An Amazing Adventure – Maine 100 Mile
Wilderness – Monson to Abol Bridge
Life keeps getting richer
By: John
“HalfBomb” Rodrigue, Ryan “Snowman” Triffitt and Tyler Lupien
Run start Date: September 16, 2016
The incentive
– The Buckle
There was a time, I can’t recall when, I was told about an
event, an event that very few had attempted. This event took place in the
Northern wooded area of Maine’s wilderness. It is a section of the Appalachian
Trail (AT) between Monson Route 15 AT trailhead and Abol Bridge at the base of
Katahdin Mountain, presumably to be 100 miles in distance. It had logistical
hurdles for runner, crew and pacer. It was very technical terrain, tedious
climbs and descents and an un-forgivingness nature. This stretch of the AT is
appropriately named the Maine 100 Mile Wilderness.
It was my understanding, when I first learned of this run,
there was an original group of Trail runners and several other badass Trail
Monsters that organized and set out to “Run” this section to earn a new belt
buckle designed by Ian Parlin of the Trail Monster Running. To earn this
coveted silver metal belt buckle the distance would need to be traversed within
a 48 hour time span. It was my understanding that 7-8 ultra runners begun the
first attempt, along with their crews and pacers to have only 2 complete the
distance and earn the buckle! It was at a later time and after multiple
attempts that a third would earn the buckle, the third would be Iron Joe.
When I originally heard of this unofficial event, I was
intrigued but thought it was unreachable for an ultra-runner of my caliber. My
navigational skills are somewhat challenged, or if you ask other ultra running
friends my skills in navigating may be non-existent. Hahahaha. Due to this I
felt this event was dangerous, crazy and unreachable even for it being on the
well-marked AT trail.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2015 that the opportunity to
assist Scott Jurek in his FKT of the AT came about which allowed me to traverse
many miles of the AT through Maine including the Maine 100 Mile Wilderness. My
responsibility through the wilderness would be crewing Iron Joe, who was tasked
to get Scott Jerek through the difficulties of being on weary legs and to
navigate him to Abol Bridge. It was only then that I gained valuable experience
to raise my confidence to possibly run the 100 Mile Wilderness but it was still
a distant thought in my mind.
Towards the end of 2015, beginning of 2016 while out on
group training runs discussions of the 100 Mile Wilderness began to prop up.
There were discussions of another possible group attempt. Chaski and Sasquatch
were weighing in heavily as to committing to the attempt. I was listening but
not committing until I knew more. After several other training runs I decided
to jump on the wagon and join in the fun. Talk began of a late August attempt
as to get it done prior to Chaski and Sasquatch having to begin school as they
are both teachers. Talk continued and time was passing on. It was soon realized
that Sasquatch would be looking for new employment and moving to a new home.
Chaski also felt he would not be able to put in the proper training with life’s
happenings so they would not be able to train as they had hoped so their bid
for the wilderness had to be put on hold for this season. At this point I
figured my bid had vanished as well as the wilderness is not recommended as a
solo run and a group attempt is safer and wiser so I basically let it go as an
option for the 2016 season.
It wasn’t until June or July that I was having a casual
conversation with Snowman regarding whether we were all still thinking of the
attempt. I quickly cast his questions aside and stated I would not do it alone
and the others were out. Snowman did not let it sit there, he asked why? I
really couldn’t come up with a good answer other than the fear of getting lost
and dying. Hahahaha. I said I would never consider doing it like Iron Joe and
go completely un-supported; I would need a crew of two or more. Maybe the
attempt was NOT hopeless!
I can’t remember the exact time that I decided to just throw
this out there, but I asked Snowman if he would be interested in crewing me for
the 100 Mile Wilderness Run if I decide to make an attempt at it in September.
To my complete surprise his response was simply “You’re going to have to
convince Danielle first”. I thought that was the easy part. It ended up that
she was fine with the plan. I believe that part of the acceptance for them was
they both had thru-hiked the AT and have a love for its draw and beauty. It was
now the planning really took fruition. We had tentatively set a date. September
16, 2016. 5:00am start. Stay at Moosehead Family Campground Thursday evening
and set out early. It’s a plan, now to make it happen.
Ryan had thought that crewing solo would be ok, but I was
having nothing to do with it. After my experience in the Northern Woods and
logging areas last year with Iron Joe and some of the issues we faced, I was
adamant that at least one other crew member was needed or I would not attempt
the run. It was important to me that all stay safe or as safe as possible and
the thought of one individual crewing was not a safe idea. So, the search for
another crew member was on. Honestly it didn’t take much time to remember that
Tyler had expressed interest in crew/pacing to me several times so he was the
first I would contact. It would also give him a sense of what crew/pacing entails;
basically it would be throwing him right in the hot coals of it. He agreed he
would like to be a part of the adventure but needed to get the ok from family
and work first. Soon after he was confirmed and the crew was set, now to get
details and organize the logistics.
Over the next month or so the details were coming together.
Timing, travel, lodging, equipment but the most difficult to organize in the
Northern Woods is the navigation to possible runner check points. How to get
in, manage the gate access, operation hours available, were roads actually
passable. All of these details that Snowman is so good at doing research. It
ended up a plan was set into place but there were still questions and
possibility that crew and runner could miss each other at check points which
could leave me at a huge disadvantage if I were to get to a check point before
they got there. Do I Wait? Do I go ahead without them? What do I carry with me
just in case we miss each other? What if I get injured? Would there be water
supply available on the trail? These were all good logistical questions. All of
these questions would be answered as best they could, but there would always be
some unreliability.
A dinner meeting was scheduled after a Tuesday night run at
SeaDog Brewery in Topsham to discuss more details. The plan was set in stone.
The day, time, plan was not to change. Then another get together September 4th
at Tyler and Keri’s place to just hang out and relax with beer and brick oven
pizza, not much about the planning of the adventure discussed. It’s less than a
week away now to start time. During the week leading to the run I packed and
repacked my gear several times. Sent my list of gear, food and supplies to the
crew and got back suggestions for additions and removals. My gear was now
packed and ready.
The draw I felt to this run came from the fact that it
wasn’t a race. I could run this trail as I love to run, “Old School style”. It
would be just me, my friends, the wilderness and a lot of heart. It was a
stretch for me. I hadn’t let anyone realize how scared and nervous I was. I
have run other 100’s but this one had the most potential for disaster. I would
be alone in one of the most remote areas in the State of Maine. I had doubted
my skills to navigate. I questioned my ability to follow the famous white
blazes at night. The weeks leading up to this day were restless but I knew I
had great friends with amazing experience and caring as my crew. It was time to
test my limits once again.
Gear packed
and ready
The Bradbury Bruiser comes and goes, now it is Thursday
September 15th, it’s time to meet at Snowman’s at 5:00pm pack the
truck and head north. Holy crap, is this really happening?
Departure
from Ryan’s place in Topsham
Now for the good stuff, let’s get into the actual traveling
for the event and the event itself, WOW, what an adventure it was. But first I
need to mention that this weekend we chose was a perfect weekend to run such an
event. The travel was light, the weather and temperatures were favorable, the
Harvest Moon was due the Saturday evening during the run, rain was to hold
until Saturday night and thru-hikers were nearing the end of their AT journey
and the possibility of meeting hikers along the way was high and I was counting
on it. The other part of this journey had significant meaning to Snowman as
well. It was during his AT thru-hike with Sparkplug that they passed through
the 100 Mile Wilderness on the same weekend as I would be running, yup, the
same weekend, so this brought back memories for Snowman, especially our 8 mile
run through the Nahmakanta Lake/Nesuntabunt Mtn range, more to come on that.
We arrive at Moosehead Family Campground, it’s roughly
8:30pm and we are late getting in as the campground closes at 7:00pm. The kind
owners stayed up for us as I had called them earlier in the day and gave then
our ETA. Very kind woman that checked us in. Funny, she took one look at Tyler
and said “Well, you boys should get some rest, he looks tired”, hahahaha, Tyler
wasn’t exactly sure why she singled him out but she was right, we needed to get
set up, organize gear for the morning, sort through what we all had for gear
and in bed asap.
