8/31-9/6: Monson, ME -> Baxter State Park

The Hundred Mile Wilderness. The words inspire awe, apprehension, and excitement all at once. No section was more anticipated along the AT. As the final section leading up to Katahdin and the end of the trail, and being such a unique section at that, people had been bringing it up since Georgia. I had heard nervous discussion about how truly desolate the HMW was, how it was the most remote section of the AT, and scary, heavy, 8-to-10 day food carries without any chance for resupply or a stop in civilization. I had also heard others dismiss it, complaining about how the HMW really wasn’t all that remote, how it was overhyped, and people wished it were more of a true wilderness. I had heard terrifying stories of dangerous river fords, slogging through waist-high water along the trail for literally a hundred miles, throughout the flooding in June. I had also heard that it was absolutely beautiful. What to believe? As I left Monson to head into the home stretch of my journey, it was time for me to find out for myself.

I appreciate that the Hundred Mile Wilderness is truly almost exactly one hundred miles of trail from end to end. It is not an official wilderness area, so in that respect the name is a misnomer. Some hikers called it the Hundred Acre Wood too, hehe. Thru-hikers take many different strategies to tackle this final section. Some people do huge days to finish off the trail in only 4 to 5 days after leaving Monson, keeping them from having to do a huge food carry. The HMW has a reputation of being much easier terrain-wise than the rest of Maine and NH leading up to it, making this at all possible. Others prefer to take their time, either lugging along all the food they’ll need, or, thanks to the lovely people at Shaw’s, doing a food drop halfway through. I of course wanted to take my time to savor the culmination of my AT journey, and I had to to meet Macy on our arranged pickup date. I split a food drop with three other hikers at Shaw’s, putting everything in a big paint bucket that would be dropped off for us at a dirt road crossing halfway through the HMW four afternoons later. It was pretty cheap splitting the cost this way, and it worked out very well; I’d recommend this approach to anyone.

After waiting out a rainy day at Shaw’s, I was granted a seemingly ridiculously nice weather window – a full seven days of warm, sunny weather in the forecast. I hoped I would be able to ride that wave all the way to Katahdin and finish on a good day – fingers crossed. Naturally, this also meant that a ton of people had the same idea and were all heading into the HMW together. The first day in particular was pretty crowded!

The first day in the wilderness featured the three most significant remaining river fords: Little Wilson, Big Wilson, and Long Pond Streams. They definitely occupied my thoughts a lot leading up to this section, and I was steeling myself for the trickiest fords yet. Luckily, the relatively good weather we’d had for the last week or so kept the streams in check, and none of them were too bad. They were all a little tricky, but doable. I had spotters for all of the fords. When I got to Long Pond Stream, I immediately recognized it as the site of the hilarious and tragic incident where a trail friend (who shall remain nameless) lost a trekking pole trying to throw it over to the other bank. Luckily I made it across with both poles!

It was a beautiful section, full of gorgeous mossy forest, pines, ponds, and rocky streams. At the end of the day, I pushed up the biggest climb of the day to Barren Ledges, where I had my eye on cowboy camping again. I wanted to seize the chance with great weather and a spectacular view!

Right before I got to the ledges, I crossed 2100 miles – the final hundred-mile mark! It was wild to think that there would be no more of those milestones made out of rocks or sticks, or in this case, massive birch branches – only the iconic sign waiting for me atop Katahdin.

Sleeping under the stars is a magical experience. On Barren Ledges, I loved seeing the moon rise, and it stayed super bright all night. I enjoyed a nice sunrise over Barren Mountain in the morning too, before drying my gear out and tackling the Chairback Range. They didn’t look too bad on the map, but I had been warned repeatedly not to underestimate the Chairbacks. The HMW wasn’t going to be easy!

It was another beautiful day, and I reveled in the weather. Hiking through a green, mossy wood in the morning glow is one of my favorite feelings. As I hiked, I spent a lot of time thinking about my thru-hike coming to a close. In a sense, I felt like I was sort of on borrowed time, since I had expected to be done with my hike and home already as the calendar flipped to September. But instead I was still out in the woods, enjoying solitude and the serenity of the AT on a gorgeous sunny day. I felt so lucky to be there.

One of the owners of Shaw’s, Poet, had (fittingly) treated us to one of his poems before sending us into the HMW: a haiku that he had written in the HMW on his own thru-hike. I sadly don’t remember the haiku, but it was about drinking unfiltered water and savoring trail memories and I quite liked it. Guess you’ll have to see Poet at Shaw’s to hear it for yourself. Inspired by this, I drafted two poems of my own as I hiked. One of them was another haiku, and the other one I gave up on after only one stanza, but here they are anyway.

