSC. Ellie Luggah is my brother-in-law.

      It should be noted that reservations are required to camp in Baxter. I prefer as far up the Hunt trail as possible and off the stream. The stream is loud. If you want to get in, reserve early. If you want your pick, reserve earlier.

      We arrived about 10 AM. Technically that is earlier than you are supposed to arrive, but sites clear out early.

      The 4 of us took in the Owl. If you are driving to Baxter and plan to head south, it may be a good idea to do a gratuitous hike the 1st day and start the real stuff the next full day.

      I have heard a lot of complaints about the rangers in Baxter. I have no clue which ranger they are talking about. I found them all top notch people. At the gate, the ranger asked us of our plans and gave good advice tailored to those plans. We told him that on day 2 we were driving to Roaring Brook and taking in a big loop into the pond and over Hamlin and back to KSC. He told us to make sure we pass the gate before 7 AM or we might get shut out. I do not fully understand why. It does not matter. It was great advice that saved day 2. If we got shut out, day 2 would have been messed up.

      We had great weather on day 1 (while hiking). It poured at night. This would be a common thing on our walk. It rained only 1 day in the entire month of our walk. It rained several nights.

      The Owl is beautiful and worth a side walk. The camp sites we plenty big, the rangers friendly, and the company the best.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      CoachLou wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      Per TW aka L in R request, the following thread will contain a summary of my walk across Maine. It won't have many pictures (sorry RS and ATM). It will contain things I learned along the way and hopefully a few helpful tidbits. I am certain it will have at least 40% thread drift. That should be about right for a straight forward topic.

      Day 1 is in next post........


      BB....we NEED pics.... not for confirmation.....but to get us thru our day of no hiking!


      I will consider. I will put up some. My pictures are huge. I am also disappointed in how they don't fully capture the beauty.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      Day 2 (of Baxter):

      We drove to Roaring Brook at about 6:30 AM after breakfast. The girls walked around a few ponds in search of moose (none seen). Ellie Luggah and I hiked into Chimney Pond, across the cut off to Hamlin, up over Hamlin, across the Saddle, up over Baxter, and down the Hunt to KSC. This was about 12.4 miles in 10 hours. The scenery kept slowing us down. Stinking beauty. It always gets in the way of making time.

      This day was July 7. The black flies were not bad (for Mainers). I heard a lot of complaints about them, but only noticed them on the Saddle. The wind blows pretty good up there. Any fly that can navigate that wind deserves to bite me.

      Take plenty of water if you plan to do such a loop and drink it. It is so easy to not drink enough. We stocked up at Chimney Pond and did not have another good source until KS Falls. The tableland had a spring, but it was mostly puddles.

      We picked this loop because we did not want to just go up and down the Hunt. I highly recommend Hamlin. It also allowed us to check off another 4000' hill. We ended up doing 12 of the 14 in Maine.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      Ohhhhh.... Thanks for sharing!! Baxter is quickly becoming a favorite playground of mine! Will make sure to have a bowl of popcorn ready for the next installment of this cliffhanger series. :lol:

      One other comment - I totally agree. I have only experienced awesome rangers at Baxter. People who have been more than courteous and seem to be enjoying their jobs. I am still puzzled by comments I have read (in the past) regarding the rangers. *shrugging shoulders* Maybe I am doing it wrong...
      There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      Day 3 (really kinda Day 1 of any serious AT hiking):

      It poured like crazy the night before we walked out of Baxter State Park. This was probably the hardest rain of the entire trip. The tent I shared with my wife that night leaked. I got about an hour sleep at the most.

      That morning we had a huge breakfast and said our goodbyes until Monson. We were to meet up with the girls there on the 17th, take a zero, and resupply. My pack weighed 41 lbs. My hiking partner was not sure of his pack's weight, but it was well over 50 lbs. He teased me because I was a gram weenie. I can tell you I was not enough of a weenie and things would change in Monson.