Tyler setting
his alarm for first night’s sleep
Ryan checking
gear prior to bedtime at the campground
We drove through the campground to our site but it was not
the best site to set up Ryan’s cabin tent so we were lucky that the owner gave
us a second option, site 21 was much better and flatter for the tent. The tent
went up quickly with Tyler and me helping to Ryan’s instructions. I’m sure it
was not as impressive as the Triffitt tent raising production that I have
witnessed many other times. We got my pack ready, loaded with gear and we had
our last crew/runner meeting, now time for bed. I think we all had concerns of
one or all of us snoring like an ensemble but we actually sleep pretty quietly
and restful. The alarm was set for 4:00am. That was enough time to get up, eat
some breakfast, jump in the truck and get to the trail head several miles
south. Ryan and Tyler planned to drive back to the campground, after I got
started with the run, to break down the tent and load up the truck as they
would start their own adventure to get to all the check point we had planned
on. Here are the locations they would hope to meet me at barring any issues
with closed roads or unpassable roads……
Long Pond Stream, Katahdin Ironworks Road, Frenchtown Road,
Jo-Mary Road, Nahmakanta Lake, Pollywog Stream and the last final check point
would be the finish at Abol Bridge.
We arrived at the trailhead in Monson at Route 15. It was
shortly before 5:00am. We chatted for a few minutes but I could tell we were
all excited to get this adventure started. I asked to take a selfie of us all and Ryan
also took a pic of me at the sign at the trailhead. I looked at them both and
told them I was very happy to have them both along and I felt I was in great
hands and I would see them soon. Ryan stopped me before heading into the
darkness and said “John, you need to know that we are here because we believe
you can do this, you can do this, now get out of here”. I gave them both a hug,
thanked them again, turned on my headlamp and begun running down the trail, “See
you soon” I offered. After their headlamps begun to fade I yelled out “I love
you”. Ryan responded as I thought he would, “Pussy”. Tyler was not so quick to
respond, and then a few steps later I hear “Love you too”. As the night
collapsed around my single headlamp and handheld I quickly realized I was now
alone, just me, the wilderness and all it has to offer or throw at me.
During the
ride to Monson Trailhead Ryan took this pic: 4:53 am and 37 Degrees.
“The Maps”……
Monson at
5:00am, gearing up to go
Crew and
runner, Monson Route 15, get er done
Last pic and its
go time
I have to be honest, I had a single thought of “What the
fuck am I doing out here” within that first mile, it soon just became my job to
get this shit done. I had put the work in, I felt good, had plenty of rest,
took a solid taper time, I had spent a lot of time in the Whites for long
climbs and runs, It was time to put the work into action. First major point of
interest was Leeman Brook Lean-to. I came to the Leeman Brook and had
difficulty finding the trail to cross. There were a few downed trees across the
trail which made it difficult to see the trail on the other side of them but after
some poking around, I found it. I arrived at the Lean-to as it was still dark.
There were two thru-hikers standing by a fire as it looked like they had just
woken and were trying to keep warm. I said hello but got no response, they may
have just been surprised to see some runner appear out on nowhere with a tiny
pack on and didn’t know what to say!
I quickly passed by and noticed I ran by 5-6 tent sites
where others were still sleeping so I took care in being quiet. These
thru-hikers had been on the trail for months and I didn’t want to wake them as
they still had a long way to go.
This first section was 14 miles, more or less. It was a good
length and terrain to get my legs under me and figure out how I was feeling and
test myself on different types of terrain. I felt great and was feeling strong
and rested but knew that wasn’t going to last long as the hours chimed by. There
were several ponds and ledges to traverse, streams to cross but no fording as
the streams were pretty low and not much flow at all. Little Wilson Falls,
Little Wilson Stream, Big Wilson Stream, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic
Railroad, have several minor climbs but nothing too difficult, then to the
Wilson Valley Lean-to. I remember telling myself to have patience and take it
slow here. My mind was occupied with thoughts of how wonderful and beautiful it
was and how happy I was to be out there with the guys. I had thoughts of what
they might be up to, where they in the truck, were they sitting in the sun
drinking a beer waiting for me? There was still a little climbing remaining
before the descent to Long Pond Stream check point. I was happy to have the
maps with me to check progress as I got to major points of the trail. I arrived in the daylight at Long Pond Stream.
I knew I was close as I sighted Tyler coming back on the trail to meet me. I
was very happy to see him. Ryan had estimated a possible 6 hours to get there
so the daylight had appeared just a few hours after I left Monson trailhead. The
sunrise was a beautiful glow of orange and yellow and it was time to change out
of my long sleeves as it was getting warmer.
First check
point at Long Pond Stream
The Ford at
Long Pond Stream
The crew had all my gear laid out and asked what I wanted. I
changed socks, added duct tape, changed shirts, got a full hydration bladder
and dumped my headlamp and handheld. The boys had asked me how it was going and
the one thing I remember saying is the stone steps throughout the trail were
awful and a pain in the ass and it was difficult to keep a consistent run going
due to the terrain. This check point went well. It was time to get back at it
and get some serious climbing done. Prior to the start at Monson, I had
mentioned to the crew that my friend Chris Tarzan Clemons, who had stopped to
visit me a few days earlier, mentioned he had a friend that was thru-hiking and
might be in the 100 Mile Wilderness the same time I would be there. His name
was David. He said if you see a hiker with a dirtbag runner’s trucker hat and
wearing Lunas, it’s him. When Tyler met me back on trail, he mentioned they saw
the guy with dirtbag runners cap on but didn’t say anything to him and he was
about 45 minutes ahead. That gave me some incentive to move quickly in hopes of
catching him. I was hoping to meet him on the trail and have a laugh that we
have a mutual friend that knew we were both in the wilderness together. I set
out in hopes of catching him, head down and bulling through the terrain.
It is here the crew must enter the Northern Woods through the
logging road gates. They will enter through the Hedgehog Gate. As we left each
other at the West Branch Pleasant River we all knew it was going to be iffy at
best to meet at the next several check points so I was ready and geared to move
past check points without the crew. I had extra Tailwind mix, water filter,
extra clothing. I was ready in my mind to get through it even if it was without
them for a while.
Morning fog
on North Pond
Little Wilson
Falls
Streams are
dry
Montreal,
Maine & Atlantic Railroad
Sunrise
through the trees
The serious
crew, but I know they had fun too…..” Business Time”
The second section from Long Pond Stream to KI Road. This
section would be roughly 16 miles long with good climbing and descending and it
was going to hurt. It’s Barren Chairback Range. Barren Mtn., Fourth Mtn., Third
Mtn., Columbus Mtn., and Chairback Mtn. then a descent into KI Road. Seems easy
right, nope, it was brutal. This is where I began to think of bad things.
During the climb to the Barren ledges I had my first thoughts as to whether my
training had been enough, whether I took too much time off prior to this day
for rest, whether my legs would last the 40+ hours I knew it would take to get
through to Abol. These evil thoughts would soon be cast away as I got to the
ledges. The absolute beauty of the run was filling my mind now.
I was feeling good physically and was looking forward to the
views ahead. I knew once I got to Long Pond Stream Lean-to it was going to be
steady climbing to the Barren Slide/Ledges and I was not disappointed. Once I
hit the ledges the views were spectacular. I laughed at one point as I joked to
myself and said “The Mountains of Vermont are so vast” and I knew Chaski and
Iron Joe would have gotten a kick out of that, so I laughed out loud. I was
taking my micro breaks as I like to do that as I climb to regain my legs under
me and each time I would turn and look behind me as to not miss what I had
already traversed. As I was climbing beyond the Ledges I spotted a group of 4
thru-hikers ahead. I figured it was the group that Tyler had mentioned were 45
minutes ahead. As I approached the last hiker in the group I said “hello”. He
turned around and I noticed his trucker hat that read “Dirtbag Runners” and
then I looked down and saw he was wearing Luna Sandals! I immediately pointed
at him and said “Peacefoot?” He then pointed at me and said “HalfBomb?” Yes, it
was David the friend of a mutual friend; I had caught up to him. We hugged and
discussed we both knew Chris Tarzan Clemmons and had been at the Born to Run
Ultra run in California. We chatted for a few minutes but he knew of my goal
from Chris so he motioned me to press on. I looked at him and said it would be
a tragedy for us to meet on the trail and not share some miles together so we
power hiked for several miles until we met up with yet another thru-hiking
group. At that point Peacefoot was in good hands with other hikers so I pressed
onward wishing them strength, endurance and a great celebration as they summit Katahdin.