Still Out Here
I am still out here
Amid the mossy forest
Pines and ponds abound

One step at a time
Bringing me closer to you
The greatest mountain

Soaking it all in
Memories of states behind
Fill my aching mind

And it's time to go
Home where my love lies waiting
But I'm still out here

Borrowed Time
I feel like I'm on borrowed time
On foot among these peaceful trees
And if there is just one more climb
It sure will please my weary knees

I bet none of you were expecting to be subjected to more poetry in this blog.

There were some unique sights in the Chairback range, including a cool bog environment featuring pitcher plants, and the wreckage of a plane crash. It was a somber and striking sight, even though, miraculously, both the occupants had survived the crash.

The Chairbacks were definitely tough, although not thaat bad. A steep, bouldery descent that took me by surprise at the end of the day was the hardest part. I set up camp for the night on an idyllic pond, where I took a quick, very cold skinny dip to cool off. To take advantage of the good weather while it lasted, and to make the most of the waning days (or, nights) of my hike, I decided to sleep without my rain fly for the rest of the trip, or as long as the weather allowed! It felt like the best of both worlds: getting the magic of cowboy camping, seeing the pines and the night sky above me, but cutting down (not eliminating, mind you) on the condensation and bugs.

I also chose to spend my final nights of the trail rereading both my trail journal (as I continued to write it) and the scrapbook that Macy had made for me to take with me. This was a great way to reflect and celebrate my hike as it came to a close, as well as prepare to re-enter the “fake world” and return to Macy and everyone else in my off-trail life.

The next day was equally rewarding in its variety, beauty, and challenge. I forded the West Branch of the Pleasant River in the morning, another one that friends had had difficulty with and one of the final fords on the trail. It lived up to its name that morning, though, and was an easy, shin-deep ford. I took an excursion into Gulf Hagas, called the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” and enjoyed some mesmerizing waterfalls there. Maine really brought the waterfall game in a way no other state had.

It was also HOT out! Climbing up Gulf Hagas Mountain and along the White Cap ridge was sweaty! Considering the heat, the day felt just as hard as the previous day on the Chairbacks. A fun lunch with Geo, 8 Lives, OG Baggins, and a new friend Boomerang was a great way to break it up.

White Cap Mountain is the highest point in the HMW, and people said it was the last big climb before Mama K (although people had been saying that since the Bigelows…). It was very windy on the rocky, exposed summit, but the views were certainly worth it. I could see the HMW spread out to the south, and the high peaks of ME in the far, far distance. And on the other side…

There she was. For the first time, I could truly, clearly see Katahdin. It looked big, and still far – further than I expected! I was still waiting for The View that you see on the postcards etc., but it was really exciting to see Mama K and know it was so close now. It truly looked like the only mountain around for miles and miles, and it looked completely flat between here and there. The entire rest of my hike was laid out for me to see, in plain view. Wow!!

White Cap was the highlight of the HMW thus far. I sort of rushed off the mountain, both to get to my intended campsite before dark, and to make sure I could get a tentsite. I appreciated how social the 100mi had been, but I didn’t like that it actually felt Crowded. I was pleasantly surprised to find the East Branch of the Pleasant River rock-hoppable at the end of the day. I was all done with fords!

I camped on the shore of Mountain View Pond that night, and was awed by the sunset over the pond. It was my favorite sunset of the entire trail – even though I couldn’t actually see the sun at any point! The colors it made on the clouds, and their reflection on the water, would drastically change every few minutes, with each composition being more beautiful than the last. Finally, it was the sunset I’d been waiting for!

The next day marked the halfway point through the Hundred Mile Wilderness, and it was time to pick up my food drop. Good thing, too, because I was starting to run out of food, and in fact, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t have enough for the final few days even once I picked up the drop. To my huge relief, in the morning I ran into 8 Lives and his wife, who was bringing him a food drop and happened to have plenty of extra snacks as trail magic. It was a godsend! I may have overdid it in loading up for the final push. My mood noticeably improved that morning after that wonderful surprise. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition trail magic in the HMW!

It was an easy, cruisy hike for the rest of the day, through mostly open woods and passing several more pretty ponds. I actually reached my food drop location an hour early, but Longshot from Shaw’s was already there waiting – and he wasn’t alone. There was more trail magic! Trail angels Susan and Doug made me a grilled breakfast sandwich for lunch, and I got to meet their adorable dog, Aria. The surprises didn’t stop, as a local drove up to offer me some fresh carrots and cucumbers from his farm. It was so serendipitous and wonderful and funny. Fresh produce always hits different on the trail… I never could have expected such an awesome triple dose of trail magic in a day in the HMW!

