Date: 2015-09-06
From: Horn Pond Lean-to

To: Caratunk, Maine
Miles today: 0.0

I love it when a plan comes together. As I was looking at the map a few days ago, trying to figure out where I would stay while I waited for Airlock, I happened to notice a river resort about 40 miles to the west of Monson in Caratunk. As it happens, it is right where the AT crosses the river. They have these little 'Cozy Cabins' you can rent and they do white water rafting trips on the river. Oh, and they have a brew pub on the premises. And a jacuzzi. Problem solved! I booked a cabin for two nights and a white water trip for Tuesday. Saturday I was supposed to be packing up, doing some last minute shopping, and getting the house somewhat presentable. But fun things kept getting in the way. First I had my usual Saturday lunch with guy friends. After that I drove over to Wegman's to buy an obscene amount of Cliff Bars, Snickers bars, and assorted other items. As I was driving home from that another friend texted to say he and his wife were going to be in Clifton at a local restaurant and wanted to know if I could join them. Of course I could! Then there was another friend's 50th birthday party at the town barn after that. Needless to say, not too much packing got done that evening. I woke up at 5am and started packing then, which means I started throwing everything I could think of into the car. That's the nice thing about driving--everything just has to make into the car, it doesn't necessarily have to be organized. I finally hit the road by around 6:45. For the first 100 miles I kept having this nagging feeling that maybe I hadn't thrown my pack in the trunk. I was pretty sure I had, but I kept wondering. I came up with a contingency plan in case I hadn't, which involved having a neighbor overnight it, but fortunately I did remember it.Traffic was not too bad and I made good time. Driving up Interstate 95 sort of feels like you might as well just open up the window and throw some money out every once in a while. Actually, that is exactly what it is. Fortunately, I had remembered to bring a lot of cash because I had spent $50 on tolls by the time I got to Maine. I wasn't sure exactly where I would stop for the night, but around 5pm I saw a sign that Portland was 25 miles away. Perfect--I decided I would stay there. I pulled into the historic waterfront area, got a beer at a place Airlock and I had been two years ago when we were in Maine for vacation, and started to search for a place to stay. I found a room at the same place we had stayed last time. I booked a room online and drove across the street to check in. Then I went to go have dinner and only then did things start to go a little less smoothly. It took at least an hour for me to find some place to eat that wasn't either too crowded or completely deserted. I was looking for some kind of happy medium that just didn't seem to exist. Finally, I found a place that had one empty seat at the bar so I took it and had a nice big bowl of spagetti and meatballs. I was hoping for a lobster roll, but it wasn't in the cards.This morning I walked around the historic district some more trying to find something for breakfast. The town was as equally quiet this morning as it was bustling last night. I had an excellent latte, but no breakfast. I hit the road around 9am. When Airlock and I were here two years ago we stopped for lunch in Waterville on our way to Monson so I thought I might try again for breakfast there. As I was pulling off the highway I noticed two grungy, youngish people with backpacks sitting down on a curb. Thru-hikers! I thought I'd offer them a ride into town. They seemed a little confused as I circled around, but also grateful for the offer. I immediately realized I had made a mistake from the pungent aroma of alcohol and clearly disorganized gear--they weren't thru-hikers, they were homeless drifters. Aside from the alcohol, they smelled about the same as a thru-hiker, and they wanted to be dropped at the Dollar General so I figured it was a "six of one, half dozen of the other" kind of situation. The AT doesn't go anywhere near Waterville, so I guess that should have been a clue but geography isn't my strong suit. They still probably haven't figured out why some random guy with bags full of dehydrated meals in his car pulled over to offer them a ride, but it's a hot day here and they had a long way to go so I doubt they much cared. Shortly after that, I did find a one of a kind type diner on the side of the road and finally had that breakfast so it all worked out in the end.By the way, the trip we took two years ago to Maine was when I got my trail name. We spent a week on the coast in Ogunquit with my family, and then Airlock and I had rented a cabin just outside Monson for another week after that on Big Wilson Falls. We invited a couple of other friends, Lynn and Mitch, to join us. Airlock has an uncanny ability to stay in pretty good shape even in periods where she isn't really doing anything to stay in shape, and as I mentioned last time I regularly run to stay in shape so we had a fair amount of hiking planned. Lynn joined us for a hike one day, but took a pass the days we decided to hike up the mountains. Mitch, however, may not have been in peak hiking condition but he decided to join us on some of the more difficult hikes we had planned. I like to powerhike the climbs, so typically when the trail goes up I take off and at some point will wait for the group. That day I was wearing my red daypack and a cap, and every so often Mitch would get a glimpse of my red pack off in the distance, waiting to make sure they were still coming. I think we were on Little Moose Mountain that day and Mitch was hurting--particularly his knees. He told Airlock that I was like Sasquatch--a mythical creature in the woods that if you ever see, it's just a fleeting glimpse.I'm here now at the river resort in Caratunk waiting for my cabin to be ready and for Airlock to arrive. Yoda was here yesterday, and I think Airlock is just one day behind her so I expect she will make it here today. It is exceptionally warm for Maine in September but it's a beautiful day. I haven't heard anything from Airlock since yesterday so I think she is out of range. Off to a good start so far!-Sasquatch