June 2013: Mt. Katahdin and the Appalachian Trail:
We made it to the top of Katahdin.
A view from of Katahdin from 10+ miles away.
The sign we saw on day two. 10 miles into our hike. We made it to Hurd Brook Lean-to. But decided to keep pushing on to see if we could make it to Rainbow Ledges Camping area. We didn't make it. A HUGE storm pushed us back to the Lean-to. Thank goodness there was room for us at the lodge because it was a cool, windy and rainy night.
We had endured over 30 minutes under a tarp on the side of mountain before we decided to descend and make our way back instead of push on up the mountain. It was the biggest hail I have ever seen. Pouring rain, lightning, thunder and WIND. (We found out later that there were tornados in the area). It was the scariest thing I have ever been in. We were outside under a tarp, kneeling on top of our backpacks and shaking uncontrollably from cold.
Earlier in the day when we could hear the thunder in the background, the sun was out and we thought it would pass to our north. Then the skies got darker and darker and we knew we needed to get up and over the mountain before the storm hit but we couldn't climb that fast. (We had already hiked nearly 14 miles and it was about 1300ft. elevation). A group of guys 3 guys were climbing the rock staircase that makes up part of Rainbow Ledges right behind us as it started to pour and the lightning got REAL scary. We got off the trail, which was flooded with mountain runoff and up to our ankles, because we didn't want to stand in running water in a storm. But the guys kept hiking up! They walked off into the rain and were gone! I remember saying to my friend,"they left us, they left us!" I realized they could not help us any more than we could them...then we felt totally alone. The things we thought of to "try" to be safe in retrospect were just crazy! I will also admit that while standing off the trail, under the smallest tree we could find, huddled together for warmth, I peed my pants. I was so scared! I laugh about it now but up there it only made the situation seem worse.
Most of the trail looked like this on day two.
Day three took us on a 22 mile adventure: Which included wading across the rushing Hurd Brook in crotch deep water, going off the trail to go around many trees that had fallen in the storm, walking most of the trail in ankle deep water and sloshing through lots of mud, crossing Rainbow Stream on a thin board and hiking up and down a total of about 1600 feet in elevation. We were tired and sore and I had fallen twice. Charles (my husband) was going to resupply us every 3-4 days at previous marked locations. These locations were access roads and places he could hike to in order to connect with us. The plan was that if we were not at any of the locations he would leave our supplies hanging in a tree with a note. Well, I guess we really looked in rough shape when we connected at Wadleigh Stream Lean-to because he told us he really thought we should seriously think about calling it quits. I hate to quit things but he was right. We were done. Physically and emotionally.
Here is something that I took from my facebook page:
Day three took us on a 22 mile adventure: Which included wading across the rushing Hurd Brook in crotch deep water, going off the trail to go around many trees that had fallen in the storm, walking most of the trail in ankle deep water and sloshing through lots of mud, crossing Rainbow Stream on a thin board and hiking up and down a total of about 1600 feet in elevation. We were tired and sore and I had fallen twice. Charles (my husband) was going to resupply us every 3-4 days at previous marked locations. These locations were access roads and places he could hike to in order to connect with us. The plan was that if we were not at any of the locations he would leave our supplies hanging in a tree with a note. Well, I guess we really looked in rough shape when we connected at Wadleigh Stream Lean-to because he told us he really thought we should seriously think about calling it quits. I hate to quit things but he was right. We were done. Physically and emotionally.
Here is something that I took from my facebook page:
Home. Pulled from the trail by my concerned hubby, Charles Weidman. 40 miles of Appalachian Trail in 3 days and 7 miles of side trails. He'll take me back to finish when my shoulder and back recover. No major injuries just sore from a couple of falls with a heavy back pack. Proud of what I did. Miles of wilderness seen. BEAUTIFUL! A few good stories and and some adventure with a friend. AND Moose are stupid.
So I will go back and start where we left off near Jo-Mary Road sometime in 2014.
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