Training Log Archive: abiperk

Wiss trails - a little bit quieter than they’ve been. Another steamy morning. Stomach unsettled, so walked the last 3/4 miles or so.

Family Father's Day hike with my dad, including a visit to the stables. Five minutes in, my dad commented, "so this is how not quiet your trip was..."

Event: Canceled - Maine Summer Adventure Race
 

Local track with a friend - first run date since... March? ... and only real place we could guarantee social distancing. 75 and humid at 7am, but so lovely to have company. We walked a couple miles afterward.

We finished Wednesday still expecting to be out a fourth night, but then we looked at the map and realized that we only had ~5 miles left (or, you know, 6.7 - clearly we need a better map). So, we decided that if we made it to the Sprout Point shelter by 2pm, we'd continue on to the car (another 3/4 mile). If not, we'd stop there for a leisurely final night.

Z ended up having some of her fastest miles, despite the long switchback-y climb out of Masten, and we made it to Sprout Point before noon. So, we stopped there for a long final lunch and then pushed on to the car. Saw a very fresh pile of scat just before we reached the road, which looked like bear cub.

Finished at 1pm on the nose, then headed to Worlds End for a swim. We knew friends who were camping there for the week but had no way of getting in touch with them (we tried using our garmin inreach to text theirs, but we had the wrong email address). So, it was a nice surprise when we parked the car and they pulled into the lot right behind them. Storm clouds rolled in around then, so grabbed a picnic table under cover and had a socially distanced ice cream date with them before calling it a day and heading home.

And I write this at 8am Friday morning, just as S is starting to stir.

C • What a great family trip! 1

First half of Day 3, as my garmin died early afternoon (I brought my old forerunner as a backup, assuming that would happen). Started off with a gentle descent down to the intersection of Yellowdog Run and Rock Run - the most scenic water course in the state by many designations. It was awesome, and we made sure to take an extra long break to enjoy it. Broots and Z contemplated a swim while S napped in the carrier under an umbrella, but the water was just too cold. So, we played on the rocks instead.

From there, a long, sometimes-steep climb back up. We failed to fill water at Rock Run and paid for it on the climb. Z said she was so thirst she could drink an entire lake. Or at least a full water bottle.

Were aiming for 10 miles, which was supposed to bring us to the ghost town of Masten (site of the 2018 Stockville midcamp). Somehow, it ended up being 13 miles. The hike is billed as 27 miles - it took us 34 to get around.

On the final descent to Masten, I took Z on ahead while Broots gave his back a bit of a rest. At one point, I spotted something running out ahead of us - it looked like a small cat (bobcat?), but may have been a bear cub or an oddly shaped fox.

Set up camp at Masten. Everyone was tired after the long day. Z was thrilled with dinner - Annie's mac and cheese - then fell asleep in her dessert. Surprisingly great night of sleep for everyone in the tent.

Day 2 started with a big climb out of the valley, and then meandered along a ridgeline for awhile before dropping to the Doe Run shelter, our stop for the night. I fully expected this to be the hardest day for Z, and it was. Her body ached from the hard effort on Monday and she hadn't quite found a rhythm for hiking all day. We had a few dips, but she recovered well, aided by gummies and lots of songs, stories, and games. There was zero quiet on this trip.

Had lunch at an overlook known for its rattlesnake dens. Saw a VERY big one, sleeping under a rock. May have had another in there with it - hard to tell. Our most exciting animal sighting of the trip (see zero quiet above).

S took a tumble on the rocks and bit through his tongue - the only injury of the trip.

Made camp in the shelter. Beautiful spot - Broots and I had been there together previously while scouting the 2018 Stockville (he has also hiked the OLP with students). Took a bath in the creek. Introduced Z to bagged meals. Got our bear line caught up in a tree. Had a funeral for two hatchimals who were tossed off the shelter roof and lost (before broots came to the rescue and found them after I'd set off the next morning with the kids).

Nice not to have to set up the tent, but no one slept as well there. S has serious FOMO and was not a fan of trying to fall asleep while everyone else was hanging out.