I managed to convince Warthog to let me sleep in a bit by snuggling up close. I would cuddle with him more often, but it’s difficult to do when you have two separate sleeping pads. I’ll scoot over to him just to have the pads split apart. During the summer we used a twin sized sheet set to hold them together. Now that we are back to our winter bags, I had to get a bit more creative. We tried putting some velcro along the sides to hold them. We put it in four spots, only one is still on. It’s enough to keep them near each other which is especially useful for our dry island technique if it rains. All that to say, if I want to cuddle (ehem – sleep in) I tend to end up laying on the tent floor in between two sleeping pads. I think it’s worth it.
Eventually Warthog got up and made breakfast. He sat at the shore of the pond we were camped at and watched a loon, just fifteen feet away, preen itself. He said the bird flipped over onto its’ back to reach its’ belly. He would dip his head into the water, shake it off, and the work on individual feathers. I wished I could have seen it, but he didn’t tell me what was happening until after he delivered breakfast.
We had a slower morning and were hitting the trail between 8:30a and 9a. The day started out easy enough. We shortened our goal mileage by about four miles because we knew today would be equally as tough as yesterday. When we got into camp last night, we both took ibuprofen. We usually try not to take meds if we don’t have to, that should tell you how sore we both were.
Within the first couple of miles we reached another river crossing. The 100 Mile Wilderness is kind of famous for these. We could have attempted to rock hop across, but it was pretty wide and the rocks were farther apart than I thought would ensure success. We decided it would be best to just take off our socks and shoes so we could ford the thing. Even though river fords are a big part of the 100 Mile Wilderness experience, when we can we try to avoid them.
After crossing the river, we continued on for a few miles. We started a gentle grade uphill, easing us into our big push for the day. Before it got steep, we arrived at the shelter where we planned to eat lunch. By now it was mid afternoon and it was time to get going. We still had four peaks to summit. The last one was called, “White Cap Mountain”. From the summit you could see Katahdin. Some say it was our first “good” view of the mountain. You could easily see the mountain, but the top of it was covered by a cloud. In just five days we would be on top of that peak. It was an incredible thought. Then I saw how far off it still was and the many miles in between us. That’s when I was really impressed with what we are doing.
This should be our last “tough day” until we hit Katahdin. We will still push big miles, but won’t have the climbing we are used to. What’s coming up next is a stretch of miles that I’ve been looking forward to this entire trip. Literally, since Georgia. It’s ridiculous, I know. Especially since we’ll blow through them in three days or so.
Tonight, we were coming into camp around 6:15p. It is at a shelter on the side of the mountains. There are tent sites around, but it’s slim pickings. Almost everything already had someone (or multiples) set up already. We found a good place right next to two other thru-hikers and their dog, “Foxy Lady”. The tent was set up just in time for the sun to set at 7p. Tonight, we are so excited, we’ll be in bed by 9p. That’s almost what time we got into camp last night. I’d call it a victory.
-ansel