I woke to blue skies this morning, optimistic, if a bit reluctant to pack up my muddy tent. After procrastinating a while, I managed to hit the trail about 30 minutes later than usual, and set about the task of climbing Stratton Mountain.
I met a late AT SOBO hiker at a road crossing, “Lex”, and she was full of positive energy. I soaked up the sun for a minute, then ducked back into the green tunnel, where a mostly gradual climb over a mix of good trail and boulders posing as trail led me to “Somerset View”. It was a pretty sad excuse for a view, but given how infrequent views have been so far this trip, I appreciated that it was at least sunny, which would be pretty great for the fire tower views atop Stratton.
My hopes were dashed as I approached the final few hundred feet of vertical and was suddenly enveloped in blowing fog. I reached the top and climbed the first couple flights of the rickety tower, to no avail. Rats.
Well, at least I might get a hot meal for lunch, as hikers can ride the ski area lift down to the snack bar at the base and then back up again. I wandered the 0.75 miles over to lift central, and discovered that the lifts were out of commission for maintenance. Rats again.
Well, at least I had a few bars of 5G up on top, which did allow me to check in and post a couple blog posts. That actually worked out, but as I wandered back to the tower, the sun flashed out for about five minutes. I ran into a group at the bottom of the tower who said they’d been at the top when that happened, and they had the best views for about five minutes. Rats, rats, rats.
So down the trail I continued, downhill through mud, roots and rocks for miles, until I eventually came to Stratton Pond. The famous view involves a short diversion on a blue blaze, but it was worth it, even if the weather had continued cold and grey.
And then it was seemingly endless miles through the Lye Brook Wilderness, pretty enough, and mostly flat. The trail at this point felt a bit monotonous and aimless, though I’m sure it was mostly down to me being pretty darned tired. I don’t think I’ve been getting anywhere near enough calories, something I’ll have to fix with my resupply tomorrow.
I eventually arrived at William Douglas Shelter, which for probably some good reason is located half a mile off the LT/AT. It’s pretty dark, and there have been reports of many mice in this one. But it’s dry, and there’s a spring nearby, and I’m bone tired, so it’s home for now. No companions here — just me and the mice tonight.
With side excursions, albeit packless, I put in about 15.5 total miles today. Oof. Less tomorrow.
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