Day 156, miles today - 19.6, total - 2,167.3, miles to go - 18.6

August 21, 2013

Wadleigh Stream Lean-to to Hurd Brook Lean-to.

After we packed our gear I walked to the privy, it was 100 yards away. When I came back, B-Rocket was feeding a chipmunk pieces of pretzel. She was trying to get him to eat out of her hand, he was only inches away. She then went to the privy. I picked up a couple small pieces of pretzel from the ground. Within a few minutes the chipmunk ate a piece from my hand. When I told B-Rocket she said wanted to feed him too, but he had ran off and we needed to get on trail.

We started hiking at 8:15. It was a little warmer this morning than the past few weeks. And it was another clear day.                                                               

We had one big up today, about 700 feet. It was over Nesuntabunt Mountain. From the top there was a view of Katahdin, it was 16 miles line of sight distance. We sat on the overlook enjoying the view.

                                                              B-Rocket looking at Katahdin

We stopped at Rainbow Stream Lean-to for lunch. The guide book said there was and excellent swimming hole upstream from the shelter. I decided to take a dip. It was a great spot. It was the first time I went swimming in a stream on this hike. I'm glad I did, it was very enjoyable. Maine has many ponds,lakes and streams that are great for swimming, unfortunately it had been on the cool side until today.

                                                                        My swimming hole

We hiked along Rainbow Lake. It was beautiful. I saw two loons in the water. There was a great spring 100 feet from the lake. The pool of spring water was 15 feet in diameter. It was crystal clear and very cold. I was standing at the edge of the pool filling my bottle, when all of a sudden my right foot sunk into the soft ground. To keep from falling I had to step into the water with my left foot. I ended up being shin deep in the water and muck at the bottom of the pool. Luckily I had already filled my bottles. I walked out into the lake to wash off.

When we got to Rainbow Ledges there was and amazing view of Katahdin. We took pictures, and thought about our climb coming up in two days.

                                                                                   Blazer

                                                                                 B-Rocket

At the shelter there were three sobo's. We talked with them for over two hours. The one guy, Don't Panic, just finished the CDT. This will be his second triple-crown. Meaning he has hiked the AT, PCT and CDT. The other two sobo's were new. They were packed way too heavy. The one guy had a back injury that was bothering him. I'm afraid they're going to have a difficult time.