David
“Peacefoot” Dirtbag Runner, Luna Sandal man, great guy
I reached the summit of Barren Mtn. and I run into three
thru-hikers sitting at the fire tower remains. They are having a conversation
about their last drinking party before they set out to hike the AT. I stopped
to chat for a few minutes and ask them how the journey was going and ask other
questions like trails names, where they were from and when they got started. I
only wish I could remember all the trail names I heard while out there! I was
curious about thru-hikers; they were all smoking cigarettes, which seemed odd
to me. I thought I would need to ask Ryan what was up with that.
These hikers were very perplexed as to my goal of “running”
the wilderness in under 48 hours, they just couldn’t imagine but of course not
I said, you have been on the trail for months now, and running is the furthest
from your mind. Well, I said my goodbyes, we wished each other good luck and I
ran off into the trees. Now it was time to descend to the base of Forth Mtn.
before the climb to the summit. I was still feeling really good here, strong,
happy and excited but that would soon end. It was roughly mile 21 when I hit
the Fourth Mtn. climb. I’m not sure why this climb was the worst, but it was
the most difficult climb and descent for me. It may have been just as simple as
my body was starting to feel the “pain of the Terrain” as I was phrasing it in
my mind. It just seemed to take the longest and it was never going to end. The
descent was slow, tedious and methodical. I kept thinking that I feel lucky
that I didn’t need to traverse the third, second and first Mtn. but I was
wrong, there is a Third Mtn. “Please don’t let it be like the Fourth”. Well,
the Fourth Mtn. was not done with me yet. It was pounding me to pieces slowly
and to make matters worse as I got to the end of the descent and where it
appeared some possible good runnable area appeared I jumped off a 5’ high ledge
area and as soon as my feet hit the ground I felt a massive pain in my right
ankle. I had jumped off this ledge and as soon as my right foot hit the ground
there was a rock below it. My ankle rolled fairly sharp and badly. I fell to
the ground and thought “Fuck, this is it, this is exactly what I didn’t
need/want to happen”. I sat there for about two minutes and finally decided to
get my sorry whiny ass off the ground and keep moving.
The first few miles after that was difficult as I was
limping and shuffling along slowly, but I was just trying to pick my foot
placements as to not roll it again and cause more damages. As I kept moving
along it seemed as though the pain was subsiding and it was feeling strong
again so I began to run any runnable areas and just being cautious of rolling
it again. By the time I reached Columbus Mtn the pain was gone and I felt great
again. There was a long way to go and I wasn’t even half way into the run yet.
It was time to re-focus and get this shit done.
Traverse Third Mtn, Columbus Mtn and Chairback Mtn and keep
an eye out for the crew in hopes that they are at the check point and had no
issues getting there. It was here along the Chairback I felt a little twinge in
my left knee. It was just a little tension but nothing debilitating and was in
the inside of my knee. Not sure what it was but assumed it was just a sign that
I had done something it wasn’t happy about. I put it out of my mind and pushed
ahead.
I had a few decent runnable areas, although, I ran into a
length of trail that was marked with blue ribbon flagging and no white blazes?
This was unusual and confusing. I didn’t run very far until I decided to turn
back and check why there was blue flagging. I got back to the intersection of
the last white blaze and beginning of the blue flagged trail. I panned the
point where they met and it seemed obvious, at that point, the trail had been
re-routed. I could see where they had placed downed trees over the old white
blazed trail and scraped the blazes off the trees. I decided to follow the blue
flagging. This distance of trail seemed long and was very new, soft, narrow,
stumps sticking up from 2”-6”, dangerous footing. Once I got to the end of the
blue flags I stopped and confirmed the trail had been re-routed. I saw the same
situation on the opposite end. It was confusing as blue blazes typically
signify a side trail to a view, water source or lean-to off the trail. So I’m
not sure why they chose blue flagging for this re-route! They should have known
I was directionally challenged….hahahahaha. I wanted to take pictures of this
area but I was consciously trying to limit the stopping and picture taking.
Finally I am descending, I feel my quads talking to me a bit
but just whispering. I’m headed down to the West Branch of Pleasant River which
is a ford. As I got near the logging road (KI Road) before the river crossing,
Tyler appeared on the trail. He wasn’t too far in but I was so happy to see
him. We ran to the road together and once we got there I was surprised that the
truck wasn’t there. Tyler said they had a little directional issue driving so
the truck is not right at the road. They had also decided not to have me meet
them at the road prior to the river and then have to ford the river and
continue on the next section with wet feet and clothes. They had forded the
gear across the river so I could get a fresh change of clothes, socks, food,
gear and sit and change. They had picked up pizza and had it waiting; it was a
great surprise at this 30 mile mark.
Barren Ledges
are near
Barren
Mountain, old fire tower
View from
Barren Mtn of Lake Onawa
The dreaded
Fourth Mtn, little did I know this would kick my ass
The not so
fun Bog log bridges
Silhouette of
a nearly broken man on Columbus Mtn
Nobody home
at the Chairback Gap Lean-to
This says “spring”
but there was no water available here….bummer…..
West Branch
Pleasant River, these guys are so good to me…..p-i-z-z-a
Tyler at the
West Branch Pleasant River, I love this panoramic pic.
While I sat and re-focused on what was ahead, Ryan mentioned
that they had a change of plan as they stopped at the Hedgehog Gate to
register, get information and enter the Northern Woods area. He mentioned they
had tried to explain what they were doing out here to the woman at the desk but
she seemed to not understand so she asked for her husband “Bill” to talk to the
boys. Bill, from my understanding, was very knowledgeable of the logging roads
and how to navigate them. The crew explained their plan while they were in the
wilderness and how they had planned to get to me. Bill then informed them that
they would not have to leave the wilderness at any point and could stay in and
get to all the check points without passing through any gates after or before hours.
This was very good news to the crew. All they had to do was figure out how to
get food. I was relieved to hear they would NOT miss any check point the entire
time within the wilderness. Great news and put my mind at ease. I could now
just focus on how “I” was feeling and what I needed to do to get to each check
point. The boys would be fine, although, I still thought about how they were
doing and what they were up to. I kind of wanted to be part of that fun too. It
was time to get a move on as yet another piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Hedgehog Bill
saving the day
Once I was changed, fed and given info for the next section,
section number 3, I was off and running. I have been informed that the climbing
is not done and I knew it. I had White Cap Mtn. to get to and had Gulf Hagas,
West Peak and Hay Mtn’s to get over. It looks like a steady climb on the maps
but I had learned not to trust the maps elevation profiles any longer after my
nightmare on Fourth Mtn.
Back at it,
not even half way there yet.
I would be running into nightfall here. It will be my
longest time running and traversing the wilderness in the dark. The crew had
given me a rough estimate of 6-7 hours before they see me next. I had asked for
additional batteries but we all decided that the headlamp should last long
enough and I also had my handheld. It would only be a few hours before the sun sets
so I will run as far as possible without my headlamp to save the batteries. I
was feeling pretty good, just a bit beat up from the technical terrain but it
wasn’t anything I wasn’t used to. My feet seemed to be the worst. They were
just sore and felt like they had been beaten with a hammer from the underside. Ahhhhhh,
you've got to love Ultra running.
The climb to Gulf Hagas was not a bad gradual climb with a
few steep areas of strenuous work. The trail basically followed Gulf Hagas
Brook and it was quite pleasant. The mossy rocks and green growth in the forest
was pleasant as the sun began to set. I got occasional scent of what reminded
me of patchouli oils and it was a welcomed scent as I had begun to smell like a
thru-hiker. The footing was not as runnable in many areas and I was cursing
that I couldn’t keep a good rhythm. It was mostly a hard fast power hike as
fast as I could move. The sun was getting closer to the horizon as it set and
it dawned on me, ha, no pun intended, that if I busted hump up that hill I
might get to see a beautiful sunset from the of Gulf Hagas. The quest for a
sunset summit began. I was moving as fast as possible but the sun was dropping
quickly. I could see it starting to set through the trees. I kept thinking “I’m
close” but I wasn’t close enough. The bright orange and yellow sphere was
disappearing over the horizon, I had lost the challenge with Mother Nature but
I was happy to have the challenge to keep me occupied.
