September 28 - Katahdin Stream Campground (Day 193 – milepoint 2155.0)

Woke up early and watched the sun rise. I hiked alone the eight miles to the Penobscot River and Abol Bridge Campstore. Cosmo and Spice were there relaxing. Again, I found Paka‘s trash in my pack. I was ashamed for letting him get away with it. Plus, I forgot to stash the Bible in Achilles‘ pack before I left this morning, so I carried that, too.

Out of food, I unapologetically pigged out at the Abol Bridge campstore. Easy Walker showed up with bad news: Landshark hurt his knee in the 100-Mile Wilderness a couple of days back and had to slow down, so if we summit tomorrow, he won’t be with us. Nor will Huff and Puff. Bummer.

I left Abol Bridge with a very lightweight but important piece of Paka‘s pack, and followed streams the whole way to Daicey Pond.

I felt fortunate to be able to sit and chat with Park Rangers Marcia and Gabriel. An easy-going couple with a calming presence. The kind of people you want to be like. I relaxed there by Daicey Pond for a bit, enjoying the view of Katahdin, until Achilles, Chewy, and Redwood showed up.

We made our way another 2.5 miles to Katahdin Stream Campground, where we had reserved a Lean-to away from the crowds, thankfully. I’ve been curious about how Paka is doing without the hip belt to his backpack. Wonder if he’s mad?

Weather report for tomorrow: 90% chance of rain.

Aquahoiic

P.S. Spice, Cosmo, Paka, and Easy Walker were last seen heading down to the Penobscot riverside after buying more beer at the Abol Bridge camp store…