Date: 2007-09-10
From: Horns Pond Lean-to

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained quite heavily throughout the night, but I was dry and comfortable in the shelter. By morning the rain had ceased. There was a heavy fog at the higher altitudes obscuring the view of mountains we could see yesterday. The other day after climbing Saddleback, The Horn, and Saddleback Jr. Mtn, I said the climbs were behind me. Well, there were a few more this morning. We (Moon Goat, Chach, and I) set out early to climb South Horn (3805 ft.), the West Peak of Bigelow Mtn. (4145 ft.), Avery Peak (4088 ft.), and Little Bigelow Mtn. (3025 ft.). A bit of trivia, Avery Peak is named after Myron Avery, who has been credited as the driving force behind the creation of the Appalachian Trail. The climbing was slow and laborious as usual and the descents today more dangerous than ever due to some very slippery rocks and roots, because of last nights rain. I took great pains to go very slowly coming down and chose each step with great care. Getting hurt at this stage of my hike is the last thing I want to have happen. I've been bruised and banged up pretty good already from some of the falls I have had. All of the peaks were enveloped in a misty fog so there were zero views.After reaching the peak of Little Bigelow Mtn. I started to descend, and encountered Little Feet and her son Dragon (section hikers) who were taking a break. As I was passing, Little Feet pointed to the right side of the trail. I looked in that direction and saw the number 2000 written in small stones. Apparently this is the exact 2000 mile location. This actually changes from year to year as the trail length changes due to relocations. I was delighted to see this and took a couple of pictures.I decided to take a break for lunch at Little Bigelow Lean-to, even though we had been hearing rumors all day and yesterday that there was some big trail magic at East Flagstaff Rd. just 1.5 miles north. The rumor has it that the local trail maintenance club, MATC (Maine Appalachian Trail Club), was at the road feeding hikers that pass through. I thought this might have just been a weekend deal, and since it was Monday, was already done. After lunch I hiked down to the road. Not seeing anyone there I thought my assumption was right. As I looked for the north entrance to the trail however, I noticed some activity in the parking lot. Walking towards the parking lot I could see a huge tent set up with a couple of tables filled with all kinds of food and some of my thru hiker compatriots, sitting there eating and drinking. The rumor was true. A former thru hiker (2000), "Walkin Home" from Maine, organized this huge hiker feed for the last 4 days and fed any hikers that passed through here. "Walkin Home" grilled a few cheeseburgers for me and I sat down and had a second lunch. We all shared thru hiker stories and ate some more. After about an hour, I gratefully thanked "Walkin Home" for his generous trail magic, and started walking north again. At first, I was a bit sluggish after eating so much, but once I warmed up, I was cruising along some beautiful trail. The trail has all of a sudden changed dramatically. It is smooth and cushioned and was a pleasure walking the remaining 6 miles to West Carry Pond Lean-to.I arrived at the shelter just before dark and was able to squeeze in. There are 6 other thru hikers here tonight, including Sideshow, Moon Goat (and his dog Otto), Chach, and Brisk (who I had not seen since Manchester VT.). I walked down to West Carry Pond to retrieve water and wash up. This is another beautiful Maine Pond. The water was flat and calm this evening and as my headlamp illuminated the first foot of water I spotted a crayfish squeezing between 2 rocks. I just had to sit there for awhile, enjoying the peace and serenity, and reflecting on a great day. Later as we were all settled in for the night, we heard the distant haunting call of loons on the pond, and were serenaded to sleep.