Monday 9/14/09
Weather:
Sunny, no rain
Today's Hike:
Long Pond Tote Rd. to Chairback Lean-To - 11.8 miles
This morning we
returned to the bear baited road of many lakes and braved what would most likely be our deepest ford(s) of the day. It was somewhere around 40 degrees and when I stepped into the water my toes went numb. Not exactly how I would like to start the morning, but if that muddy water didn't wake my butt up, I'm not sure what would have.Today we climbed over most of the chairback range, a rocky mess of semi-PUD's (pointless ups and downs). I say semi since our first climb over Barren Mountain afforded spectacular views from the ledges and there were actually views from the other mountains, but you had to fight to see most of them through the trees. In between our steep climbs we crossed the fourth mountain bog which was filled with pitcher plants. Way to cool!
The rocks and steep downs made the day slow going, much slower then anticipated. By 6pm we had only reached the Chairback Lean-To which was a few miles short of where we really wanted to be. We quickly regrouped and assessed the situation and came up with a plan for the rest of the week that would allow us to stop at the lean-to for the night. This unanticipated stop at the lean-to was actually a nice surprise. We had the whole place (lean-to and tenting areas) to ourselves. The lean-to had just been renovated with the help of some fellow thru-hike friends. It looked incredible. Good work guys! In addition to the benefit of having the area to ourselves the sky started to spit on us around 7pm. We had made it into the tent just in time. Glad not to be hiking down chairback in wetness. Isn't it nice how everything seems to fall into place? Love trail life :)
Today's Video's:
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