Day 151: End In Sight

Hiked 10.7 miles, tenting at Poplar Ridge shelter.

After another round of excellent breakfast from Lori, Shadow Wolf, Crazy Legs and I all got ready to head out.  The sky was clear and looking like a great day to climb Saddleback Mountain.  The only thing I had to do first was get a ride back to the trail.  Hitching out was tough because not many people are going that way and also a lot of the people driving through are tourists.  I finally managed to talk myself into a ride from a passerby.

9 AM photo

The Piazza Lean-to has a famous privy...

...Because it is a two-seater with a cribbage board in between

I ran into Tallulah and Novi at the trailhead. They were just getting into town and the rest of their group was shortly behind them.  I took off down the trail after chatting with them for a while.  Piazza Lean-to was only a few miles in and this was my first stop.

The start of "The Caves"

Looking down after climbing a section of "The Caves"

Lots of squeezing through on your stomach, lots of fun!

Piazza Rock

See the person in the bottom left?  It was a pretty big rock!

Piazza Rock from the other side

There are two side trails stemming out from Piazza Lean-to, one to Piazza Rock and the other to The Caves.  I wanted to explore both, so I dropped my pack at the lean-to and set out.  The Caves is a blue-blazed trail that winds over and through a series of caves formed by large boulders.  I was glad I dropped my pack as there were a number of places that were only just barely wide enough for me to crawl through on my stomach.  It was a great deal of fun.  Piazza Rock was a little less exciting.  It is basically a huge slab, laid on its side and looks strikingly like Pride Rock from the Lion King.  I climbed up on top hoping at least for a view, but no such luck.

Ethel Pond

Right of the above photo

Looking back as I climb Saddleback

Still higher on the way up Saddleback,
Mount Washington is still very visible, can you pick it out?

When I went to grab my pack I discovered Heavyweight was just starting to wake up in the shelter.  It was now 11 am.  Very rarely do you find thru hikers asleep this late.  I guess this is the norm for him though, he just hikes really fast during the afternoon to get his miles in.  To each his own I guess.

It was a long steady climb up Saddleback.  It was apparent very quickly I was not going to get to the top anywhere close to lunch time and I came upon a great spot to take a break at Ethel Pond, so I stopped there and relaxed and ate.  There was a rowboat sitting there and I was sorely tempted to paddle it out into the pond. 

Looking south from the top of Saddleback

Looking northeast from Saddleback, the Horn is next with Saddleback Junior down and to the right,
behind it is Spaulding, Sugarloaf and the Crockers,
behind that is the Bigelows and way in the distance is Katahdin!

Looking southwest towards Rangely

Looking east from the top of Saddleback

After another few miles of climbing I reached the top of Saddleback.  The sky was crystal clear and I think the visibility was one of the best I've had on the trip!  To the south I could see Mt Washington as well as all of the mountains I had hiked from there.  To the north I could see Sugarloaf, the Crockers, the Bigelows and way, way off in the distance I could even see Katahdin!  Despite being 220 trail miles away, it is actually only about 100 miles as the crow flies, which shows you how much the trail doesn't follow a straight line.  After all these months it was crazy to finally see my end destination.  It is very rare to be able to see it from here.  Most thru hikers get their first view of it from Whitecap Mountain, 140 trail miles from here.  I feel extremely lucky to have gotten such a perfectly clear day.

180 degree panorama from the top of Saddleback

The other 180 degrees

Heavyweight eats lunch on top of Saddleback

Looking across to the horn as I begin my traverse to it

I ran into Heavyweight on top as he had passed me while I ate lunch at the pond.  Also on top was a freshman orientation group from Tufts.  In the last few days I have run into two groups from Harvard, one from Bates and now Tufts.  Apparently this is a favorite section of trail for colleges to use for this purpose.

The trail stayed above tree line for a number of miles as I climbed down the other side and then up The Horn.  With a clear day like today it was an incredibly pleasant walk with an amazing view the whole way.  

Looking up at the Horn as I begin my ascent

On top of Saddleback Junior looking back at Saddleback and The Horn

On top of Saddleback Junior looking ahead at Sugarloaf and the Crockers

 Heavyweight and I sat on top of The Horn for almost two hours, just enjoying the day.  After climbing down and then up and over Saddleback Junior I dropped back down into the trees to the next shelter.  Heavyweight decided to sleep in the lean-to and I set up my tent.  I would say that today was one of my favorites on the trail to date.  Especially with the low mileage I did today I got to really take my time and enjoy the entire day.