Aug 11: Stratton Mtn Ski Patrol Lodge   Miles Today : 12.3 Miles to Katahdin : 546.1

OK, I know - yet another short mileage day. Well, we found out that Stratton Mtn lets thru-hikers stay in their Ski Patrol building for free. Considering that we froze our butts off the last two nights, an enclosed heated shelter was too much too pass up.

The climb up Stratton was our first real climb, totalling more than 1500 feet over 3 miles. Man, did that wake up the old climbing legs. On the summit, there is no view but a tall firetower. Unfortunately, the fog had rolled in pretty thick so that we could barely even see the tower, much less the mountains ahead. From there, it was an easy .7 to the top of the ski area. The fog was so thick that the buildings appeared to emerge from the clouds, rather than us walking towards them.

We hit the lodge to find Papa Squat and No Moss, who only did a 7 mile day to here. We realized that we had just enough time to ride the gondola to the bottom (also free to thru-hikers), catch the all-you-can-eat lunch and buy a few brewskis. The lunch was good and our waiter didn’t charge us for the Guiness we drank since WE ARE HIKERS!!!

This place is the best. We went to the general store, picked up a 4-pack of Guiness and hopped the gondola back to the top. Also at the lodge here is a fridge, stove, microwave, TV, bathroom and telephone with free long distance calls! WOW! Stratton is the best! Later in the day, Wildflower showed up, distraught that he just missed the gondola ride to the bottom.

The 5 of us cooked, drank and watched some TV, when we weren’t racking up a big long-distance bill. Tomorrow, we are planning a 20 miler to try and get back on some sort of schedule. For now though, life is good.

-Chomp

< Previous Entry | Next Entry >