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WEEK 18 - July 20 to July 26, 1981 |
July 20, 1981
The two days rest were quite effective. I had a strong day from Pierce Pond to Moxie Bald Mt. shelter. I’ve been told that when the Kennebek is down it is about knee-high. But it was about crotch level this morning - same as last year. I restocked in Caratunk with the intention of never being hungry the next two days into Monson. Unfortunately, there was not a great choice at the Caratunk general store. I traveled the entire day under the threat of rain but, aside from some light misting this morning, it never materialized. The climb over Moxie Bald and down to the shelter on the pond was quite pretty. Unfortunately the bad weather precluded any good views from the top. I have discovered that the thruhiker that skipped around me is none other than "Bamaman", Dave Severance. He would be jealous to find out that I was presented with a third of a homemade pecan pie for being the first "real" through hiker to pass through at Pierce Pond. I met five more southbound hikers today. Four were headed for Springer and the other to Hawk Mt. in Pennsylvania. Also on the trail, from Portland, ME was a man and his family. who asked me to look them up if I went through that town.. His name is < deleted > an "he’s in the phone book". I’ sure he would actually be rather surprised if I accepted. I should have noted in a previous entry that I finally had to get a new walking stick. I tripped over a blowdown coming down from the Crockers and finally irreparably broke the old one. At least it made it back to the Maine woods if not to Katahdin, The new one has served me well, although its a little too narrow at the top for a comfortable grip.
July 21, 1981
It rained last night but not while I was walking today. I got wet anyway because the brush had overgrown the trail and was still wet. I gave up going around marshy areas and just stomped right through them today, I got to Breakneck Ridge shelter at about 9 a.m. to find Jan and Jane just leaving. I ate a second breakfast there. I’ve lived the last two days entirely on peanut butter, jelly, graham crackers, and raisins. I restocked in Monson, did my laundry and picked up my mail. With camera equipment add (including 28 mm lens) and a full load of food its once again quite a burden. But now it will only be getting lighter for the rest of the trip. Interestingly, It rained hard while I was in Monson but it was sunny as I headed north out of town. I sent home a number of extraneous items, mostly extra water bottles. My Svea has not been behaving so I sent it home and bought some Sterno for the remainder of the trip. A large can fits very neatly beneath the Svea windscreen. If that idea doesn’t work I guess I’ll get some fire-building practice. Nobody has arrived to share the shelter so, like last night, I am here alone. It seems odd to be alone two straight nights after seven crowded nights in a row. Hikers seem to travel in bunches. Amazed that even with the two days off at Pierce Pond that Pete has not caught up to me.
July 22, 1981
Just at nightfall last night a southbound hiker arrived and awakened me. After about an hour he finally got settled and I went back to sleep. In turn, I woke him this morning getting ready to leave. He asked me, well after sunup, if I were getting an early start! The day began cloudy but soon cleared. It turned out to be a beautiful day for hiking. The first half of the day was more splashing through mud and bushwhacking but the trail past Bodfish Farm was much better. My boots have actually begun to dry. The old man and his sons who live at Bodfish Farm invited me in and acted friendly but they were just trying to sell me something. The old man claims to be one of the original trail routers and builders. The summit of Barren Mt. was mobbed with scouts, day hikers, and backpackers. Apparently the Chairback Range portion of the trail is well used. I saw, for the first time in miles, a good bit of garbage along the trail. With my camera back in action I took a couple of pictures from Barren Ledges. One, I think is of the Bigelows. Katahdin is not visible from Barren Ledges or the summit. The mileage countdown has now fallen into double digits. According to the data book, only 87.5 miles to go. I put in a good day today - almost 22 miles. I’m stopped and camping at the pretty West Chairback Pond. I took my most spectacular fall to day. I was breezing along and tripped over a protruding root or rock and did a complete forward somersault with my pack on. I wound up in a sitting position, dazed but completely unscathed.
July 23, 1981
Finished the Chairback Range and also covered the Whitecap Range. This is the last of the mountains until Katahdin itself. I wonder how many VERTICAL miles I’ve climbed since Springer Mountain. Somebody has probably calculated this statistic for the "Everest of hiking". Gulf Hagas is a very nice area. I made a side trip down to Screw Auger Falls. I’ll have to come back someday for a short backpacking or day trip to cover the area at a more leisurely pace. I’ve reinitiated the mac-and-cheese-for-breakfast program with good results. Supplemented with a snack a few hours later, I’m not hungry until at least lunch time.
July 24, 1981
Another beautiful day through beautiful country. The stretch between here (Potaywadjo Spring) and Crawford Pond was Particularly nice. The field near Crawford was full of ripe raspberries, the first of two gustatory treats for the day. Just past Mud Pond was a patch of large, ripe blueberries. This is another good section to return to some day to explore at a more leisurely pace. I saw very few people today. There were only two southbounders and a group of scout that I passed at East Branch shelter. I continue to surprise everybody by being in good health and good spirits. Apparently this is not normal for an end-to-ender. The last two shelters are marvelously situated. The Cooper Brook shelter is by a deep pool at the foot of Cooper Falls and this one a near a huge spring. I got to she shelter and saw a large stream going by but no spring. So I started upstream to find, in just a few dozen yards, that the entire stream was gushing out of the ground from beneath a big tree.
July 25, 1981
Arrived a Rainbow Stream shelter at about 5:30 p.m. after an easy going day over a long relocation, The soft, unbeaten path was sometime difficult to tread but was not as bad as I feared. There was a good view of Nahmakanta Lake and of Mt. Katahdin from the viewpoint at the top (where I had lunch) and I was going to take a picture but apparently I either lost my extra roll of film or accidentally sent it home. < It was the latter. > And with the "Big K" coming up on Monday! I was thinking of laying back a day to assure that I would get to the store at Abol Bridge on a non-Sunday but ... to the rescue !! ... none other than the infamous Bamaman who had a spare roll. I was surprised to catch up with him here but apparently he has been ill and unable to travel.
July 26, 1981
Another day of easy hiking though a bit extended by a side trip about a mile the wrong way down the Penobscot River. The end result is that the Bamaman, who has accompanied me from noon on, and I have decided to stay at the Abol Bridge Campground. After hearing from all the southbounders about what a good store it was, I disappointed to find a small, expensive selection of items. There was quite a bit of excitement about the Bamaman. Apparently word got out about his being sick at Rainbow Stream His father was last heard of flying into Rainbow Lake via float plane to "rescue" him. I didn’t realize I was going to be so well protected when walking with him. By tomorrow there would probably be search parties out looking for him! There are probably more float planes at Rainbow Lake than boats. Nahmakanta also had a large number present.