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HAPPY 6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY TO ME! I didn’t even think about it until late this morning! Wow! I think about it and I almost disbelieve it myself! I began my Big Anniversary Day at 5:30 a.m. It wasn’t too cold or too windy. In the distance, peaking through the trees I could see the day’s first light appearing in deep crimson red and orange. I didn’t eat breakfast like I normally do. I had hopes of making it to Chairback Mountain for a view of the sunrise and breakfast would have delayed me.
It didn’t take long to pack up; I was hiking by 6 a.m. I made it just in time to see the glorious colors of sunup—magnificently soft and calm! Looking out into Maine from any given vista, one sees nothing but forest and mountains and sheer exquisiteness! It is really great to witness, comprehend and feel!
I made it to Pleasant Branch River, 4.7 miles from the shelter in excellent time. About 10 minutes from the river crossing, I saw my first moose! He/she was HUGE; he was the size of a large horse! I scared him away before I could get a picture. So only a half of my goal is met—I saw a moose, yes, but I failed to get a picture for you. Don’t worry though; there are plenty more miles to cover.
I unexpectedly happened upon Mr. T and Flint at the river. Again, we had to ford it. At 8 a.m. in the morning the river water has not had “sun-time” to warm up and it was bitterly freezing, seemingly sub-zero degrees! On this ford I crossed in my camp shoes and carried my boots in my hand; I used my trekking poles to sturdy myself. Walking in that wintry water was like the pain felt when someone flicked your frozen ears! Once I reached the shore my feet were stinging; they hurt so badly, oh, the sting! Flint didn’t have camp/water shoes so I borrowed Mr. T’s and walked back across to let Flint ford with mine. Was I nuts?! We all traversed safely with no major struggle, though afterward it took at least 30 minutes of hiking before I felt my toes again!
After crossing, 1.3 miles north, Flint and I left Mr. T at the Gulf Hagas Trail, the 5.2 mile loop I mentioned in yesterday’s entry. We ambled at an easy pace to enjoy the walk. I have to say that “the Grand Canyon of the east” somewhat disappointing to me. The hype was more than the delivered goods! Sure, it was a nice gorge, a nice river, and included nice water falls, but not even compared to the Grand Canyon of the west or the Colorado River did it come close! I will say, though, that it was worth my time and I am glad that I took the opportunity to see it while I was here. Received trail magic from super cool day hikers—all food, cookies, crackers, trail bars, and fresh garden grown cucumbers! Made lunch for Flint and I that much nicer.
By 1:15 p.m. we were back on the A.T. and shaving miles. It was a gradual climb for roughly 4 miles to the shelter, where we took a 15 minute pack-off and water break, then the real fun began—4 large ascents and descents, gaining a losing approximately 800 ft on each up and down. It was a long 7 miles from the shelter. On the first ascent, I began to feel light-headed and shaky. I had to stop at the peak and eat something; I think I just ran out of steam. On White Cap Mountain, our last mountaintop of the day, I was afforded my first view of Katahdin—hooray! I’ve been closing in on her nice and slow for 6 months, so it seems appropriate I’d get my first panorama of her impressive bust on my Anniversary Day! Moreover, to the west the sunset displayed a superb array of color through the veil of scattered cloud cover! I can’t think of a more appropriate gift! I saw both the sunrise and the sunset today, isn’t that special? However, despite the awesome play on the stage of Earth I was witnessing, the wind was cutting me to the core and it was time to move on. I snapped a few pictures and pushed 1.3 more miles to Logan Brook Lean-to. It was very cold and windy until we got below tree line. Flint’s feet were fairly raw at the day’s end and so were mine frankly; I think its salt rash mainly around my toes.
Overall, 22.3 miles covered today. I’m feeling fairly good, too, after such a long, tough day. But wait until morning and I may have changed my tune. Thanks for all you at home staying with me this far; it is almost time to finish this thing! Goodnight! 9:47 p.m.—Guy, Rooster, John and myself in the shelter tonight; Mr. T and Flint, Brood X and Patrick are tenting nearby.
Slept in late—7:30 a.m. and woke to a light dusting of snow. I was the last to leave the shelter at 9 a.m. My first 3.6 miles was a pleasant downhill grade. As I hiked later into the morning, the sun warmed the forest; as the wind blew hard, melting snow from the treetops would flurry little by little gently down to the ground. Though it wasn’t enough to hinder our hiking; it was like a winter wonderland! Walking under the glow of pale yellow birch trees illuminated by dawn’s fragile light and having the snow falling around me as the wind sang through the fluttering leaves was something magical. I was in my own fairytale!
Then I walked up onto Mr. T and Flint, which kind of ruined my enchantment. It wasn’t their fault; I just walk much quicker than they do. We walked together until lunch at Crawford Pond. There we saw John and Patrick just finishing their lunch break. It was incredibly cold and gusty and it made lunch only just bearable. It was so cold we all had to put on warmer clothes. After lunch we pushed to Cooper Brook Lean-to. I took a break here for a few moments to read the shelter register then moved on. Since Crawford Pond the grade has been flat, and I mean flat, flat, flat. Finally, we can quicken the speed back to a 3 mile per hour pace.
