Appalachian Trail (day 90) - Hostel of Maine to Flagstaff Campsite / mile 2028

"My approach is that it's meant to be raining every day, if it doesn't then that's a bonus" John, the section hiker

Short day, I was hoping to get closer to the Kennebec River crossing but the rain changed my plans.

I've woke up at 6 AM, packed and had a sandwich and avocado I've bought yesterday at the grocery. Someone lost a wallet in the kitchen last night so I've picked it up and gave it to staff.  I've asked Cat, the sobo thru hiker if she had a needle and thread as I wanted to fix a hole in my shorts, she had had it, so I did.

At 7 AM hostel staff called us for breakfast. If I only knew that it was a thing I wouldn't have bought and ate beforehand but with hiker hunger I've easily allocated another bagel, two eggs, banana bread, yogurt and a slice of watermelon. The food was lovely. John, one of the section hikers was driving to the trailhead early so I hopped in with him and started walking before 8 AM.

Today was the last day of tall 4000 feet mountains with long hefty approaches and descents, the last one was Kathadin itself in just under 200 miles. I went through Bigelow ridge just as the thunderstorm started to brew and made it to the other side before the rain arrived. The view from the top was spectacular with enormous Flagstaff Lake on the lefthand side and the Appalachians on the other, it was easily one of my favourite views of the entire trip and I was so happy that I managed to catch it with good visibility.

Couple of people were pushing south trying to get to town before the storm as well but it looked like they might be a bit late. I've seen Pickle, Kiddo and Shooting Star an older lady who jokingly wrote in the Mahoosuc Notch gps entry that she was going for Slowest Known Time of this toughest AT section, one mile of it took her seven hours to complete, I remembered reading it before walking through that section and it made me chuckle. Shooting Star was definitely a character, she gave me a little trail magic candy and showed her custom made gear, I've asked if I could take her picture and she said yes.

After that I started the descent towards the Falstaff Lake, weather was getting worse by the minute and so I've decided to cut my day few miles shorter and camp by it's shores rather than at the shelter five miles further. It meant that I still had 19 miles to cover tomorrow to get to the Kennebec ferry before it stops running at 2 PM but with an early start and relatively easy terrain, I hoped to get there in time.

Before going to bed I've checked my legs for bruises and I found a tick instead. I guess that with the loss of altitude they've been immediately back on the menu and I had to look out for them from now on. I truly hated the bastards.