Mile 1990.3
Spaulding Moutain Lean-To
Oh, Maine, you crazy kid. There are no bugs now! There are no bugs because it’s 40 frakking degrees!
OK, call it ‘in the 40s at night, with high winds. The wind chill last night was in the 30s, if not the 20s. I have the gear for it, but man, is it hard to de-tent in the morning.
Yesterday was rough. Oh, hell, they’re all rough. 😆 But Saddleback and the Horn with high winds were… harder than I remembered. But part of that’s the NOBO/SOBO thing. The NOBO descent down the Horn was the typical vertical tumble of treacherous boulders for a mile, but this time they were slate! I called it a day at the official tentsite before Saddleback Junior. That descent britalized my knees to Jello, and the ascent used up my courage for the day. Oh, and there was a bonus on top! A trick bog with moving rocks that unexpectedly swallowed your feet to mid-calf!
So I had black, muddy, wet socks and shoes. Camp shoes would have been great for that, except there was nothing to indicate it was a bog. Looked like a little puddle.
I’m eeking out tiny miles by listening to pods for like… 4 hours a day. The pods are using my battery like crazy, and the short days and the cold are using my food. I won’t have enough food to get to my next resupply, so I had to do a little tapdancing. I’ll be at the Hostel of Maine Monday and Tuesday nights. Spendy, but there are only a couple of yowns left. Schedule-wise, who knows?I think I’m OK, but I’m just concentrating on one day at a time. I think Icoyld maybe have gotten thete Sunday, but tomorrow are the Crockers, or one of them—more high above-treeline bullshit. “The AT in Maine: An unrelenting procession of bullshit.” 😄
Shelter’s crowded! A college group, a lot of weekenders. Maybe some thrus, since I’m firmly in the bubble now. Dogs. Three dogs. Dogs are good.
Karma AT2019 
The old three-dog night! Love ‘em and hate ‘em at the same time. I love holding opposing thoughts in my head. Now that crew week is over, it cooling here just a tad. Looking forward to hiking with Doctor Ridgerunner One over the weekend. We’ll be celebrating your victory!
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Linda!!!!!! You are scaring the crap out of me!!! I don’t remember any of this struggle in your last thru. Of course, I probably didn’t know that you were talking about! I had a pretty bad fall on my last hike. Head to rock. Im very ok. I was lucky. It happened on an east climb. I got stupid tired. I will be smarter next hike. Sept 3rd Jennie is coming’s with me to finish a 50 mile section in VA. I’m about 2/3 through VA. I’m going up to do Mass before the end of September.Then back to to finish VA in Oct and Nov. Maybe i will stop then for Dec and Jan. Then head South again. At least the is the plan. I will talk to you more about this when you are back. I need input from a normal (I use that term a little loosely) friend and hiker. I have really gotten some idiot advice on the trail. I’m asking no more questions out there. I know me and you know me. Hikers are like alcoholics. Don’t ask them for an opinion. They LOVE that question too much! Now back to you…
I am so impressed by you and your commitment. It has to be exceptionally difficult to see your mileage drop this late in your hike, Even though you know in your head that the terrain is totally different. The VA stuff i am going through is nothing that slows you down, unless you are not fit enough. Plus, there ate long stretches of relatively flat, packed dirt where you can fly. No wonder PA freaks people out. Sounds like New England is another big jump in the difficulty scale. I am going to go ups there before I get much older. Age is a consideration now. Oops, back to you.
Keep plugging KARMA!!! You are accomplishing one of the toughest feats a person can do. You are going to feel so good when it is over and it is getting close to OVER. You can do this. YOU ARE DOING IT. Just, as you know, A DAY AT A TIME. Before you know it, it will be over. Panera coffee on ME!!!!!!
GO KARMA!!!!!!
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Wow! The head-rock thing sounds scary! Glad you’re OK!
Yeah… everybody’s mileage drops (proportionally) in NH and ME. Not only is it the hardest terrain, but your body’s digesting itself—no body fat, burning muscle, cartilage, everything. I’m just slower than the younger hikers because of arthritic knees (no strength, and no bend), and poor eyesight. But I’ll get there. ODAAT, like you said. 🙂
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