8/15 "88 miles to Katahin and were done"

23 hiked today, 2085.5 miles N, 88.5 miles left
Chairback Gap Lean-to

The day started out with rain. I pulled on my jacket and packed everything else away to keep it dry and set out. The rain wasn't so bad though and I stayed mostly dry minus from the waist down where I brushed the bushes and dragged my feet through grasses.

Below the dark wet sky was numerous ponds to keep me entertained. Their water was dark due to the over cast skys with the rough texture from the mist. In one I got a look at my first real live loon.

The weather cleared up quickly and by 9 AM it was partly cloudy. That is when I caught my view of what I believe is the most beautiful fall thus far on this hike, Little Wilson Falls. It is hard to describe but I will try. The falls are in a deep cleft in the earth. The ground was made largely of blocky stone from which a sudden drop and deep gorge had been chiseled. The falls themselves are a staircase with the water tumbling over uneven steps down into the gorge. To either side of the gorge was a nearly flat vertical bank with tree and bushes clinging on to the tiniest of cracks and ledges.

After that I got to Wilson Valley Shelter where a great crime has been perpetrated on me. Being that I have spent the last 5 months without my music collection songs get stuck in my head very easily. Hellbender, whom I had meet back in NC, has been hiking ahead of me for the last few months. Today she journaled a song into the register which is sure to drive me up the wall for the next week. It sung to the tune of a rather famous song that need not be mentioned and here it goes;

104 miles to Katahdin and were done
104 miles to Katahdin
We hike a mile, then we smile
103 miles to Katahdin and were done

The hike was pretty uneventful most of the way to Barren Mountain summit. It rained a bit and that is about it. At Barren summit I came across a rickety fire-tower which had no stairs to climb and a friendly couple who were headed southbound. We chatted for a while and I took a peek from the fire-tower but though the rain had stopped the clouds were still around so I did not see much.

For some reason the last 7 miles of the day really dragged on. There was a few small mountains to climb and I passed through the small but gorgeous Forth Mountain Bog. Normally I would expect to cover this distance in a 3 hours but it took more like 5. Fortunately I hiked pretty fast for the first half of the day so I still made it well before dark. The mountains gave some nice views, when the clouds cleared, of the nearby ponds below.

At the shelter I am spending another night with Green Hornet and Dent. I got in with a hour of sunlight left so I am having a pretty relaxing night of setting up. It has been a long hard day so I think I will sleep well tonight.

One last note, I am finding the 100 mile wilderness rather disappointing. Not that it is not beautiful but so far I crossed at least half a dozen active roads and seen two cars driving through just as I was crossing a road. I just doesn't seem very wilderness like.