Day 143, miles today -18.7, total - 1,984.2

August 8, 2013

The Gray Beast, Rangeley to Spaulding Lean-to.

I woke up this morning at 6:00. I started getting my gear into my backpack. I woke B-Rocket up a little before 7:00. Lori, who runs the hostel, was in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone. Four of the others were already there. I had eggs, home fries, and toast. I also had three Carnation instant breakfast drinks. Lori drove five of us back to the trail at 8:15. We were hiking at 8:30.

It was around 60 degrees and cloudy. It looked like it could rain at anytime. But, fortunately the rain held off today. The views were limited by the clouds.

I took a picture of Bulldog and Condor. I've seen Condor several times in the past two weeks. Bulldog started the A.T. the same day as me. We actually spoke to each other briefly our first night out and then I didn't see him again for more than four months.

                                             Condor                                                    Bulldog

We stopped to see the privy at the Piazza Rock Lean-to. The guidebook said the privy had two side by side seats with a cribbage board in between. The  people that maintain this shelter area obviously have a sense of humor.

We had three big ups. There was Saddleback Mountain, The Horn and Saddleback Junior. There were sections that were very steep with rock slabs that were difficult to get over. When at the top of each of them, the clouds would open up giving us great views for a few minutes. Watching the clouds that filled the valley below and the ones that moved pass us, surrounding  us at times, was pretty cool.

 

We took a lunch break at the top of The Horn. The sun had managed to stay out long enough to make it feel great. When there was cloud cover it was chilly on top of the mountains.

It was 8:30 by the time we reached the Spaulding Lean-to. There were two guys in the shelter. There were at least a few tents setup nearby. After getting things ready for sleeping, I ate a sandwich. We had stopped on trail around 6:30 to eat a little, so one sandwich was enough.