July 30th, 2018, Maine
It was another nice day. But I learned from a hiker with phone service the next rain might start on Wednesday. So I want to get as far as possible toward Andover before it starts. I have a box coming to the Human Nature Hostel near Andover.
Just before lunch time I came out onto a sunny hilltop and saw a guy resting there. I stopped to say hi and found out he was another SOBO hiker. Mark was from State College, PA and retired from the Army last year. He mentioned he had done a long bike trip after retirement and then decided to hike the AT this year. Mark headed out while I stayed to have lunch.
After lunch the trail took me toward the Saddleback Mountains. It started with a river ford. As I took my shoes off another hiker was hanging out there on a big rock in the river. He started playing a small flute-like instrument and sounded pretty good. So I crossed to the sound of music and he continued playing the whole time I got myself ready on the other side, which put me into a good mood.
After the river, I started ascending to the first mountain. After a while I came toward a girl hiking in the opposite direction who, as we got closer, looked sad and had been crying. I asked if she was okay and she said yes, she was just having a hard day and was ready to be finished. She had started in early March and was tired and just wanted to accomplish her goal and go home. I felt bad for her and tried to cheer her up. In actuality, 2018 NOBOs have had a hard year: a very harsh winter then summer heat waves through the mid Atlantic. I said she was about to cross her 2000 mile point very soon and she was over 90% finished. If it was a test she would already have an “A” and she should be proud. She laughed a little and I said it was hard to believe anyone was still going after what they had been through. And, here she was, still going when so many others had quit. I gave her a hug, wished he the best, and said goodbye—hopeful she could finish her last 200 miles in high spirits.
After maybe another hour of climbing I came to the first peak called Saddleback Junior. The Saddlebacks are a series of several peaks, mostly above the tree line so there were amazing 360 degree views. On Saddleback Junior I took a break and rested for a while. Mark was already up there and hung around a few more minutes.
After Mark left, I said hi to a NOBO girl called Olive Branch (just in the lower left of the pic above) who had been resting and talking on the phone. I asked if she had the latest weather. She confirmed that it looked like thunderstorms on Wednesday. Then she told me a story about her experience in a storm last week. She had been caught on an exposed mountain during a thunderstorm. Lightning started and she had nowhere to go so she started running as lightning struck the hilltop around her. She was terrified and ran for about a mile and a half before she ran into a friend she had passed earlier and realized she had run in the wrong direction. So the two of them, both scared, continued back downhill in the wrong direction just to get to the closest shelter. She swore if there was any chance of rain in the forecast she was going to make sure she would not be on top of a mountain again. So she was planning on being in town Wednesday, not on the trail. After her experience that seemed reasonable.
And finally, here are some of the things I enjoyed seeing today:
And as a rare sight, a ladder on a steep rock was a welcome sight!
