Day 176

Another short, easy day. It was going to be a 13 mile day but we had pushed extra miles yesterday and we had a threat of heavy rain, which is now falling as I’m typing this in my tent. The rain is forecasted to go all night and half of tomorrow. The day started with a good steep climb up to ME Route 17, which had a nice bench with an amazing view next to the road. After more of a climb, it turned into a pretty decent day all the way to Little Swift River Pond. There is a pipe spring here but not surprisingly, it isn’t pouring water. We’re hearing that many of the springs have just gone dry ahead of us as well. It’s been such a struggle with water and locals have been telling us they’ve never seen it this dry. Even homes that have wells have seen their wells go dry for the first time they’ve ever known. It’s really been making this hike a struggle. There are canoes and paddles next to the pond and we didn’t want to scoop pond water next to the land because it was pretty icky looking so Sparkle and I hopped into a canoe and paddled out to the center of the pond. I think that was the first time Sparkle has ever been in a canoe. We’ll be doing it to cross the Kennebec River so I’m glad I could take her out on a test run. LOL! We scooped water from the middle of the pond where the water looked better. Even if it isn’t, it was funner this way. We paddled back, ate a big lunch and set up our tents to jump in before the rains started. It’s also pretty cool. The rain has dropped the temperature down to 59 F. It’s 3:30pm and I’m already bundled up and ready to stay under my quilt for the rest of the night. I’ll have to deal with the rain for a bathroom break but then back in I go. I expect it to be raining for most of the day tomorrow but we have to do 13 miles and hopefully it stops raining before we reach the Saddleback Range, which is the largest alpine zone in Maine; a 3 mile stretch along a completely exposed ridge line, like the Presidentials. I don’t want to be up there if it’s raining. If it is, I’ll have to stop early and camp and add the extra miles to the next day. I have a schedule to keep.