I moved under the light of sunset for as long as I could
until it was just too difficult to see the roots and rocks ahead of my foot
placements. It was here I was getting pretty tired so I resorted to taking 5
minute cat naps when my eyes were closing randomly. They seemed to help me get
myself back together. I took roughly 10-12 of these cat naps between Gulf Hagas
and the next check point at Frenchtown Road. I was still ascending on wooded
trails until I got to White Cap Mtn. As I was approaching Hay Mtn. I noticed
that there seemed to be a light mist in the air once and a while. It seemed
like possibly fog rolling in but where I poked through to the summit of White
Cap I realized the fog was not fog at all, it was clouds! I couldn’t see 3’ in
front of me at the Peak of White Cap. As I got through the trees it was a ledge
summit. I had come out of the woods and now there were no blazes. This was the
first time I truly had a panic feeling of I could easily get lost here. I can’t
see through the clouds, I have no idea what direction to go and I can’t see any
blazes. I thought I might need to wait it out and see if the clouds moved on,
but how long would that be and would the crew worry if I wasn’t at the next
check point within the estimated time? Of course they would worry, right?
I decided to systematically pan the ledge area, I started by
walking straight ahead, looking only at my feet with my handheld for signs of a
blaze or trail at my feet on the ledge. I walked what seemed to be several
hundred feet. I then walked back the same way but moving over to my left 5-10’
and doing the same back to the point I had just come from. I did this 3-4 times
until I felt that I might be getting way of course and then found the trail
where I had originally broke out onto the summit. I then repeated this process
but moving to my right. I was trying to move in a grid pattern, panning the
ledge for anything. Finally I spotted a flash of white on the ground; it was a
blaze, a single blaze on the ledge. I was excited to spot the blaze but as I
stood over it I stopped to think, how do I know this blaze is leading me in a
north direction and it’s not heading me back south? I had no idea, no idea at
all! I stood there wondering and finally just went with my instincts and
decided to keep looking for other blazes on the ledge, the blaze I had found
just didn’t “Feel” right. I then headed in the opposite direction in a line
that I thought was directly opposite. I walked roughly 100’ or more and spotted
yet another blaze. This blaze was two blazes as you would see one blaze vertical
and the other horizontal as to signify a turn. The other paint marks that were
above this blaze were the “AT” symbol and just below the corner blaze was the
letter “N”. I was so happy to see this much paint in one place. It had
everything I needed. I was on the “AT”, I was to turn here and I was headed
“N”. Perfect and I could stop having this panic feeling I was having. I was so
happy I sent out a hell of excitement “yeahhhhhhh, you didn’t get me this
time”. I was back on my way over the summit and headed in the right direction.
HalfBomb not lost and scared anymore.
From the summit I had a long descent to the next crew
station and it was brutal, long and technical. The only know point from White
Cap to Frenchtown Road was Logan Brook Lean-to but I seemed to have missed that
lean-to, I figure it was due to missing the signage or just being tired and
having to focus on my footing so much. I was getting closer the crew but wasn’t
sure how far they were until I caught site of Tyler’s headlamp just up the
trail as he headed towards me. I had become used to seeing him or his headlamp
approaching to give me hope that I was close, but this section seemed to have
taken 12 hours and not the 6-7 hours that Ryan had estimated. Tyler quickly got
into a hike with me by following and we may have run a bit at some point, I
just can’t remember! Tyler was asking me how I was doing and I told him I would
be asking for 20 minutes of sleep, that I had been taking mini naps along the
way. We discussed what I had been facing on the trail and what I might need to
continue on. He told me something that was totally random. He said as he was
running back to meet me he saw a dog on a ledge and it totally freaked him out
as he realized it was a plastic statue that someone had placed there but it was
freaky. We continued just chatting generally until we got to the area where the
dog statue was. He said “John, there it is” I couldn’t see it at first as I
wasn’t looking high enough on the ledge. I panned my headlamp higher and there
it was. It was a plastic statue of a Dalmatian! The light of the headlamps
almost made it glow in the night. It was life size and just so weird to see it
out on the trail, it was so realistic looking and just so out of place. We ran
by it and headed to the truck where Ryan was waiting.
We reached the Frenchtown Road in the dark and they had
everything all set out and waiting. I changed, ate some food as I sat in the
chair and Ryan asked his typical questions, one of them being “What do you
need?” I asked him to give me 20 minutes of sleep as I had been taking cat naps
and I needed to rejuvenate myself with a bit of sleep. He then said “15
minutes”, I agreed. The sleeping bag and sleeping pad came out of the truck and
was tucked on a grassy area just off the trail. I lay down and closed my eyes
and that’s all I remember until I heard the words “20 minutes are up, time to
get up”. I got up and was ready to get going again within a few minutes after
getting my bearings again. Strapped on the pack, check my gear and headlamp thanked
the guys for the sleep and being with me and got my estimated time to arrive at
the next check point and what was ahead for terrain. Ryan stated the worst part
was over. I only had a few little “blips” coming up. There would be one steep
but short climb just before Little Boardman Mtn. and then Little Boardman
itself. He said these were both minor compared to what I had already faced! I
took the information in mind and jogged off into the darkness. See you in 6-7
hours. You may notice that not many pictures taken in this last section. I’m
feeling pretty beat up and tired and lack of sleep is beginning to get to me. I
have never been on a run that was more than 30-31 hours and I am going to
experience that on this adventure.
Crew food,
ready for a long night.
Not sure what
Tyler is reading, but it looks captivating.
Little Boardman is next, time to haul out my next best
efforts and get through what is claimed to be the easier half of a northbound
100 Mile Wilderness. That just seems like such a crock of shit at this point as
there is nothing easy about this entire run. I just passed through mile 44 and
I’m feeling like it was already 75 miles. All I can keep thinking about is the
crew and what was said at the start. “John, we are here because we believe that
you can do this”. I was also dreaming of that little oval shaped piece of casted
metal. “The Buckle”. This section brought many weird things. I had begun seeing
shapes that looked like people in the woods that were just leaves or tall
stumps. I had actually said hello to one as I thought it was a thru-hiker. I
also began to see what appeared to be tents and small sheds with the doors open
set up along the trail but they ended up just being large boulders or large
downed trees. My mind was playing games with me. I heard owls in the distance
and tried my luck at hooting back at them but the sounds that came from my
mouth were more like the moans of a crazed man during sex. It was this length
of trail I began to notice little yellow reflections the size of pin heads all
along the sides of the narrow trails. I stopped to look closer as to what it
might be and learned it was the reflection of my headlamp in the eyes of moths
that were perched on the evergreen trees alongside the trail. There were so
many of them. There were also green reflections on the ground that I later
realized were spiders as Ryan and I spotted later in the run. I also had been
dealing with spider cob webs across the trail and hitting me in the face all
the time. Some would be eye level and they were playing havoc with my contacts.
I was already concerned my contacts wouldn’t do me well as I hadn’t worn them
for this long a period. They seemed to be ok for now. The moths were also a
pain, they fly into the light of the head lamp and of course they don’t always
hit the light, they hit your mouth, eyes & nose. This would cause me to
swear like a pirate.
I also did not meet up with any thru-hikers during the
darkness hours. It seems that thru-hikers bed down at around 5:00-5:30pm most
every day unless they have a specific location they are trying to get to. It
was very lonely at night in the wilderness and I believe that’s why your mind
plays games with you. You can hear yourself talk, sing & think in your own
mind.
I had a long way to go. It wouldn’t be until 5:00am before
getting to Jo-Mary Road, the next check point so there was a lot of alone time
coming up. I got by the East Branch Lean-to and I was feeling pretty good. I
soon had a major steep climb directly after the East Branch Pleasant River then
onto Boardman. The steep climb for some reason I can’t remember shit about,
although, Little Boardman, that’s a different story. I can remember stating
over and over “Little Boardman my ass, this is not little, who put this rugged
mountain in the middle of this?” Little Boardman was not easy or fun. It took a
lot out of me and I was now feeling like shit again, tired, worn and mentally
drained. I was taking short micro breaks to regain my composure and to close my
eyes for a minute. I was contemplating whether I would need to remove my
contacts and use my glasses from the next check point onward. My eyes were
tired and I hadn’t worn my contacts for this long, but I decided they would
have to do and I wasn’t going to change a thing.
