Date: July 15 2000
Trail Day: 45
Miles Today: 26
Location: Baxter Park Road, 6 miles North of Millinocket
Section Mile: IAT 654
ECT Mile: 654
Rained heavily almost all night. No rain in the morning though. But the skies
were very ugly and overcast. There was fog everywhere. I got back into my
wet clothes, shoes and socks and started hiking. This part of Rt 11 is
very dull and boring. No towns, stores or other interesting land marks.
The road parallels the Penabescot river but you get only 2 or 3 glances.
The rest is too forested or quite far away.
One advantage of all this rain is that it has driven the bugs away. In
New Brunswick my legs were covered with wounds and sores from deer fly
bites. Now they are in much better shape. If the rain lets up the bugs come
back with renewed vigour. I got to Grindstone. Its just a collection of
houses. I knocked on a door to get water. The guy was initially wary but
subsequently invited me in, gave me a sandwich, gatorade, apple and
chips. He also had a detailed map of Maine. I looked at it and figured
out a shorter route directly to Millinocket instead of through Medway.
This is the reason I avoid talking to the official types (referring to
yesterdays telephone conversation). They are always concerned with
covering their own asses and their info is thus skewed. Anyway the
guys name is John. He grew up in Medway. He had the interesting habit
of describing the location of places with respect to a strip joint in
Millinocket. He had 3 little dogs. They kept yelping. One was frightened
of me while another one kept licking my leg.
I took the shorter route along the railroad track and got to Millinocket and went to a place called
Appalachian Trail Cafe. It is run by a gentleman named Don. A very
friendly place for hikers. We talked some and I signed his register.
The food was also good.
On the way out of Millinocket I bought some insect repellant. My older one
was finished about a week ago and I have suffered from insect attacks
quite badly. Now I am armed. Walked towards Baxter Park which is
about 20 miles away. The sun had come out and I stopped on the
way to dry out all my wet stuff. Then continued till the sun almost went down
and set up camp.
Well tomorrow is the day I will be on the big one, the big cheese, the
big Kahuna, the big bad boy, the mother of all trails - the AT. I am
quite excited. I dont know if I will be able to climb Katahdin tomorrow
but I will touch the AT. Also a note on Millinocket. It has a fairly
big place in AT lore. South bounders starting and north bounders ending
have to go through it. For south bounders this is where they leap
into the wilderness from civilization.
Date: July 16 2000
Trail Day: 46
Miles Today: 20
Location: Katahdin Stream Campground
Section Mile: IAT 674
ECT Mile: 674
Got up and headed to Millinocket lake. Very touristy area now. Lots
of boating and white water rafters. Had a sandwich and soda. The
forests here are quite lush. Continued on to Baxter State Park. I
was afraid they would give me a hard time if they found out I was
an IAT hiker. No such problems. I did not tell anyone that I had
hiked the IAT and kept a low profile.
I could see Baxter peak hidden by the clouds. I was debating whether
to climb Baxter today. However, as I approached Katahdin Stream Campground
I knew it was too late. It was about 4 pm. I had already done 20 miles and
was in no shape to take on a hard climb. The soles of my feet are also
hurting. The road walks are now taking their toll.
The ranger gave me accomodation at a lean-to. I cooked and ate some noodles.
I am now out of food except for some snacks for tomorrow. I saw a deer grazing
by about 30 ft away. Fun to watch wild life up close. A chipmunk started
rooting through my stuff. I gave it some cookies. It munched away fully alert.
It has clouded up again and should rain soon. I am also totally drained -
physically and psychologically. Perhaps it is the ending of one trail and
beginning of another. I dont know.
Tomorrow's plan is to climb Baxter Peak. Everything I have read and
heard says its very tough. There are places where you have to pull
yourself up by bolts driven in rocks. I will then try to hike to
Abol bridge to resupply or go hungry. From Abol bridge its in the
"100 mile wilderness" where there are no stores for a hundred miles. I
will then emerge in Monson, Maine.
Date:
Trail Day:
Miles Today:
Location:
Section Mile: AT 9
ECT Mile:
Got up early - about 6 AM. Packed up and started hunting for the trail.
Took photos of the first AT blazes I saw
1
2
3
4
and a board
with distances on them.
Went to the ranger station to register and get the weather forecast.
It was a class 2 day. 1 is hiking above tree line recommended, 2 - not
recommended, 3 - not recommended with some trails closed and 4 - all trails
above tree line closed.
I met Buckeye Bob at the station. He is a north bounder just about to finish.
We started out together. The trail started off very easy. After about a
mile it started climbing in earnest. In some places you had to pull
yourself up. There were three places where they have driven bolts into the
rock for grips. After a long climb which seemed to last forever we could see
a sign. We were happy but it turned out to be an
information board.
The peak was still 2 miles away. After some more climbing we got to the table
lands. My shirt was covered with sweat. From here it was much gentler.
We came to Thoreau Springs. We filled our bottles and ate some snacks.
Some more climbing and we came to the peak. There were about 6 people
there. There were 2 other thru-hikers. One completing and another
flip-flopping. We took several photographs
1
2
3
4
5
and had lunch. The views near
the top are phenomenal. The clouds were below and you could see several
peaks
1
2
3
poking through the clouds. Also met Gray. She volunteers for
the AMC.
We started back down. The climb down was slightly easier than the
one up. Took a short break at Katahdin Stream falls. Got back to the
ranger station. Bob gave me all his left over food. Very good, because
I am all out. I also gave him some journal pages to mail to Suriyan.
We then said our good byes.
I continued down the trail and decided to stay at Daisy Pond Shelter.
I asked for directions to the Lean-to, took the wrong turn and
ended up on the trail again. I decided to continue on and set up
camp
further down.
