Date: 2009-08-17
From: ATOL Bridge 

To: Rainbow Lean-To 
Miles today: 15.0

Up at 6:15 am to organize and pack up, then breakfast at 7:30 with Brian and Lindsey at the NEOC Center. By 8:40 am, we had said our goodbyes, shot the mandatory ¢Bumpo returning to the woods¢ photo, and I was taking my first steps into the infamous ¢100-mile wilderness¢ heading south. The goodbyes with Brian and Lindsey were, indeed, heartfelt. They are both really genuine, really pleasant, really caring people--each in their own way, they are the real deal. For the past few days, we have had the chance to come to know one another other than through the business relationship I have with Brian (he is my ¢financial Sherpa¢). It seems that time spent on the Appalachian Trail is always enjoyable, and this was certainly true for our time together. We had a lot of fun, that¢s for sure!From ABOL Bridge to the top of the Ledges (six miles), the Trail was pristine--some of the best to be found. It was well marked and soft to the foot with a bed of pine needles or leaves with only gentle slopes. At the top of the Ledges, the view of Katahdin was all but obscured by haze, but its silhouette was visible and most impressive. Beyond the rocky top of the Ledges, the nature of the trail changed dramatically. While still marked, it was in very poor condition, mostly due to the incredible amount of rain the entire Northeast has been subjected to this summer. Every few yards it seemed that I encountered a mud hole; some still with standing water, others containing mud of varying consistencies, some of which was the consistency of slurry, some heavy, and some just plain old mud. Along the way, I stopped to talk with a local hiker, ¢Uncle Tom¢, and two fellow long distance Section Hikers, both of whom were finishing their last section: ¢Gray Bear¢ was with his two young adult children and a crony, ¢Duct Tape.¢ He was from Charlotte, North Carolina. Another Section Hiker en route to Katahdin was ¢Daredevil Dick,¢ wearing a Tommy Armor straw golf hat, who I observed plodding along with a friend headed for the last section of his hike. Later in the day, I chatted with two Thru Hikers, ¢Snorkle¢ and ¢Kuru,¢ who were also headed north. I am currently sitting outside my tent on a heavily treed knoll about 100 yards above the Rainbow Lean-To that sits directly in front of a fast-moving stream. I had dinner at the lean-to as I chatted with two Yale graduate students, who were here to do the 100-mile wilderness, and four young women--friends who hiked all but the last 80 miles of the trail last year and decided to get off because they were not enjoying all of the rain they had encountered. (Last year it rained 23 straight days during the month of July.) They have now returned to finish what¢s left. It is very warm still, even though the sun has already gone down, but no signs of rain. I have cut one of my two remaining cigars in half, and I am enjoying it and a cup of Earl Gray tea as I pen these words to the light of my headlamp. I feel good about today¢s hike: 15 miles (plus 0.5 to go check out the Rainbow Dam, for which I was rewarded with a chance to watch a mother loon and four youngsters diving for dinner only a few yards offshore in one of those absolutely picturesque Maine lakes dotted with small treed islands and bare rocks jutting above the surface in small groups. It was a lovely sight. My total lapsed time to complete today¢s journey, counting stops to talk, have lunch, to purify water, and visit the dam was exactly eight hours, which means I was certainly maintaining a 2-1/2 mile per hour pace, which is my usual pace when I have my trail legs back. The exercise regimen I have been on this past year must be paying off, I¢d say. Now it¢s time to climb into my tent and call it a day. Tomorrow is another long one. Up early, breakfast, and the sun coming up on the way--it always does.