Date: 2004-07-16
From: Caratunk House, ME

To: East Carry Pond, Maine
Miles today: 9.9

9.9 miles todayStealth tentingEast Carry Pond, MaineWhen I went out to the dining room after I woke up, the table was set and Paul was almost ready to serve breakfast. Sometimes it seems like life is so rough, but I always manage. I got my coffee and sat down and ate a very good vegetarian breakfast. There were only 6 of us for breakfast this morning. The only nobo was Icecold. There were the 2 young guys that hiked in last night after doing the section from Gorham, NH to Caratunk. Ghost and his wife and me were the other 3. I had just enough time to eat and then walk up the street to meet the realtor and take a look at the house I was interested in. I knew I couldn't live there the minute I walked in. The ceilings were only about 6'10" tall and that wouldn't work since I'm 6'5" tall. I would always feel like the ceiling was falling in on me. I left the realtor my email address and told him what I was looking for. I packed up after I went back to The Caratunk House. I didn't pack earlier because I thought there was a good chance I'd be interested in that house. I had Paul make me a fish sandwich to pack out with me. It's only 37 miles to Stratton and I have enough food to get me 70 miles. Oh well, I guess I'll eat good on the way there. I checked out and walked down to the Kennebec River and talked to Steve Longley for a while. He operates the ferry service across the river. There were 3 nobos there too. Aussie John, Bone Dancer and I didn't get the other guys name. It was shortly after 11am when Steve gave me a ride across the river and I started hiking south at 11:10. It is a great feeling to be walking in the woods again. I only took one zero day in Caratunk and I already missed walking. It's a beautiful morning and the trail meanders along Otter Pond Stream for a few miles. There are lots of waterfalls along this stretch of trail and the walking is pretty easy.I walked into Pierce Pond Lean-to and there were about 9 college age girls laying in the sun in their underwear after having been swimming in the pond. It was almost 1pm, so I decided to eat my fish sandwich and enjoy the view...of the pond, of course. We talked while I was eating and I found out they were hiking down to NH. They were eating peanut butter tortillas and they kept eyeing my fish sandwich. I hurried up and finished it off and hiked on at 1:30pm. I got to listen to a Loon while I was eating too. I love to listen to Loons.The rain started at 1:45 and it got hard real fast and then there was some thunder. It rained hard for about 90 minutes and then easier for another 90 minutes. I passed 5 section hikers that were not having fun in the rain and that was when I realized that I was really enjoying the day. I love the rain because it keeps it cool and gets rid of any bugs that were out. I don't think it ever did get above 65 degrees today. I like it cool. There was alot of water in the trail and it got very slippery. This is the way Maine was last year when I hiked it.Right after the rain stopped, I ran into a friend by the name of Mousetrap that is walking north. He said he's ready to be done with the trail. He said he's been dreaming about a soft bed and a shower with hot water all day. I'll bet he'll be back out before long. Anyway it was good to see him again. I was walking over some bogboards at a swamp and I stopped to look around and see if I could see any moose. I did spot a deer that was about 100 yards away and he was staring at me. I tried to stare him down, but he won and I hiked on. I stopped when I got to East Carry Pond and sat on a rock that was sticking out of the water and took a break. There was a nice breeze coming off the lake, so I started drying out some. I sat there and enjoyed the solitude for about 30 minutes and then I hiked on about another 15 minutes going along the shore of the lake and I saw a nice soft flat spot that had my name on it. I set up my tent just after 4pm!! I'm walking slow!! Under 10 miles today. I went out on the bank of the pond and ate dinner and just enjoyed where I was at. About an hour later, I got chased into my tent by another thunderstorm. It was cool having my tent already set up. I watched as the rain got closer to me on the pond and when it was almost to me, I ducked into my nice dry tent. Life is good on the A.T.