Date: 2013-09-16
From: Rustic Cabin on a lake near Oquossuc, ME, ME 17

To: Little Swift River Pond Campsite
Miles today: 8.4

Oh it was a short night last night. I was so disoriented when I woke up. But I guess sleeping in a new place every night will do that to you. We planned to get an earlier start, but no one was moving very fast. Anita made us coffee The temperature outside had dropped, and it had been raining overnight. The lake surface was choppy and angry. I wanted to crawl back in bed and go to sleep. But finally we got organized and then headed into town to find Walking Stick some new boots. We did a quick resupply at the local general store, and we grabbed some sandwiches for lunch. We didn't get to the trail until almost 11:00. Our whole group was a little somber. Hobo was sad to have to say good-bye to Anita, and we were sad for him. It has to be hard to say good-bye week after week. I miss Tom terribly, but I only had to say good-bye once. So we all walked pretty quietly, at least at first. Slowly we defrosted. We looked for moose but saw none. We passed a Sobo named Freebird. He gave us a pep-talk about hiking in Maine in September. Sourly I though, Ha, like we have much choice. The hike is really starting to wear on me. I know that Tom is so close to being home, and I'd really expected to be there to meet him. But instead, I'm still plugging away out here.We stopped briefly at Moxie Pond to look out over the waters, and we stopped again at the Sabbath Day Pond to have lunch. We sat on a log. Walking Stick unfurled his sleeping mat so we could sit on it. I took my tent out and laid it over my legs to keep them warm. I inhaled the reuban sandwich I'd picked up earlier and I looked out over the pond. It was way too cold to swim.The trail wasn't too tough, but we knew that the temperature was supposed to drop severely overnight, the forecast said it would be in the 20s. So we decided to stop earlier at the Little Swift River Pond campsite. Initially I thought it would be too early in the day, but the trail kept us crawling along. We discussed suicide, accidents and the ER. Suddenly we came upon a privy in the middle of the woods, right beside the trail. Inside there was a trail register. Huh? There was no mention of it in the book, but we assumed that we must be close to the campsite. The campsite is multi-level right alongside a sizeable pond. The trees across the pond glowed bright yellow in the evening sunlight. There were three canoes pulled up to the shore, but two of them were trashed. Oh, I was happy to call it a day. Our tents are spread out. I claimed a campsite right alongside the pond. The Flying J's showed up, and Joseph build us a fire. The temperature dropped fast, and we all put on multiple layers of clothes. Crazy weather. We sat around the fire until well after dark, though darkness comes so early that it was probably only 8:30 when we called it a night. I retreated to my tent when the coals burned down. The almost full moon sways behind the clouds, but its light still illuminates the pond. If it weren't so cold, I'd go sit by the pond's edge, but as it is, I'm tucked into my sleeping bag. I feel a good night's sleep coming on.