      That day we walked 13,4 miles to Hurd Brook Lean-to. We took in every vista and Blue Blaze within reason. I understand that serious AT hikers don't do that. That is why I will never be a serious AT hiker. I am out there to see the beauty and not just to get from point a to point b. We took our time and enjoyed the trip.

      The black flies were thicker and would remain so for several days. It was a bit comical watching hikers from away dealing with these critters. They all complained of running low or out of bug spray. I did not use mine and left it behind in Monson. The best defense against these things is to walk a bit faster and swat when not moving. They only bugged me when they got in my eyes, which was often.

      There is a small store at the Abol Bridge. It isn't much, but doesn't need to be for the area. It has plenty of ice-cream and we indulged. While at the store another SoBo asked where we were supposed to drop off the yellow cards from Baxter State Park that showed we left. I had no clue and did not even know we were supposed to do such a thing. I guess you are supposed to get one from the ranger when you are walking out of the park so they know you left. Hopefully they are not still looking for me. I dropped the ball there, but made up for it by signing at every AT box.

      I hung my bear bag the PCT method and did so wherever I was able. Most of the time I was the only one to do so. That's fine. I don't mind being different. I also stayed away from the rat traps (lean-tos). I am amazed at what pigs hikers can be. It is unbelievable what they leave behind. Most of it collects in the rodent stations. I pitched my tarp and slept good.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      I will lose track of what day it is, so I will state date instead from now on.

      July 9

      Walked 12 miles to Rainbow Lean-to. We seemed to be traveling at the same rate as 5 other hikers. Us old farts are taking in Blue Blazes too (thus the mileage variances).

      For those that worry about appetite issues on a long walk, don't. I had very little hunger for the 1st few days. I forced myself to eat as best I could and gave away food to the Yogis. It is normal. I worried about it at the time, but my hunger came eventually.

      I tried to fish along the way. I caught a few here and there. My starry dreams of trout flying out of streams was a fantasy. The fishing gear was dead weight. I will never lug it again on a long walk.

      My tarp bivy combo turned out to be a bad choice. Many people told me it would be. But hey, what do they know. Obviously more than I. I slept on top on my bivy and braved the bugs. Good thing I am from Maine. The local bugs only eat people from away.

      I saw a moose at very close range. It was in one of those spots where you are watching the boards squish into the peat. I heard a crash crash crash. Looking up all I could see was alders trashing like a dust devil was going through them. Eventually the swaying stopped. I stared for minutes at what I thought was a boulder in the area where the trees stopped moving. Then the boulder walked behind a larger and real boulder. I was staring at a moose 30' away and could not see it because of the poor lighting. It was the only moose I saw on the month walk.

      A few tips. the north east section of the Rainbow Lake has the best swimming of the entire AT in Maine. I swam every time I had a chance. The south western trail along Rainbow Lake is very poorly marked. Stay on the trail. It is the real one, even though there are few blazes. At the south end of Rainbow Lake there is a Blue Blaze to a view of Baxter from the dam. Don't miss it. It is only a couple hundred yards. You find these things if you look around and do more than walk to the end.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      hikerboy wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      milkman wrote:

      This is good stuff.


      Stay tuned. We are walking to Nahmakanta Campsite tomorrow and there is an encounter with 13 young women at a lake.

      did they try to sell you cookies?




      Display Spoiler
      Stop looking at these. You will have to wait for tomorrows installment
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      milkman wrote:

      This is good stuff.


      Stay tuned. We are walking to Nahmakanta Campsite tomorrow and there is an encounter with 13 young women at a lake.

      did they try to sell you cookies?




      Display Spoiler
      Stop looking at these. You will have to wait for tomorrows installment



      I was gonna write "I peeked" don't tell Santa, but was afraid someone would say..."You peaked in grade school" so i didn't post it.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      July 10 (13.9 miles)

      This was a tough day. The terrain was not bad, but my hiking partner's feet were in trouble. Everyone's feet are different. I cannot wear anything with high ankle support. He needs that support. He was wearing expensive Asolo hiking boots. I was wearing cheap New Balance trail runners. But that was not the real issue. I was using Bodyglide Skin. He was using moleskin. I used zero moleskin on my entire walk and had no blisters. I cannot rave enough about this stuff.

