Date: 2015-08-12
From: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite 

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

It rained all night though the rain finally cleared up in the morning. We slept in, waiting, until around 7:15 AM. I did not feel good today. My calf was swollen and sore and all my other bites and irritations seemed to have been exacerbated. In the last few days, the mosquitos seemed to have made a comeback. They are particularly aggressive at the most inopportune moment, like when I am delicately balancing on wet rocks while crossing a stream. My whole legs were itchy and inflamed and I felt terrible. Not conductive to good hiking. Shrugs commented that I may be having an allergic reaction to hiking. Even if the rain had stopped, everything was soaked. It is extremely taxing to hike along jumbles of frictionless roots and slick rocks. The mild terrain we had yesterday was now only a memory as Maine's wild and rugged landscape took over again. Notwithstanding this, there were so many section hikers, even some day hikers. There are no paved highways in the 100 Mile Wilderness, only a few dirt roads. However, it is so crowded here; we even came across a couple of toddlers at different occasions. How did they get here? I was told there would be wilderness, remoteness and dangerous terrain. Instead, we are, it seems, in a popular tourist destination (I will however concede that this particular stretch is quite beautiful).There was a viewpoint where we can see Katahdin but today it was shrouded in clouds. I was really bummed out today for another reason: the complicated logistics and rules for entering Baxter State Park (BSP). The Wilderness ends at Abol Bridge, near the BSP boundary, and from there, there are 10 miles before arriving at the base of Katahdin. BSP has a lean-to and campsite (called "the Birches") specifically reserved for long-distance hikers located at the base. The park has numerous campgrounds though they require advance reservations. Therefore, we need to stay at the Birches.However, the Birches only hold 12 thru-hikers at a time. People need to sign up for a spot before entering BSP. If the sign-up sheet is full, there is nowhere to stay as there are no other options and stealth camping is against the rules. So hikers then have to stay near Abol/the BSP limits then hike 10 miles and summit Katahdin the same day or they have to wait a day for a spot. I did not even think that the limited space in the Birches would be an issue until I realized that BSP defines a thru-hiker as someone who has hiked "at least 100 consecutive miles through the Wilderness". So all those groups of section hikers, those who travel in packs of 4-5 we met in the 100 Mile Wilderness qualify. I usually have little patience for thru-hiker entitlement, but this time I found this policy to be downright unfair. We knew that by the time we reached the sign-up sheet that it would be full. Partly because we are slow and also because half of those places would be taken up by people who have hiked for a week (and who, I might add, frequently have a schedule and know what day they will arrive at Katahdin, making it easy for them to opt for the reservation-only campsites). For BSP, someone who has been hiking since March is on the same level as someone who has been hiking for a few days. Who knew that BSP espoused such leftist ideals?I was a bit upset because I didn't know what we would do nor what would happen. I was angry at the perceived injustice and tired of always being the slowest or the last to arrive. Shrugs pulled a Biblical quote and said that the first will arrive last and the last will arrive first (or something along those lines, I'm not sure how it's translated). I am going to put right away the MAINE SUMMARY as tomorrow's entry is basically a short novel. I am writing these last few entries after the fact, so don't worry: I have completed Maine prior to writing this What to say about Maine? Wilderness, rugged terrain, conifer forests, extended roots, ponds and lakes, moose, the melancholic cry of the loon, rock climbs, rock slides, rain, no wait HAIL, the Mahoosucs, Baldpates, Saddleback, Bigelows, difficult mountains, so difficult, scraped knees, blood and tears, amazing sunsets, beautiful nature.Hendo and Hendo's Mom thought up an acronym that is genius: F.U.N., that is, "fucked up nonsense". So Maine is either really fun or a bunch of F.U.N. - Axon