Saturday June 29, 18.5mi/29.8km

Cloud Pond shelter (2096.7) to Sidney Tappan campsite (2115.2) (ME)

I was hiking by 7:15am, since the elevation profile for today suggested some slow miles with all the ups and downs. Even though I was on a ridgeline all morning, there were still plenty of wet bogs too.I did get some partial views from the Fourth Chairback mountain and Third Chairback mountains.On my way up one of the Chairback mountains, I passed a couple of guys going south. They were from the Boston area, and somehow knew me, and knew that I was about to complete my “Triple Crown” of hiking – finishing the PCT, CDT, and AT. They really wanted a photo of me, and I took one of them too.The sky cleared a little later in the morning, and I got better views. These are from First Chairback mountain.And then, the descent. Which was so steep, I often had to lower myself with my arms!But once I got down, the trail was a nice carpet of pine needles in a mossy forest. These forests in northern Maine feel so silent and old.After lunch, I crossed the West branch Pleasant River. There is a popular trailhead nearby for the Gulf Hagas rim trail, so I saw plenty of hikers fording the river with me.And this sign was a nice reminder of how close the end is!There were plenty more waterfalls on this section, and also heaps more people hiking around visiting them.The final climb up to Gulf Hagas mountain was steep, but it was cooler weather, and I got to camp at 5pm. Tomorrow I’ll try to get an early start, to do a 25 mile day!