Date: 2017-08-04
From: Moxie Bald Lean-to, ME

To: Shaw's Hostel, Monson, ME
Miles today: 17.9

8/4/17, Shaw's Hostel, Monson, MEMiles hiked: 1757.5, Miles to Katahdin: 114.5, Miles to go: 432.4Due to jumping in and solving a potential crisis today, I became a full-fledged member of the Fellowship and earned the eternal gratitude of all the other members. I was up early and cranked out the miles - 17.9 miles by 1:15 pm. The route was fairly flat; but, still pretty rocky and rooty. We also had to ford two streams, which resulted in wet feet. I was the second to leave camp and, as usual, I was passed by just about everyone throughout the day. Everyone was stepping it out in order to get into Monson today and maximize the amount of time we had to prepare for the next week. Monson is the last town before Baxter State Park, home of Mt Katahdin. Between Monson and Baxter is the 100 Mile Wilderness. There are several private logging roads in the Wilderness, but that's about it. We have to carry food for the next week because there's nowhere else to resupply. I am staying at Shaw's Hostel today. It is one of the best known hostels on the trail due to its location. It is the last hostel the NOBOs pass and the first one the SOBOs pass. There are about 60 hikers here today. Once I got checked in and showered, I went shopping and bought supplies for the next six days. I hate carrying that much weight; but, there aren't many alternatives. After shopping, I stopped by the AT information center. Baxter State Park is the most popular park in Maine, as well as being the northern terminus of the AT. As a result, the park is being loved to death. The State of Maine has put a lot of regulations in place to control the crowds. The AT information center had a lot of information about these regulations. This is where the crisis came to light.  The Fellowship plans to summit Mt Katahdin next Saturday. Weekends are especially busy at Baxter due to a huge influx of day hikers. Odin's girlfriend Amy is renting a 12 person van and planned to park at Baxter, summit with the group, and drive the group to a nearby cabin afterward. When I started talking to the woman at the information center I found out that the Birches Campground, which is reserved for thru hikers, only has 12 spots and all the other campgrounds in Baxter are all booked up. So, there is nowhere for a group that large to stay Friday night. She also said that there are no parking spaces available in the entire park next Saturday, so Amy would not be able to enter the park, much less park the van. I conveyed this information to the group and, of course, panic set in. I went into crisis aversion mode and started calling around. After a lot of time spent on the the phone and talking to group members, I was able to broker a deal with the Wilderness Edge Campground in Millinocket, where they will pick us up Friday evening at Baxter State Park, take us to their campground for the night, return us to Baxter in the morning to summit Katahdin, and pick us up Saturday evening. I also ended up putting the cost of the whole thing on my credit card after getting everyone's buy-in on the plan. Everyone was overjoyed that a potentially messy end to a very long hike was averted. I was immediately and unanimously voted a full member of the Fellowship and was invited to the post-hike Party Cabin.  The timing is actually perfect. Hiking by committee gets very cumbersome when everyone negotiates how far we are going to hike tomorrow, etc. It's sort of the antithesis of "Hike Your Own Hike" and part of the reason I did not stick with Darwin & Co way back in NC. However, with only a week left in the hike and a summit day already chosen, there isn't much negotiation. The days are pretty much set. So, it gives me a group to hike with through the 100 Mile Wilderness without my hike getting hijacked by a committee. By the way, everyone has already paid for their portion of the bill. It was a very hectic day; but, I managed to get all my chores done. Tomorrow, we will head into the 100 Mile Wilderness. Due to its remoteness, I will probably have pretty limited cell phone service. So, don't be surprised if I don't post regular updates for the next week. I will continue to write updates nightly, though, and will post them as soon as possible. After I summit next Saturday, I will catch a flight home (missing the post-hike partying), see an eclipse, go to a wedding, and head back out August 27 to complete the portion of the Virginia AT that I missed while moving back in April. The adventure isn't nearly over...