June 18
End: Nesuntabunt Mountain
Miles: 31.5
Total: 4008.6
In the morning I took the somewhat unnecessary step of putting on my socks and shoes, since we would be doing a ford (East Branch Pleasant River) in a third of a mile. The day was going to be relatively easy, with a few fords the only thing that I wasn’t looking forward to.
To be sure, I was a little worried about running into Ant Man, who was supposedly running a silver and gold trade while living in the trail shelters and carrying a shotgun. He had signed the log just one day before us.
My two new companions each had sandals to wear through the water, which was very helpful. I did not, and the fords were thus even less pleasant for me as I slipped and slid on rocks. The ford was painful but I got it done.
We had a fairly easy time of it after that, finding that Little Boardman Mountain was actually a mole hill. We were planning on meeting Iceman’s dad and sister at Jo Mary Road, where we could get some snacks and then hike on. We came across a section of totally flat trail extending for miles. We dominated it.
I had never seen or experienced a pace so consistent and so fast until then. We must have hiked at well over three miles an hour for several hours. I occasionally had to jog to keep up, as I would have to stop to get a granola bar out or drink some water. Iceman and Viking just power-walked on over the boards covering many muddy areas.
We soon came to the road and I met Iceman’s father and sister. They were extremely considerate and let me partake in all of the goodies, and they had a lot. I had chips, cookies, Clif bars, and so many other wonderful things that I cannot even recall them all.
We stayed for two full hours and enjoyed ourselves. We talked to some south-bounders and finally got ready to continue on. I felt I had one Clif bar too many, but I hung with the other guys.
The only real nuisances we had left were all of the roots and mud on the trail. The roots would occasionally trip us up, and the mud was usually cause for a detour of some kind. The fact that we were complaining amongst ourselves concerning these petty things just shows how easy the trail had become.
I pushed ahead as the trail crept along beside a river. Viking fell back and Iceman stayed within eyesight at most times. I was excited that we could even hike fast at all after what seemed like a previous month of rock climbing.
Arriving at the shelter we had originally agreed upon, we all agreed to continue to the summit of the next mountain, although in a way it was my idea. We marched on and soon hit the climb. And what a climb it was. Viking led us up many stone staircases, but whenever I thought we were getting close to the top, we just turned to find more stairs.
We all hiked our butts off and got to the summit before dark. There was an incredible view of Mt. Katahdin and the sunset, by which we cooked our dinners and lay down. We had all been half-jokingly complaining concerning whose idea it was to end our long day by summiting this mountain, but were grateful to be there.
