Summary: hike from Wadleigh Stream shelter toward Rainbow Lake and unnamed road. Jump on a bike and ride 7 mi back towards the car. Camp near Ragged Stream
At night I slept without a mosquito net. Apparently, they sleep at night. 3 wake up calls – that is good, and I need to remember to drink a lot of liquid.
06:50 the latest wake up time of the trip, but this time I do not have to fold hammock – this is a 15-20-minute saving. Someone donated 4 rolls of toilet paper to the local bathroom – a big luxury of the trail.
07:45 – I depart for the last full day of hiking.
09:15 -09:56 – I am at the top of Nesuntabunt Mountain (1560′). There is a signal here and I spent my time to connect and check on rain. Pictures of the lake from the heights are also good. There are 2 boats with 2 or 3 people in each, but from here they seem smaller than ants. Lira told me that she changed the linen, did a laundry load on Miele, opened windows to air the house, and she even skipped the dinner last night.
10:30 I hit the Jo Mary Road again. I will cut here using the road going directly to the bridge across Pollywog Stream. While walking on the road 1.5 mi (or 25 min) I encountered 4 pickup trucks. Not too much dust though, may be because of moisture from vain rain attempts.
10:55 -11:19 I am at the bridge. Here I am taking a brief stop. Even the sun came out as a victory over the rain. There are a few roads and trails congregating here, and there is even one parked car standing now. The bridge seems to be in a much better shape than it was 3 years ago. The top boards were replaced and the whole construction looks sturdy. Mosquitos are active, but I am covered in bug spray, so they attack the backpack.
My estimate is that 4.7 mi remain for the knows trail section till Collins Camp and then it is pure dive into unknown. And the strong inner drive is to go further right now.
11:41 I am taking a break on the Rainbow Stream that goes parallel to the trail. The water cascades down with a display of power. I cool off my feet.
The trail after that goes in and out of water view and up from 700′ to over 1100′. An interesting feature here is that the stream sometimes caught in a narrow stone strait, like a man-made channel in stone.
12:48 – 13:05 I am at Rainbow Stream shelter. I did walk back and force here in July 2021. I hiked 6.85 mi so far and about 2 more miles remain still to the wild unknown section. A strange thought visits me – I already have everything, but the place in Florida. Very strange idea. May be by being in a summer-like forest triggers a message no to go back to a winter setting.
There are two very long and skinny tree trunks here laid across the river with a point of support in the middle. OK. That will allow me to cross without getting my feet wet. Nice!
13:56 I know I am approaching the very corner of Rainbow Lake and Rainbow Stream. The milage sign in the middle of no significant junction most likely indicating that this is the imperceptible corner
14:03 – OK. It is time to turn away from a familiar AT into a side trail towards Colling Camp.
14:08 – Ok, the known and marked portion of the hike is completed. Here at the dam, I will take a break, maybe some breakfast, filter some water from the lake and off we go. Here I can see something like a table, some kayaks, a dam that separates Rainbow stream and Rainbow Lake, and . . . a person. Only the seventh person in 4 days. This is Urb – an AMC AT sector manager. Here is here to find an access route for his people to bring equipment to maintain the trail. It turns out even he didn’t know till today where the unnamed side road off the Golden Rd. leads to. So, he parked his car as far as he could drive, all the way to a boulder barrier, and then walked for about an hour up and down the abandoned road to here. Apparently, the road was built or restored during the dam construction but was blocked off since.
He does his rounds, check stickers on stored boats and I have time to filter water and mix myself some breakfast.
14:59 Together with the ranger Hurb we start a hike North towards his truck and my bike.
15:03 Just a few steps down the dam there is a beautiful offshoot from the dam with trees and views to Katahdin. At it looks legit even with a place to make a fire.
The hike is surprisingly steep. The old road climbs up from 1050′ to about 1400′ and then goes down to about 1100′. At times the track is very wet, but totally passable, and not overgrown. The road is clearly abandoned, but there are no bridges here. The road is straight, and clearly visible all the time. To avoid getting your feet wet, one needs to step out of the way on the very edge of the former road or even onto the forest floor, but it can be done.
16:12 after 1:13 or 2.63 mi we reached the parking spot where road is blocked off with boulder. This spot I can use to gain access to AT in the future.
16:41 I am on Golden Rd with my bike and my backpack. And I am ready to sail. It will be jumping ahead of the schedule.
The road is mostly flat, but every passing vehicle leaves a cloud of dust in the air. I am trying not to look on trip odometer, just ride and gain mile to reduce tomorrow’s trip. But I do need to look for a spot with water. The road is mostly surrounded with bogs and still water. I need to find a nice spot with a river or a brook.
17:54 – Ok. I think I font my camping spot for tonight. After riding for 7 mi, I broke a camp on Rigged Steam down from another dam. The location is very convenient. It is on a side road, next to a stream, and bike can be easily hidden here without going through entangled branches.
18:19 I have no real appetite. I am too overwhelmed. Everything went well today.
18:40 It is mite to cool off. To dip into the Rugged Stream, I had to use all my caution. The water is swift, deep and you do not see where you are stepping into. Plus, the usual armies of mosquitoes make you to use at least one hand to shoo them away.
18:58 – phone is charging from a bike backup battery. The main butter charge indicator jumped from 45% to 0% in a quick succession.
19:28 the tea is ready. The Spicy Red Chilly is coming up.
19:54 It is dinner time. I am eating lying down on the tarp. No. I need to hide from the bugs. I need to hide inside the hammock.
21:00 I putt all the things away into backpack and hid myself inside the hammock. I discovered that I lost dark glasses that I checked I had at 2PM today. It means, I did not push them all the way back into the holster. Another loss is the black strap for bike bag, but that was rarely used if ever.
21:18 that is it. The last full day of adventures is over. Tomorrow I will ride to the car and drive 300 miles back home. It is time to sleep.
Navigate through the List
- 01 May 2024 preparations for the trip (2024/05/22)
- 02 May 23, TH - substitute Frenchtown Rd. hiking with driving - smart (2024/05/23)
- 03 May 24, FR - 15 mi of hiking from 6AM till 5:30PM (2024/05/24)
- 04 May 25 SA - it is a lakes and streams country (2024/05/25)
- 05 May 26 SU - Does the path to Golden Rd. exists? (2024/05/26)
- 06 May 27 MO - the magic and anxiety of the last miles to the car (2024/05/27)
- 07 May 2024 - Final thoughts (2024/05/28)
Be the first to comment