McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 9/11/2024 | AT Mile 542.1 | Day Total: 17.6 miles | Gain: 3604 ft

Woke up at 6 this morning and pulled down my textbook bear hang. It’s my coldest morning so far, 44F so I lay my quilt over me while I eat breakfast. I experimented this morning with making Ensure but warm and mixed with a packet of instant coffee in it. It was surprisingly good (for hiking standards at least).

I have three peaks to climb over today. The first one being Baker Peak. On my way up I smack my head against a fallen tree across the trail. The combination of hiking up, looking down and the brim of my hat all obstructs my view of anything at head height. I didn’t hurt too bad and was fortunate not to hit one of the pointy branches.

The views from Baker Peak were fine, nothing too crazy. The next peaks I have today are higher and offer better views.

On my way to Styles Peak I passed Griffith Lake. There were lots of bog boards that brought me to the edge and offered good views.

While waking up to cold air it was not preferable, it was a good trade off for excellent hiking weather. Cooler air acts like air conditioning while I’m hiking up during the early hours of the day.

Styles Peak had better, taller view but was still obstructed my some trees.

I took a “small” dip down before I hiked up to Bromley Mountain. I delayed my lunch a little because there’s supposed to be a nice ski hut with tables and outlets. I passed Kill Bill about a half mile before the hut eating lunch. He later regretted not walking to the ski hut.

As I neared the peak there was some super recent trail work being done. They rerouted the trail in a few spots to make the grade less steep and to help prevent the trail from turning into a stream. The first thing I saw was a large concrete block with the AT and LT marker on it followed by the top of the ski lift.

Sure enough, there was a little hut that was unlocked. They’ve even got a clothes dryer and wifi. Although the wifi doesn’t seem to be working at the moment. It was nice to eat lunch with the comfort of a table and indoor setting. There were a few hikers that passed by going nobo, likely doing the LT. Any nobo AT hikers I pass at this point are pushing the limits of finishing before Baxter closes for the season.

Just outside there’s a large metal staircase that brings you to a platform for viewing. Can’t say I enjoyed the fact that the floor was see through… I was clenching the railing the whole time.

I spent over an hour in the hut. I don’t have much more planned for today, just over 5 miles to the shelter. Tomorrow I’ll hike most of the day then stay at the Wicked Waystation, a hostel.

The trail going down was cool as it went down a ski trail for a while. I was imagining people skiing down the trail during the winter. It ducked back into the trees after about a half mile.

I filtered water at a random stream but made quick work of filtering as there were mosquitoes all around.

Tonight’s shelter is really nice. It’s fully enclosed and has 2 “floors”. Bill Kill had just arrived when I walked up. There’s a nice spring on the other side of the shelter. Much better than the nearly stagnant one I passed on the trail leading to the shelter.

Two other LT hikers arrived while we were eating dinner. They made for some fun conversation. All four of us are in the shelter tonight with plenty of room to spare. I can hear an owl hooting in the distance as I wrap up tonight’s journal.