Mud, Bogs and Logs...

While Maine may not have bridges spanning all of the rivers and streams, that cross the AT, it does offer plenty of log bridges. This is a photo of a relatively new log bridge construction, note the duel planks, lack of moss on the walking surface and considerably level nature of the platform. This walkway went on for approximately an 1/8 of a mile before plopping hikers back onto more solid terra firma.

Without these log bridges the trail would be impassable in places, especially the bogs. Big Ooh recently pressed his hiking pole into the muck, to a depth of over three feet, and still didn't touch the bottom. This makes it pretty important to keep one's balance when traversing the log. This can be made much more challenging with the presence of moss growth, broken planks, single log bridge construction (of which there are many) or washed out underpinnings which cause the bridge to sway, rock and sometimes pop up like a teeter-totter.

Not all log bridges span bogs ... some simply provide a pathway over notoriously muddy sections of trail, which the beautiful state of Maine has plenty of. In fact, Maine seems to have more mud diversity than I've had the pleasure of experiencing anywhere else in my life's travels. There's sticky mud, slippery mud, watery mud, hard mud, deep mud, quicksand style mud, stinky mud and, of course, dried mud (which isn't just regular old dirt, since it retains foot, hoof and paw prints ... which are pretty cool).

Yes, mud is part of a hiker's daily existence up here. Ahhhh Maine. Thanks for the mud memories...

Rollin on,
Yahtzee



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