Date: July 24 2000
Trail Day: 54
Miles Today: 10
Location: Beside Bald Mountain Stream
Section Mile: AT 128
ECT Mile: 808
When I got into Monson yesterday, I was almost in shell shock. The
transition to town was quite jarring. Today, however, things were better.
Last night I had not gotten enough to eat although it was supposed to
be an "all you can eat" at Pie Lady's. I could have eaten twice what
I actually got. The food just ran out. I bought some cheese curls,
drank beer and was up till about 4 AM.
I got up slightly late and had breakfast. Things were different at breakfast.
I ate till I was full. Pie lady is a good cook and cooks a lot of
vegetables which is quite rare. I sent my tent to Vivek. I will now be
a tarp man. I bought some grocery and got a lift back to the trail.
Today was a beautiful day - sunny and clear. Quite rare in my hike so far.
The terrain was flat but the going was slow at first. I was sluggish from
too much breakfast. I picked up speed later on though. Met Gypsy who was
slack packing today. She is attractive. Also saw other hikers who seemed to
be slack packing.
I was hoping to get to Moxie Bald Lean-to but could not due to the
late start. Set up my tarp and cooked supper. The tarp looks pathetic.
I have to learn how to set up one. Today is actually a good day for a
test - no rain !
I had also checked my email and guestbook from Pie Lady's. Good to hear
from people I know. Hi to Sunil, Mike Moore, Dave Farley and Marcel.
Date: July 25 2000
Trail Day: 55
Miles Today: 23
Location: Caratunk House
Section Mile: AT 151
ECT Mile: 831
Well, tarp is a phenomenon all its own. I had to be very careful how I
rolled around while sleeping to avoid collapsing the whole thing. The
advantage is - you are very close to nature. I watched a worm that is
shaped like a "sigma" walking through. I did not realize it but it has
a lot of difficulty on dirt and very small twigs. If it gets on a very small
twig, the twig turns and the worm falls with it. For some reason it was
attracted towards me. It was either the smell of food that I was eating
or the blue of the tarp. At one point I built a little bridge for it
using pine cones and a stick. As you can well see I have a lot of
time on my hands :).
Today was again a beautiful day. No rain. I also did some good mileage -
remarkable considering there were 2 hill climbs.
Moxie Bald had beautiful
views. I have heard the name Moxie Bald a lot but did not know why.
I think its because the views are good on all sides and you can see Katahdin
from here. I think I have been seeing Katahdin for some 12 days now.
Nimblewill Nomad joined me along with Big Ring, Granny Gear and some others.
The next hill was Pleasant Pond Hill. It is a long slow up and down
climb terminating in a sharp down. Nomad passed me here. He is a real
tough guy and carries an ultra-light bag and is fast.
I had heard a lot of good things about a B+B called Caratunk Home and
decided to hike the extra miles to get there. I recommend this place
to all hikers. One of the owners has thru-hiked the AT and PCT
and has a good idea of hiker's needs. Nimblewill Nomad had also made it here.
It was about 23 miles for me and about 28 miles for him. Also met
Lurch. He is a University student and a real nice guy. Did my laundry,
took a shower, ate pizza and drank beer.
Tomorrow we cross the Kennebec river.
Date: July 26 2000
Trail Day: 56
Miles Today: 14
Location: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 165
ECT Mile: 846
Had a good breakfast and left at about 11 AM. The Kennebec river has a
ferry service for AT hikers. You had to wade it several years ago.
Then a thru-hiker drowned and they introduced the ferry service.
I talked to Steve who operates the ferry for a while and took a
photo.
The terrain today was a little hilly and went by streams, water falls
and ponds. Also had a lot of bogs.
I passed two north bound thru-hikers, and one south bound hiker called
Houdini. I got to the shelter and was joined by Lurch, Nomad and Houdini.
Date: July 27 2000
Trail Day: 57
Miles Today: 18
Location: Horn's Pond Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 183
ECT Mile: 864
Today we start probably the toughest 200 mile section in the AT. All
four of us started hiking about 8 AM. We got to Little Bigelow Mountain
at about 11 AM. The
views
were terrific. The next climb was Bigelow
mountain. After numerous false summits I finally reached the peak.
It had started raining by then. It was very windy, cold and foggy.
It was almost surreal. I could also understand why so many people die
in the mountains. The weather is unpredictable and severe. There is also
no place to hide in case of lightning. I crossed Avery peak very quickly.
