Date: 2014-09-12
From: Abol Pines Lean To

To: Katahdin Stream Campground/Ranger Station
Miles today: 9.9

Didn't sleep well as I am definitely getting excited about finishing up. I kept on waking up to the blowing wind and watching the river flow by thinking about everything that has happened over the past 6 months. Woke up to blue skies and temps in the low 50's. Was in no real rush this morning as I only had about 10 miles to cover and wanted to stop at the store before hitting the trail so I could grab a bite to eat and some food for later on in the day. Wordly and the German couple, Trail Snail and Wild Boar were also up early and getting ready to head out. Store opened at 7 and I got some OJ and a breakfast burrito as well as some chips and snacks for later. I was a bit taken aback by the plushness of the trail when I got off the road as it was smooth and well graded for about the first half mile or so. I was in such a great mood I even started to sing out loud or what I called singing. However, the trail once again reverted back to its old form as it moved close to the river which yielded its share of roots as usual. It wasn't too bad and there were no real big hills to go over, just a meandering up and down. Even when I came to a stream that had an alternative high water trail it wasn't necessary to take or even to have to ford the stream, I was able to stay on the trail and just rock hop across. But then my luck ran out. Just after the last stream crossing the trail dropped about 15 feet and was covered in rocks and roots. I still don't know if a rock dislodged itself or I caught my toe on one of the roots, but the next thing I knew I was falling head first down toward the rocks on the trail and I wasn't going to be able to catch myself. I did try to get my other foot underneath me but my momentum was moving too fast and in one last attempt to try and minimize my crash I pushed off with one of my feet so I would land on the side of the trail as opposed to right on the rocks. As I was landing I realized that I would get a little bruised up but should avoid anything serious, at least for me. Unfortunately, as I was faced down at a forty-five degree angle and crashing head first into the side of the trail, my cell phone that I carried in my front right pocket slid out and bounced on the rocks below. After a few minutes of assessing myself and making sure I was ok, I was able to get up and retrieve my phone which did not make out as well. The screen was cracked in a couple of places but I had hoped it still was operable. I tried to boot it up a couple of times but while it initially turned on it would not boot up. Here I was less than 5 miles from the base of Katahdin and I no longer had a phone to maintain contact with my family, I could no longer take any pictures and did not know if I would be able to retrieve over a 1000 pictures I had taken and were on the sd cards. I could only thank God I was not seriously injured and hope for the best. With that said I am still so appreciative of everything and continued on toward Katahdin as I wanted to finish and get home to my family. I got to the Ranger Station to check in but no one was there. I had a bite to eat and then decided that if I had to wait for them to return I would at least wait over by the parking lot in case someone was leaving and going to Millinocket I needed to get a ride there, where I would be staying for the next couple of days while I waited for my wife Laura and our cousing Leo to meet me on Sunday. While sitting there I met Tigger who was from Pennsylvania and who was just coming down from hiking. She told me it was quite cold and windy going up and she had reached a point where she did not feel safe and decided to come back down and try another day. I was impressed by her grasp of her situation and her ability to recognize that she could always come back. Not many people have that fortitude and insight and it reflects her hiking skills. When I told her of my situation she said she was headed back to Millinocket and in fact was staying at the Appalachian Trail Lodge where I would be staying. So we gathered up my things and headed in to town. At the Lodge I met Tie who helps Jaimie and Ole Man run the Lodge and she was very helpful. I also met Howie and Deb who I shared my phone situation with and Howie let me use his phone to call Laura and let her know I had made it to Millinocket and no longer had a phone. Afterwards, I settled in with a shower and got my laundry done and then walked around town for awhile. For the next 3 days they are having a trail festival with all sorts of events and one of them was a chili eating contest. I told Tie I would be back to try some of the chili as I was getting to be a little hungry. I went through a number of shops, antique stores and galleries. There are a lot of creative and gifted artists in this community which is just a little bigger than Heuvelton. They unfortunately are hurting quite a bit as the local mill that supported a number of families had closed in the past year putting a damper on things. After my walk about I went back to the park across from the Lodge, where the events were being held. The chili contest was interesting. For $5 you got a box tray and a marble and then went through a line where you got a small cup of each of the entries. The cups were number so you could decide after eating in this case 13 cups which one you would vote for by putting your marble in the corresponding marked mason jar. The person with the most marbles would ultimately be declared the winner. It had a real nice small town flavor to it all.After filling up there, all of the hikers staying at the Lodge were invited to a cook out hosted by Jaimie and Ole Man where we had BBQ chickem, hot dogs, baked bean, potatoe salad and chips. After all of that I had to take a 20 minute walk before I could come back and then have a piece of chocolate desert. These people were so kind and generous. The rest of the evening was spent listening to a gentleman play his guitar and sing old time songs. It was a very enjoyable evening. It is definitely the type of place I would like to come back and see with Laura.