Rain was forecast starting in the evening. Beast and I both really dislike hiking in the rain if it can be avoided. West Carry Pond shelter sounded like a good target, it’s 13 miles away so we can get there before the rain starts, but also not a huge rush. It leaves us with a short day tomorrow in the rain (rain is forecast to continue most of the day tomorrow) and puts us in a good position to hike to the Kennebec river crossing the next day, which can only be crossed by water taxi between 9 AM and 2 PM. Also Harrison’s Pierce Pond camp is supposed to have an amazing breakfast.
I set out a little later than usual, the morning was fantastic, it was a cool sunny day. I stopped at all the view points on Little Bigelow ridge for some quick breaks. I chatted with a couple SOBO hikers. The gain for the day was less than half of the past couple days, so it wasn’t difficult, but it wasn’t easy either.
When I got to the bottom I took swim in Flagstaff lake, then dried in the sun. It was getting cloudier, but it was almost hard to believe it was going to rain later, just a beautiful day!
After leaving the lake the AT turned into the famous green tunnel, went up a large hill and back down, all completely treed in. I missed the views, but the hiking is so much easier that it’s a welcome change.
I stopped and talked to a couple southbound section hikers who were complaining that this section is too boring, so I told them not to worry it’s about to get a whole lot more interesting! It got me thinking, I’m glad for the easier hiking now, but I imagine that will get old fast. It makes me think about bailing before the hundred miles wilderness again, timing is an issue, and there’s no point if I’m not having fun, but for now I’ll just keep seeing where the trail takes me.
I got to the lean to around 4 and set up my hammock then went down to filter water and as I was filtering Beast arrived, just as the rain started. We ate dinner in the lean to and then I retired to my hammock to read for a bit, before going to bed, nice and dry… at least for today.