Flint and I arrived at a logging road called Jo-Mary Road around 5 p.m. Normally resupply is tough if not impossible through the 100-mile Wilderness but Flint and I were going to make an attempt. Mr. T needed food, so our plan was to try to hitch to a camp store nearby.
Flint and I weren’t even at the road five minutes before a pick-up truck came rolling down the gravel/dirt road. We flagged it down and it screeched to a stop. The man in the passenger seat rolled down his window, smiled and said in a very northern redneck accent, “You boys need a ride?” The unruly Jack Russell Terrier sitting in his lap barked at us as we explained our needs. The driver spoke up and asked with an even heavier Maine twang, “You boys been there hiking that Appalachian Trail?” “Yes!” we exclaimed proudly. The man, shaking his head and mumbling profanities, smiles up at us and says, “You boys have balls bigger than truck tires!” We laughed, accepted the flattering remark and loaded in the back of his truck. The two men were loggers and their equipment left little space for our packs or our bodies, but Flint and I coped; we had to sit on a toolbox against the cab completely exposed. We began to freeze as the truck accelerated; we had to be moving down this logging road at least 40 miles per hour or more! Our ride stopped at the campground nearly 20 minutes later but the camp store appeared to be closed.
Plan B: instead they dropped us at a gate at the entrance of Jo-Mary Road. There were two unofficial Rangers manning the gate, a husband and a wife. We walked inside, clarified who we were, what we needed, and Ranger Bob agreed to help. First Bob took us to a lodge/B&B/sport camp close by but no supplies were sold. In lieu of that, he drove us another 15 miles further to Millenocket to a grocery store. This was more than we anticipated! I didn’t need any resupply; mainly I was just along for the ride, but since I was there I decided I could have used a few items to supplement my meals. I bought avocados, red peppers, chips, salsa and a bag of spinach. Bob then drove us back an additional 11 miles to the trailhead, nearly 30 miles roundtrip. What a super nice fellow to have gone out of his way so much to help us. We found Mr. T waiting by a fire she made to help stay warm .1 mile north from the road. We all had chips and salsa for dinner. The fire was great—big, too! I’m Cowboy camping tonight next to the fire, although not too close as to not burn my sleeping bag. 15.4 miles covered today thanks to the flat terrain. What a super day! Cold tonight, but snuggly warm in my bag. Goodnight!
Today was a nice leisurely stroll. We stayed up late around the fire so we got up late this morning. Momma’s boy passed by our camp and stopped for a half hour. We didn’t hit the trail until 10:40 a.m.—an incredibly late start. I left Mr. T and Flint behind and walked by my lonesome self most of the day.
So what does one think about for hours and hours while walking everyday? Anything, really! I’ve thought about friends, places, school, work, family, life, God, myself, and more. There is no limit. In the civilized world there is constantly input feeding all the senses: signs to read, people to look at, noises to filter, television to watch, radio stations to listen to, driving to think about, cell phones to answer, exhaust to smell, decisions about where to eat, shopping malls to spend money, trends to follow and on and on it goes. Every second of the day it seems there are thousands of meaningless stimuli bombarding the senses almost predetermining our thoughts. In the woods, it is much easier to lose yourself in your thoughts and imagination. By now, 2100+ miles later, I’ve trained myself to let my thoughts drift. And drift they do.
I stopped at Potawadjo Spring shelter for a 2 ½ hour lunch. I enjoyed my fresh veggies with hummus on pita bread. Hmmmm, it was delicious and stuffed me! As I was about to leave Mr. T and Flint arrived with a new face, Blisterfree. They walked together but I passed them—I was moose hunting, and traveling solo increased my chances to see one. I arrived at Nahnakanta Stream campsite at 5:30 p.m. I set my camp and everyone else showed up shortly later. As we all ate dinner around the fire, a large crowd of old faces arrived: London Len, Chicago Rob, Scorch, Eric and Jess. It’s great to see them again. 12 miles hiked today during absolutely great weather! Later…
It was a good night—clear, not too hot, not too humid. I slept fine, so I was up and on the trail quite early. I felt good and the weather was working in my favor today, so I hiked 17.7 miles to Rainbow Spring Campsite. I passed a nice lake called Nahmakanta Lake with a fine sand beach; also climbed the final mountain of any significance called Nesuntabunt Mountain (1520’). From a vista 200 ft off the trail was a great view of Katahdin. As each day passes, the nearer I walk to her the mightier and grander she sits upon the landscape. I took a nice long pause of reflection and moved on toward Crescent Pond for water and a snack.
Eric and Jess had the same idea I did; when I found them, they were both there sunning and snacking themselves on a rock slab beach; I stopped and enjoyed my filtered pond water while snacking on dried apricots. We all walked together for some time and chatted along the way. Momma’s Boy appeared from the rear; he has a habit of showing up without warning.