I feel like I’m struggling a bit to describe the Hundred Mile Wilderness properly in this post. I hope it won’t surprise you at this point to hear that the 100mi was one of my absolute favorite sections of the AT. It was even lovelier than I had hoped, but its beauty was a quieter, consistent sort. Rather than specific spectacular summits or viewpoints, every mile of the trail, through the woods, along a brook, by a pond, was gorgeous, without any of them necessarily being prettier than the others. It was a perfect reminder that the beauty is in the journey, and made for a wonderful environment to immerse myself in as I approached my final destination.

I camped for the night on the shores of Lower Jo-Mary Lake, on a nice, rare sand beach. I was surprised to find that I was the only one at such a picturesque spot when I arrived. After another hot, sweaty day, I took a dip to cool off, although it was still so warm in the afternoon sun that I got sweaty again and went for another swim before bed! Later, a new face arrived, and I had an excellent evening with my new friend Spicoli. It was great to share such a lovely spot with him, and we had good conversations about our thru-hikes and how we felt about them coming to a close. I was glad to still be making excellent new connections in the final days of my hike. Remember when I thought I was done making new friends back at Shaw’s? Ha!

We heard loons on the water, with cool echoes. The night sky was incredible above us; I could see so much right through my tent! Seeing stars from my tent on the shore of the lake was one of my favorite trail memories. “Doesn’t get much better than this <3,” I wrote that night.

It wasn’t perfect, of course. As pretty as the sand beach was, the sand itself made camp chores sorta annoying. The bugs also drove Spicoli and me crazy all evening. There was also soo much condensation…my stuff was soaked. The angle of the sun wasn’t conducive to drying things out in the morning, however – plus, I didn’t want to stick around. I had other plans.

I wanted to push one final big day before it was all over. With how cruisy the HMW had been, now was the time. I zipped along flat (but rooty and sometimes swampy) terrain all morning before stopping on beautiful Nahmakanta Lake for a lengthy break. I laid out all my gear to dry in the sun, had lunch, and went for a mid-day skinny dip. I absolutely needed it! It was another hot day, and I was the sweatiest I had been in many, many weeks. It was funny! That was not at all what I was expecting to deal with in Northern Maine in September.

The small but steep climb of Nesuntabunt Mountain broke up the afternoon. I sat with Spicoli at a cool rocky overlook on top, with a great view of Katahdin. It was cool to see the mountain getting closer and closer each time we saw it. Unfortunately, it was a bit hazy; there was a resurgence in smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

I passed several more pretty ponds en route to camping at Rainbow Lake Dam. In all, it was a nearly 22 mile day! It felt good to still have that in the tank. That was my first 20-mile day since…drumroll, please…my last day in NEW JERSEY, entering NY! Even I couldn’t believe it had been that long. I barely got into camp as the sun was setting, now that the days were getting so much shorter. I only wish I had had time to go for another swim. Was it worth it to push one last long day? Eh, maybe not. But it felt good, and I was glad I could 🙂

Rainbow Lake was yet another gorgeous lake to stay at, with a view of Katahdin to boot. I chatted with a flip-flopper, Cat in the Hat, at camp while I celebrated my six month trailiversary. Half a year on the AT…and all this would end in 3 days :’) I loved seeing the stars over the lake again, and listening to loons and the soothing sound of the dam nearby. A shockingly bright orange moon rising amid clouds was spooky and one of the coolest ones I had ever seen! I hoped to see the sunrise over Mama K in the morning.

Unfortunately, the sunrise was pretty much a dud because of a foggy morning. The lake was still pretty, though. My final day in the Hundred Mile Wilderness was much more chill. Rainbow Ledges had immaculate Maine vibes, and another great view of Katahdin that I enjoyed with Spicoli as we ate lunch.

In the afternoon, I stopped by Hurd Brook Lean-to, the last shelter in the HMW. I didn’t quite realize it at the time, but it had the final logbook on the AT! (It turns out, the Birches in Baxter State Park doesn’t have a logbook.) I loved seeing so many of my trail friends in those pages, and reading their final thoughts. I added my final entry, too. I left people with my mottos, including a new addition from the trail:

1. “But in the very long term, I know which will make better memories.” -Calvin
2. A life well laughed is a life well lived (-me)
3. Take the side trails!

