Date: 2008-09-13
From: Logging Rd., ME

To: U.S. 201, Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 8.2

Wow, got lots of great sleep last nite. I think I was out by 9:30 a.m., and we decided to be hiking by 9:30 a.m., so that meant we didn¢t have to leave till around 8:30 a.m., which meant extra sleep. I actually woke up before my alarm, but then, some bizarre psychological thing happens and when I hear the alarm go off, I suddenly get so tired. Don¢t ask me. We were all loaded up and on our way. The skies were cloudy still but at least the rain stopped. It poured all evening by the way. Bingham is a pretty small town as well, about the same size as Stratton, and is about 25 min. south of Caratunk. All surrounded by mountains and water. I love the beauty.We were back at the trailhead by 9:20 a.m., and got right on our way. A.M. was really happy to be back out and it was nice having her company again.   Today¢s hike was super easy and just gorgeous. The deeper into Maine I get, the more mesmerized I become with this state¢s beauty. It just seems to get better and better everyday. Anytime I get to hike around or near water all day, it makes me happy.First was the north branch of Carrying Place Stream. By the way, this logging road in our guidebook is actually named Carrying Place Road in the Maine atlas. It was a tad chilly this morning, but I knew I¢d warm up quickly and I did. The trail was pretty muddy from all the rain yesterday, so the roots and rocks were very slick too.A.M. and I were just zooming along, talking a bit about re-entry. I asked her what it felt like the past few weeks, when she went home¢¦if she just sat in front of the tube and felt lost or what. She said she did those mindless things around the house that still make you feel like you¢re being productive, but take little mental energy. I told her I was trying to put my mind in that place from time to time out here. I do this a lot in life, as a sort of anticipatory preparation both mentally and emotionally.I imagine walking into my home, seeing my boys Hanky and Henry for the first time, putting my pack away, and then seeing the huge pile of mail on the table waiting for me. I think about waking up and what that will feel like, and of course¢¦I¢ve been trying to mentally prepare for the day when I have to sit down in front of the computer and start looking for some mystery job out there. I¢m trying really hard to create positive associations with this, but it¢s tough sometimes. I¢m not jumping the gun and missing anything out here while hiking, but when I go to this scenario in my mind, it affords me the opportunity to actually feel a hint of the emotions as well, and it¢s a sort of sneak peek for me so I¢m not so shocked when it does happen.   Nothing about re-entry scares me except for when life becomes ¢normal¢ again. Does that make sense? I¢m afraid the monotony of M-F 9-5 is going to drive me crazy¢¦but I guess I¢ll deal with it when it happens right?There was a slight 1.5 mile hill called Bates Ridge that we went over today. It was not a ridge at all really, but it did make me break a slight sweat. I was laughing and turned around to A.M. and said, ¢Ok, get ready¢¦THIS is our big climb for the day.¢ We both laughed, considering what we¢d hiked through together the last time¢¦the Mahoosuc Notch and Arm.We were at Pierce Pond Lean-to by 11:15 a.m. Man is Pierce Pond beautiful! We decided to eat lunch and hang out, since we were moving so quickly. We couldn¢t catch the canoe ferry across the Kennebec River till 2 p.m. and it was only 3 miles off, so we took a leisurely lunch. I sat on a rock on the bank of Pierce Pond and just soaked up the amazing clear, perfectly still water. Then, we heard a hooting, and guess who caught up to us¢¦none other than Uncle Tom (from MEGATEX last year!). We knew he was also shooting for the 2 p.m. ferry, and we knew he was camping last nite a few miles from where we started, so it was cool to finally meet him. Uncle Tom decided to cook a hot lunch, and I went back to my rock and finished my lunch. Gosh¢¦I can¢t get over how turn after turn after turn in this state just brings more and more beauty. I know I¢m somewhat biased, but I told A.M. that if for any reason, I¢d probably hike nobo again just for aesthetic reasons, because Maine is so much more beautiful to me than the southern states. I will say, however, this is all relative, because A.M. and V8 both found Georgia to be gorgeous, and that looked like plain ole¢ pretty woods to me, but they resembled what I grew up around too.Anyway, we told Uncle Tom bye, knowing we¢d see him again. The rest of the day was so awesome. Pierce Pond Stream (really a river) paralleled the trail pretty much all the 3 miles to the Kennebec River. Gosh, I just wanted to stop every 10 minutes and go take pictures or play in the water. I saw so many places I wanted to camp, and I know for a fact Karen and I will be back up here someday to do just that. There were tons of cascading waterfalls flowing over dark almost black rock, and all of this was surrounded by a forest carpeted in thick green moss and dark brown soil and tree trunks. Pretty unreal honestly¢¦.It just went on and on like this all 3 miles. There was one place I almost fell and slipped in the mud, but I caught myself just barely on an arm. I figured we¢d be at the Kennebec River right at 2, but it ended up being a few minutes later. Uncle Tom also caught back up to us