Date: 2018-08-12
From: Thompson Brook and Big Wilson Stream

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 9.3

We awoke at 6 and hit the trail before 7:45 with a light step, for we knew we¢d be exiting the 100 mile wilderness in 9 miles, going to Monson where we¢d sleep in real beds for the next two nights, enjoying a big trail-town dinner tonight at the Lakeshore House, and zeroing tomorrow. Also, our packs were very light as our food supplies had dwindled to one lunch, a few power bars and our emergency meal.I was even hopeful that we¢d be able to cover the miles before lunch, but alas, the trail was not smooth and the going was slow. At 11:45, we had progressed only 5.4 miles and our tummies were rumbling, so we stopped for lunch at North Pond Brook.North Pond Brook drains North Pond and the AT crosses it right at the lake. There¢s a big beaver dam right there. As we ate lunch, I marveled at how little creatures like beavers could build such a massive structure. How did they evolve to develop this capability? I¢m thinking it probably has something to do with some mutation of a gene the governs the growth rate of teeth. I can see Joe, a Cromagnabeaver with such a mutation, gnawing on a tree by a stream simply to trim his teeth. The tree falls across the stream creating a backup that prevents a few spawning trout or salmon from getting back down stream and he says to Sally beaver, ¢Hey Sally, how about an easy salmon dinner tonight. And afterward, we can relax under the protection of this tree I just felled.¢ The rest is history.After a leisurely lunch, during which I managed to get a five minute nap, we saddled up and headed to Monson. The trail runs along the southern shores of North Pond. (These Mainers come up with the most creative names for what have to be some of the worlds most beautiful lakes, ponds, streams and rivers.  North? Couldn¢t do any better than that?)We had gone only a quarter of a mile along the shore when I glanced to my right at som movement and saw a familiar face walking up from the shore. Laura saw him as well and said, ¢Next Step, is that you?¢ It was.Now this is going to take a little explaining. Every year in late February and March as the days are getting longer, I begin feeling a little nostalgic for the trail and so I start reading AT through hiker trail journals. I especially like to read journals of couples that are doing the trail, and this year I¢ve been following Which Way and Next Step. Unfortunately, Which Way had to get off trail a few hundred miles back due to back issues, but Next Step has continued on and I have corresponded with him a few times through his guest book on Trailjournals.com. When we left LA, I let him know that we were about to start at a Katahdin, and we looked forward to meeting him. And we did. Providence.  We talked with Next Step for 45 minutes, and he showed us a number of stretches that he and Which Way did daily while on the trail. Next Step has done a lot of pretty long days lately, but he said he was going to slow down and enjoy the 100 mile wilderness. Good move, Next Step. You¢ve accomplished so much and endured so much in the last five and a half months. Soak in the bounty of God¢s wonderful creation and presence.The last few miles of the 100 mile wilderness went quickly. We got to the trailhead at Maine RT 15 around 3:30 and called Shaw¢s for a pickup. A while later we were unloading our gear in our private room at Shaw¢s Lodging Which is owner and run by Hippie Chick and Poet - 2008 through hikers. We both took showers and put on some loaner clothes, and I gathered our laundry from our 100 mile wilderness trek (every article of clothing we had) and headed downstairs to get it going.I entered the game room/laundry room and started trying to figure out how to use the washer. Several hikers were talking nearby and I heard one of them say something like, ¢the last time I saw that guy was when he and his wife were recovering in Franklin, North Carolina.¢ I looked over, and there was 44 - AKA Steve Crowe - who had started at Springer the same day we did in 2014. We¢ve kept in touch with 44, and I knew he would be doing a section in Maine this summer. I had let him know that we were starting and he had generously offered assistance if we needed it - including offers to stay at one of their houses In Either Beverly or near Lee, MA. But 44 had figured out from our journal- despite my inability to post much here in Maine, that we would be in Monson on or near August 12, so he popped up from MA to try to intersect us, and as well, to start his section hike from Monson to Caratunk.After catching up with 44 and finishing our laundry, the three of us headed over to the Lakeshore House where the food was good, the beer better and the service . . . let¢s just say that the volume of hikers was more than they expected on an August Sunday night. It¢s great to see 44 again, and especially on the trail!There¢s a lot to be thankful for today: surprise encounters - most of all, but also Monson, Shaw¢s in Particular, washing machines, driers and showers.Total ascent: 2102 ft; descent 1522 ft