7/27/06 Thursday: Stratton, Me ME27 to Little Bigelow Lean-To (15.3mi)

PICTURES:
1. I was excited about revisiting the Bigelow Range... It had been nearly 30years since I had crossed first crossed these peaks.
2. A view of the Horns of Bigelow Mtn taken during my ascent
3. A unique early design of the Horns Pond Lean-to
4. View from South Horn of West Peak 2 miles away
5. Thats me at the summit of South Horn
6. View back at Horns Pond .75mi away
7. Clouds began to move in and it started to rain as I summited West Peak ...
















I rose around 0600, gathered all my gear and brought it downstairs. All the others were still asleep so I wondered over to the diner across the street for breakfast. Unfortunately, they did'nt open till 0700, so I went to the convenience store to purchase my snacks for the coming week. Plenty of activity over there... Fishermen preparing for a day out, truck drivers with their load of lumber stopping in for coffee, and a few local men chatting with the owner... I picked up an assortment of powerbars and snickers, about 15 all together... Enough for about 3 days... I was planning to stop in Caratunk for more snacks and a shower in 2-3days. So I finished my shopping and ventured back over to the now open diner for breakfast... I ordered my usual double breakfast of an omlette and stack of french toast; enough to carry me up to the multiple summits of the Bigelow Range. After breakfast I returned to the hostel, found one of the owners, and got my ride back to the trail head arriving around 0845. It was a nice day, partly cloudy with mild temperatures. My pack was relatively light, with half my meals eaten and my last major resupply not till Monson about 6 days away... I had a 20+ mile day planned but with the late start was already thinking about shortening it up... I arrived at Horns Pond Lean-to about 1100 and took a few pictures... I pushed on to South Horn, arriving around 1230, and was awed by the marvelous scenery. I took an hours break while enjoying the view and watching the clouds blow past... I noticed a weather system approaching and decided I best be going. I had 2 more exposed peaks to summit today and didnt want to be caught on a summit during a severe T-storm. By the time I reached West Peak, it was drizzling and the clouds blanketed the mountain eleminating any possibility of another view on this day. I could hear intermittant thunder in the distance, so I pushed on hoping to clear Avery peak without incident.. I passed through Avery Campsite to get a feel for this unique area, not finding a single camper... I pushed on up toward Avery peak, the highest of the 3 peaks. The clouds were getting thicker and the trail more challenging... I came across a lovely spring beside the trail and filled both my bottles with the ice cold crystal clear, sweet tasting water. Definately one of the highlights of the day... I continued up to Avery peak which was completely covered in clouds with a gentle mist falling. I snapped a picture and continued down the east side of the mountain... It was not 1500... I had covered the 8.5 miles to Avery peak in 7 hours, the steep terrain and difficult footing along with the poor weather all taking its toll.. At this point I decided to shorten my day by setting my sights on the Little Bigelow Mtn Leat-to for the night. The descent was not too bad and I soon arrived at the Safford Notch campsite, off the mountain and heading on a somewhat long (3mi)gradual climb over the multiple false summits of Little Bigelow Mtn.. Eventually (about 1700),I reached the final summit of Little Bigelow and began my descent to the Little Bigelow Lean-to. I soon found myself passing through a trail ripe with blueberries. With 1.5 miles to the shelter and about 3hrs of light left I decided to stop and pick some :)... After about an hour and a few pints of blueberries, I continued on to the shelter, arriving around 1900. I joined a southbound hiker there from Texas and we chatted over dinner. After finishing dinner we continued to discuss some of the trail conditions each of us were to encounter in the days to come and finally retired for the evening around 0830.