Today we crossed the last of our big mountains on our quest for Katahdin. I did so with much relief. For days now I've been dreaming of gentler, flatter trails. Unfortunately on the AT, tall mountains generally mean hard steep climbs. In the North the climbs generally involve boulder scrambles. While that may be occasionally fun, when done day after day it can wear you down. This is especially true when, after a long hard climb you arrive atop a forested mountain with no views. For the last couple of weeks I've been counting down the big mountain ranges and am looking forward to some flat terrain.

We left the shelter early this morning knowing we had a number of peaks to cross before our final climb of White Cap Mountain. Each climb was followed by steep descent where much of the elevation gain was lost. Fortunately the climbs and descents were relatively straightforward. They didn't involve the usual multiple little ups and downs that really tear you down but never show up on the profile maps.

Of the four mountains we would cross, White Cap would offer the best views. A thick layer of low clouds had replaced the clear skies of the last few days. Brandon and I wanted to stay around the top of White Top for awhile with the hope that the clouds would burn off. We lasted only about 20 minutes before the cold wind chilled us to the bone. Our only option was to get moving for warmth. On the climb down White Top we were able to see the base of Katahdin. However, the top 1000 feet were in the clouds. Hopefully we'll get better views later. Further down the mountain out of the wind we got warmer and stopped for a while at Logan Brook Lean-to.

We've been hiking on and off the last few days with Thunder Chicken and Chief. Chief is noted for his blue blazing where he cuts of major portions of the trail using logging roads or other trails. Often these trails are older versions of the AT. Thunder Chicken wanted to try and blue blaze a section of the trail but didn't feel comfortable in his navigation skills. So he wanted us to go along with him. After looking at the map I figured that the blue blaze would add two additional miles to the hike. This was just to avoid climbing a minor hill. The rest of the trail was gentle flat or downhill. It wasn't worth it to me. Instead we took the regular AT. Now I must admit the bump (Little Boardman Mountain) was a royal pain in the ass. Quite a steep climb with absolutely no hope for a view. But it was over in a relatively short period of time. The rest of the trail was fast and quit pleasant. Certainly much easier than a long road walk. Later this evening when Chief arrived after taking the blue blaze, he said the road walk went over two bridges that had been washed out. Both of them required a ford. I think we took the right trail.

Tomorrow Thunder Chicken and Chief are looking at a blue blaze that will cut the distance between here and Rainbow Stream Lean-to in half. It will save them about 17 miles of hiking. Unfortunately it is virtually all on roads.

Today was a long day. We started out at Carl A. Newhall Memorial Lean-to and immediately started climbing up to the White Cap Range. We made it over the range fairly quickly and got down to Logan Brook Lean-to for lunch. From there we made great time to the next shelter where we had a snack, then started out again.

I am so happy we are out of all the big ranges now. Dad says it's mostly flat from here. We must have really been moving, because we got to Cooper Brook Lean-to by 4:00. We settled in and read the shelter register. Eventually Thunder Chicken came in with Minty behind him. Chief arrived an hour or so later. We all hung out for a while, then had dinner. I had a bite of Minty's dinner and it was great! Minty's philosophy is that food weight doesn't matter as long as you eat well. He has all kinds of canned foods, and mixes them all together in his big pot.

We had a relaxing evening, because we knew we didn't have to leave tomorrow until around 11:30. The Pine Family is going to meet us at Jo-Mary Road at 3:00 with our food, so there will be plenty of time to get there.