      The other problem was we were carrying too much stuff. If I was eating, the pack weight would have been coming down. However, I was not. His pack was just painful to look at. My brother-in-law does not complain at all, but it was hard to watch him carry that thing. He adjusted his pack about 10 times. It wasn't until we got to Monson that he made peace with the load on his back. Tease if you want. I will do anything within reason to save a half a gram. The hike is just painful when you carry too much.

      At about 10 miles in we came to the north west shore of Nahmakanta Lake. We went for a swim. This spot has a nice stealth campsite. Given our issues, we decided to set up camp. I had my shelter up when giggling voices seemed to surround us out of nowhere. Girls in their 20's started pouring in. They were running up and down the beach yelling to each other about where to set up camp. One girl noticed our spot and proclaimed there was plenty of room over here.

      Here is where I will lose the reader. Ellie Luggah and I are happily married. If I was single and looking there would have been a different story. But we had no interest in sharing a lake with 13 giggling girls. No words were spoken. We both started packing. As we made our way back to the trail, we noticed several girls that were almost naked by now. Those ones did not know we were there. I looked at my hiking partner and said, "You are a good man."

      We agreed to push on to Nahmakanta Campsite. It ain't much of a spot. The lake was better. I arrived several minutes before my partner at a stealth site that was occupied by a hurting Sobo that could not go on. He was going to rest there and get to the nearest road in the morning. As I assessed his condition my partner arrived. I told him the situation and stated that I did not believe this was the spot. He said he was not going to push on only to double back. I said I would run ahead and look. I did just that. I ran a few hundred yards to the real spot and ran back to get him.

      I caught a couple fish and tossed them back. I had hopes of eating trout, but could not catch them fast enough for my partner. We ate lasagna instead. It tasted good. This was a sign of things to come.

      That night I hung my bear bag. My partners rope got stuck on a branch. Given my "let me do it" attitude, I grabbed the rope. I pulled hard. It came down. When it did, it sounded like a gun going off. The caribiner hit me in the chest and knocked me over. If the trajectory was an inch or two higher, it would have hit me in the face. Lesson learned. I hung the bag. We made a fire, talked, and went to bed.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      LoboSolo wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      Tomorrow a review of the best AT campsite in Maine.

      Display Spoiler
      RS! Stop peeking.

      jo mary lake


      Oops........ Yes. It is on Jo Mary Lake. This "you are wrong, I guess you were right crap" with me has to stop. I will describe it tomorrow though. I talked with a lot of hikers. Most skip this spot. If it is possible, it should not be skipped.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      BirdBrain wrote:

      LoboSolo wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      Tomorrow a review of the best AT campsite in Maine.

      Display Spoiler
      RS! Stop peeking.

      jo mary lake


      Oops........ Yes. It is on Jo Mary Lake. This "you are wrong, I guess you were right crap" with me has to stop. I will describe it tomorrow though. I talked with a lot of hikers. Most skip this spot. If it is possible, it should not be skipped.
      most hikers tend to only stay at shelters. they don't think outside the box
    • Maine SoBo trip report

      LoboSolo wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      LoboSolo wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      Tomorrow a review of the best AT campsite in Maine.

      Display Spoiler
      RS! Stop peeking.

      jo mary lake


      Oops........ Yes. It is on Jo Mary Lake. This "you are wrong, I guess you were right crap" with me has to stop. I will describe it tomorrow though. I talked with a lot of hikers. Most skip this spot. If it is possible, it should not be skipped.
      most hikers tend to only stay at shelters. they don't think outside the box


      Some hikers are strange things. I would be happy if there were no shelters. It would weed out a lot of the problem hikers.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.