Days 1& 2

We started at the 270 Overlook, the Northern Terminus, where we hiked the mile up to the overlook, waved to our Canadian neighbors 🇨🇦 a mile or so away, ate a quick snack, then set off to find ourselves in a Jurassic Jungle of overgrown vegetation on a 20” wide trail that was often unrecognizable as a trail. It was beautiful at times and halting at all times. 

This section is an unmaintained, less traveled, primitive overgrown section of the SHT with broken but usable bridges, infrequent trail blazes, and plentiful signs of its most frequent user, the moose, whose droppings line the trail. There is no way to communicate with the rest of the world save a Garmin In Reach Satellite System.

Marci’s a forager so she was constantly on the lookout for mushrooms, edible plants and ripe berries and fruit—of which she found tons. I concentrated on not face-planting.

At this time of year the wildflowers are in full dynamic bloom and tower over the trail—the entire trail. 

The going is slow as you pick your way along the often technical trail tangled with tightly set rocks and roots which are obscured by the overgrown vegetation. You’re always on the alert and hoping when you round a curve you don’t come face to face with that moose that you just know is somewhere around. The only way through this stuff is to put your head down and push through it. Every flying insect with an appetite shows up; there’s no end to them.

When we reached Andy Creek it was flowing with cold, clear water, so we cameled up and hiked into the campsite that’s just beyond the creek. 

We didn’t have far to go on paper but this section of trail is one that distance and time distort. One mile feels like five, and time doesn’t count.

At the end of the day we did the unthinkable, we dispersed camped at a remote trailhead. With five miles over the highest point on the trail system to go and the late hour of the day, we felt we had no other safe and reasonable choice.

Once the bear bags were hung and camp set up, I ate an apple and tucked in for the night.

(I’ll post about the near “disaster to the hike” we skirted right before the start which ended up being very cool but has ended up affecting the entire trip to this point.)

BTW the jury is still out on whether I like solo hiking or not. That part begins today.