Date: 2014-08-21
From: Campsite at Flagstaff Lake

To: Stealth camp below Pleasant Pond Mountain
Miles today: 30.6
Weather: overcast clouds

My goal at the start of the day was to make it the 19 miles to the Kennebec River on time to catch the afternoon ferry, which runs from 2-4 pm, so I wouldn't be stuck on the west side of the river until tomorrow morning. So at 5:00 am, when my alarm went off, I sprang to action by promptly falling back asleep. I woke up in a panic 20 minutes later, not knowing at first how long I'd overslept. Fortunately, I managed to break camp by the side of beautiful Flagstaff Lake and hit the trail by 6:05. Despite now being in Central Maine and having left the big mountains behind, the trail was rough in stretches with roots, rocks, and mud. The AT in Maine continues to pass by one lake after another, and when I came to a sandy beach, I couldn't resist going for a skinny dip. I stopped for first lunch at West Carry Pond Lean-to and met a man and his son who were attempting a section hike from Straton to Monson but were considering cutting it short at Caratunk, just beyond the Kennebec because, as the man put it, "Bigelow kicked our butts."When I arrived at Pierce Pond Lean-to, I was surprised to see two horses tied to a tree, because horses are not allowed on the AT. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were actually enormous dogs that belonged to one of the four families who had taken boats across the pond for a picnic lunch at the lean-to. There were eight adults and five kids, all cute and well behaved. I sat on the ground outside the shelter, which was completely occupied by the picnickers and answered their first several questions with "Georgia," "Mt Katahdin," and "April 9th." Everyone, including the kids, was suitably impressed, and I was suddenly an unwitting celebrity. I noticed one couple inconspicuously discussing whether to offer me the remainder of their daughter's PB&J, which I had my eye on. When the woman consented, I devoured it in three bites before she could change her mind, and the floodgates opened. Before I knew it, three generations of picnickers was bringing me food, from bags of potato chips, to cookies, carrot cake, a whole PB&J, lemonade, and iced tea. They were setting down food in front of me faster than I could consume it, particularly since I was answering additional questions about my thru-hike. Finally, a really cute little girl of about seven came over to me, shook my hand, and wished me good luck on the rest of my trip. That's when I realized what today's journal picture would be. Finally, the families all left in their boats, including the one with the two horse-size dogs. The parents admonished one of the Great Danes repeatedly until it finally lied down on the floor of their motor-powered canoe.I arrived at the Kennebec at 2:15, just as the ferryman, Dave, was delivering two NOBOs to the far side. When Dave looked back across to check for new arrivals, I waved, and in a few minutes he had pulled the canoe up to my bank. Before I could embark, I had to put on a life jacket and sign a consent form. Apparently you can't get away from lawyers even on the AT. Dave instructed me to just paddle and he'd do the steering. We went straight upstream for 50 yards or so before Dave turned about 10 degrees toward the other side, and once we got out into the middle I understood why. The heavy current was sweeping us downstream, so Dave was using most of our effort to oppose it and very little to make the crossing. Once on the other side, I thanked him, gave him a tip, and was on my way.My original plan had been to stay in Caratunk for the night. But a text I received yesterday from Thor the Red informing me he'd be arriving in Monson Thursday got me thinking this morning that if I made it from Straton to Monson in three days I'd be just a day behind entering the 100-Mile Wilderness. Yesterday's 18-miler over the Bigelows left 56 miles to cover in two days. This scenario felt vaguely similar to my race to Sam's Gap in North Carolina for trail magic, but I suppose I'm a slow learner, because I decided to bypass Caratunk and, as Lint would say, crush miles today. I started to worry coming off the top of Pleasant Pond Mountain because it was getting dark, I was almost out of water, and the trail was showing little interest in dropping into the valley, where a river was shown on my map. But just before it was necessary to start using my headlamp for night hiking, I came to the stream and found a camping spot nearby, having just completed my second 30-mile day of the trip.Tomorrow I have just 25 miles to hike to get to Monson, the last outpost before entering the 100-Mile Wilderness.