I crest Little Boardman and I was happy to descend but it
hurt like hell. My quads were strong, my body was ready but my knees and feet
were now toast and beat to pulp. My knees were feeling a constant sharp pain on
the inside and it was difficult to manage other than just not thinking about
it. I would definitely explain to the crew what was going on and the pain level
I was feeling.
The next major point of interest I would cross was the
Kakadjo Road. This would be a well-defined gravel logging road. For some time I
thought I had passed right by it without noticing but that was unlikely. I kept
plugging forward but kept asking myself “Where is the logging road, I should
have reached it by now”! It just seemed I had missed it as I looked at the time
and tried to figure out where I would be according to time but I couldn’t even
do simple math at this point. Soon after getting frustrated thinking I had
missed the road, Bammmm, there it was. I knelt down in the middle of the road
and said thank you, now I was certain where I was in this section. The joy soon
passed as knowing where I was in this section meant knowing I was only half way
through……uuuuggggg. This particular section was mentally draining and damaging.
My mind was thinking I was moving faster, but in reality I was moving slow. I started
letting things get into my head like “The crew will be out looking for me soon,
I’m late getting to the check point”. “My chances of getting that buckle are
slipping away”. I quickly had to get these evil thoughts out of my mind, they
were weighing me down. I reverted back to the beginning and this statement from
Ryan echoed in my head so many times to keep me moving…”John, we are out here
because we believe you can do this”. That statement proved to be my driving
factor. It brought me back from some deeply dark times.
Now it was onward. I had traversed half the distance to the
Jo-Mary Road, now let’s see what I can pull off from hear. It was all about
just getting the job done now, get to the crew, get some energy, encouragement
and rest for a few minutes and then see how I feel.
Somewhere after the Kakadjo Road I had a few great running
stretches. I could actually get some consistent runs in. Maybe they were only
50 feet long, but they seemed longer and it felt good to stretch my legs out.
It was then as I was running I saw a flash of light colored feathers fly
towards me. They came fairly close to me and enough to scare me into stopping. The
feathered friend had flown past me just above my head and landed in a tree just
behind me. I then walked over to it and it appeared to be a hawk! I thought
“How odd, what would a hawk be doing in the darkness”? I walked closer to it
and realized it had landed on a branch that could barely support its weight and
was hanging upside down with its wings spread and it was just looking at me
with its head cocking back and forth. I actually talked to the bird…”Hello Mr.
Hawk, what are you doing out hear’? I then decided to get my cell phone out and
try to take a picture of it as I knew the crew would never believe it. I managed
to get the photo, but still not sure if it was a hawk or owl? This diversion
was just what I needed for a few minutes, got my mind off bad shit.
Birds of prey
in the night
The other amazing reason that we had picked the best time of
year to do this run was this night the Harvest Moon was out. It was bright and
at times large in the sky. I turned off my headlamp several times to see how
much moonlight was making it through the trees onto the trail, it just wasn’t
enough to run or power hike. It was spectacular though. I wished I had been
able to see it while on Little Boardman but for some reason I don’t remember
seeing it there and it would have been great from White Cap but as you know
that was clouded in when I got there so I didn’t have any views. Thank you Ann
Alexien for letting us know it was the Harvest Moon.
Harvest
moonlight
I’m now near the 58 mile mark and I’m tired and worn from
the constant adjusting of foot placements and balancing act it takes to stay
upright. My frustration of toe kicking roots, sliding off rocks and jamming my
ankles between stones has reduced to I don’t feel it anymore so I can’t whine
about it. Even though I felt nothing I still felt I had some energy to keep
moving. The sun would be rising soon after I meet the crew at Jo-Mary Road and
that, in it, could help me regain my energy as it has in past events, so I
cross my fingers the sun comes out and there is not overcast as rain is in the
forecast for Saturday late afternoon. I also look forward to the sun because the
thru-hikers will be waking up and hitting the trail so I may have opportunity
to meet others on the trail.
I see Tyler’s headlamp shine once again, thank goodness I
made it, let’s get rested up, and supplies replenished and let the crew know
what I have been through. I mentioned the things that I had to deal with to
Ryan and he would give me the usual, “…suck it up and deal with it, there’s
nothing you can do about it so stop whining and complaining and just keep
moving”. Got to feel the CREW LOVE. I asked Ryan what my mood was like at
Jo-Mary Road. His response was simple, “Well, you’d been at it for nearly 24
hours at that point, and, about 1.3 of that in the dark, alone. So, factoring
all that in: you didn’t have a mood, you were just existing”. I have a feeling
the crew was getting a bit sleep deprived as well at this point but they would
not ever lead into that notion of course.
Feeling cold
and tired
Crew sleeping
quarters
Trail things
Okay, I need to apologize right up front, my recollection of
this section between Jo-Mary Road and Nahmankanta Lake check point is not that
clear. Even though this was in the day time I was in a bad place here. Major
pain cave. Everything hurts and is talking to me loudly now, my body stopped
whispering to me and said you fucking asshole better listen to what I’m telling
you or I’m going to shut down. It was yelling at me like a Mom catching her
kids smoking weed in the shed in the back yard.
The crew got me changed, fed and restocked for the next 7
hour stretch. I made a decision here to change into my New Balance Hieros. This
may have been a mistake! I felt I needed additional cushioning below my feet on
this terrain but the shoes were not the right size in length, they were sized
to fit and not sized to fit my hugely swollen masses of foot flesh! I went with
them.
I left the crew after they told me it is easy going and flat
from here. The words I remember were…”There are no major climbs or descents in
this section”. I’m not entirely sure I believed it as the map showed a little
blip at Potaywadjo Ridge. If it was like all the other “Little Blips” then this
was going to be tough.
The good thing is the sun was going to rise. Come on to the
sun, bring it on. Not long after getting into what seemed steady run I saw the
sun raising through the trees and felt I could take my headlamp off. Last time
the sun rose, I left my headlamp on thinking it would help until the sun was up
fully, but it actually drowned out the trail.
Crew getting
rest and relaxation
Sunrise for a
second time
I managed to see a few things along the way here and pulled
out my cell phone for a few pictures. There was an AT marker that seemed
totally out of place mixed within the rocks, roots and leaves. It caught my eye
when the sunlight seemed to make the top shimmer. It gave me a few minutes to
take a micro break.
The Blaze
that shine like light bulbs at night
Trail Bling
I also ran across, yet another, re-routed section of trail.
It was marked with blue ribbon tape again like the first. I did the same recon
as I did the first time to assure I was not traveling in a direction I would
regret later. It was definitely a new AT re-route section of trail as this one
had a paint can with white paint and paint brush that I found sitting behind a
tree when I doubled back to make sure it was a good trail to stay on. There
were also areas of new drainage ditches to prevent erosion. I was happy to see
that there might be others on the trail today. It wasn’t long after I caught up
to thru-hikers and yes, a thru-hiker caught up to me! That guy was moving so
fast, was he really a thru-hiker?
AT re-routes
and trail work being done
I was very pleased to see there were some runnable sections
here, but they were not without issues. Earlier on in the adventure I had
turned my right ankle badly at Fourth Mtn. This time I had turned my left ankle
badly on a massive inner twined root system and I sent out a yell. It hurt
fairly badly but again I did not sit very long and decided to just keep moving
as to try and work through it. The pain seemed to disappear quickly as my mind
was focused on getting through this 15 plus miles. There were bog bridges and
low lying wet areas to cross. I fell off a few of these bridges as I noticed my
balance was not as keen. I stepped into the bogs a few times thinking it may be
dry enough not to get full of mud. Ha, that was not the case. The mud was deep,
dark and plenty wet enough. It almost took my shoes off.
Ahhhhh yes, a
runnable section
I had reached the “Little Blip”, Potaywadjo Ridge, it wasn’t
too bad but my God, this section is taking forever. I should be more than half
way. I got over the ridge and on the descent I quickly realized I had already
made it to Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to. Yessssssssss, maybe there will be some
people there to help me wake up. The lean-to seemed unoccupied so pressing on.
