The nice campsite I picked yesterday had one flaw, it was close to a hiker lean-to/shelter. I was just getting comfortable and ready for sleep around 7:30 p.m. when a group of young hikers set up in the shelter. They were loud, vulgar and inconsiderate. It was after 10:00 p.m. before they finally quieted down. By then my sleep schedule had been so messed up that I had trouble falling and staying asleep. I also was worried I’d sleep through the alarm I had set for 3:00 a.m., and that even if I did wake up my on again off again headlamp wouldn’t work. I was awake when the alarm went off so I turned it off and started packing up to make it down to the Ranger’s kiosk to sign up for the Birches Lean-to in Baxter State Park. My worry about the headlamp was unfounded, it worked great. I was packed and hiking in record time and made it to the kiosk by 3:45 a.m. There was only one person there ahead of me, having arrived only a few minutes before me, Fenway, a hiker from Boston. I could see him because of the light of his headlamp as he hiked ahead of me on the road. Shortly after I got there another hiker, Catapult, joined us. The 3 of us sat there until we were joined by another hiker, then 2 more, and then a group of 6 hikers, the same group that kept me up last night. All 12 slots were filled. I was very thankful to have a spot at the Birches Lean-to for the night. I’ll leave it at that.
As soon as the sign in process was over I started hiking. I was cold to the core since the temperature dropped due to the cold front that came through yesterday. Sitting for 3.5 hours without having eaten anything, plus not having any warm clothes took it’s toll. I stopped and had breakfast by the side of the trail and that helped a bit, that and the rise in temperature as the sun rose higher in the sky.
The trail this morning was in Baxter State Park and was beautiful, going by ponds, rivers and streams (still no moose). In many places it looked like gardeners had just been in to clean and manicure it. It was a beautiful place for northbound hikers to finish their hikes. Every so often I’d get a glimpse of Mount Katahdin in all it’s glory.
The trail to the Birches Lean-to is a side trail off the AT that goes in front of the ranger’s station. A sign said to go ahead and set up camp and the ranger would come by later to complete the registration process. I made it to the site, found a place and set up the tent, and then had lunch. Catapult and Fenway came in, and we were then joined by 2 other hikers who had summited today, Second Chance and Lost and Found. Both seemed to be in a daze, due to wrapping up thru hikes and from getting a very early start, not to mention being exhausted from the climb up and back down. It was good to see them. We congratulated them and they encouraged us for our hike tomorrow. They both told us to rest up this afternoon since we probably wouldn’t sleep much tonight. I took their advice, not napping, but spending quite a bit of time in my tent under my quilt.
Later, after I ate dinner, the group of 6 hikers came in, and then the park ranger came by to collect the camping fee, register us for our hike tomorrow, and give us a briefing on what we can and can’t do. The park is not AT hiker friendly due to some of the disrespectful things that hikers have done on Mount Katahdin in the past. Around 7:00 most of us got into our tents but the 6 stayed up talking around the campfire. They are quieter tonight than they were last night, probably because we are all camping in a small area.
I hiked 9.9 miles today.
Prone to Wander
Prone To Wander's Epic AT Journey 