Bigelow is M shaped. The second peak was West peak. There were some
scouts there, so I asked them to take a
photo of me.
On the way down the rocks were slippery and wet. I slowed down quite
a bit. Reached Horn's pond Lean-to and was joined by Houdini. Nomad
has most probably continued another 6 miles to Stratton while Lurch
is camped on the other side of Bigelow. I may not see him again.
We are at an elevation of 3500 feet and you can see the clouds go by.
There is a caretaker here by the name of Sonya - pretty young girl.
Says she lives in her car.
Date: July 28 2000
Trail Day: 58
Miles Today: 18
Location: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 201
ECT Mile: 882
The hike from the lean-to to Maine 27 was fairly easy. Saw two scout groups.
Got a ride fairly easily into Stratton. Called Kumar - he is usually very
difficult to get a hold of - because the phone company keeps disconnecting
his phone. Bought groceries and had lunch at a diner. The waitress had the
trail name - Bucket Lady. She said it was because she would finish off
any left over food. Mailed a film roll and journal entries to Suriyan and
got a ride back to the trail.
After the meal the going was very slow and sluggish. I also chatted with
some north bounders. The Crocker mountains were a steep climb. Today was
slightly better, weather wise - cloudy but no rain. The peak conditions
were very different from yesterday. It was very calm. Then there was a
sharp climb down and a sharp climb up to Spaulding mountain. The profile here
is horrible although the worst is still yet to come. Map 7 seems to be
the worst.
I was trying to make it to the Spaulding Lean-to. It started to get dark but
I continued on. Its amazing how your eyes can still see. I did not trip or
fall anywhere. It was quite easy. It was foggy and dark everywhere. I
could also understand why hikers walk at night sometimes. It has an
atmosphere all its own. Finally made it to the Lean-to.
A couple already here, gave me some soup. I made some sandwiches and
went to sleep. Today's shelter is crowded. 7 sleeping here with 2
tented. I think it will get worse as the north bounder crowd starts to
come through.
Date: July 29 2000
Trail Day: 59
Miles Today: 17
Location: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 218
ECT Mile: 899
Today's hike was extremely difficult. I had planned on reaching the
next shelter but as I got to this one, I knew I had absolutely no energy.
There were no views as it was fogged in. About 3 miles of it is above
tree line. I could hear distant thunder and rushed through the ridge.
I met three people who are collecting 4000 footers - climbing all peaks
higher than 4000 feet.
I got to the shelter and ate my food. The food tasted good for a change.
I have also started carrying bread and cheese. They are extremely
satisfying. I have picked up the food tips from Nimblewill Nomad.
Date: July 30 2000
Trail Day: 60
Miles Today: 15
Location: Featherhorse Inn
Section Mile: AT 233
ECT Mile: 914
My shoes are now coming apart. I have to get new ones before I hit the
Mahoosuc range which is supposed to be pretty tough. I don't want the
shoes to completely fail in the middle of a mountain. I am also going to
experiment with lighter cross training aerobic shoes. I have read that
1 lb of shoe weight is equivalent to several pounds of pack weight. I
am also going to hike with two walking sticks. It gives more stability.
Most finishing north bounders use Leki poles. I don't want to pay 150 $
for those, so I will use my ski pole and a stick.
Today's hike was fairly easy. I got to SR 17 but had a hard time finding
a ride. I walked a little but realizing that the town was 11 miles away
picked a stretch of highway and sat down and tried to hitch hike. Here's
how the chances of a ride work. If it is a car, the chances are poor. If it
is any other vehicle but has something fancy like large tires, souped up
engine etc - no good. Tourists with shiny vehicles - no good. Luxury
vehicles like BMW, Jaguars - forget it. If it is a rickety vehicle
and you realize the driver has 4 teeth missing when he smiles, you've
got a good shot.
I got a chance to observe tourists. SR 17 runs besides a mountain and you
have beautiful views at places. Here's how tourists "visit nature".
They drive along, brake suddenly when they see a scenic spot and pull over.
Fat people roll out of cars. The children run here and there shrieking.
Things are pointed at, photos are taken. Fat people get back in their car
and drive off. I thought I had seen it all when 2 cars drove up and they
did not even get out of their cars for the view !
Anyway, I got a ride after about 1 hour. Dave was also at the inn. He was
at the shelter last night. He is a chemist and is from Michigan. I will
be doing a zero mile day tomorrow and get a ride to Rangeley to buy the
shoes.
