The central feature of life on the Appalachian Trail is deprivation. The whole point of the experience is to remove yourself so thoroughly from the conveniences of everyday life that the most ordinary things — processed cheese, a can of pop gorgeously beaded with condensation — fill you with wonder and gratitude. ~Bill Bryson
August 14, 2024
AT miles: 11.7
Ascent: 1120’
Descent: 2400’
Weather: gorgeous
Sightings: a mama loon and her four babies
High points: sitting for an hour on a rock while bathing my feet in Cooper Brook and listening to the waterfall after hike
Today we slept in an hour, not getting on the trail until 8 AM.
The hike today was a mere 11.7 miles, but it was mostly downhill or level, and, more importantly, there were relatively few rocks and roots.
There were multiple stream crossings, but the water is down enough from Hurricane Debbie that the crossings were merely painstakingly slow somewhat slippery rock hops. I did one at embarrassingly slow speed with an audience of four thru-hikers, who generously decided that since I didn’t fall in the water I did a fabulous job clambering over the rocks! I was very glad they didn’t take a video!
I hiked alone the previous three days, but today I hiked the whole day with Shaun. Talking made the miles fly by. We passed by several seriously creepy swamps, crossing them on rickety bog boards. There was one very small mountain we had to climb, but after the Chairbacks and White Cap Mountain, this mountain was a mere blip.
While crossing our dirt road for the day, Johnson Pond Road, we noticed a nice white BMW SUV. It seemed rather out of place, so we stopped to ogle it for a minute and received an invitation from the owners to have a soda. We thirstily glugged large root beers and talked with the people, parents of a hiker. They were doing a food drop for him since this is about halfway through the Hundred Mile Wilderness. They own a camp near Barren Ledges and the man has summered there his entire life — over 60 summers!
Hiking makes you appreciate the small luxuries in life, like a cold soda!
Shortly afterwards we came across Crawford Pond, a lovely northern Maine pond that had no human habitation.
We did see a mama loon and her four babies!
It was just a hop, skip, and jump to Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to, where we were spending the night. I set up my tent quickly and rushed down to this flat rock right next to the waterfall where I sat for an hour, soaking my feet in the warm water and relaxing on the warm rock.
Later in the evening, the six of us had a social time. For the first time this entire hike, I did not feel rushed in the evening, and I really enjoyed talking and relaxing at camp.
Today was the first day that our speed remotely came anything close to 2 mph, which is the standard hiking speed in Virginia. The trail today was much more like Virginia thankfully.
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!