Our original plan was to hike to Hamlin Peak and then take the Northwest Basin Trail to Russell Pond (where we would spend our last night). We were advised by the ranger at Chimney Pond, however, to take an easier route by retracing the Saddle Trail up to the "Saddle" and then taking the Northwest Basin Trail all the way to Russell Pond. Being exhausted from the previous day, we agreed to his new plan (and besides, who wants to go the second highest peak in Maine after you just went to the highest), and so we set out at 9am to go up the Saddle Trail.
We had already been down the Saddle Trail the night before, so we knew what to expect, but now we had our backpacks (with our tent, sleeping bags, food, clothing, etc.). Despite the extra weight and the fact we had to climb steep rocks, we made decent time, and we were at the "Saddle" before noon on Saturday. According to the AMC booklet, it was 6 hours to Russell Pond.
Once we left the Saddle and made our way to Russell Pond, however, we got progressively more nervous that time was not on our side. Each "checkpoint" found us further and further behind schedule, and when we made it to Davis Pond at around 4pm, it became clear that our best case scenario would put us at the Russell Pond Campground at dusk.
Part of the problem was that our packs were slowing us down, but the trail itself was what slowed us down the most. There were slippery rocks, difficult climbs, and stream and river crossings that took time. It was a real Trail of Tears at times.
We have no pictures from this part of the trip because we were so worried about getting to the campsite before dark that we did not stop and take pictures. At 8pm, we still had not reached camp and we were both beginning to get nervous. With our flashlight leading us, we came across a dam that we had to cross in near-darkness. Through teamwork and good use of our flashlight, we made it across, and then we eventually made it to the campground at 8:20pm. In another 30 minutes it was pitch black, so we were very lucky. We didn't even bother "checking in" as we had done before. We simply set up our tent and cooked and cleaned (all in the dark), and then we went to sleep feeling fortunate that we made it through a really long day of hiking.