More Bog
crossings at low elevations
Potaywadjo
Spring Lean-to
There were lots of bodies of water. Ponds, lakes, but I
wasn’t sure what they were or their names. I had stopped to look at the map but
I wasn’t sure which one I was near! I took a photo of what I thought was
Pemaduncook Lake but I was unsure.
Pemaduncook
Lake, I think
There were streams/brooks to cross but nothing of major
significance. After looking at the map while sitting on a boulder for a bit and
getting a cat nap I see I have two major camp sites to cross, a state campsite
and the other Nahmakanta Stream campsite. “I am going to keep my head down and
cruise through this and get to the crew quickly”, I tell myself. I hear sounds
of water running in a steam once and a while. The trail is descent to move
along but I’m very tired, can’t think straight and the forest seem to becoming
alive. Again, leaf formations look like people and rocks and trees look like
large tents and buildings. I believe this may be where I saw the bear walking
in the middle of the trail, or it may have been the last section. I yelled as
loud as I could and whistled a loud whistle and it ran off as scared as I was. The
bear didn’t stick around to see if I was a good meal or not.
Somewhere near the check point I had become very tired and
was having trouble keeping my eyes open. All I remember is waking up and seeing
a thru-hiker walking by me as I opened my eyes and realizing I was face down on
the trail and must have fallen as I fell asleep hiking. I have no idea how long
I had been there and how many hikers just walked over me. I got myself back up
and started to move forward again when I see Tyler coming up a small incline
towards me. If he had been just a few minutes earlier he would have seen me
face down on the trail sound asleep! Hahahaha. Man, I was so happy to see him
as this last stretch was so long and tedious. It took what seemed forever.
Let’s get to Ryan and the truck. I don’t remember much about what Tyler said to
me but I do remember the look in his eyes when he was running towards me. He
couldn’t hide the fact that I looked like shit. His expression was not
mistakable. I think he was worried about my physical appearance at that point
and the fact that I may have told him I think I might be done and my knees were
shot!
We got to the truck and the boys had it all set up to get me
resupplied, feed, changed, new socks and shoes. I heard Tyler mention to Ryan
that I told him I was done. Ryan quickly said he’s not done lets figure out
what he needs. Ryan asked what was going on and I told him my knees were shot,
my feet were destroyed and I was tired as hell and fell face down after what I
thought was falling asleep while running! He said “Good, that sounds about
right for being 73 miles into this so let’s get you packed up and taken care
of”.
They brought fresh shirts to me and I changed into them,
they changed my socks for me and I applied more duct tape. I told the crew that
the hieros were a bad idea that I needed my size 10.5 Inov8 Race Ultras as they
had more space for my feet right now. As soon as I slipped them on, I felt the
relief and less pressure surrounding my feet. Ahhhh, what a difference a shoe
can make.
It was here after all this time dealing with the pain in my
inner knees that Ryan worked some kind of magic with that tube of muscle rub. I
don’t know if he performed some kind of voodoo ritual on it or poured some kind
of magic powder in it but he knelt in front of the chair and rubbed my knees
with the muscle rub and the pain seemed to just slowly wither away. It really
was a magical voodooish moment.
Magical
muscle rub and Doritos and iced tea, can’t beat it. It’s like being at the
beach.
Thru-hikers enjoying
the crews Trail Magic, Energy drinks and candy bars. The hiker in light blue
shirt is the hiker that passed me.
View of the
River from the timber bridge
Once I had some food in my belly, an iced tea to drink and
the magic rub, it was time to head out on the next section. This next bit was 8
miles. I would be joined by Ryan as pacer on this stretch. Nahmakanta Lake to
Pollywog Stream. This meant that Tyler was to travel on his own to the Pollywog
Stream. The crew told me they had time to have scoped it out and drive it
before I arrived at Nahmakanta Lake check point so they were all set. Tyler
would drive ahead and get set up for our arrival as Ryan estimated roughly 3-4
hours to get there. It was about 11:30am when I arrived at Nahmakanta so that
puts me at 3:30pm to arrive at Pollywog. Ryan explained that this 8 mile
section is not going to be easy but it will be beautiful and there were several
places of interest he wanted to point out and show me. I was totally up for
that as any change of what I had seen for the last 73-74 miles would be
welcomed. I would sit and watch toads fucking for something different. He did
say there would be some nasty climbing, yup, stone steps but it would go fast.
When I got to this check point I thought I was done, dead
for sure. Somehow, Tyler and Ryan’s magic revived my torn body. I felt pretty
good. Ryan got himself ready and said “Ok, let’s get out of hear”. I gave Tyler
a hug which had become typical bro-hug and wondered onto the trail. As we began
moving up the trail I was adjusting my trekking poles and one of them
malfunctioned. We tried to fix it but Ryan said keep going and I will catch up
to you. He knew I was going to need them. Soon after he caught up and murmured
“Holy crap dude, your hauling ass” (Even though he tells me later that I was
slow as fuck). Now that we were together it was time to get this shit done. 2
more check points, Pollywog Stream and then Abol Bridge.
I learned that Ryan and Danielle had remembered this stretch
of the AT quite well. Ryan went on to tell me about their hike through this
section and that Ryan had convinced Danielle to hike to this section instead of
setting up camp at a normal location for thru-hikers. Ryan happily consumed
most of the conversation as we power hiked here and I was perfectly fine with
hearing his voice and hearing the stories.
We had a long step stone step climb, not my favorite. Ryan
reminded me here not to think about the things I don’t like and just power
through them and stop being negative as it will eat me up. He was right. I was
finding that was all I could think about so I just started listening to his
stories and his excitement for being back on the AT. I was amazed to heat that
this day, September 17th was the same exact time and day that he and
Danielle had hiked the wilderness. I felt very proud that he was out there with
me during this special time but wished Danielle could have been as well to
share in that moment.
He went on to explain how he got Danielle upset as he had
convinced her to hike further that day and it got past 5:00pm which was dinner
time and Danielle doesn’t like to miss dinner time. She was getting grumpy
until they got to the spot Ryan was hoping to get to, I t was an amazing spot
to set up your tent if you are a thru-hiker. It was up on a little knoll on
soft pine needles with a fire pit in a selective tree location overlooking the
Nahamakanta Lake.
Random shot
in the beauty of it all
There were areas of great beauty and wonderful scenery in
this stretch. There wasn’t much running as the climb up Nesuntabunt Mtn. was
steep and had long runs of stone steps. I took several micro breaks along the
way. Ryan took some great photos in a few interesting spots. I had to laugh as
Ryan kept referring to the Mtn. with some Name that didn’t sound right so I had
to ask him what he was saying. He told me he was calling the Mtn. “NastyButt”
as it is a name given to the mountain from the thru-hikers. It was
appropriately named for its nasty stone stairs and steepness but it surely was
beautiful with its mossy covered boulders and fern grown undergrowth.
Powering
through, getting it done at the Pollywog Pond
Ryan’s
special photo op location. These Glacial Deposits were so cool.
Stone
steps….uuuuggggg
View of
Katahdin in the horizon.
Our 8 mile run was filled with stories and fun. Ryan was
great at keeping my mind occupied with conversation while I was hurting and my
legs were a bit weak and I was hoping to recover a bit. We stopped at an
overlook off the trail a short distance to take in the view of Mt. Katahdin.
There were a few thru-hikers already relaxing and enjoying the view so we
chatted for a few minutes but didn’t stay very long. We started the descent to
Pollywog Stream. Nice and steady we go Mr. Snowman. I’m very happy to see
Snowman so happy to be back on the AT.
Katahdin,
seems so far away!
Sand Beach
One of my
favorite photos of the adventure, I was feeling the pain cave here and my
expression shows it. This is one of my famous micro breaks. We were moving
along at a pretty fast power hike at this point of the run, roughly 80 miles,
and I needed a micro break and that mossy knoll seemed perfect. Ryan snapped
this photo as I sat down and took a big breath of air into my lungs and then
filled my cheeks with the release. This captured exactly how I was feeling.
Pollywog Stream check point, mile 81.6, it’s roughly 5:30 pm
and darkness is going to come for the third time. I started in the dark and ran
for a few hours, ran through the daylight, then into a full evening of darkness
and back into the daylight and now looking at roughly another 4-5 hours of
darkness to end this run. Man, this is tough mentally to run back into the
darkness but just one more leg to complete.
