A Hanging on Haunted Hill

Big Shakedown hike #2

Yesterday was spent in a scramble of packing my bag for a bit longer overnight adventure.  My father and I decided a hike followed by a night outdoors along local trail was absolutely necessary to test and really get to know my gear.  It was afternoon before we headed out, our destination, the famed Catherine's Hill.

Catherine's Hill is located on the Black's Woods road in Downeast Maine.  The legend of this site is a bone chilling story involving the specter of a (sometimes) headless woman who haunts the area and the road below.  Legend states if you see this woman while in your vehicle, you must stop and offer it a ride, or face the consequences!  DUN DUN DUN!  It is also said that while staying overnight on this hill that you respect the area, taking nothing and leaving nothing (the essence of leave no trace...easy enough), or, once again, face the consequences! DUN DUN DUN... again!

 The trial was absolutely amazing as it wound its way up the hill.  It consists of mostly level terrain with one long steep uphill jaunt towards the beginning.  Once on top (just shy of the 1000ft mark) the view is breathtaking, several granite bald spots offer an uninterrupted view of Downeast Maine.  The forest below stretched out before us like a rolling sea of evergreen, spotted with lakes and ponds, and patched with trees still gray leafless. We could see for MILES around, the carpet of black's woods faded misty blue to the horizon, interrupted when one of the many bays along the coast jutted in far enough to be seen.  A most wonderful hike with such a rewarding site, how could it be topped? 

Granite bald on top of Catherine's Hill

#2

ME atop the "haunted' Catherine's Hill

We hiked just a bit beyond the pictured balds, to a section just off the trail that was clear enough to set up camp.  Two trees well enough spaced to hang my hammock and a relatively flat spot of earth for my Dad's tent.  Set up went rather well and quick, despite a few snags.  The ground, while looking quite earthy, was only a few inches deep before the granite shelf below made itself present.  Staking down my tarp as well as Dad's tent was near impossible; though with some Jimmi-rigging and Jiggery pokery we got it all set up.  The trees I used were spaced a bit too close together for an ideal hang causing a very slack ridge line.  Once camp was set up,  Dad set up a small camp fire; while I tested out my DIY soda can stove and cooked a dehydrated meal for us.  Chicken and potatoes, they came out absolutely delicious!  This set my mind at ease knowing my stove would work just fine for my coming months of hiking.

Sprawled around the fire, the sun sank behind the hill and the temperature began to drop... drop... PLUMMET.  Reviewing this morning the temperature dropped below 24 for most of Downeast Maine, the hill we were camped on combine with the windchill must have dropped it below that.  It wasn't 9pm before I was grateful for the fire to be doused and to crawl into my sleeping bag. 

The major item I was testing on this trek was my DIY SPE.  (do it yourself, segmented pad extender).  Special thanks to Mum who was awesome enough to use her textile know-how to fashion it up for me.  Once inside the hammock nestled down I tossed a bit trying to get my pad to fit comfortable beneath me.  NOT EASY!  I attribute a lot of the sliding and slipping to my very loose hang, but future use and experimentation should lead to this being a lot easier.  I tugged my wool wolf ear hat down (a fantastic gift from an incredibly talented friend!) wrapped my sleeping bag around me top quilt style and found myself rocked to sleep.  With how easy I was falling asleep I would have assumed an amazing solid nights sleep.   This was not what I would get. 

As the night wore on the temperatures continued to drop, I woke to my feet being absolutely frozen!  Through shifting around I found the culprit to be my ever slippery nemesis, Therm-a-rest.  It had shimmied it's way up and to the side causing my feet to hang off the end.  leaving only my bag (rated 25-40) to keep them warm... needless to say, it failed my feet in that regard.  My torso was warm, my skull as well.  My face got a bit chilly but slipping my bag further up around my face helped with this.   It was too late to get my feet heated up to comfortable temperatures again, which caused a few more wake ups in the night but nothing too major. 

Aside from frozen feet and slipping pad issues, I slept rather well.   I woke at 6 am well rested and ready to greet the sun. With a handful of GORP a few strips of jerky and a swig of water it was back to the bald to explore and soak in the fresh morning views.  Refreshing my spirits and further sinking in the joys I will be experiencing when this is my life for the summer; the east facing bald we had camped on provided just what I needed.   The sun crept over the horizon as I looked down at the frozen lakes and ponds, bringing with it a renewed warmth for the coming day.  A light mist still clung just below the treetops on the ground below, slipping around the surrounding hills and valleys.  Wood peckers could be heard on all sides, hammering away to their morning breakfast.   Chipmunks playing tag darted around the rock face and into the safety of the trees.  A FANTASTIC way to wake up!  I don't know as though I could ever tire of it.  This topped what I had seen the evening before, I now know that sites can get even MORE amazing when seen early morning.  I resolve to wake up early during my hike along the AT, if only for the reason of having more moments like those.

Returning to camp Dad had started another small fire and was in the process of roasting up some dogs for breakfast.  We lingered for a short while packing up our gear and making sure we left nothing behind, before beginning our trek back to the truck, and headed for home.  Catherine's hill... while lacking in specters, is indeed haunted with gorgeous views and a sense of longing for the larger adventure to come.