I hiked the remainder of the HMW with OG Baggins and Geo, and we had a great time reminiscing about our hikes for the final few miles. And then we were through the 100mi! It was surreal to see a paved road and power lines again.

We reached Abol Bridge, and there. it. was. THE Katahdin view! That’s what I had been waiting for! It really started to hit home then. I was overjoyed to be there, to have made it, to climb that long-awaited mountain so soon. A dream come true!!

I spontaneously decided to split a cabin at Abol Bridge Campground for the night with Geo and OG Baggins. It was good to be indoors on a hot and buggy night. I unexpectedly got to shower, and washed my clothes off to undercut some of the week-long sweaty stench. (It wasn’t very effective.) I even got Gifford’s ice cream from the camp store, an awesome surprise! In all, it was a lovely unexpected evening with friends for one of my last nights on trail.

I planned to stay in the Birches the following night, for my final night on the AT. The Birches is a shelter in Baxter State Park, right at the base of Katahdin, specifically reserved for long-distance AT hikers climbing Katahdin the next day. It is first-come, first-served, and has a limited capacity of 12 hikers, so it can be quite competitive to get a spot at busy times. Hikers have to register for a spot in the Birches at the entrance to BSP that day. The signup opens at 7am, but it has been known to fill up even before then, with people arriving very early to wait in line to ensure their spot. Frankly, based on who I had seen on the trail and my conversations with people around me, I did not expect to have difficulty getting a spot, but I wasn’t about to take the chance.

I got up and out at 5:30am on my “summit eve,” my earliest start ever. I arrived at the BSP entrance at 6am, and sure enough, I was the first person in line. Oh well! I figured it was overkill, but waking up early to register for the Birches feels like a classic part of the AT experience 🙂 I hung out for an hour, chatting with other hikers, old faces and new, as they showed up.

Baxter SP has a reputation for being super restrictive and limiting for hikers, especially because it is such a popular area. In particular, stealth camping in Baxter is a big no-no, and that’s one reason why the Birches exists. There had been much grumbling about “the rules” as we approached Baxter. I personally felt no trepidation. In my opinion, many thru-hikers seemed overly annoyed any time there were “external” rules or regulations of any kind (see also: the Whites). Any concerns or annoyance that people had surely must have been assuaged when we met the BSP ranger, Donald Duck, who brought us the Birches registration. He was a delightful, friendly man who was very helpful in preparing us for Baxter and Katahdin. It was a true pleasure to meet him.

The cabin stay the previous night had included breakfast, so naturally I returned to Abol Bridge for that before hiking on. I had about 10 flat, easy miles of the AT within Baxter State Park before reaching the Birches, which made for a very chill penultimate day on trail. I spent most of it hiking with Chuckles, a hiker from Australia who I had met at Shaw’s! It was really fun to get to know her better as we shared such a pretty, pleasant section. (Remember when I thought I was done making new friends? Ha!)

The highlight of the day, by far, was spending time at Daicey Pond. Chuckles and I took a very long break at the gorgeous pond, with a clear view of Katahdin and some of the other peaks in Baxter. Daicey Pond has (VERY cheap) canoe rentals!! Chuckles and I each took a boat out and paddled around for a while. It turned into more of a goofy adventure than I expected, as we were blown around by the wind! It wasn’t even that windy, but we were riding very light on the water. It was very fun. Canoeing on Daicey Pond, in the shadow of Katahdin, with Chuckles is one of my absolute favorite trail memories.

It was awesome to take it super easy and slow through BSP on my penultimate day on trail. Finally, though, we made it to Katahdin Stream Campground and the base of the final climb. There were many people there who had just summitted that day – newly minted thru-hikers! We congratulated and celebrated with them before heading over to the Birches. Tomorrow, that would be me!

It was not crowded at all at the Birches. It turned out to be just Chuckles, Peace Pipe, Cat in the Hat, a new face High Speed, and myself there for the night. These would be my summit-mates the next day, as well as a few others who I knew had booked a spot at Katahdin Stream Campground or outside of Baxter SP.

I couldn’t believe it was already here. There I was, on the threshold of triumph over this greatest challenge and longtime goal. I was proud of myself and so happy to be there. I felt ready to be done and go home, but also a little sad it was ending. I knew I would miss the trail dearly.

It felt like the AT was ending with an indescribable flourish with the Hundred Mile Wilderness (and Baxter State Park)! The only disappointment was I never saw a moose :’) I was so grateful to have such an amazing week going through this beautiful section. I was really, really excited to finally hike Katahdin the next day, and finally bring this incredible adventure to a close.