My Trails

9/14/12 – 2033 miles
We arrived in Caratunk, ME, today at 3 pm. It was nice trail for most of the way to town, although we still have to watch our step over the many roots that reach up to trip us.

We stopped for a brief time at Pierce Pond Lean-to to pay our respects to a young thruhiker who died there earlier this year. The hiker, by the name of Parkside, went out swimming after hiking all day, was stricken with leg cramps, and drowned before anyone could reach him. It is a nice shelter beside a beautiful lake, but haunting to think of the sad event that took place there.

The Kennebec River lays just before US 201, the road into Caratunk, and is also the site of a tragic drowning some years ago. Thruhikers used to ford the river until one day the plant that sits above the crossing spot released water, raising the level several feet, and overcoming a thruhiker trying to cross. Now there is a man with a canoe that ferries hikers across the river for free.

9/13/12 – 2022 miles
Yesterday was one of those initiation back to full pack days. I was way overstocked on food. I think I was still a little paranoid from almost running out on our last section. We are planning on three easy days into Katatunk so food should.not be a problem.

We hiked ten miles to a campsite called Safford Notch and called it a day. Even though it was only 3:30 when we made the campground, everyone was tired and ready to stop. We had climbed a couple of prominent peaks in the Bigelow Range that were quite challenging.

It was kind of nice to have extra time to set up camp. Usually, we are running out of daylight as the days get shorter and we find ourselves fixing dinner with the light of our headlamps. We actually had time to sit and rest before dinner.

After we ate I was surprised by Kleenex as she brought out a chocolate chip muffin while holding her lighter beside it. They all sang happy birthday to me and I blew out her lighter while secretly making a wish. Kleenex had packed muffins for everyone – not easy and very generous of her – and we all enjoyed a nice treat. It was very special and a birthday I will always remember.

Tonight we are camped by Carry Pond. We met a nice man by the name of Jerry Chase that offered us a spot to pitch our tents by a boat launch. Not only did he find us a place to stay, he also brought drinks and goodies for us to eat. This lake is very beautiful, as is all of Maine, and we listened to Loons as we ate our dinner

9/11/12 – 1996 miles
We had planned on four days to get to Stratton but a rough day getting over Bemis Mountain put us behind on our planned schedule. We ended up camping near ME17 the first night, Piazza Pond Lean-to the second night, and by Orbeton Stream on the third. All of us were low on food, especially me, leaving the prospect of rationing what I had to stretch for one more day, or finding a way to get to town early. Kleenex noticed there was a gravel road ten miles before the main road into Stratton and X called Susan to make arrangements for an early pickup.

Kleenex fording

Today we slackpacked the rest of the miles we missed and are back in Stratton at the motel. I was thinking today of the transition we will have to make when we get back to normal society. It is common for us to blow snot-rockets, belch, pass gas in mixed company, and cough up lugies anytime we want. The girls still walk out of site to pee but us guys will stop on the trail and tell the girls to keep walking. A couple of times I’ve come upon a girl with her pants down and I have been caught by females coming up the trail. It’s all part of the life we live in the woods, quite different from the accepted norm, and something we have gotten use to.

The next stop will be Caratunk and then Monson(I love saying those names). Tomorrow we go over Bigelow Mountain and them the terrain should get easier. We are really getting into the wilderness of Maine, with few towns and roads, and of course poor cell signal.

9/8/12 – 1966 miles
We are just .2 miles from having 90% of the trail done. In a few days we will hit 2000 miles. That’s a long way on foot. My knee hurts a little every day but it will take a lot of pain at this point to stop me.

Bog bridge

We set out yesterday from Andover, early in the morning with heavy packs. No one has been sleeping well so the continuous climbs had everyone tired and sapped of energy. We had planned on hiking 15 miles, but when we arrived at a campsite at 12, everyone was ready to stop for the night. I think we were all in our tents by 7:30 and asleep shortly after that.

I was the last one to wake up – which is unusual – and everyone finally began a day feeling rested. The trail was more gentle today, even though filled with the ever present rocks, roots, and bogs, the terrain was more level. We made it 15 miles to the Piazza Rock Lean-to where I am camped for the night.

I hiked for a while today with some people I’ve seen recently and some I have not seen in a long time. Blue Sky, Nooga, Johnny Walker Red, and I walked out ahead of the foursome I’m in and enjoyed catching up on trail gossip.

To see many more pictures and detail of my hike with the Troverts go to http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=12940

9/6/12 – 1937 miles
Only ten more miles today. The roads are few and far between up here in Maine so it is tricky to pick up sections that cover descent mileage. This will be the last day to slackpack for awhile, our trail angel has to go back home. Tomorrow we will put on full packs and set out for Stratton, ME.

It seems like the trail today was extraordinarily rooty. We have to be extra careful not to step on slanted roots, especially after a rain. You can fall so quickly you will still be smiling when you hit the ground. The other day I slipped on a root and bent my leg back under me as I went down. It was sore this morning but limbered up quickly.

Maine has several rivers that you have to ford. Just as we were getting to the road we came to a swollen stream that I could have rock-hopped across but decided to wade for the sake of cleaning my feet. When I got to the other side, I noticed what I thought were pine needles all over my foot. They were leeches! It took me forever to get them all off. They were even sticking to my crocs. Yuck!