September 20 - Moxie Bald Lean-to (Day 185 – milepoint 2027.5)
Rainy, muddy day. Spent most of it hiking alone. Feeling a little tweak in my left knee. Just hold on for ten-or-so more days…
I’m not anxious for this whole thing to be over, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve had a pretty full experience, so it actually feels about right to be almost finished.
Very curious about the transition into the outside world.
Aquaholic
September 19 - Pleasant Pond Lean-to (Day 184 – milepoint 2014.4)
Paka Bear found the Bible, rocks, and trash in his pack this morning and vowed revenge…
Landshark and Spice, who didn’t make it to the river yesterday, forded this morning at a much lower and more reasonable water level, and we all set out to find a restaurant for breakfast before hiking. We got a ride with Steve, “The Canoe Ferrier,” in the back of his pick-up truck. He took us to Northern Outdoors, a rafting company / outdoor resort / restaurant / bar.
As we ate breakfast, our waitress, Annette, informed us that we didn’t have to be river or overnight guests to be able to use the
facilities.
“Facilities?” we asked, “what facilities?”
Swimming pool, hot tub, basketball court, paddleball court, pool, foosball, and more.
Needless to say, a full day of hiking was no longer in the day’s equation. We almost sprung for a cabin for the night but decided we should move on.
“Gluttony control,” I declared.
“What’s gluttony?” asked Chewy.
Hiked with Landshark today, who tells some great stories. When we got to the shelter, I mentioned how nice it was to hike along and exchange stories with Shark.
Cosmo lit up and said, “Did he tell you the furniture-moving story about when the dresser drawer opened and all the dirty magazines fell out in front of the whole family?”
” Yep,” I replied.
Paka: “I love that one.”
Spice: “Did he tell you any of his pole vaulting stories?”
“Yeah, I heard those back in Pennsylvania.”
Gonna be missing these guys soon.
Aquaholic
September 18 - Kennebec River – Caratunk, Maine (Day 183 – milepoint 2008.6)
Another beautiful day but, well, that’s beside the point…
For a while now we’ve been playing a repetitive joke on Paka Bear by hiding our trash inside his pack so that he carries it without knowing. (Childish, yes, but Paka provokes.)
We continue to do it because:
- we continue to get away with it.
- it continues to amuse us.
So, today we were all enjoying lunch at Pierce Pond Lean-to. Cosmo and I were getting ready to leave and noticed Paka eating his lunch while reading down by the water. I pulled out my ziplock bag full of trash and began collecting others’ as well. As I stuffed the trash deep into Paka’s pack, Cosmo and Redwood handed me two sizeable rocks to add to the loot. Then, Easy Walker handed me a large, hard-back Bible that someone had left in the shelter, and we added that, too. We know Paka hiked away from the shelter with the extra items in his pack, and, to my knowledge, he has managed to arrive here at camp next to the Kennebec River, unload his pack, tent and all, and at around 11 p.m., still doesn’t know.
We’ve been talking Bible all day, a ridiculous amount of Bible talk, and Paka thinks it’s just the usual weirdness. It is possible that he found the loot at some point and is cleverly playing his own little joke on us. If so, he’s earned it. But if we find that he still doesn’t know in the morning, it might be fun to see if we can get it all out of his pack without him knowing he ever had it.
Highlight of the day: Kennebec River crossing. Some local river folks provide a canoe shuttle for hikers twice a day (morning & afternoon). Paka, Redwood, and I were a little impatient and decided to “wade” across (without our packs). We also thought it would be cool. But high water and a swift current turned the “wade” across into a pretty tiring swim. Very good thing we weren’t wearing our packs. The canoe shuttle ferried across with our packs, arriving promptly as we crawled onto shore, and I didn’t feel quite as cool as I thought I would, only just a little cooler than everyone else.
We set up camp next to the river.
There’s a road nearby so a couple of us went into town for Chewy birthday provisions, which included several packages of bacon, which we wrapped around sticks and roasted over the fire along with hot dogs and marshmallows and popcorn…
Aquaholic
September 17 - West Carry Pond Lean-to (Day 182 – milepoint 1994.5)
I was coming down the mountain from Little Bigelow Lean-to this morning and the terrain suddenly got easy, which usually triggers a faster pace…but not today. I just continued walking easily and enjoyed the morning.
It got better when I arrived here at Flaggstaff Lake. A huge, beautiful lake on an equally beautiful day, and there’s nobody here but me. I’ve been here for about an hour now. Now THIS is what “escape” with “peace and quiet” looks and feels like. Some canoes turned over on the shore off in the distance.
It’s amazing what “sunny and clear with a nice breeze” does for a day.
We’ll be passing the 2,000-mile mark tomorrow and we’ll be celebrating that milestone, along with Chewie’s birthday, in Caratunk, which oughta be interesting.
There was a nice entry in a shelter register today: “It’s not a race. Slow your pace. The one to Mount Katahdin with the most memories, Wins!”
Aquaholic
September 16 - Stafford Notch Campsite (Day 181 – milepoint 1982.3)
Happy 26th Birthday to Chewy! The Wookie is 26 today. We’ll be throwing a party soon.
Here’s a brief profiling of the cast of characters I’ve been hiking with and will probably continue to be around:
Chewie: 26, Madison, IN. A ‘94 Ball State grad. Works with the mentally disabled and is involved with the Special Olympics. Very intelligent, with a subtle and sarcastic sense of humor. Chewy’s plan after the Trail is “to become the fattest man in the world.”
Spice: 25, Boston. A bicycle courier in Boston. Doesn’t say much, which, as Paka explains, “makes you think he’s up to something sneaky…If he’s not doing something sneaky, he’s thinking about doing something sneaky.” Plans to courier in San Francisco after the Trail.
