Tag Archives: Maine

The elevation trace of the trail for the rest of the day looked easy with not much elevation gain and only one steep descent. But numerous short ups and downs plus lots of rocky trail wore me out. After reaching Bemis Mountain, I walked another half hour to a look out for lunch. The scene included two huge lakes (see photo).

The trail dropped 300 ft. to a tiny stream where I got water (see photo). It may look funky but so what? I quickly passed the empty Hall Mountain lean-to. The rest of the day included one steep climb bracket by two steep descents. All three looked formidable in the AT Guide’s elevation profile. I wasn’t sure I could negotiate them.

My “going up” muscles are much stronger than “my going down” muscles. After lunch with three other hikers at the Frye Gap lean-to, a 500-foot climb to a ridge wasn’t a problem. But the 4 mile descent that followed was all that I could handle. I fell once and banged my left shin; I had to stop frequently to rest. At last, I reached Dunn Gorge and Falls.