Pulled in to Stratton, Maine on a wet, wet, wet day. Had some rain last night but we were able to pack up dry and head up South Crocker Mountain. Steady climb but not too hard going. Made the summit in about 45 minutes and North Crocker about 35 minutes later. Light rain started about the time we approached the north summit. It looked like it would last so we pulled out parkas for the descent. And last it did. Mostly light to moderate as we made the initial steep descent and walked along a ridge. But when we got to the end of the ridge the rain began falling hard. Then harder. Then even harder. It was the heaviest rain I've seen this entire trip and drenched us thoroughly. Got to Route 27 and--amazingly--got a ride right off. Checked into the White Wolf Inn for $23 and got warm and dry. Now I'm resupplied, most of my gear is dry and I'll be ready to head out tomorrow. May still be raining in the morning but is supposed to clear in the afternoon.
Today's storm was awesome in its power. It dominated the landscape, casting a gray mantle over the forest and filling the plants, rocks and earth with water. Tremendous volumes of water poured from the sky, casting a sheen on all surfaces and turning ht trail int swift flowing streams and expanding ponds. The power of nature to unleash vast amounts of water diminishes mankind's pretensions and demonstrates that we are simply a part of creation. We hikers today were simply creatures scurrying for shelter. And I was scurrying --getting out of that wet was all I could thing about as I came down the trail. That thought informed and guided my every step. It worked. I covered the 7.3 miles in about 3.75 hours, or 1.9 mph, good speed for a wet descent. I got off the mountain on a wet day with no injuries. That made for a good day.
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