Hurricane Irene

Friday (8-26) started at 6:15 AM on yet another gorgeous day.  We climbed Pleasant Pond Mountain (2,470 ft).  We had lunch near the top of the mountain as we were just about to begin the 1,500 foot descent.  We had forded (crossed) several bodies of water before but when we reached Baker Stream, we needed to take off our boots and socks and put on our Crocs in order to get across. The stream was knee-deep with a reasonably strong current.  We finished at 4:30 PM when we tented at Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to (shelter).  We hiked 14.7 miles.  We were back hiking at 6:30 AM on Saturday (8-27) and it was another beautiful day.  The weather has been amazing for several days and it has been such a blessing.  The terrain was flat but as usual it was muddy, rocky, and filled with large tree roots.  We forded two more bodies of water.  The water at the Bald Mountain Pond was mid-calf level and the water at the West Branch Piscataquis River was knee-deep.  I took this picture from the top of Moxie Bald Mountain.  The clouds were very low-lying. 

We began the tricky 1,700 ft. descent.  We reached our hiking goal when we got to Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to at 3:30 PM.  I set up my tent while Pilgrim and Deadman decided to stay in the lean-to.  Upon hearing the weather forecast, I changed my mind and joined them in the lean-to.  The rain and wind from Irene started overnight.  Somewhere around 9 PM we heard a very loud BANG.  A large tree branch fell on the metal roof.  In the morning, we could see a very big dent in the roof.  Thankfully everyone in the lean-to was fine even though it scared us.  We hiked 13.0 miles. We started on Sunday (8-28) at 6:15 AM in the rain.  We wanted to get an early start since we knew bad weather from Irene was quickly coming our way.  Due to the rain we were very concerned about fording the East Branch Piscataquis River.  The hiking guide indicated it to be dangerous after a lot of rain.  We were relieved that so far the water was only at mid-calf level.  Just 24 hours later, we heard it is now more than three feet deep and thus, impassible for now.  The overnight rain made the trail very slippery and muddier than usual.  We arrived at Route 15 at 11:30 AM and we were shuttled to Shaw's Lodging in Monson (pop. 500).  Monson marks the beginning for the 100-mile wilderness.  We are getting relatively close to our final goal of Mt. Katahdin.  We hiked 9.0 miles.  After breakfast at Shaw's on Monday (8-29) the hostel owner took us back to the trail.  We hiked south 10 miles back to Route 15 where we left the trail on Sunday.  This "flip-flop" allowed us to stay a second night at the hostel due to the weather.  We forded Leeman Brook which had risen from Irene.  It usually is only a trickle but now it was mid-calf and rushing.  The trail in many places resembled a small creek.  After 161 days (23 weeks) I've hiked 2,076.4 miles for an average of 12.9 miles per day.  I hope to be done within the next 10 days or so!