Date: 2003-09-02
From: Long Pond Stream Lean-to

To: West Branch of Pleasant River
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

It rained last night. At least this time I didn't get flooded out of my tent. I don't think it rained too hard or too long, and I was happy about that. My tent and rain fly were damp, but not soaked this morning, making me happy again that I didn't have to carry extra water weight in my tent.Hotdog and I left shortly after 7am, right behind Eric, and everyone else had left before that. A bunch of early risers! It was a tiring day today, but not because of the way I felt, just because there were mountains to climb. I actually felt good today, especially compared to yesterday.I had some pretty good views again today, and might have seen Katahdin from Chairback, but, once again, I am not sure that's what it was, so I'm not claiming it yet. There was a thin layer of clouds, allowing me to see across the horizon pretty clearly, but preventing the sun from warming me up. Around 2pm, the clouds finally broke apart, warming things up a bit. It was chilly this morning, lower 40s, and stayed that way until the sun broke through. The days have not been hot in a long time, and have usually been warm at best. It makes for good hiking, but not so good for swimming. And there are a lot of ponds in Maine!Funny thing, in this 100-mile Wilderness: I heard vehicles all day today. I guess it's mostly logging trucks, but funny to me to hear them all day. And now, camped just across the West Branch of the Pleasant River, I can hear cars and trucks as they cruise by on a road about 0.2mi from here. I don't think it's anything special or different, except that it's right before Baxter State Park and Katahdin. I suppose that makes it pretty darned special to me!I climbed Barren Mountain, Fourth Mountain and THird Mountain today, all with great views of White Cap, which I will climb tomorrow. The land up here is so beautiful, with a lot of ponds and lakes. Even though the sun wasn't shining brightly, the mountains were a dark green, and distant mountain ranges appeared blue. Some of the smaller ponds, not touched by wind, were like mirrors, reflecting perfect images of the surrounding trees. It was awesome.A lot of us from the shelter last night, accidentally met up at Chairback Gap Lean-to around 1pm. Eric and Notes had been there having lunch when Hotdog and I arrived, and Recycled, Sarge, and a guy whose name I still don't know showed up shortly after. They decided 10 tough miles were enough for the day, and unpacked. Stormin, Itchyfoot, and Big E stopped by for a break, then moved on as well. Notes is camped here with us, and Stormin, Itchyfoot and Big E were either going to camp near this river or back at East Chairback Pond. I'm sure we'll see them sometime tomorrow.Chairback Mountain, after lunch, had some awesome rock cliffs, and we found Notes taking a nap and drying his tent there. The sun had come out, and the view was outstanding! I just looked around for a while, before finally moving on. I'd heard the descent from Chairback for northbounders was tricky, and unofficially, according to the Pie Lady in Monson, more hikers have broken legs there than any other place on the trail. At first I thought she must be mistaken, as it was dirty, rocky, and rooty, but not any worse than anything else I've seen. Then I came to IT. It was a steep pile of boulders with sharp edges and corners. And the AT went down it. I can't say it's the worst I've seen, but it wasn't so much fun, and I am very thankful that it was not raining. I survived it, but could see where it would be dangerous.I saw something today that I could not believe! I passed Recycled, Sarge and the other hiker on top of Third Mountain, as they were eating lunch. Sarge was eating an oatmeal creme pie, one of my favorite Litle Debbie snacks, when a large chunk fell to the ground. It was about a third of the whole pie. I figured Sarge, being a 2001 thruhiker, would pick it up, and he did. THEN HE THREW IT OFF INTO THE WOODS!! Has he forgotten hiker procedure already? He has been reshaped by society, forgetting the basics, such as WASTE NO FOOD. If I'd known he was going to throw that chunk of oatmealy and cremey goodness into the woods, I'd have dove on it and gobbled it up myself.Today was the first time I had to ford a river or stream. Well, I've had to before, but that was during or after heavy rain, and the trail was so wet, it didn't matter if I walked right through, as my feet and shoes were already soaked. But today, my feet and shoes were dry, and I wanted to keep them that way. The shoes anyway. There was no way to rock-hop across the West Branch of Pleasant River, so I took off my shoes and socks, tied them to my pack, and walked across. The water was chilly, and the rocks on the bottom very slippery, but I made it without incident. Notes was already across, and Hotdog came along without trouble too. They both wore their shoes, but I don't want to go through the foot problems caused by wet shoes and socks, and went barefooted.This has been, and still is, an awesome adventure. I will miss all of my hiker friends, and being on the trail. I still have over a week left though, and will keep enjoying each day. It will be strange to leave the trail for 3 days, with just over 50 miles to go, but it stretches out the time until The End just a bit longer. I am ready for a break, physically. My knees are sore, especially my right one. It realy bothered me yesterday, but not quite as much today. Tomorrow is another tough day, and I hope the 3 days off will help it heal enough to stop being a problem. I am afraid that one slip could injure the knee, so I take my time on descents and when I feel tired. I just want my body to hang on until I summit Katahdin, and make my way down. After that, I will give it plenty of time to heal. ...while I think of the next adventure...