Saturday, August 13th

Carl Newhall Lean-To (2115.7 mi) to Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To (2134.6 mi)

Hiking Miles: 18.9

Total Ascent: 3,938.3 ft

Total Descent: 4,906.8 ft

Total Grade: 467.7 ft/mi

Steps: 42,451

TOTO – Rosanna

Gator/Sunrise: The morning started out unusually cold so I put on my puffy jacket and continued to climb up the trail (where I left off) heading to the top of Gulf Hagas Mountain. Although I sparingly used my puffy (if at all) during the northern section of trail, I still maintained that it was the most important piece of survival gear I carried. It could not have been 30 minutes before I removed the jacket because of the body heat generated during the climb. By 4 miles, I reached the wooded summit of Hay Mountain, which was part of the White Cap Range, and there I decided to have my breakfast and call Teresa. Two miles later, I reached the peak of White Cap Mountain (elevation 3643 ft) just before 9 am.

I had to laugh because late in the day yesterday we had crossed paths with a SOBO hiker and Croc and I asked him how long it would take us to reach White Cap Mountain. He thought for a second and said it would take us a couple of days. And here I am at 9 am the next day. That is why when when anyone asked us a similar question, Croc and I would always ask how many miles they typically hiked in a day to gage their ability. A number of times we were told it would take at least 2 days to get somewhere, and found ourselves reaching that point a half day later.

I met a young male SOBO hiker resting on a ridge at White Cap. This was Day 10 for him on trail which if I did my math correctly, he was hiking an average of 8 miles per day, which wasn’t too bad considering he probably hiked up and down Katahdin one of those days (without trail legs) and receiving credit for only 5.2 miles. He offered to take a picture of me (which was very kind) with Mount Katahdin in the background.

As the morning rolled on, I was feeling weaker by the minute, and the last pic I took for the entire day was at 10 AM. I just wanted to focus on hiking as many miles as possible each day from here on out.

One other thing worth mentioning – I met 3 ladies headed south who were hiking the 100-mile Wilderness together. One of them had an Osprey 60 L pack just like me and we discussed the pros and cons of it on trail. I spoke with them for a good 5 minutes explaining our father-and-son thru hike journey and as many folks were, they were quite impressed. I told them to look out for my son as they continued on and I jokingly told them to slow him down a bit by also talking with him.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t remember too much about the rest of the day because I was once again (and more severely) sluggish, feeling sick to my stomach, developing a sore throat, and I felt warm like a fever was coming on. When we finally reached the Cooper Brook Falls Lean To, I was totally gassed, and it took an effort for me to cook my food and set up my stuff. I immediately crashed and told Croc I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to continue, which was a huge flag for me. Knowing the terrain I had left to hike, I seriously thought this may be the end. 65 miles remaining, and I felt my body had hit the wall!

Croc: I had been waiting for this day for a long time. It was our last true challenge before Katahdin since White Cap Mountain would be our final uphill battle until then. Also, it was only 6 miles into our hike today, so we’d be finishing it early and would be enjoying a nice 3,000-foot descent and coasting at around 500 feet for the remainder of the trip outside of a couple of 1,500-foot hills that would be few and far between.

White Cap Mountain would also be an iconic part of the trail where it’s the first time the NOBOs could actually see Katahdin in the landscape. There was a cloud hovering over the peak, but I could still see the base and a faint outline in the distance. It was finally in view, which made it feel so real. We’d finally be walking to an actual destination that we could see. Although only a few miles into the day, I decided to take an extended break to enjoy the view and make a midday Instagram post. I also enjoyed a few snacks while I sat because we were hitting our pace and we also banked a meal since we got a free dinner the first night. At this point, I truly felt like, as a NOBO, I had it easier than the SOBOs. Less than 100 miles to go and my next 100 miles were surely easier than their next 100 miles.

As I headed down, I crossed paths with the three ladies Gator mentioned above. We did have a brief conversation that DID slowed me down and they were so impressed that we both made it this far as father and son. They joked that Gator said I was the “fastest hiker on trail” and I responded that “Gator is ahead of me, so he must be faster. Says a lot though because he’s kept up with me the whole time!”

It wasn’t very eventful for the rest of the day since we popped back to low elevation within the trees. We did pass a couple sitting at an old logging road and one of their names was Snacks (and maybe the other was Drinks?). I’m not sure exactly, but they definitely had a combination name. They were actually waiting for pickup to stay at Shaw’s Hostel for the night. Little did I know that you could actually slack pack the entire 100-mile wilderness by having someone go down the logging roads and pick you up every 20 miles or so and take you back to Shaw’s Hostel in Monson, or the hostel in Millinocket. It kind of kills the magic of the 100-mile wilderness knowing that you could actually get in and out whenever you wanted. I should have known (1) when we met someone at the Monson ATC that got off the trail in the middle of the 100-mile wilderness and (2) went to that cabin for dinner on the first night and Bird Man clearly had a car. I also learned that you could set up food drops in the 100-mile wilderness where someone drives in and leaves a box of food hidden for you. I could see how that would be essential for the people who take 10 days to get through and can’t carry that much food. Anyways, I was a little jealous not having a slack pack for the “harder half,” but I was happy nonetheless.

I also passed a shelter that had a dog swimming in a nearby river that boosted my moral. He was such a good boy and made me miss Josie.

Gator and I eventually made it to the shelter that we shared with one other elderly gentleman. This easily could have been one of the best shelters on the trail, but we were so exhausted that we just went to bed, even though we hit camp around 4:00 PM, which was rare for us. This shelter had a roaring waterfall that flowed into a river right in front of us. It was excellent white noise for sleeping. We honestly could have gone for a swim before going to bed since we wouldn’t have to hike afterwards and could dry off. It was just a missed opportunity. Another plus was that the shelter was also right off the trail, which we hadn’t experienced in a while.