Day 177

The rain last night was constant and significant. I ended up putting in earplugs because it was so heavy. I had pitched my tent lower than usual and had the pegs at the corners closer inwards so everything was nice and low. I also piled leaves under the vestibule doors to try and block splashback. For the most part, it worked. I only ended up with water in one corner of my tent. The rain was constant in the morning as well so it was impossible to pack up without getting the tent wet inside and out or packing it without water, mud and wet leaves all over it. I did my best and then amazingly got it into the stuff sack. It weighed about 3 times as much. With my rain gear on and my pack cover on my backpack, I hit the trail and quickly gave up on trying not to step in water to soak my shoes. It didn’t matter. This whole day was sloshing through cold water. For most of the day the trail literally was a rushing stream and I had to walk through it. At Route 4, I walked off trail to the Hiker Hut where I was able to do a small resupply of some items I needed as well as sit on the porch to enjoy a fried egg sandwich with cheese and a hot Earl Grey tea. Oh, it was lovely! The lady who was running the place was about to drive off to run supplies and offered to take us back to the trailhead. That was much appreciated. Then it was off into the woods again where I stopped at Piazza Rock Lean-to so I could use the privy. I had to get a picture of this one! The outside has a sign that says, “Your Move” and inside had two toilet seats with a Cribbage board in the middle of them. Ever wanted to poop with a friend and play cards at the same time? There’s the place to do it! After that, it was off to the Saddleback Range, which is the largest alpine zone in the state of Maine. There was so much water pouring down the trail that it was like climbing a waterfall. Once above tree line it was super foggy, windy and cold. I had to hike 3 miles over Saddleback Mountain and The Horn, which had winds that felt like 50+ mph. The videos of me at each summit shows how hard the wind was blowing. Those will be in my Relive videos when I can get them posted to Instagram. Hypothermia quickly became a big concern of mine. I simply kept on moving no matter how tired I felt as I wanted to keep the blood flowing and my heat up. I’m glad I had picked up some merino wool gloves. They can keep in warmth even when wet and they were soaked. So were my shoes and socks. My feet didn’t have much time to warm up as every time my body heat would warm the water in my shoes, I’d be forced to slosh through more water that was icy cold. After clearing the alpine zone and descending below tree line, I again felt like I was on a waterfall but this time descending on it. Water is no longer an issue. It’s everywhere! After finishing a 13 mile day, I got to the planned campsite and quickly set up. My tent was soaked but I tried my best to dry it in the inside so I could get all my stuff unpacked. Drying in conditions like this is like trying to sweep up the sand at the beach. After getting my tent up, got water, set up my bedding and changed into dry clothes, I cooked some hot ramen with bacon bits, spam and peanut butter. That got me nice and warm. Only my feet are still cold. At least all my chores are done and I’m typing this while bundled up in all my dry clothes and in my down quilt. It’s windy outside my tent and there’s still lots of water dripping from all the trees. Nothing will dry tonight. That’s for sure. Hopefully in the morning I’ll be able to shake off a lot of the dirt and stuff off my tent. We just need a nice sunny day so I can lay everything out and let it dry. Tomorrow I have two main climbs; Saddleback Jr, which is just as steep as Saddleback and goes up into the alpine zone then quickly descends again (hoping for better weather tomorrow) and then Lone Mountain, which looks like a very gradual climb.