Date: 2008-07-08
From: spaulding mountain lean-to

To: horn's pond lean-to
Miles today: 18.6

We're getting pretty good at getting up and out on the trail by 6 or so. The early start is working good and allows for a more leisurely day if we want it. The sun is also up anyways so we wouldn't be sleeping much more.For some reason there was a pipe and tobacco tucked into my pack this morning. One of the SOBOs must have been a little out of it. At least I noticed. Corn cob pipe. Classy.Up Spaulding Mountain only to skirt it just shy of the summit. No view anyways.Came to a plaque dedicated to the Maine CCC who completed the last section of the AT in 1937 near that spot.Steep descent over some rock slides and loose rocks to a river. A wobbly plank was precariously perched between two rocks, and we managed to cross it without losing it. Took a break on the other side on some boulders.Steep climb up to South Crocker peak. Skirted the top again just short of it. Down and up North Crocker. Early lunch break since we were heading into town and wanted to kill our food and be hungry for town food.Really easy five mile descent to the road into Stratton. Got a hitch in the bed of a pickup in a few minutes.Resupplied at a surprisingly well stocked small grocery store. Got a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper as well. Packed everything up and headed to a diner for food. I had the lobster chowder which was fantastic though pricey, and the steak and cheese bomb. Sounded like a winner, and it was.Decided we would need a snack for dinner since we ate early so we went back to the grocery to pick something up. They had some good looking blueberry pies, but they were a bit heavy. Then I saw something I couldn't resist. A four dollar one pound cheesecake. Stovie and I bought one each and threw them in ziplocks and hoped they would last five trail miles up two thousand feet in 90 some degree weather on top of our packs.Hit up the bank for some cash as there aren't any more ATMs on the trail and some places only take cash.Hitched out of town and got into another pickup truck. Can't beat that good old-fashioned AC.The first section of trail was flat. We were sweating our butts off and wondering how we would make this climb. It was very hot and humid.We hit the climb and were immediately completely soaked in sweat. TBear looked like a leaky faucet. All our shirts were plastered to our bodies, and there wasn't any breeze. The climb sucked, but we kept at it and after much suffering and only a couple pauses we managed to make it to the shelter.The black flies here suck. I have every part of my body covered and they are still getting in. Massive swarm.One cool thing about this shelter is it is about a thousand feet lower than a peak we are climbing tomorrow and directly faces it. We can see it looming in all its bald glory over the trees straight ahead. Pretty sweet.Well, we guzzled a ton of water and Stovie and I tore into our softened cheesecakes. They were delicious, and it was pretty sweet to eat it up here in the middle of nowhere. No one else here to be jealous though.Gonna try for a big day tomorrow. Couple more climbs and the tough stuff in Maine will be over, besides the last hurrah of the trail obviously...