Turnbill
Member
I did this Appalachian Trail hike to participate in the One Day on the AT Photo Project. I had chosen to hike and photograph the Chairback Range section of the trail in Maine.
I spotted my car at the Gulf Hagas parking area on the Katahdin Iron Works Road at 8:30 and had Keith Shaw of Shaw’s Boarding House in Monson shuttle me and Nellie around to the Bodfish Interval area to start the hike. One and a half bumpy hours later, Keith dropped me off at the end of a flooded road and told me just follow this road and I’d see the AT sign in about a mile. The road was pretty much a river for a good portion of this walk but I made it to the junction with my boots still mostly dry. The AT crosses Long Pond Stream at this point and I had been worried that, with all the rain, this could be a difficult crossing. I had been told there was a rope across the stream that I could usee to support myself, but when I arrived, all I found was a frayed and knotted stub tied to a tree.
I crossed a small side channel and saw that two women with two dogs were on the opposite shore preparing to cross the main flow. I decided to wait and watch how they made out as I took off my boots. The first woman began her crossing using a large hiking stick for support. She had chosen a narrow spot to cross, but the current was strong and the water was deep. When I saw the water rise over her waist, I knew I had to find a better spot. As both she and her dog finished their crossing, I headed upstream to see if I could find a better place. After hiking about 100 yards on loose, slippery rocks in sandals with a heavy pack, I found a spot that seemed like an easier ford. Nell and I made it across the first channel of this crossing to a large rock without a problem. The next channel was deeper, but after probing around in the water with my hiking poles, I located two or three large submerged rocks that could serve as stepping stones. At this point Nell was tired of waiting and dove in, swimming to the other bank without a problem. I followed and managed to reach the shore with only the legs of my shorts getting a bit wet.
After drying off and putting my boots back on, we continued up the trail, stopping to look at Slugundy Falls and the Long Pond Stream Lean-to. The woods were verdant and filled with warblers and other singing birds as we headed toward Barren Mtn. It was also surprisingly dry (or not as wet as you’d expect) considering it had been raining for the last 5 or 6 days. As we gained elevation, the trail became quite a tangle of roots and rocks. I’ve never had the tip of my hiking pole jam and stick between roots as many times as it did in one mile on this trail.
We reached Barren Slide at around noon and stopped to take a break. The weather was breezy and cool, though there was still more sun than clouds at this point. The views were spectacular. After a short siesta, Nell and I pushed on, reaching the summit of Barren Mtn at about 1:30. The weather was changing fast now, with more clouds than sun and a strong wind (40 mph?) that made it difficult to stand up in exposed locations on the summit. The temperature was still about the same as it had been all day – in the mid 40’s.
After a few quick photos, we continued down the trail towards Cloud Pond, where we arrived at about 3:00. At first we had the entire area to ourselves, but eventually other hikers began trickling in and by 5:00 two or three other groups had set up tents. The sun was mostly gone now and the temps were slowly falling as the wind continued to roar overhead. As I sat on my sleeping pad in the lean-to making supper, occasional showers of ice pellets rained down on the shelter’s tin roof.
At six, to Nellie’s great joy, another hiker showed up at the shelter. After a long round of throw the stick, I called Nellie back to her sleeping pad and let the guy make his supper. I was in my bag listening the wind crash through the trees above us by 7:30 as the temperature dropped to 38.
to be continued...
Day 1 Photos
I spotted my car at the Gulf Hagas parking area on the Katahdin Iron Works Road at 8:30 and had Keith Shaw of Shaw’s Boarding House in Monson shuttle me and Nellie around to the Bodfish Interval area to start the hike. One and a half bumpy hours later, Keith dropped me off at the end of a flooded road and told me just follow this road and I’d see the AT sign in about a mile. The road was pretty much a river for a good portion of this walk but I made it to the junction with my boots still mostly dry. The AT crosses Long Pond Stream at this point and I had been worried that, with all the rain, this could be a difficult crossing. I had been told there was a rope across the stream that I could usee to support myself, but when I arrived, all I found was a frayed and knotted stub tied to a tree.
I crossed a small side channel and saw that two women with two dogs were on the opposite shore preparing to cross the main flow. I decided to wait and watch how they made out as I took off my boots. The first woman began her crossing using a large hiking stick for support. She had chosen a narrow spot to cross, but the current was strong and the water was deep. When I saw the water rise over her waist, I knew I had to find a better spot. As both she and her dog finished their crossing, I headed upstream to see if I could find a better place. After hiking about 100 yards on loose, slippery rocks in sandals with a heavy pack, I found a spot that seemed like an easier ford. Nell and I made it across the first channel of this crossing to a large rock without a problem. The next channel was deeper, but after probing around in the water with my hiking poles, I located two or three large submerged rocks that could serve as stepping stones. At this point Nell was tired of waiting and dove in, swimming to the other bank without a problem. I followed and managed to reach the shore with only the legs of my shorts getting a bit wet.
After drying off and putting my boots back on, we continued up the trail, stopping to look at Slugundy Falls and the Long Pond Stream Lean-to. The woods were verdant and filled with warblers and other singing birds as we headed toward Barren Mtn. It was also surprisingly dry (or not as wet as you’d expect) considering it had been raining for the last 5 or 6 days. As we gained elevation, the trail became quite a tangle of roots and rocks. I’ve never had the tip of my hiking pole jam and stick between roots as many times as it did in one mile on this trail.
We reached Barren Slide at around noon and stopped to take a break. The weather was breezy and cool, though there was still more sun than clouds at this point. The views were spectacular. After a short siesta, Nell and I pushed on, reaching the summit of Barren Mtn at about 1:30. The weather was changing fast now, with more clouds than sun and a strong wind (40 mph?) that made it difficult to stand up in exposed locations on the summit. The temperature was still about the same as it had been all day – in the mid 40’s.
After a few quick photos, we continued down the trail towards Cloud Pond, where we arrived at about 3:00. At first we had the entire area to ourselves, but eventually other hikers began trickling in and by 5:00 two or three other groups had set up tents. The sun was mostly gone now and the temps were slowly falling as the wind continued to roar overhead. As I sat on my sleeping pad in the lean-to making supper, occasional showers of ice pellets rained down on the shelter’s tin roof.
At six, to Nellie’s great joy, another hiker showed up at the shelter. After a long round of throw the stick, I called Nellie back to her sleeping pad and let the guy make his supper. I was in my bag listening the wind crash through the trees above us by 7:30 as the temperature dropped to 38.
to be continued...
Day 1 Photos
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