We are all camping now together in addition to London Len and Chicago Rob, who made it here in the dark. Momma’s boy and I gathered fire wood for a nice fire pit located at the center of two log benches. For dinner I enjoyed ginger-rice wrapped in a tortilla with salsa, avocado, red bell pepper and broken flax crackers. It was a first-class camp meal. I should market my own camp food! Moreover, the fresh piped spring water to wash it all down—ahhhh, it just hit the right spot tonight! After I ate, I was in sleep mode big time.
The stars are out tonight in exceptional and rare form. Looking out over Rainbow Lake, I can see the reflection of the sky on the water perfectly. My feet continue to be raw around the toes from the salt rash. I haven’t had this happen to me ever until these last few days. I’m not sure why now, out of nowhere, this “little” problem decides to afflict me. I think it might be the fact that I don’t have fresh socks and the residue has built up over these past miles causing the small abrasions. The semi-short hike to Abol Bridge tomorrow should help—well, at least I won’t have to hike much and the terrain should be effortless. I’m fueled by adrenaline at this point since I’m so close to Mother K! *smile*
Momma’s Boy and I are Cowboy camping and plan on starting our day at first light so that we can get to Abol Bridge early in the afternoon and relax. From Abol Bride, it is only another 10 miles to Katahdin Stream campground. Katahdin Stream Campground will be our “Katahdin Mountain Launch Pad!” From there, only 5 almost vertical miles to the summit! *deep breath*
I had an itch to get walking this morning so I was up at 6:15 a.m., though I didn’t hurry to pack up. Afterall, it was only 11.2 miles to Abol Bridge. At the beginning of today’s hike I walked nearly 2+ miles adjacent to the north end of Rainbow Lake. I was cresting a small climb, hiking as quiet as I possibly could in hopes of seeing a glimpse of a moose in the last miles before Katahdin when suddenly, I looked up at an instance and I saw a Red Fox dashing, at first toward my direction, but then swiftly away from me after we startled each other. He was of small build with a short nose; he had a big bushy tail with a small patch of white at the tip which I saw very well as he ran It was really cool and very surprising!
I stopped at Hurd Brook lean-to to read the register; given that no other sections of the trail needed to be made-up (like my 70 miles), this was the last official shelter register to read for northbound thru-hikers. The register was full; I sat to read them all. Bisterfree arrived at the shelter followed by Momma’s Boy, Eric and Jess as I finished reading the register. The theme of each register entry varied. Some were very reflective, some were philosophical, many were shout-outs; others were expressions of grief and sorrow while a few were boastful and congratulatory. I just left my contact information and expressed my gratitude to all who helped make my 2004 thru-hike a success!
We left and walked to Abol Bridge for the famous “postcard” view of Katahdin. Katahdin from up-close was mind-blowing! “This is it,” I thought to myself, “This is it!” Katahdin is called “the greatest mountain” by the Native Americans and I can testify, she surely holds true to the title! The Fatty K sat bold, strong and fierce and I was going to climb her! We took a few pictures and finally crossed the bridge to the campground. I arrived at Abol Bridge camp store around noon. Flint arrived 2 hours later.
We learned we had a problem from the ridge runner, Pop Tart. The weekend was Columbus Day weekend, a 3-day holiday. The weather forecast for the weekend was ideal, which meant Baxter State Park, the park that Katahdin is in, would be almost guaranteed a heavily occupied park by weekend warriors. Baxter State Park is a unique state park to say the least. At 204,000 acres, there are no paved roads, no telephone lines; no cell phones are allowed to be used in the park, no domestic pets or animals, very regulated and limited use and entry, etc., etc. Once the park’s capacity is reached, no more people are permitted into the park, including day and over-night use! The plan was to have Mom and Dad pick Flint, Mr. T and I up from Katahdin Stream campground tomorrow, but there was no guarantee that they would be able to enter the park to meet us. Moreover, we needed to determine when we wanted to summit Katahdin. The weather is chief variable, so who knows? Monday, October 11th is looking to be the day, but it can always change.
I decided to hitch a ride with the cashier from the camp store into Millinocket to see the hikers who had summited within the last few days. It turned out many of my thru-hiker friends were in town! It was a reunion that was super, super fun and exciting! Everyone in town that I saw had already summited Mount Katahdin and were very hyped up to complete their 2004 Thru-hikes! It made me that much more pumped to climb her—there aint’ no keepin’ da ‘Dawg down now!!! We celebrated at the Blue Ox listening to a funky jazz guitarist named Eddie Kirkland, formerly a guitarist for Jimmy Hendrix. Eddie was an 81 year old black man who knew how to jam down! It was a blast!
I have no idea where I’m at right now except that I’m in Millinocket. I am stealth camping in town near a railroad station at the end of a road in a small thicket of trees. It’s great! I’m meeting Mom, Dad and Scott, my bro tomorrow sometime. It’s all so dreamlike! It’s finally time to do this.
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