Date: 2009-09-26
From: Behind IGA Supermarket (Rangeley, Maine)

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-To
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: clear sky

It was so freezing last night. My water didn¢t solidify, but there was frost everywhere on the grass and plants and we could see the condensation of our breath. We were told later that it was one of the coldest nights in Maine ¢ reaching a low of 25 degrees. We picked up some breakfast at the IGA, conveniently located in front of us, and then Jungli and I got a hitch back to the trail. The man who took us was an older man, who reminisced about the good ol¢ times of his boyhood. He told us that he was the superstar of the basketball team and that each weekend, he would run with two basketballs ¢ one that he would dribble in his left hand and one that he would dribble in his right hand ¢ around one of the local lakes, which had a circumference of 25 miles. He would do this each Saturday AND Sunday. He said that he was the best high school track athlete ever and that he would party like a rock star, drinking and smoking pot up in the hills of the Appalachian Mountains. Once back at the trailhead, Jungli hiked on and I stayed behind in the parking lot to re-organize my food bag for the next several days. On the initial ascent into the woods, I saw a large female moose with a baby moose, chewing on some of the grass and plants in the woods. They were peaceful creatures and I approached them curiously until I made too much sound and they scampered off deep into the woods. Chef managed to catch a ride and he caught up to me shortly, thereafter, and we headed on a side trail to Piazza Rock, where we had lunch. Piazza Rock is a huge rock that has fallen off the cliff and has been wedged against a few underlying rocks; it is stable enough where people can climb it and walk out to its ledge and picnic, which is exactly what we did. Then, we started the initial ascent of Saddleback Mountain. While on the way up, I met Bottom Bunk and Spice Rack for the very first time. I had read some of BB¢s entries for some time and cracked up at his lyrical rhymes, so it was nice to finally meet him. They passed me, but as I stopped chatting with some day hikers, Chef and Dah Wah-He were climbing the last section of Saddleback. I had heard that Dah was getting off the trail as he had a stomach virus and was behind for some time, but he told me that he skipped a section, as he tried to catch up with some of his friends with whom he had started the trail. When we made it to the Saddleback peak, we all gathered together to eat a quick snack, while enjoying the colorful views of the valleys and blue lakes down below. There was a large group of Quebecois day hikers and Chef, being a Quebecois, struck up a conversation with them, while we stood back in amazement at his fluency. We hiked on, knowing that the next shelter would be small and that there would be little chance for all of us to sleep inside. It seemed like a large group walking together, but enjoying ourselves in the process. When we arrived at the shelter, we had our first of many reunions ¢ Beechucks, Buttchinz, Big Camera, Chef, Jungli, Odin, Dah Wah He, Spice Rack, and Bottom Bunk. There were several other thru-hikers and many more ¢weekend warriors¢, so it was certainly a full house. Even Dah Wah He was commenting that being together with friendly faces again was just what he needed to get back to feeling ¢at home¢ on the trail. All of us sat around the campfire, where we cooked food and passed a plastic bottle of wine around from person to person, before it turned hiker midnight (10 pm) and fell fast asleep.