The entire day was beautiful, a complete reversal from the previous day. A clear blue sky, wispy clouds and 75 degrees was the perfect day to follow the AT over three mountains. I knew this would be challenging, but the day given to me deserved my full enthusiasm. The first summit was Bald Mountain, 4.1 miles and 1400 feet above my streamside camp.
It was the morning sun casting long shadows on the smooth, flat rock surface, the blue sky with gentle cirrus clouds, and the summit sign post inviting me to stand tall next to it.
Middle Mountain and Pleasant Pond Mountain was more demanding because the climb included more of the trademark AT boulders on the ascent and descent. It was satisfying to look back toward Bald Mountain to gain a visual perspective of how far I came to reach the second and third climbs of the day. If the weather was rainy like yesterday I would have been in a bad way. Instead, today was all about the beauty of the forest canopy, the climbs above it all and the fun views of Maine from the AT. My hiking spirit is heightened because I covered more distance the past two days than I previously assumed I could in Maine and enjoyed every mile, except for those few “WTF” moments on the steep boulders. Today: 15.1 miles, 3,800 feet of ascent.
Pictures are excellent, glad you are hanging in there….
Looking good Greg. Thank you for the update.
Glad the weather has cleared up for you. Enjoy Maine as much as you can. It’s a pretty awesome place.
Way to go, Roger! Beautiful place, wonderful photos.
Good show Roger. Happy that you such a fabulous day.
Stunningly beautiful — and you look darn good yourself!