Date: 2016-08-20
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to

To: Katahdin Stream Lean-to (Millinocket)
Miles today: 13.4

It is the last night to sleep in the woods for me. After doing it so long it is hard to believe this journey will soon be over. I joked with Slug I could just leave it all there because I no longer needed any of it. I was on the trail by 6:30 and hiking with Slug. We took off at a fast pace but it slowed as we went. After three miles we were out of the 100 mile wilderness and at Abol Bridge where there was a camp store and a restaurant. I had the a you could eat breakfast...reminded me of what you get at hotel breakfast. So I ate a lot and visited with Stitch, Secret Agent, Hair Ball and Sweat Ball. We were there about an hour and a half and moved on to sign into Baxter State Park. There was a park employee there and he answered questions we had and told us there was a river that we would have to ford and it was waist deep. I had 10 miles until Katahdin Stream Campground where I would meet my sister who is picking me up at the end. Communication is difficult so it is easier to meet her so we can discuss when we were going to summit Katahdin. We hiked by a river and there were about 20 rafts full of people going down stream. We turned the corner and they were giving people lessons on how to position themselves if they fell out of the raft to continue down stream. Then loading those folks into rafts. We went a half mile further and were at our first ford of the day. One rock was five foot away from the next closest one. If you could make that jump, the rest of it was easy rock hopping and no ford. Slug got up there and made the jump look easy, I got there and looked for alternative routes and found none. Finally I just went for it and landed safely. Probably the worst thing about missing would be if your pack got wet...including your electronics. So we went another mile and had to cross another...this time the rocks were close together and it was no biggie. We stopped for a break and I washed out my T-shirt that was smelling. Slug decided to get all the way in and clean off. After a while the ranger came by and told me my party had been at the front gate and was waiting for me. I waited a little longer for Slug but decided to head on to the campground where I would meet my sister. I hiked fast and past a group of four who said they were from eastern Europe. I asked where and they were all from different countries. I moved on and down the trail I seen my sister and brother in law on the trail walking my way. I tried to hide from them but they had already seen me. So we walked to the parking lot together. We headed out of the park that is about 10 miles at 20 mph. Before we got out a car was stopped in the road with its flashers on. They seen a moose and stopped for pictures, so I did the same. It was standing in a pond and looked back at us a couple of times. We went to the hotel so I could shower and downtown to a local restaurant. I had a lobster sandwich and fries with a beer to wash it down. We stopped at grocery to get a few things then back to the hotel and a swim. It was a great weather day. I planned to summit Katahdin on Monday but the weather looks bad so tomorrow is the big day. My sister and brother in law are going to give it a go too. On the way out of the park we seen Not Chris. We are going to give him a ride in the morning back to the park 20 minutes away. We have to get to the park at 5:30 AM to beat the crowd and make sure WD get out parking space. I think I'm going to miss this trail. But tomorrow I hike 5.3 miles to finish this thing