Frye Notch Lean-to(1923.9)-Beamis Mtn Lean-to(1947.2) Maine
23.3mi
Elevation chart courtesy of Guthook's AT Hiker app. He has apps for many trails including the PCT and CDT.
I didn't sleep as well as I had hoped last night. My body was ready to sleep, but my mind was doing it's wired thing and wouldn't turn off so I was awake a lot and I was awake at 5am this morning and soon Jett Cat was up too. Our routine has become that I stay dozing and comfy until 5:45am while she has her warm breakfast. She is definitely a morning person and I am not in regular life, but I am on trail. It's been refreshing to be with another early riser who wakes up so energized and happy. She even sings as she gets ready somedays and today it was "Walking On Sunshine" and an Outcast song. The quote of the morning as we were packing up was Jett Cat telling herself, "Ok kiddo, carpe this diem!" Cracks me up and it really gets the day off to a fun start.
Most of today was pretty uneventful and I didn't take many photos. We were in the woods most of the day and the morning started off pretty hot and humid. The forecast had thunderstorms coming in by the end of the day and cooler weather tomorrow, so this morning it was at the height of its humidity. Our big events of the morning was Jett Cat catching a huge toad and a couple stream crossings.
Since we had done 4mi the first 4hrs of the day yesterday, we had fun checking today to see that we had done 9.5mi in 4hrs today. Much better! We were hopeful to return to mileage closer to the mid 20s and saw that there was camping 23mi from where we started today, so we aimed for that. Much of the hiking today was nice trail to stretch our legs and we were really thankful for that. It seems like it's been forever! There were still some climbs that were straight up and down and that was slow going just one step at a time. We pushed a bit longer in the morning to get a viewpoint at lunch to motivate us and we really enjoyed our lunch spot.
After lunch, the clouds moved in, the clouds got really dark, and thunder got closer and closer. At 4pm, it started storming. The hard rain didn't last long, but it continued to rain steadily the rest of the day and it just stopped around 9pm. The trail of mud, rock, and roots became slick in places and slowed us. As you can see, the trail became a bit waterlogged.
We weren't bothered by the rain at all and actually enjoyed the break in heat and humidity as temps dropped into the 70s. I used my umbrella and Jett Cat just hiked in the rain. I would have gotten too cold for that, but she enjoyed it.
We both had our share of slips and falls on the slick surface. We realized how much fun we were still having and were both grateful the other was there to keep the mood light. Even as the rain poured down, we talked about how we didn't want the trail to end now that we are enjoying it so much together. I mean who walks through rain for hours and says they don't want this experience to end? Somehow that's exactly what we were doing.
We made it to the shelter/campsite by 7:15pm and quickly setup our tents in the rain and did our camp chores from our respective tents.
It felt amazing to put on my warm pjs, sleep socks, and beanie. I'm Super comfy with my sleeping bag and sleep pad and struggling to stay awake as I type. We are both pretty wiped out from hiking in the rain and will sleep hard tonight. I have that feeling I get after snowshoeing for a day or skiing. Wiped out and ready to sleep. The rain has just stopped at about 9:30pm and tomorrow looks to be a great cooler day. For the first time since I can remember, I'm getting to sleep before 10pm, yay!
