Weather was great again when we woke up this morning (0500) so I decided to take on a more challenging section of the AT: the Bigelow Range. We’d stayed in Farmington last night so were able to get a filling breakfast at McDonalds (0600) before driving about 40 miles north (we used ME-27, ME-146, ME-16 and Long Falls Dam Road). Since a hike across the whole range was close to 17 miles, I asked my dad to drop me where the Safford Brook Trail crossed East Flagstaff Road. We found the trailhead successfully (despite having no cell service) and I was hiking (SOBO) by 0845 (my dad insisted that I take part of one of his sandwiches). The blue-blazed trail (2.2 miles long) was well maintained and not too steep. Meanwhile, my dad went back towards civilization so I could call an audible (if needed) on which direction I hiked. As I reached the ridge, I decided to follow Plan A (hike westbound to ME-27) as planned - since I had cell service by then, I notified “the shuttle” and he was then free to explore the Carrabasset Valley. Choosing a western heading (AT SOBO), I proceeded to climb the East Peak of Mount Bigelow (4K’+) - the trail terrain increased more than 2000 feet in less than two miles (yikes). Since I was still fresh, I made good, steady progress to the Avery Memorial on the summit. I’d seen glimpses of Sugarloaf and the Crockers to the south as I climbed but conditions were much worse at the top. Wind was 25+ knots, clouds swirled across the bare plateau, temps dropped into the 40s and all visibility was lost. I pressed on, finding my way through the “Brigadoon-like” conditions, and eventually got back into the trees again as I descended. Actually, there really wasn’t a trail in this area; I made my way through a boulder field… I started passing NOBO Thru hikers at that point and I saw 12 before the day was done (I also passed one LASHer). Their demeanor was tremendously different from what I saw yesterday near Katahdin - all of them were grumpy and mostly silent because they had nearly 200 miles of AT left to go… The trail crossed the West Peak (same conditions) and then ducked back into the trees. This happened several more times as I continued my hike and I began to (silently) curse the “Great Trail Designer” for making me climb and descend so often. The weather began to improve as I reached the far western end of the Bigelows - I got great views of the Valley from the Horns and was treated to some pretty “over my shoulder” glimpses of the trail I’d crossed (wow!). I had to descend to a lean-to/camping area near Horns Pond and I was hoping to then continue down to ME-27. Instead, the trail climbed almost 1000 feet above the pond (good views) and then started a scary descent. I’m glad I didn’t have to climb the Range from this direction but my life was probably in more danger going downhill: slippery roots and rocks, steep granite slabs with no handholds and mud/pine-needle ground cover. The end result was that I couldn’t go any faster than I had in my climb and the hike started to feel interminable. I passed a family of day hikers (also going downhill) and they looked really beaten (they’d tried to visit the Pond but couldn’t reach it). My dad and I had texted a few times about my ETA and it was clear I wasn’t on target - I couldn’t estimate pace because of the conditions. Finally, I reached the last mile of my day - it looked flat on all the maps I had. Special bonus, though: let’s climb and descent four ridges before we’re done! When I emerged from the woods (1730, after more than 13 miles), I was physically and mentally drained. I’d already finished my three liters of water and the food I had brought but was still ravenously thirsty/hungry. And my boots had started to disintegrate... My dad wasn’t at the Trailhead but some Trail Angels (with food and drinks) were - they said they’d helped my dad find another parking lot (where he’d gone to wait for me after I’d already passed). I collapsed in a chair and chugged Gatorade while my brain searched for the energy to fix the problem. (Note: my dad had given a hiker a ride in the AM, so we balanced out on Trail Magic Karma). Fortunately, we had cell service at that point and were able to coordinate a rendezvous easily. Dad picked me up and (by 1745) we drove north on ME-27 to Stratton - fortunately for me, he’d made a reservation at the Spillover Hotel and we got a nice room. Even better, my dad had saved me half of his sandwich for my dinner. I took a bath and rested in bed. I also called Mollie and then updated my trail spreadsheet. My dad let me read more of his new book. Before calling it a day (whew!), we discussed how bad weather was incoming and strategized an itinerary for the next day. At 2230, I went to bed. As I drifted off to sleep, I considered how glad I was to get this section done but wished I had a bigger gas tank! Crossing fingers I can log more AT miles over the next few days! AT Today = 10.4 miles / G.T. AT = 1864.3
