Unplanned grocery stops are fun!

8-15-09 day 74
start: Little Swift River Pond Campsite, ME
end: Redington Stream Campsite, ME
daily mileage: 13.3
total mileage: 954.1
With all the times we change plans, sometimes we don't account for certain things. In this case we were a little worried about our food situation. We figured we had enough to get us to Stratton, ME without starving to death, but we were out of snacks, so once we hiked down to Rt. 4 we hitched into Rangely, ME and hit up the grocery store. We really couldn't help ourselves and bought a huge tin of cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow, it's gonna be great. Perhaps the best part of our trip to Rangely is that we didn't even screw around all day and got back on the trail by 1:30, go team!
Our next big obstacle was climbing over Saddleback Mountain. We'd heard a lot about it and it looked scary on the maps elevation profile but we are hardened hikers and weren't worried. It turned out to be a good climb and there were some fantastic views at the top. We met a mother and daughter out for a couple days up on the summit and sat and chatted while we ate some of our newly bought snacks. We pushed along the ridge and over the next bump called the Horn. In the saddle between the Horn and Little Saddleback we took a side trail to a new campsite that was still being built. You could definitely tell the trail, and really the whole site, was far from finished but we found a nice flat spot and decided to sleep under the stars. It was clear night and being out in the open was nice and cozy.