Date: 2009-08-16
From: Katahdin Summit Katahdin Springs Campground Headin

To: ABOL Bridge 
Miles today: 10.2

This morning, we slept in a bit later than usual and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of banana pancakes prepared by Brian. We were soon on the road and headed back to Katahdin Springs, where we had begun our northbound section yesterday to the top of the mountain. Only today, we were to head south toward Abol Bridge. Brian dropped Lindsey and me off and then drove around to the bridge, where he parked and headed north to join us for lunch. Today was another absolutely perfect day for hiking. The temperature was in the mid 70¢s, the sun was out, and the air was filled with the smell of fresh balsam. The trail itself was probably as nice a section as can be found ¢ pine needles covering a wide trail used by many day hikers from the Baxter State Park area, as well as Thru Hikers. Skirting alongside of a couple of ponds, we connected up with a fast-running stream (call it a river!), which we followed for the next several miles. We stopped to look at falls and high running rapids from time to time, and at one point we walked over to test the temperature of the water. As if an omen, I slipped on a rock and fell into the water, which served as the needed excuse for me to take a swim while Lindsey just stretched out on one of the big rocks in the sunshine to rest. It was incredibly refreshing to be in that mountain stream and able to just sit and float and enjoy the sunshine and water and woods. After a bit, we continued heading south until we met up with Brian, who has now been given the trail name of ¢Silver Foot¢ because of some blisters that he developed yesterday while hiking Katahdin and from the sandals he was wearing today, which prompted him to cover them all with duct tape. An impressive sight! We stopped for lunch on some rocks alongside a beautiful slew sway and fast-running rapids just before the stream connected with the Penobscot River. Brian and Lindsey took a swim while I struck up a conversation with two Thru Hikers (¢Black Hat¢ and ¢Displaced Acadia¢) who were now only 10 miles from completing their trip. They were from Nova Scotia. We spent 15 minutes or so talking about the trail and conditions ahead for me, as well as recollections from their journey to date. They were really nice people, and I am glad that Brian and Lindsey had a chance to get a sense of what ¢trail folk¢ and ¢trail talk,¢ are like. The last mile or so of the trip was along through some marshy areas, and it was the first time that we encountered the dreaded Maine mosquitoes that came in droves. Up until this point, we had not had any mosquitoes at all, anywhere, which is quite a surprise. We reached the car at the Abol Bridge and grabbed some sodas and potato chips at the small general store there before heading back to our new accommodations in the NEOC complex because the cabin we had enjoyed for the last two days was no longer available. Tonight¢s accommodations are much more along the lines of true ¢roughing it¢ ¢ we are staying in two tents with army-issue cots and small mattresses on top of wire springs with plywood boards for support. The mildew on the bed and tent walls and pillows appears to be standard issue. We had a picnic table outside but no electricity. We were, however, able to take showers at the group shower center. Not to be deterred, however, we drove into town, where we were able to make some phone calls and file my journal report while finding one of the great treasures of dining pleasure to be found in northern Maine. The name of the restaurant is River Drivers, is a pleasant facility with a large deck, where we sat and had cocktails while I smoked a cigar and enjoyed appetizers of Bruschetta and fried tomatoes with crab meat. Dinner was excellent (I had sea bass and mashed potatoes with Gorgonzola followed by carrot cake and ice cream ¢ it doesn¢t get much better than this!). We are now en route back to our ¢tent city¢ and a night¢s sleep before they drop me off to begin without them the 100-mile wilderness trek that will take me down to Munson, Maine. I don¢t know how much cell coverage I¢ll have to be able to keep my journal up on a daily basis or even at any point for the next ten days, but I am hopeful to be able to get some journal reports posted while I am in this section of the woods. So, tomorrow the real adventure begins.