Today I completed the IAT and started the AT. Also a short mileage day
but quite strenuous. I cooked the noodles Bob gave me. I added some of my
own spices to the already "Hot" noodles. I had tears running down
my eyes. But they felt so good. After hikes you always feel like
eating spicy foods because of the loss of salts through sweat.
Date: July 18 2000
Trail Day: 48
Miles Today: 22
Location: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 31
ECT Mile: 711
Started early today. Hiked to Abol bridge. This is the last store stop
before the 100 mile wilderness. Bought food for about 7 days. My pack
is now quite heavy. Had two sandwiches and two chocolate drinks. The trail
was fairly easy. I also came across maintenance people from Baxter park who
were repairing a bridge.
Met several hikers and thru-hikers today. Thru-hikers were Acrobat and
Captain. Very nice guys. Brothers. I asked them a bunch of questions
about the trail.
Later in the afternoon it started raining heavily. I got drenched and
finally reached the lean-to. Downhill and Dodger were there. Dodger is headed
south to Monson, while Downhill is completing. Downhill is also from W.
Palmbeach and we have seen each other at the Big "o" hike around Lake
Okeechobee. A really small world.
Today is my first day at a Lean-To. Will have to see if the rat tales
are true. It is now drizzling and I am ready to sleep.
Date: July 19 2000
Trail Day: 49
Miles Today: 17
Location: Potaywadjo Stream Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 48
ECT Mile: 728
The shelter did not seem to have any mice. I didn't know whether to be
disappointed or happy. Mosquitoes are a problem in the lean-to. They bite
your face and shoulder. It was also a very dark night. Downhill was the
the first to leave. He was going to do a 23 mile day and make it into
Daisy Pond. I talked with Dodger. He lives in New York city. His parents
have a cabin near Bangor and he camps over there a few times a year to help
maintain. He has done the 100 mile wilderness before. Dodger then left.
I left shortly after him.
Today's hike was a little tougher than yesterdays - more ups and downs.
I was hoping to make it to Antlers campsite about 4 miles away but had
to stop here. I met 3 older gentlemen. One of them was called Motelman.
He was section hiking the AT. He was about 80 % done and was concentrating
on Maine this summer. He said he was trying to refine section hiking to
the point where he did not have to camp. Also met a northbounder called
Sea Otter. He is doing an amazing speed and will be done in 92 days. Simply
amazing !
Today's section ran besides lakes, streams and one part went up
Merantabunt mountain. Nice view. Also a lot of boys today.
Well, I'm now almost 50 days into my hike. How does it feel ? For starters
I have completely adapted to this life. I do not think or crave the city
life. I have no muscle or joint aches. The soles of my feet and toes sometimes
hurt towards the end of the day. In a day's hike, the beginning portion
always seems slow but after about an hour or so I go into a trance like
state where the hours and miles fly by. Then towards the end of the day
as I fix my ending point it seems slow because I'm looking forward to it.
Food cravings - ice cream, pizza and beer. I haven't had beer in
a while. At present, I don't even stink as bad because the rain has
washed it away.
How is the AT ? It is extremely popular and therefore busy. On average
I see 20 hikers a day and this is supposed to be the hundred mile
wilderness - one of the most remote sections. It is also very well
maintained and has numerous shelters and tent sites. It is almost
impossible to get lost on the AT. About half the hikers are boy scouts.
What are thru-hikers like ? The most common phrase that has popped into
my mind on meeting them is - very nice guys. Of course, there is the odd
exception. It is also fairly easy to tell if someone is a thru-hiker -
they have beards and have a certain look in their eyes - a peaceful
inward look. I think even I am getting to look like a thru-hiker
because they immediately ask me if I am doing a flip-flop (finished
Georgia to somewhere and now doing Maine to that somewhere).
My review of the IAT. Its a young trail. The organization and volunteers
have done a tremendous job in 5 short years. Completing a 700 mile
trail is no small task. However from the hiker's point of view :
Date: July 20 2000
Trail Day: 50
Miles Today: 23
Location: Logan Brook Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 71
ECT Mile: 751
Got some good miles in today. Quite a chilly day. I just got into a good rhythm
and kept moving. Met Grandad, Floater and Utah. All thru-hiking north.
Got to the
shelter. There were two guys from N. Carolina on a
hiking/fishing trip for a week. We were then joined by a couple and a kid.
They had parked their 4-W drive van near the trail and hiked 2 miles.
They had all kinds of fresh vegetables. They gave me some organic
brocolli.
Date: July 21 2000
Trail Day: 51
Miles Today: 17
Location: Chair back Gap Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 88
ECT Mile: 768
Last night was cold. I had to sleep in my thermal underwear. The terrain is
also becoming more hilly. Went up White Cap Mountain. Decent views. You can
see Katahdin quite clearly from here. Then the trail descended to a valley
and there was a 5 mile section that was almost flat. This led to the Hermitage.
Saw a lot of tourists and families out for a day hike. I crossed the west
branch of the Pleasant River. It is a broad shallow river. I then watched
a family cross. It was fun watching the little girl cross. The water
reached upto her thigh and she was slipping and almost about to fall. Their
dog crossed the river without even worrying about the water.
Met thru-hiker Pixy and two others. Pixy is the first female thru-hiker
I have met. Very good looking young girl.
I also lost/misplaced my current set of maps. So I will be hiking by
guess work till Monson. Also ran out of water and did not get any till
I got to the shelter. I was thirsty.
At the shelter was Marlboro man. He is doing a section hike from Vermont.
We were joined by Mark and another guy, both doing a thru south bound.
It has now started raining heavily. I was originally planning on doing another
5 miles but am glad I did not, or I would be soaking wet. Tonight promises
to be chilly also.
