We hiked this section on 5/19/2012.
We dropped one car at the parking lot off of 17 – Arden Valley Road. We then took the second car to 17A. We started hiking around 7:40 and it was nice and chilly – we had on long pants and a long shirt. The trail was nice and soft beneath our feet.
We reached the sign for Wildcat Shelter just before 9 AM. The guide book said the shelter was 600 ft off of the trail so we walked a bit but the trail got mucky so we turned around.
We came out of the woods and hiked along Cat Rocks.
Python on Cat Rocks
We had a beautiful view of the surrounding woods and this would have been a great lunch spot but it was too early to stop.
We crossed Lakes Road just before 10 AM and within minutes we started to hear the rush of water from Fitzgerald Falls.
Fitzgerald Falls
We saw some car campers just before the falls. The falls were very pretty and would be great place to soak your feet on a hot day. We started to ascend up the side of the falls on some stone steps
Trio of Pink Lady Slippers
There was a very rocky section of the trail before the Highlands Trail. We took a short break here and Python applied more Voltaren to both knees. We encountered a shirtless day hiker who was sporting a Crocodile Dundee knife around his waist.
Just before noon time, we crossed West Mombasha Road and then started climbing up Buchanan Mountain.
Dirigo climbing Buchanan Mtn
We crossed East Mombasha Road around 1:30. For some reason, the trail maintainers decided to dump a pile of PA rocks right after the road crossing – fortunately, it didn’t last long!
We descended gradually into Little Dam Lake and found another great spot for soaking your feet.
Little Dam Lake
The trail followed Little Dam Lake for a bit and then started to climb Arden Mountain.
The temperature was in the 80’s but the rocks reflected the heat and it felt like an oven on top of the mountain. As we were ascending up Arden Mountain, Dirigo started getting over heated. Her face turned bright red and she did not feel good. We stopped in the shade so that Dirigo could cool down – then she puked.
We both ran out of water about 2 miles before the end of the trail. We stopped again in the shade to rest and Dirigo said she didn’t feel good again and then puked again. She was throwing up all her liquids and felt very weak and shaky.
The descent from Agony Grind was pure agony!
Descending Down Agony Grind
Python was just glad Dirigo was still moving but was worried that she would pass out from the heat. Python’s knees were screaming! Yes, it was agony! In more ways, than one!