Nothing Can Stop Us Now

Day 205

Saturday October 14, 2017

Miles: 2089.5 - 2105.6 Completed: 16.1

Time: 6:04am - 6:48pm

Weather: Cool and sunny

Tenting in Gulf Hagas Parking Lot

Second day slack packing in the 100 mile wilderness. Shortcake and I have it so good with Batman's help. Don't think for one minute we don't have what it takes to do this without his assistance. We've already proven that we do. But it sure is nice to shed what weight when we can from our packs.

Maine has interesting names for their peaks. Sometimes a mountain may have a wide base with several distinct peaks. In this case the summits are named the same with an add-on such as South Crocker and North Crocker, or Bigelow Mountain Horn, Bigelow Mountain Avery Peak, Bigelow West Peak, or Goose Eye East, West and North Peaks. My favorite names were today's Fourth Mountain, Third Mountain and poor Three and a Half Mountain that didn't even get a summit sign. I amused myself and Shortcake with trying to figure out how they came up with such names. I could picture old timers sitting around a logging or hunting camp trying to give directions to a fellow harvester or hunter. I would give my best impression of a Maine accent as I add libbed a complete conversation of how a certain mountain range was named. This would entertain me for ours.

Nature also caught my attention as it usually does. I saw these wonderfully crafted Pitcher Plants as we walked across a bog.

The most unique sighting was a spruce tree adorned with cones. It looked as if someone had just finished trimming their Christmas tree. It was a tall tree, yet only the top of it produced cones. It was simply amazing.

We arrived in the dark after almost 13 hours of hiking. Batman leap frogged the car and our gear ahead then hiked south as his normal routine. We are camping in the parking lot of Gulf Hagas. A very popular hiking spot. Batman told us when he arrived the place was packed. By the time we got there all the visitors had left except one car. Since it is vacant we decided to set up in the parking lot to make things easier for us. We'll be heading out before sun up anyways.

Some people think we are crazy to to keep the schedule we have been on. Early morning starts, hike all day with little rest, then hike until dark most days. But we are focused and it's the little treasures like the anomalies of the spruce tree that feed our desire to keep pushing and the ultimate goal of Katahdin. Nothing can stop us now.

Happy Hiking.