Day 163- The Pine Forest Highway

Sept 11, 2015

Logan Brook Lean-to(2117.8) to Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to(2140.9) 23.1 Miles

I can remember the last time that I did a 20+ mile day. It felt good!!! Laces and I had devised a very aggressive plan for the next few days. The only thing that could possibly hold us back is the weather. It rained all night last night and it was still raining when I woke up this morning. I wanted nothing more than to stay in my warm sleeping bag, but miles don't just happen. I reluctantly pulled myself out at 6:00. The forcast called for rain until 12:00, with a high of 60 degrees. It was going to be a long day. I hate hiking in the rain and I especially hate hiking in a cold rain. It is fitting that the trip would end like this, since that is exactly how it started on Soringer Mountain, cold and wet. 

The first eight miles of the day were more of the same. We climbed up a few mountains. Slid over rocks and roots and walked through big puddles of mud. The only difference from yesterday is that it was raining today. We were all pretty miserable. Clarity, Blade, Laces, and I finished the first eight miles in three and a half hours. Walking through the rain is a great motivator. You have to walk fast to stay warm. Luckily, the river crossing didn't need to be forded. There were enough rocks for us to carefully hop our way across. 

When we hit Cooper Brook Road, Clarity and Blade had to wait there for their food drop. I felt really bad for them, they were an hour and a half early and had to wait in the rain for their food to show up. Laces and I were freezing after stopping for just a few minutes, so we pushed on. After the road crossing the trail was awesome. It went from roots, rocks, and mud to a pine forest highway. 

Highway to Katahdin

Occasionally there were rocks and roots, but they were very manageable. Since our feet were soaking wet because of the rain, the mud puddles weren't too bad. It also stopped raining around this point. The day went from horrible to glorious really quickly. 

Laces and I hiked together the entire day. We had an absolute blast. We entertained each other with stories from the hike, Star Wars trivia, and all sorts of random topics. The time really flew by. We did eleven miles before 11:30. 

After months of difficult hiking, the AT finally took it easy on us. The hardest part of the day was hiking with wet feet. After three days of wet, dirty, stinky socks my feet were pretty angry. I started getting some serious chaffing around my ankles and heels. I haven't had that happen since Virginia when it rained for four days straight. 

Last time my feet were wet for numerous days

This time I got ahead of the problem. I stopped and put on some Leukotape, which is a miracle product. I probably should have stopped sooner, but I think I took care of the problem before it became serious. 

We didn't see hardly any other thru-hikers today. After seeing so many people on the trail the last few days, it was nice to feel like we had it to ourselves today. I think the rain slowed everyone else down. A lot of people stayed in their tents to wait out the weather. Blade and Clarity hitched into town with the guy that delivered their food. He was an hour and a half late arriving and by that time they were both freezing and in a bad mood. 

Laces and I pushed through the day and arrived at the lean-to before 5:00. That's right, we did 23.1 miles in nine hours. There are four section hikers here and against all odds they had a fire going. We quickly got our camp chores done and sat around the fire to eat dinner. I enjoyed a Mountain House meal that The General and Hannibal sent me. I wish I could have those every night. All I have to do is add boiling water and wait ten minutes. Too bad they are so expensive. Thanks Mom and Dad, it was the perfect treat after a long day. After eating we sat around the fire and exchanged stories with Click, Ukekady, Chameleon, and the section hikers. Eventually, Ukelady, played us a song. It was the perfect end to the day. 

Laces and I feeling pretty good about ourselves 

Tomorrow should be fun. It's going to be cold, but no rain is in the forcast. Laces and I have set an outrageous goal for tomorrow. If we can pull it off, it will be an epic way to end this trip. 

Yesterday I posted that seeing Katahdin for the first time was like a beacon calling me home. My quote generator, also known as my brother, Anthony, sent me this quote today. It is absolutely perfect and one of my favorite scenes in a movie. Thanks, Anthony for always coming up with the perfect quote. You have done such a great job this entire trip. Your quotes are one of the best aspects of my daily blog. Cheers to you, and next time I see you the beer is one me. 

"Uh well, I'll tell ya, I remember this one time - I'm in a Banshee at night in combat conditions, so there's no running lights on the carrier. It was the Shrangri-La, and we were in the Sea of Japan and my radar had jammed, and my homing signal was gone... because somebody in Japan was actually using the same frequency. And so it was - it was leading me away from where I was supposed to be. And I'm lookin' down at a big, black ocean, so I flip on my map light, and then suddenly: zap. Everything shorts out right there in my cockpit. All my instruments are gone. My lights are gone. And I can't even tell now what my altitude is. I know I'm running out of fuel, so I'm thinking about ditching in the ocean. And I, I look down there, and then in the darkness there's this uh, there's this green trail. It's like a long carpet that's just laid out right beneath me. And it was the algae, right? It was that phosphorescent stuff that gets churned up in the wake of a big ship. And it was - it was - it was leading me home. You know? If my cockpit lights hadn't shorted out, there's no way I'd ever been able to see that. So uh, you, uh, never know... what... what events are to transpire to get you home."

- Tom Hanks as Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell