Ford It!

Well here I am in Stratton, ME! Officially less than 200 miles!! The past few days have been, honestly, miserable. It has rained the better part of the past 3 days and everything I have is moist. Some of the best views in Maine (the Saddlebacks and Crocker) were socked in with blowing rain that had some sleet mixed in... yes, SLEET. It's turned noticeably cooler the past few days.. In turn, the fall colors are starting to come out but will be more noticeable once I cross over Bigelow and the elevations lower further north... turning the mostly the coniferous trees into deciduous. But let me go back to the recent weather.. Maine is known for its rugged terrain and wilderness experience. What better way to fully indulge in the wilderness experience by having to ford ''streams'' and rivers! The waterways here in Maine have been high since Irene blew through and the daily rain paired with severe thunderstorms have kept them high -- so high that the water has actually washed away highway bridges!! So as you can imagine the smallest of streams are overflowing; which has made fording them an interesting challenge! In dry weather, you would take your shoes off and ford with your camp shoes, but the trail has literally been a stream with soupy mud holes as deep as my mid-calf. All day long my feet are wet with cold squishy socks. Therefore, for better traction and stability, I just keep my trail runners on while fording (it gets all the mud out, plus they look brand new afterward!). The worst ford was a little past my waist. This didn't make me too uncomfortable as the current wasn't too strong but some other crossings have had stronger current but slightly lower water levels. Why don't they build bridges?! Turns out that the ice on the streams and rivers gets so high in wintertime that it wipes out the bridges that were once there... Harsh environment, eh? Next stop is the infamous trail town, Monson!! Then it's into the 100 mile wilderness, which comes to an end at the base of Katahdin!!!! Still have some work to put in, however...

The bootlegged 2,000 mile marker (which was in the wrong spot...)