again, but apparently he¢d had a rough go of it this afternoon and fell twice. It¢s quite slick on the rocks and mud and roots.We got to the Kennebec and Craig, the paddler of the canoe was ferrying 2 people across and a gentleman, Greg and his dog Sarah were next in line. We all talked for a big, and Greg said his daughter is going to thru-hike next year. He said her name is Peanuts. Greg said just 15 minutes earlier, the river was down much further, but when they let water out at the hydro-electric plant about 60 road miles up river, it takes around 2 hrs for the water to rise, but when it does¢¦..it does very very quickly, which is why it¢s such a dangerous ford.Craig got back and said he could take 2 people at a time, so Greg and I went next. Craig asked that Greg sit in front for weight distribution and paddle. I got to hold Sarah (the dog) between my legs and just enjoy the ride. We started off and they paddled along the south bank as far as they could and then cut over, but the current was SO strong it took us way down river as we made our way across. Craig said it¢s about 8-10 feet deep in the channel. We made it across and a bit down from the actual landing spot, but it was no biggie. Craig pulled the canoe over and hung onto it while Greg, Sarah, and I got outI walked up to this little wooden table thing and there was a note on for me, from Talkerman!! You all remember he thru-hiked last year and Persistent and I hiked around him for awhile¢¦super super nice man. Well, he and his wife are in Caratunk staying at Northern Outdoors Resort to celebrate their anniversary, and he left me a note back on Thursday inviting me to dinner! I am SO hoping they¢re still there. Oh, and Rue (a woman hiking this year) left her rain jacket at Pierce Pond Camp, a place run by a man that is known for the 12 pancake breakfast¢¦so he rode his ATV down to the river and asked Craig to take the jacket to her at Northern Outdoor, but I said I could do it since we had a car and I wanted to try to track down Talkerman.I sat on the bank while Craig went back and A.M. and Uncle Tom came across. After they got over, we all hiked the final .2 up to the road where Karen was waiting for us. Uncle Tom is hiking to Monson, but was really wiped out today, so he decided to come into town with us tonight¢¦cool¢¦more company!!We all hopped in and Karen took us to Northern Outdoors. Sort of a strange place, tons of young people, an outdoor 12 person hot tub, bar, cabins, and tons of people who were coming back from a rafting trip. I asked the people at the front desk about Talkerman¢¦and I realized I don¢t know his real name! LOL He did tell me the name of his cabin, and the front desk told me they were out on a rafting trip today, so I left him a note at the desk and Karen drove a note over to their cabin. I so hope we connect. I¢d love to have dinner with them. In the meantime, A.M. and Uncle Tom chilled out in the lounge. I also found Rue and she was appreciative of getting her rain jacket back. Man, I would have been stressed without my rainjacket too.We all headed back to the Bingham Motor Inn and A.M. and Uncle Tom got their own room for the nite. I took a shower and then Karen and I went through her pack to get it ready to go. I mean, we¢re talking less than a week before she joins me. I¢m so excited, all I could think of today was how she would have enjoyed the beautiful river and forest today. A.M. called and we went down to their room for a bit and then all went out for an AYCE dinner at the Maple Wood Family Restaurant. Honestly, it was pretty gross now that I think of it. There were NO vegetables on the buffet except salad. Nothing other than basic lettuce, tomoatoes, cucumber¢¦the dinner ¢vegetables¢ were corn and mashed potatoes. The dinner was fun though, just from being able to talk with Uncle Tom and A.M. as usual.After, we went across the street and I got some ice cream. Then it was back to the room and finish journaling and getting ready for tomorrow. I¢ve got 3 more days till I¢m in Monson. Tomorrow we¢re getting started around 8:00 a.m. We¢re going 11.9 miles but there is 1 mountain to climb¢¦Pleasant Pond Mtn. Hope it¢s not too bad¢¦but I can¢t really complain, I AM doing day hikes. Oh, before I forget.   To David who asked in my guestbook about my nose piercing. That¢s a fantastic question actually. Anyone who has or wants to get piercings and who might be concerned about keeping it clean out here¢¦.I¢ve had zero problems with my nose and my ear piercings (I have 1 cartilage piercing in my right ear as well).   However, I absolutely would NOT recommend getting a new piercing and then coming right out for a hike though. Any piercing (or tattoo) should be fully healed and out of that high maintenance stage of care (when you¢re having to wash it multiple times a day, etc.). I don¢t do anything special when I¢m in the woods, but obviously in town I make sure I clean my piercings well, but I do that in normal everyday life as well. As long as it¢s totally healed, I don¢t think you should have a problem.   Good question, because I wondered about this at the beginning too. If anything, my nose piercing acts as a heat sink in cold weather (meaning it absorbs the heat of my nose ¢¦leaving my nose pretty cold), but I don¢t have any scientific proof for this. So there ya go¢¦1 day closer and 151.2 miles to go! I¢m tired and must get some zzz¢s now. Hoping for more dry weather again tomorrow. ~Certain