McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 8/21/2024 | AT Mile 225.4 | Day Total: 15.5 miles | Gain: 3733 ft

Last night the trees were dripping on the tent the whole night. It may have rained a little but it was mainly the larger loud drops hitting my tent walls. I had a little trouble falling asleep but went out eventually.

I woke up at 7 this morning a little later than usual. I took my time and ate breakfast and packed up. My right shoe has developed a small tare on the outside near my pinky toe probably about a 1/2 inch long. It doesn’t affect my walking but I wanted to do some preventative maintenance and stitched it a little.

I was hiking around after 8:30 and had an ascent to Saddleback Junior. It was pretty steep. So steep in fact that I could stick my hand out standing straight up and touch the trail.

It’s a wet, rainy, foggy morning but the wind is not blowing much. Views are spectacular I particularly love the clouded in peaks….

The Horn was my next goal. I descended into a valley and climb right back up. Today I will be above tree line for 3 miles and on the way up to the Horn I crossed that line. If you guessed that there were no views you’d be correct.

After the horn the trail was pretty neat. I was above tree line for the first time in a while. I came across a nobo hiker dancing on one of the bumps on my way to Saddleback.

I walked across many large rock slabs on my way up to Saddleback. I was careful not to slip was there was not much to keep me from stopping for a few feet. I also came across a sketchy old ladder at one of the descents.

I eventually made it to Saddleback’s peak. Once again clouded in… trail is fun to hike tho.

The descent was graded well and not too steep. It did occasionally go down a steep section but it wasn’t constant.

Once down from Saddleback I ate a later lunch at Piazza Rock Lean-to. There was a couple (from Massachusetts) doing a section hike that I talked with while I ate. I filtered some water and went on my way. A small descent brought me to some bog boards. That I unfortunately slipped off and straddled the bog board sitting down. Luckily it wasn’t too deep but it did coat my shoes in a nice layer of mud.

I passed Maine route 4 and saw a sign that said trail magic across road! I am excitedly walked across and lo and behold there was no trail magic… someone must have left an old sign up on accident.

The rain paused this afternoon and the sun came out an enough to clear the fog. I took a break at a view of the Saddleback range. This view was made possible by cutting down a portion of the forest, it was not being logged. A nobo walked around the corner and we talked briefly. He mentioned there’s a canoe (with paddles and life jackets) at the campsite I’m staying at tonight. This gave me a little pickup.

I arrived at camp and there were a lot of sites but nearly none of them were muddy and flat. I found one on the other side of the trail that hopefully not puddle up too much in the rain tonight.

I did see three canoes by the pond so I decided to take one out after getting set up. I was super tired but knew I would regret it later if I didn’t. I multitasked by filtering my water on the canoe and drinking a Pedialite.

After that little side quest I ate dinner and settled into bed. It’s raining now that I’m in my tent.