Date: 2022-08-22
From: Shaw's Hostel (ME 15) Mile 2079.8

To: Long Pond Stream Lean-to Mile 2094.9
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: moderate rain

Was in the main building bunkhouse last night, which has 7 beds but no bunks. Also at the hostel are Scavenger Princess and 3DM; Slice, Licorice, and Ryan and Ryder his dog from Human Nature Hostel; and Jem from Joe Dodge Lodge. I had the hostel breakfast which consists of bacon, three eggs, potatoes, and all the blueberry pancakes you can eat. After breakfast Orchid¢s husband brought Pilgrim, Orchid and I back to the trailhead. I¢ve done a good job of planning ahead :-) and I¢m starting the hundred mile wilderness on day 100!Although it¢s remote, it¢s not quite as inaccessible as the ATC and MATC indicate. There are logging roads through the wilderness although you have to pay to use them. At least two companies offer food drops and Shaws will slackpack you for three days as well. There even looks like the occasional trailhead accessed through the logging roads. There is even supposed to be cell service at the tops of some of the mountains. The three of us started together and caught up with the past week for the first couple of miles. We passed some ponds that looked promising from a moose standpoint but no luck and we weren¢t really seeing much moose poop either. Otherwise the trail isn¢t really much different than other parts of Maine, although we had more deciduous forests today and lots of mushrooms.At the first water crossing we caught up with Jem, who we haven¢t seen in a while (Note to Jem¢s mom: She did, Hi, thank you, and she is in good spirits). It was possible to get across with dry feet but you were hopping on wet rocks. Orchid and I made it across dry while Jem opted to walk across in camp shoes. Following the river crossing we were walking along a ridge that was full of ledge and vertical slate. It felt somewhat like the start of NY. We¢d decided to eat lunch on the far bank of the second river crossing. This was a wet crossing with no possibility of a dry rock hop. Jem had caught up with us just before the river and we all put on our camp shoes and made our way across. The rocks on the bottom were round and slippery, the current was moderately strong, and it¢s difficult to see straight down into water to view the bottom. It made it tricky to get across but we all made it successfully. Jem was stopping for lunch also and we caught up. She left us with the intriguing question of what her husband did which we get to ponder until camp tonight. Leaving lunch we came to a railroad which I expect is used by the logging companies. As we were approaching, a pickup truck riding the rails passed us and then reversed and went back the way they came. Wasn¢t close enough to see any markings on the truck and it never returned. We continued on until we came to the third and final river crossing. This was a wet one also and we put our camp shoes back on and made our way safely across. This was also a slippery crossing. I¢ve learned from Pilgrim¢s fall into the river to make sure the dry bag is folded over multiple times just in case of a fall. About a half mile later we grabbed water and headed up to the shelter. Jem, Jay Town, and then Pilgrim arrived and we¢re all sharing the shelter. Couple others are tenting. Pilgrim regaled us with tales of his bear encounter (even though ¢they¢ say there are no bears in Maine). He had just crossed the second river and was eating a bunch of fruit snacks when an adolescent bear ( he thinks about 200 pounds) came charging out of the woods. His first thought was he had to take a picture, but his phone was in a zip lock bag in a pocket of the backpack and there was no time to pull it out. Instead he yelled No, You go away bear and the bear turned tail and complied. And in case you are wondering, yes we¢re still hanging our food every night. We all chatted for a while and we were successful at guessing Jem¢s husband¢s job (which is really cool) but it¢s very identifiable so you¢ll just have to stay in suspense. Still dry when we went to sleep but rain is expected overnight. Days in ME without Moose sighting: 15Steps 28300Weather Forecast: 79/64 rain overnight