Author: WW

I slept in and was the latest one from our informal group to start. As I was packing it started to rain lightly so I quickly gathered everything and headed to the lean-to to pack.

It was a six mile hike to the Kennebec River. And just before the river we planned to stop for lunch and resupply at Caratunk House. They also offer pulled pork sandwiches and milkshakes during lunch hours. I made it to the hostel about 11am. I ordered food and hit the resupply room. I picked up small flour tortillas, peanut butter, two rice and pasta sides, and instant oatmeal packets. I still had some bars, plus enough dehydrated chicken and vegetables to add to the rice and pasta sides for dinner.

I spent about an hour charging my phone and checking email. I still have no phone service so can only communicate when I get WiFi in town every few days.

A check of the weather confirmed rain tonight and tomorrow. The other guys arrived to town before me and I heard from Goldie, who was still at the Caratunk House, they already headed to the other hiker hostel, The Sterling. I supposed they had decided on another “zero day.” Since there was plenty of time left in the day and I didn’t want too many delays in continuing my hike, I decided to push on.

Just down the hill from Caratunk was the river ferry. I headed down and took the ferry across. The ferry is a contracted canoe with guide who takes one or two hikers across at a time. There was a white AT blaze in the canoe itself, I suppose making it an official part of the trail. On our way across we saw a bald eagle over the river looking for fish. The ferry operator said he is there every day.

The rest of the trail was only a modest climb. It paralleled a river for quite some time. There were more than 10 falls on the way up.

There was another series of meadow-like bogs which are interesting and peaceful. They are wet, but the bugs aren’t noticeable. Most have simple log bridges but today there was a real footbridge.

I continued past the first lean to, which was just four miles from the river. The next one was 10 miles beyond the first—a bit too far but I was able to stumble into camp, tired, by around 7pm. I was happy the rain held off so I could set up my hammock before it started.

Today’s hike was up and over two mountains: Moxie Bald and Pleasant Pond Mountain. There were abundant blueberries at the top of each. I stopped for a little while and picked a few handfuls before heading down the mountains. And in the lower areas I found a few raspberry patches with ripe fruit. It was a great day for berry picking. And one variety of wild blueberry was almost black in color—-and tasted great.

The weather cleared around mid day and we enjoyed some sun for the rest of the hike.

By the time I reached the lean to I was dry. But the lean to was next to a clear lake so I took the chance to rinse out clothes and get into the water for a few minutes. There was a little sun left so I sat on a small dock and let the sun start drying everything out.

Another SOBO called Compton was camping near the shelter. We had met him at Shaw’s a few days earlier. He mentioned he had been in the Marines for five years.

Tomorrow we will hit Caratunk for resupply and perhaps catch the ferry across the Kennebec River.

Poet shuttled us back to the trail head and we got going around 8:45am. It had been raining all night and was still drizzling on and off. He warned us about the local slate which is notoriously slippery. Sure enough, just walking up the rock to get back on trail all of us noticed how slippery it was.

After about two hours I was a little ways in front of the group. There were two river fords along the way. I took my shoes off and crossed in wool socks, which worked surprisingly well. It seems like the wool is less prone to slipping on rocks than either bare feet or my shoes. On the far side I rinsed and wringed out my socks before putting the shoes back on. This got almost all the moisture out and I was on my way again.

I stopped for lunch at he first lean to. There were a couple NOBOs there doing the same thing.

After lunch I continued another 8 miles to the next lean-to, which was our plan for the day. The last few miles were tiring and I’m pretty sure I was slower on each mile than the one before it.

But I did take time to record some of the interesting and beautiful things I came across today.

I reached the lean to around 6:30pm, set up camp, got water, had a light dinner, and climbed into the hammock to preview tomorrow’s hike.

It turns out there is a deep water ford of the Kennebec River after the town of Caratunk. It is apparently a dangerous crossing and some hikers have died attempting it, one as recently as this year. So the MATC established a canoe ferry service that is actually part of the trail. The ferry runs from 9:00-2:00 so you have to manage your arrival time—or you may be waiting until the next day to cross.

I broke camp and headed out to Maine Highway 15. Luckily a suburban from Shaw’s Hiker Hostel saw me and stopped to pick me up. Poet, who owns Shaw’s with his wife, Hippie Chic, was driving the car. We chatted on the way and he told me they are from Florida and spend their winters in Micanopy, not far from my home town, Gainesville.

