Date: 2018-09-01
From: Tentsite 2167.9

To: Nahmakanta Lake 2150.1
Miles today: 17.8

I¢m starting to have my doubts about the ¢remoteness¢ of the 100 Mile Wilderness - that maybe it¢s part of the Maine mystique put forth by their Dept. of Tourism. My suspicions were first raised a couple days ago by the shuttle driver from the AT Lodge, who commented on the ride to Baxter that the wilderness was not as remote as people thought. So today the trail takes me across two roads, on one of which there was a van full of people driving by. I waved, and they waved back. Heck, for all I know they were on tour, and I was one of the exhibits. I can just imagine what the tour guide was saying ¢....there¢s one folks, an AT thru hiker....just look how forlorn and grundgy he looks....it¢s OK to wave, but keep your windows closed....and for God¢s sake hang onto your food!!!!!¢. But I digress. A little ways later down the trail I walk by a rowboat sitting right alongside the trail, with a placard affixed to it on which is written a persons name and phone no. Is this person trying to sell/rent his boat? I don¢t know, but apparently the individual has a marketing strategy of some kind. At my camping site tonite along the lake there¢s another road, and folks have driven in to camp. How remote is that? I¢ve also learned that 10 miles south of here, at a spot where the AT crosses another road, there is trail magic where grills are setup and burgers/dogs/refreshments are available. Admittedly I am only about 25 miles into the 100 Mile Wilderness, so I¢ll reserve final judgement until completed, but so far the ¢remoteness¢ aspect is escaping me. While hiking along today I heard some howling off in the distance that I mistook for coyotes. I was informed by a section hiker, a Maine resident, that those were actually hound dogs I was hearing, that they are used by hunters in their pursuit of bear - that it is now bear season. This makes me mildly nervous as I have put on a few pounds while being largely sedentary this summer, so I sure hope some trigger happy hunter doesn¢t mistake me for a small bear. I¢m now really glad that I shaved off my beard. As I rolled into my camping spot tonite I was greeted by a thru hiker, and I could tell right away that he was having a bad day. His trail name is Cordial, turns out he¢s a southbound flip flopper like me, and the poor guy had almost no food left. He has a food drop waiting for him about 20 miles down the trail, but that is a good days hike away. I gave him a large bag of trail mix and some power gels to tide him over, he was so appreciative and thanked me profusely before proceeding on down the trail. Hey, that¢s one way to lighten my food bag!As far as the hiking was concerned, another great day weather wise. Nice view back towards Katahdin from the summit of Nesuntabunt Mt. I crossed paths with maybe 20 NOBOs, there is definitely a northbound bubble coming through. I have a great private camping spot along the lake, first thing I did was go for a swim to get some of the stink off me - it felt so good. Awesome sunset tonite.As expected my legs are very tired again tonite, but they¢ll come around. Again no cell coverage from my camping spot, will see what I get when I¢m up on a peak/ridgeline tomorrow. I am safe, warm and dry in my tent tonite. Goodnite.