luv2hike
New member
We left Portland at 4:30am. Our first stop was to drop off a cooler of drinks and snacks on the AT trail. We like to do a little trail magic and this trip provided a perfect opportunity since the AT ran close to the road. We got to the trailhead at 7:00 and headed up the trail by 7:15. We took the firewarden's trail up to the AT junction. The trail was in good shape. However, the mosquitoes were rather thick. The new Moose Falls tentsite looked very nice. Next, we came to the Myron Avery tentside. We left our packs at the tentsite and summitted Avery Peak. The book time was 4 hours and we were just under that time. I think the heat must have slowed us down a bit. We checked out the firetower and enjoyed the views of Flagstaff Lake. Then, we headed off to West Peak. It was on West Peak that we stopped for lunch but it was so hot that it was a quick lunch and then we descended into the forest and cooler temps. The AT trail from West Peak to So. Horn was a bit overgrown in places and we did come across one blowdown. Since No. Horn was only .2 of a mile off the trail we decided to summit that peak too. The views from all the peaks were great. If the day hadn't been as hazy we could have gotten a much better view of Katahdin. We left the Horns Pond Campsite at 3:00 and headed down the Horns Pond Trail. That is a wonderful trail! We arrived at the parking lot at 5:15. It was a long day but we did stop and enjoyed the views on each of the peaks. 13.5 miles; 10 hours. On the way out we stopped and picked up the cooler. It was rewarding to know that some thru-hikers had enjoyed the cold drinks and snacks.