Shaw’s was a great place and seemed very well run. Poet had a good gear shop as well as full food resupply. The weather was nice so I decided to hammock camp instead of taking a bunk. After I got set up, I took a shower and did my laundry. A little while later Pigweed, Troop Leader, and Goldie showed up. And even later The Kids arrived. The gang was all here.

We hung around, rested, and resupplied from the small grocery in town and from Shaw’s own shop. We went to dinner at the Lakeshore Pub and sat overlooking the lake.

Monson is also the home of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy info center. I stopped in and picked up my thru hiker registration tag.

Goldie was looking at the AT map in the dining room. He already finished part of the trail northbound (NOBO). I said, “point to where you’re heading to now.” As he did it, we both said, “wow, there’s a lot left!” It was eye opening to consider these “flip floppers” who have finished almost 800 miles still have only finished a third of the trail.

And for some reason Kid 2 (Emily) and I compared hands. Her entire hand was barely bigger than my palm. We all got a good laugh out of that.

It was another beautiful day-cool and dry. According to the AWOL’s AT Guide there didn’t seem to be too much elevation change today. So I planned to make my way to the very end of the 100 mile wilderness, which was about 13 miles. There is a well loved hiker hostel called Shaw’s in Monson. That was my destination for a day of rest, laundry, and resupply. But it seemed better to just camp on the trail near Monson and get into town early the next day.

It was a quiet day alone on the trail again. I passed a few NOBO’s but not many. I stopped for a few minutes and talked with a local hiker named Bullfrog. When I greeted him and asked how he was he said “old and fat but otherwise okay!” He wasn’t that old but he wasn’t wrong on the other point. This was his second time hiking the 100 miles and seemed super happy to be out again. But when he asked how far I was hiking and I told him, “Georgia,” he just smiled and said “YOU PEOPLE!” and shook his head. I said, “well, you’re out here hiking the 100 miles for the second time. I don’t think we’re that different.” And he just smiled and said, “yeah probably not.”

There was another “wet ford” today. It went fine but at the end one stone I was stepping on rolled and I got wetter than I wanted.

But it was sunny and at the far side there were nice big and flat boulders. I stopped for awhile and dried my things on the rocks.

While there I had my first experience with the Maine “black fly.” These are biting flies that come out in June but tend to die down in July. They pestered me for a few minutes and I almost decided to leave when they stopped. And they didn’t return while I hung out for the next half hour. Reclining on on the sunny rocks was so peaceful and no other hikers came along to break the spell

A little while later after starting again a fat rabbit crossed the trail in front of me. He didn’t seem too concerned and just meandered across the trail. I also saw a lot more toads and frogs today and decided to try and get a picture.

And the trail crossed another survey point, this one marked as an Appalachian Trail marker.

And I stopped for water at the top of a big waterfall. There was a couple day hiking with their dog and we chatted for a while. We took each other’s pictures at the top.

The trail crossed more mountain views then descended along a series of ponds and lakes.

I decided to stop along Bell Pond, about 1 mile from the road to Monson.

After the long day yesterday, I was second to last to depart the site this morning. I chatted for a while with a Canadian guy doing a 50 mile hike north. I have come across a number of Canadians hiking in Maine, so it must be a fairly well known thing there.

There were a few big climbs today but the weather was perfect and the views were incredible.

I planned on going about 11 miles to the second lean-to but ended up deciding to pass it up and find a quiet hammock site. There were two deep fords today. At the first, I took off my shoes and crossed in my socks which needed rinsing anyway. The second had a tree down over it which I decided to take across. It was bouncy and kind of sketchy but luckily I didn’t slip or my pack would have probably gone over the falls a short way downstream. The water below the log was deep and fast moving.

I set up camp just across the stream and went back to the edge to make dinner. There were some good rocks for sitting and cooking with a view. While eating, a pair of hikers, mother and daughter, came to the Ford heading the opposite direction. They said they were hiking the whole state of Maine together. They decided against the tree crossing and changed into crocs to keep their shoes dry. It was getting late and they ended up camping on the opposite side of the river.

I got started early today—before 0700. Rain started a short while later. The rain continued off and on for a good part of the day and I reached C. Newhall Lean-to just after 12:00. There were two older hikers already inside the shelter: a quiet man who didn’t say much. He was spread out inside the shelter and looked like he hoped no one else would come in. And a friendly lady on the other side who was happy to chat.

