Date: 2004-09-30
From: Zero day Monson

To: Wilson Valley Lean-To 
Miles today: 10.4

GatherLeft Monson around 11 am heading into the 100 mile wilderness. Pack is heavy because of so much food we have to carry.Passed by Spectacle Pond Outlet, kept pushing north, we¢re really on a mission now. Go by Leeman Brook Lean-To. Took a break there.Soon cross Little Wilson Water Falls, very beautiful here. Wade across Big Wilson Stream, COLD as hell it is.Made it to Wilson Valley Lean-To, decide to call it a day here, set up my tarp.Monson ME ¢ To ¢ Wilson Valley Lean-To ¢ 10.4 miles09/30/2004SlimerCamped at the south end of Nahmokanta lake last night, big lake. No homes on this lake at all. Very clear night, which means a very cold night. I¢ve gotten into the habit of cowboy camping, this is the most primitive , basic camping there is. Just throw my bag on the ground and settle in.I¢ve learned that deer can be quite a problem when camping this way, this was the case overnight.Bag wet with heavy dew, this combined with wind coming off the lake and low temperatures made for quite a miserable night.Got very little sleep, much tossing and turning. Am in a sour mood this morning, running short on food, short on patience. Today is the first day my hands have became uncomfortably cold. Pack up and get going at daylight, can hear moose calls off in the distance. Mixed emotions are racing through my mind, this trip is winding down.Soon pass by Wadleigh Stream Lean-To (3 miles north of where I camped. Rally, Puck-Fin, and 9-Monkeys are there packing up. I keep on going, many crystal clear lakes are around.There are canoes stashed in the bushes, but most are chained to trees or have no paddles, BUMMER!! Lakes are full of fish and of course I have no rod/reel. Nice day today and I have almost zero food left!Get to Pollywog Stream , and there I surprise a female moose! She takes off through the swamp like a missile plowing over anything that gets in her way!! I don¢t want to be in her way!!I quietly watch and proceed on, less than 100 feet later I hear several loud grunts!! Two big bull moose are walking close by with three cows. The bulls eye me curiously. These animals have no natural predators here.I begin to feel some-what uneasy, I inch close to a big tree in case things turn sour. Majestic creatures they are, I take pictures and push on.Soon get to Rainbow Stream Lean-To. This shelter is on the cover of the 2004 Data Book. Take a break here.Move on to Rainbow Lake, here I¢m completely taken aback at the beauty of this area. I spy a small clearing by the shore and decide to take lunch and a nap here.Drift into a deep sleep, wake up to find a dragon fly on my big toe!! Fix lunch (what little there is). Rally and her crew soon comes walking by, they¢re headed to Hurd Brook Lean-To.I get moving, soon passing through Rainbow Ledges, which is a series of giant granite rock ledges, is a nice change of scenery.My body is screaming for more food, this is the incentive to move faster to get to Abol Bridge Campground, there they have a camp store!!Keep pushing forward, soon get to the top of the ledges. Here I get a good look at Mt. Katahdin, quite mesmerizing, also is getting late!!Arrive at Hurd Brook Lean-To. Rally, Puck-Finn, Pacemaker and 9-Monkeys are there for the night. I stop to talk for a while. Read the register, the entries in the register are very emotional, this shelter is the last ¢Real Shelter¢ on the trail before Katahdin.I make an entry and keep moving, gets dark, pull out headlamp and night hike. I cowboy camp within 1 12 mile of Abol Campground, this will be the last time I camp on the trail, is emotional.   Kokadjo-B Pond Road ¢ To ¢ Abol Bridge Campground (21/2 miles short_ - 47.8 miles (2 days)