{"id":1103,"date":"2014-09-02T10:02:40","date_gmt":"2014-09-02T14:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/wordpress-happytrails\/?p=1103"},"modified":"2014-09-02T10:02:40","modified_gmt":"2014-09-02T14:02:40","slug":"day-139-me-4-to-sluice-brook-mile-1979-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/happytrails\/?p=1103","title":{"rendered":"Day 139 – ME 4 to Sluice Brook (mile 1979.1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

We decided it was finally time to depart Rangeley this morning after breakfast. We quickly got a hitch out of town from a nice local guy who was really into all the various hunting seasons they have up here, including the lottery-based moose hunt. We were hiking a little before 9am. We had some pretty big mountain climbs today going over Saddleback, The Horn, and Saddleback Junior. The climb to Saddleback was very root-filled and slow until we got up above treeline. Once we got up there, we had multiple false summits, but it was pretty nice hiking so we didn’t mind. <\/p>\n

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One of the false summits of Saddleback (that area on top is not the summit) <\/p><\/div>\n

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Rangeley Lake off in the distance from Saddleback summit <\/p><\/div>\n

We then hiked down some steep and slick trail and then back up to The Horn. We grabbed some lunch and chatted with some other thru-hikers up there. We got a bit of rain shortly after that as we descended The Horn and ascended the last of the 3 peaks on this range, Saddleback Junior. By the time we summited, the rain had blown out and it was sunny again. The clouds were blowing through fast all day. <\/p>\n

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Clouds covering Saddleback and The Horn as seen from Saddleback Junior <\/p><\/div>\n

A lot of the trail was tricky today, with loads of wet roots and rocks to contend with. <\/p>\n

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Typical gnarly Maine trail <\/p><\/div>\n

We hiked down off that ridge and then briefly back up the next ridge and then found a little stealth spot off the Sluice Brook. Tomorrow we have the fairly large Spaulding\/Sugarloaf\/Crocker range to tackle.<\/p>\n

Vital stats for Monday, September 1st :<\/strong>
\nMountains remaining – 9
\nMiles hiked today – 14.2
\nMood – good, glad to be back on the trail and heading towards the goal again
\nPhysical state – improved after 2 days off, but still tired from another tough Maine day
\nSmell – sweaty moose
\nSong stuck in my head – Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town by Pearl Jam<\/p>\n

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