Tyler and Ryan have been a rock through this and have given
me my information for the last section to and over Rainbow Mtn. to Abol. It
will be a 16.5 mile stretch and they will be expecting me at midnight but
informed me if I get there before 11:00pm I will be under 42 hours. Just before
I headed down the trail for this last time Ryan explained to me what he and
Tyler will need to do to get to Abol Bridge. He told me it would take he and
Tyler 2 ½ hours to get to Abol Bridge. There they would set up and then
possibly go into Millinocket for food. They would return and Ryan would gear up
to run back and meet me wherever I might be at that point. We then hugged for
the last good luck. See you in roughly 8 hours. Last miles, let’s get this
done.
What I didn’t let Ryan or Tyler know is they had just given
me my incentive for this final leg. I left Pollywog Stream with the thought in
my mind that I was going to push as hard as I could, keep my head down and push
to try and minimize the miles Ryan would be running back to meet me. I had
thoughts of getting to Rainbow Mtn. and not see him. I wasn’t sure if I could
keep up that kind of pace or not but I was giving it my best efforts. I did
stop several times for my micro breaks and to look at the map. I noticed how
almost everything along this trail had the word “Rainbow” in it. Rainbow
Stream, Rainbow Deadwaters, Rainbow Springs Campground, Rainbow Lake, Rainbow
Ledges……well, I can honestly say it was not all “Rainbows”. I was pushing ahead
as fast I could. I really wanted to get to Abol before Ryan got started to run
back and meet me. Pushing was taking its toll. I was extremely tired and my lower
legs were barking at me again. Anything that resembled a descent was causing
severe discomfort but there was no stopping now. I managed to get to Rainbow
Ledges and still no sign of Ryan. I climbed the ledges thinking he would appear
soon. It was dark, these ledges were marked with white blazes on the bare ledge
and it seemed as though there were blazes everywhere. I stopped and looked
around and immediately felt I was running in circles! I looked around a second
time and still felt the same but my instincts told me to keep going, “DO NOT
TURN AROUND”. Those instincts proved to be right. It was soon after I was
entering the woods on the other side of the ledges and all was good. Still no
sign of Ryan.
Ryan geared
up and ready to find a HalfBomb in the wilderness.
I began the descent to Hurd Brook Lean-to. This was going to
be slow as I was exhausted. I kept looking for Ryan, but still no signs. It had
become a game now, how far could I get before he appeared? It wasn’t until
about a third of the way down the ledges I saw a headlamp flashing through the
trees. Could it be Snowman? I waited, it got closer and finally I shouted “Is
that Snowman”? The headlamp ahead stopped momentarily and panned the trail
towards me. I hear Ryan’s voice “Holy shit dude, you’re cruising; I’m only 4.5
miles in”. We met, we hugged and I was very happy to see him as it was almost
done. I noticed right off that Ryan was pretty amped, I asked if he had drank
RedBull before coming in, “oh yeah I did” He was full of energy and I wished I
could have drawn from that. Instead, as we discussed finishing this adventure,
I looked at Ryan and told him as soon as I saw him my mind and body kind of
shut-down. It had convinced me that the run was over, it was Ryan and it is
over. Not the case at all, we had 4.5 miles to go to the end. Ryan looked at me
seriously and said John you need to understand something. “This next 4.5 miles
is going to be a smorgasbord of what you have seen for the last 93 miles”. At
that point I had to muster up whatever energy I could. I felt like I had enough
and I was moving well until I asked Ryan to move ahead of me as it might be
better for me to try and stay up with him. I thought we were moving fairly
fast, but I was very unstable and learned later that I was not moving that
fast!
Ryan snapped
this as we met on Rainbow Ledges, 4.5 miles to go.
We crossed streams, bogs, large rocks, massive root areas,
open wide areas, several little climbs that felt huge. We hit it all. Ryan had
carried in several bottles of Tailwind in case I needed it but at that point I
was tired of the fluids. I was still drinking but not at I rate I should have
been. I felt bad that Ryan was carrying the additional weigh but he didn’t want
to empty them to only find out I would need them.
We finally poked out onto what appeared to be a snowmobile
trail. It was wide, maybe 8’ and up ahead I see Ryan run up to a wooded box on
a post. It was a thru-hiker registration box. He put his arm on it and said
“You’re done, we’re here”. I was in awe. “We are here? I said” Ryan then told
me “well, almost, just another quarter mile up this trail to Golden Road where
Tyler will meet us”.
I’m going to try and explain how I felt at that moment we
got within 50’ of Golden Road and we saw Tyler’s truck sitting there and heard
it running. We noticed Tyler wasn’t anywhere to be found! We walked up to the
truck and he was laying back in the seat sound asleep. What I didn’t realize is
they had not planned on me being at the Golden Road for another hour and half.
Tyler was getting some much needed rest before my arrival. Hahaha, I foiled
that plan, but it was fun to bang on the window and see the look on his face
when he looked at his watch, realized it was us and we had already arrived…………I
felt relief over anything first. I felt relief that I had just completed the
Maine 100 Mile Wilderness in less than 48 hours. Then I felt an immense
emotional crash as I hugged and celebrated with Ryan and Tyler. I could already
feel my mind and body begin to slowly decompress, kind of like a balloon
deflating slowly.
I didn’t just finish in less than 48 hours; it was pretty
darn close to the estimated time we had planned on of 42 hours. I asked Ryan
what the total time was and if I had made it under the 48? He said “John, you
crushed it, you are well under the 48 hours” but we all had some difficulty
doing the simple math at that time and didn’t know exactly the total time. It
ended up that Ryan calculated 42:14.
As Ryan and I
ran the 8 mile stretch that he paced me, I told him I did not ask Ian to order
me the belt buckle as I didn’t want to jinx the run. He told me it was smart
not to have the buckle now and he was sure Ian had some lying around and he
would have a buckle for me but I had to finish first and the buckle was not
important right now!
The photo above is at the Golden Road. Ryan had asked Ian
for the buckle before we departed for the run. He took the buckle out of the
truck and held it up and said ‘Would you like to have your buckle?”. That
brought tears to my eyes. Seeing Tyler and Ryan standing there and remembering
what they said to me before I took my first stride….”John, We are here because
we know you can do this”, and reciting that in my head so many times within the
42 hours was priceless. These guys earned that buckle with and for me. It was a
team effort and they deserved the buckle too.
We then loaded the truck and drove to the Abol Campground
where I thought we would be set up to tent for the night. To my delightful
surprise, Tyler had rented a Bungalow. It had 6 bunks and was actually a bed. I
was so happy to hear I would be able to sleep in a bed and we would have
company as well. We had all met a thru-hiker. “Husker” and the guys invited him
to bunk with us, a little trail magic delight. We all sat up and had a beer,
discussed the trip for a while, Tyler mentioned that breakfast was at 7 which
was included in the costs of the bungalow and then got ready for some sleep.
Ryan asked me to take a look out the window, I dragged myself out of bed and
realized it had started raining only 30 minutes after we had finished. Yet
another piece of the puzzle that fell into place like clockwork.
Photo taken
after breakfast before leaving Abol Campground for home.
On the ride
home processing what just happened and catching up with civilization
Battered,
torn and swollen 100 Mile Wilderness feet.
There were several happenings during this run that are
difficult to write within the story so I decided to place them at the end.
During the run, I managed to endure the hiccups several
times that lasted for miles and miles. It got as frustrating as it was hard to breathe
properly with the hiccups and they made me vomit a few times. I have no idea
where they came from or why but I was talking to myself out loud asking them to
just go away, but they just wouldn’t. I remember mentioning to the guys, but
what were they going to do other than just say “Deal with it”. They finally
passed or I just got used to them.
There was one point while the darkness of night that I heard
voices. I figured I was hearing things. It was on a rocky climb, but I can’t
remember where exactly. I heard the voices and then heard pots clanking and
echoing through the night woods. I figured it was a thru-hiker up ahead that
was late setting up camp and getting dinner. As I climbed I spoke to them as I
got near. “Hello, how are you?” The response, “Holy fuck, are you thru-hiking
in the dark?” I said “No, I am running the 100 mile wilderness in hopes of 48
hours or less.” Then there was silence for a few moments. Finally the words
“That is fucking crazy dude, just fucking crazy, good luck.” I wished them luck
on their journey and pressed on. It was just a weird encounter.