The rest of our group arrived and we all ate lunch sitting on the front stoop of the lean-to. Everyone but Goldie and I moved to take places inside the shelter for the night because of rain. Goldie and I thought it was too early to stop—and we were already wet. So I continued on to Chairback Gap Lean to, another 10 mi. It was too far in the rain and I was too tired when I arrived at 7pm, but I had somehow made it 17 miles despite the weather.

I had a nice hammock spot overlooking the lean-to and cascades and ended up getting to sleep early last night. So I woke up early, chatted with the others at the site: Pigweed, Troop Leader, Goldie, and The Kids. There were a few other NOBOs tenting but were still asleep. I packed, ate a quick breakfast, and departed at 7:10am. It was an easy 3+ miles to our food drop site that had been arranged with Ole Man at the AT Lodge. Our buckets (literally buckets with lids) would be delivered yesterday pm. We had pre-packed these with food and items we needed for the second half of the 100 miles. The alternative was to carry a full 10 days of food, which didn’t sound like a great idea just starting out SOBO without being fully conditioned for the trail.

After refilling my food bag and dropping my trash in the bucket I continued on. I had headed out before the others. I enjoyed some solitude and nature hiking alone and only passed perhaps four NOBOs all morning. I happened upon a grouse who fanned her tail and engaged me with a show and noise, probably to distract from her chicks that must have been nearby. She crossed the trail right in front of me and circled around while clucking and chirping to get my attention.

It was another beautiful day with a few great views along the way.

The trail crossed a large section of predominantly maple forest, along with other sections dominated by spruce, white pine, birch, and cedars. The little spruce trees in particular smell amazing—like a Christmas candle.

Around mid day I crossed Pleasant Stream which offered a nice sunny spot. I took advantage of the sun and dried my shoes, socks, and other things still wet from yesterday. I filtered more water and had some heavy snacks for lunch.

Pleasant Stream lived up to its name and I must have spent an hour there enjoying the dragonfly activity, green river frogs, and babbling stream. A small butterfly or moth joined me and rested on my leg while it warmed its wings.

The rest of the day’s hike was mostly uphill to the lean-to. I arrived around 4:10pm and set up the hammock. The brook next to us is nice with a cascading waterfall into a swimming hole. It was too late in the day to swim but the water was clean and cold—the best we had so far.

We all broke camp and departed about 7:45am, except for Goldie who seems to prefer a later start. Since it starts getting light around 4am here, I would prefer an even earlier start, maybe 7am. The day is long and the cooler morning temperatures work better for me.

I actually headed out shortly before Troop Leader and Pigweed in the hopes of warming up with a nice, slow start. As I went, I found the trail was super flat and easy—not as many rocks and roots. So, feeling good, I decided to stretch my legs. I continued at a good pace for a couple of hours when I decided to have something to eat. But the mosquitos were so heavy I decided to eat and walk to make a harder target. The mosquitos continued like this for most of the hike—except for the first and last hours. I was especially thankful I had treated my clothes and some gear with permethrin before leaving home. That seemed to really slow down the mosquitos and prevent them from landing on my clothes. It was only my hands and face exposed and bug repellant worked well enough.

A short way into the hike the trail passed by a boulder with a US Geological Survey point which I thought was cool. I don’t believe I have ever run across one in the wild before.

We also crossed a few logging roads today and said hi to some hikers who are just out for a few days. They must use these roads to get on the trail.

Late morning it started raining and continued off and on for a few hours. I got wet but was happy for the cooler temps which helped me keep going at a good pace. My trail buddies never caught up to me and I arrived to the lean-to around 2:30pm. I might have felt good enough to keep going after a rest except it was 11+ miles to the next shelter. And we have a “food drop” to pick up in the morning just 3 miles down the trail.

I have seen something new every day and the landscape is amazing.

Roots and rocks

We departed at 7:45am. Early in the hike we followed a long gorge with a rushing stream for some time. There were several falls and at the bottom of each we noticed areas of thick foam in the water.

One of our group said this was surfactant residue from soap. Apparently this is bad for fish, which is why campers and hikers are asked to never use soap in the streams and ponds and to dispose of soapy water 200’ from water sources.

There were a couple climbs with nice views and occasional glimpses back to Mt Katahdin.

We stopped for lunch at the first shelter and moved on to the next shelter for camp. The Nahmatanka Stream Lean-to was recently built and looked nearly new. It had been overcast all day and looked like rain so we decided to sleep in the shelter. It did rain a few times after arrival and we were glad to be inside.