Day 148: Loons and Lakes

Hiked 17.0 miles, tenting at Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to.

The hardest climb today was right off the bat.  The climb up Old Blue Mountain was steep but at least it was a lot more boulder scramble rather than the slab climbing we have been doing recently.  I am curious what the ratio of rebar staples and ladders to miles of trail in Maine is, I certainly have seen a lot of them.

Looking back at the notch on the way up Old Blue

9 AM photo

On top of Old Blue Mountain

When I reached the top for once I didn't immediately descend all the way back to the bottom.  Today I got to walk a long ridgeline all day.  I was web walking the entire morning so I was ecstatic to finally see a southbounder shortly before lunch.  The spiders here are very industrious though.  I saw about 5 southbounders today and each time about a half hour after passing I started clearing webs again.  Someone needs to teach them that if they just built higher or a foot off the trail they wouldn't have to keep rebuilding their webs all the time.

Hiking along the top of Bemis Mountain

These grouse are everywhere

Much of today was walking in sub-alpine type terrain.  That is, a rocky path amidst short stubby trees and lichen.  This meant good views all day, but unfortunately it was too hazy to see very far.  The thing that I love about Maine though is that it is the only state so far where lakes and ponds are everywhere in the landscape.  Not only am I constantly walking around huge lakes on the trail, but they are also dominant in the vistas I get from mountain tops.

This is what I mean when I say Maine is a lot of slab climbing

Crossing Rt. 17, the lakes in Maine are spectacular

Left of the above photo

I got a soda from some trail magic partway through the day.  Then later as I was crossing Rt 17 I found another stash left by the same person, so I packed a soda out for dinner.  It is my first Maine trail magic I think!

The shelter I am tenting next to is right on a huge pond.  It is such a large pond that it actually has waves that are breaking on the shore.  About .3 away from the shelter is a sandy beach and I walked back to it after setting my stuff down to go take a swim.  The water felt amazing.  I walked out quite a ways and it stayed shallow the whole way so I couldn't swim, but it was deep enough to lie down in.  I didn't stay in super long though since I saw a fair number of leaches swimming around.

The sandy beach at Sabbath Day Pond

Sabbath Day Pond

I am the only thru hiker at the shelter tonight.  There is a group of Harvard freshman doing an orientation trip that are staying at the site and I chatted with them for a while.  As I got ready for bed I finally heard a loon cry out.  I love listening to them at sunset and have been waiting for it for all of New England, a great way to end the day!