The section where I climbed to the summit of Barren Mtn.
When I summited there was an old fire tower at the summit. There sat several
thru-hikers. Both smoking cigarettes and just chatting. I stopped to say hello
and ask where they were from, when they started the journey and what their
trail names were. One was Dastardly Dave and the other I can’t remember. They
asked what my trail name was and I explained it is “HalfBomb”. Dastardly Dave
didn’t quite understand, in a nonchalant kind of voice he says “Well, that’s an
unusual trail name, Half Dong”. I quickly said “No, no, it’s “HalfBomb” not
Half Dong!!! We ended our chat and wished each other good luck and I left them
to their cigarettes on the summit.
Ryan also reminded me that I brushed my teeth at Jo-Mary
Road check point. I remember asking to brush my teeth at one point but thought
I had forgotten to do it. Apparently I actually did brush my teeth at Jo-Mary.
I know that around the halfway mark I was making mental notes of what I wanted
or needed prior to getting to the check points and brush teeth made the list in
hopes of refreshing my mouth from the Tailwind.
Ryan and Tyler told me about their traveling to checkpoints
and listening to the radio and satellite music. They at one point heard a song
by the “Flight of the Conchords”. The song title was “Business Time”. They said
they heard the song and just couldn’t get it out of their heads after so, of
course, I had to check it out on YouTube. It is the funniest song I’ve ever
heard. Catchy tune but when I looked it up it immediately gave me a warning of
adult content and should give you an idea of its content. If I’ve got you
curiosity up, check it out, it’s really just too funny thinking to of my
friends/crew were cruising the Maine Northern Woods logging roads listening to
this tune. Hahahahahaha. Love it.
Also, early on in the run I had come to my first ford across
a river, I can’t remember the river name. I got to the river and noticed the
rope that was spanning the river, roughly 8’ above the river rocks. I looked at
the river and noticed a thru-hiker back to me half way across but not using the
rope line. I decided to watch him and possibly learn something as to how to
cross but soon realized this hiker was in trouble. He was wearing huge pack,
lots of weight and was trying to cross barefoot and just using his trekking poles
for balance. The river crossing, at most, knee to waste high but still moving
swiftly and enough to make the crossing difficult. As I was watching the hiker
struggle he lost his balance and fell. When he fell he was completely submerged
with water! My heart raced. As he came back up to his feet I yelled and asked
if he needed help, I heard nothing back. He took several more steps to get
across and down he went again but this time his pack was on top of him pushing
his face down into the water. I yelled as loud as I could and said “I’m coming
in to help you, stay there”. I grabbed tossed my trekking poles in my pack,
grabbed the rope and worked my way to him. The rocks below were very slippery
and you couldn’t find and even footing to stand on. As I reached him I grabbed
his pack and lifted with all my strength to get him above water. Once he was on
his feet I grabbed his trekking poles and instructed him to grab the rope as I
hauled it to his level. We worked our way across to a spot that was on the
embankment and dry. His bag had filled with water and was very heavy but
luckily he had clothes in a wet bag type thing so he had dry clothes. His name
was Jimbo. He told me he was 72 years old and had been very ill this past week
and his wife had begged him not to attempt this hike. He was hiking the
wilderness and had been there for 5 days already and very ill. We got him
dressed in dry clothes and chatted for a few minutes and I told him I thought
he should make his way into town at the next road crossing, get a ride if he
could. He then looked at me and said, “You sound just like my wife”, I told him
I would consider that a compliment. We shook hands, he thanked me and asked for
my trail name and then we parted ways.
Jimbo after
we got him dressed in dry clothes.
Final notes and thanks…….As I mentioned to both Tyler and
Ryan, I could NOT have run this adventure without them. They earned that buckle
just as much as I did. They may not have actually run the 100 mile trail but
they kept me alive, moving, and happy and knew exactly what I needed before I
did. Ryan’s ability to organize the logistics prior to the run and ask the
right questions of the gate keepers was critical to the success of the crew’s
access and availability to get to all the check points. Tyler’s rock solid
nerves and patient demeanor for driving in the northern woods and his
willingness to crew for the first time and to be thrown into one of the most
logistical areas of Maine to navigate were amazingly brave and steady.
Both Ryan and Tyler were good players of the “Tough Love”
card. Ryan maybe a smidge more than Tyler, hahaha, but Tyler did see that it
needed to be done and understood why. I had a few dark moments where I thought
I was going to end the attempt, bad knees, tiredness, exhausted but they knew
just what to say and do to get me back into the overtime period.
This was truly a team effort, three Trail Monsters in the
100 Mile Wilderness for a purpose. We had a goal and everyone worked towards
that goal. Running an adventure like this takes sacrifice, lots of sacrifice
and the crew made it happen. All my job consisted of is running, hiking,
navigating and not dying so the crew didn’t have to carry the carnage out.
Thanks to the entire Trail Monster Running friends. I ran
many miles with many teammates, any which would join in a run with me. It
didn’t matter where, when, how far or what pace, it was all about time on my
feet. Special thanks to Chaski, Iron Joe, Ryan, Jamie for this pat years
adventures in the White Mountains and the long hours of mountain running we
did. Thanks to Zak for the last long night run we did for the UXBBA. That long
night run helped get my mind in a good place for night running. Thanks to the
Tuesday night and Thursday night run groups for the beat downs and getting me
prepared for the wilderness. They came in handy when times were tough and I had
to dig deep.
Here is the emotional part. When you embark on an adventure
like this and you pull your crew together, a bond begins. That bond strengthens
throughout the event. Each check point you gain more and more trust and
companionship. By the time the event ends, you have become tight, solid and
bonded. You begin to guess what each other’s thinking, what each other needs
and wants. It is a bond like no other I have ever experienced. The emotions of
pure joy, excitement and satisfaction a runner gets when you get to the finish
and share that moment with you crew and friends is overwhelming.
Thank you Ryan Triffitt and Tyler Lupien for being my greatest
friends in times of darkness and knowing what I needed and taking the best care
of me in the most incredible adventure I’ve ever tackled.
A great thanks to their wives Danielle and Keri and their
children for letting me borrow your husbands to run around the Northern Woods
of Maine, you owe me for taking them away for several days, hahaha.
It’s been 7 days since we completed the 100 Mile Wilderness,
and I am still processing the events and little bits and pieces are coming back
into my memory. It’s amazing how many things happen within 42 hours on the AT
trail between Monson and Abol Bridge. I will hold them close forever.
Just a few details……….
Monson Trailhead, Began at 5:05am
Section 1…Monson to Long Pond Stream, 5:05am - 9:32am, 4
hours 27 minutes
Section 2…Long Pond Stream to Katahdin Ironworks Road,
9:32am - 4:21pm, 6 hours 49 minutes
Section 3…Katahdin Ironworks Road to Frenchtown Road, 4:21pm
- 11:27pm, 7 hours 6 minutes
Section 4…Frenchtown Road to Jo-Mary Road, 11:27pm - 5:07am,
5 hours 40 minutes
Section 5…Jo-Mary Road to Nahmakanta Lake, 5:07am - 11:50am,
6 hours 43 minutes
Section 6…Nahmakanta Lake to Pollywog Stream, 11:50 am -
4:07pm, 4 hours 17 minutes
Section 7…Pollywog Stream to Abol Bridge, 4:07pm – 11:19pm,
7 hours 12 minutes
Abol Bridge…Completed the run at 11:19pm for a total of 42
hours and 14 minutes.
Arrival Home,
photo by Ann Alexien (George, Val and Rick)
I am very,
very proud to wear this buckle, very special indeed.
This photo
was posted several days after my completion of the Maine 100 Mile Wilderness,
but the thru-hikers in this photo were many that I met along the way. I was
very happy to see they had all made it to their goal of summiting Mt Katahdin.
If were not for these thru-hikers to see along the way, it would have been a
very, very lonely adventure. Thanks for the constant reminder that I had only
been out there for hours and YOU had all been on your journey for months.
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