Spice Boy - 24, from (?) and Water Girl - 29, Lexington, VA: Hiking partners from day one. Very close, and as far as I can tell, platonic friends who have been working together for various political campaigns and non-profit political organizations. Both with very strong views and opinions. Spice Boy seems like a pleasant fellow. His girlfriend has joined him for several sections of the trail. Though I haven’t spent much time with Spice Boy, I have spent a little time with Water Girl and would love to spend more time with her delicious blue eyes, except that something in me knows I would lose focus on my hike… Water Girl plans to move to Lake Tahoe, CA after the Trail.
Baltimore Jack: Age unknown. Origin unknown. Also thru-hiked in ‘95. Excellent cook. Very intelligent. Daily breakfast: two cigarettes, two shots of bourbon. He shared something interesting with me several states back, something his father told him long ago: “Son, God gave you two ears and only one mouth… Use them accordingly.”
Easy Walker: 23, Boise, Idaho. Spent the past three years as an Army Ranger living in the Southeast U.S. Avid rock climber. Fast hiker. Plans to go back to school in Montana and keep playing as much as possible.
Redwood: 21, Northern Michigan. Strongest hiker on the Trail, in my opinion, with a quietness I’d call “wisdom” if he ever said anything that revealed what he was thinking, so “shyness” is a more accurate description for now. One of our three “red-beards” (along with Landshark and Chewie), Redwood started eight days after me, passed me before the Smokies, took the entire months of May and June off, and caught up again in the Whites in NH. He’s now “trying to keep it under 20-a-day.” Of course we’re happy to help.
Huff & Puff: Father and son from Oklahoma City. Huff in his mid-late 40’s, recently retired from the Air Force. We often forget he’s the Dad. Puff is 21, lived in Japan and tended bar for a while before returning to join his father on the AT. He has that passion for travel inside of him. Would be interesting to know where he goes next.
Cosmo: 24, Atlanta, GA. Spent the last year touring Europeans around the U.S. in a large van. What great stories he has. Also has the passion for travel. His plan for getting home after the Trail is to try and hitch a ride on a sailboat from the Maine coast down
to Georgia…
LandShark: 24, New Hampshire. UNH graduate and former college pole vaulter. Earned his Trail money moving furniture. Very strong hiker (did a 40-mile day into Damascus, VA). A genuine person with some great stories.
Paka Bear: 25, Greensboro, NC. UNC graduate and very proud Tar Heel. Spent the past two years as a counselor at an intensive kids-at-risk outdoor rehab camp. Now between semesters in Paramedic school. Very much a ring-leader. Likes to be the center of
attention and plays the part well.
Achilles: 24, Rye, NY. A ‘94 Dartmouth graduate. Spent the last two years as an investment banker in NYC and will probably return to the Big Apple following his hike. Excellent athlete. The only competitive squash player I know. I’m trying to convince Achilles to hike the PCT with me in a few years. Achilles is dying to have a woman tell him that he really fills his shirt, but that won’t happen anytime soon, unfortunately, not after six months out here, and he’s not really the “bench-pressing” type.
Aquaholic
September 15 - Stratton, Maine (Day 180)
Off the feet for a day. B-movie marathon.
Aquaholic
September 14 - Stratton, Maine (Day 179 – milepoint 1971.8)
Football. Music. Women. Death. Family. Food. Bodily functions… Lots to discuss in a day.
Aquaholic
September 13 - Sugarloaf Mountain (Day 178 – milepoint 1961.3)
Today (just like most every day) has been filled with a lot of random thoughts, stimulating conversation, and the beautiful diversity of the Trail.
I was reading through my journal a little bit this evening and noticed how my entries appear to be redundant at times: “Hiked x-miles today, saw cool stuff, cool folks, dogs are barking, food, ice cream, etc.”
It would be really cool to get all of the little details and daily stories into this thing, but alas, most of my entries are made at the end of the day, before bed, when my body desperately lobbies my mind for sleep.
Each person and experience is worth mentioning and I wish I had the time to give them all the attention they deserve to give people a better understanding of what’s going on out here. But as entertaining as it all may be, my words won’t allow you to breathe it, see it, hear it, smell it, or taste it. The best, the only way to understand, is to DO it.
Then you’ll understand how the pain in your feet at the end of every day feels like “barking dogs.”
You’ll understand the power…usefulness…simplicity…freedom…the timeless value of Eat-Drink-Walk-Laugh-Breathe--”Lighten-the-Load”–Sleep…Repeat…
You’ll understand community…happiness in the present moment…Trail Angels…your personal thresholds for pain and ecstasy…a direct connection to God that you’ll never experience in a church…the Real real world…rhythm…
Aquaholic
September 12 - Poplar Ridge Lean-to (Day 177 – milepoint 1950.2)
I’m grateful to have been able to spend the past week with Dave Risner, The Safety Inspector. Life moves on and great friendships just get better.
After running a few errands in the morning, Dave dropped Paka and I at the trailhead and headed back to Chicago. We climbed over Saddleback Mountain today, which floated us above the clouds. Still challenging terrain in Maine. I’ve literally fallen on my rear-end more in Maine than the 13 other states combined.
Here at the Poplar Ridge Lean-to with Paka Bear, Achilles, Landshark, Baltimore Jack, and Redwood.
Aquaholic
September 11 - Rangeley, Maine (Day 176 – milepoint 1939.4)
The Safety Inspector’s final day was a very pleasant nine miles.
We rolled into Rangeley and celebrated for the rest of the day. They (Them) say that Rangeley, Maine is exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. I would add that you can drink a good beer there, too.
Aquaholic
