Date: 2008-08-12
From: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Monson ME

To: Long Pond Stream Lean-to ME
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

Day 177 Tuesday August 12 ¢ Long Pond Stream Lean-to ME - Miles Today: 15.1 Total Miles: 2076.8After so much deliberation over the past couple days, we actually hit the trail today and had 95% awesome trails! It¢s amazing how 3.5 days in a row with no rain can help the trails, as well as the streams. The streams are only about a foot higher than normal so we had no problem crossing them. Little Wilson Stream was about mid-thigh deep and the one that we feared the most today, Big Wilson Stream, was upper thigh deep. I think both of these streams are normally only knee deep, but they were crossable with no worries. We didn't even use the tandem approach. Along side the trail we found the pack abandoned by the lady hiker we met at Shaw¢s. Her pink crocs made it easy to spot. It saddened our hearts to think that sitting there was probably $1000 of gear. We hope that other hikers will not take advantage of her misfortune and pilfer her belongings, though she never made any mention of having someone retrieve it and return it to her. It¢s also scary to think of what may happen when hikers see the pack, but no hiker. Could a rescue effort needlessly be started? We should have left a note.We had to chuckle over the sign at the entrance to the 100 Mile Wilderness. It read, ¢CAUTION. There are no places to obtain supplies or help until Abol Bridge, 100 miles north. Do not attempt this section unless you have a minimum of 10 days supplies and are fully equipped. This is the longest wilderness section on the entire AT and its difficulty should not be underestimated. Good Hiking. MATC.¢ We had 6 days of food to get us to Abol Bridge. On we went, regardless, up the trail.We got to the shelter about 4:00 and reviewed the tent sites. They did not look overly great, so we decided to stay in the shelter.   About 5:00 the sprinkles arrived, followed by a huge downpour. We're afraid that the awesome trails that we experienced all day today are now going to be saturated again for tomorrow. We're here with 7 other hikers - the German Rhino and his dog, 3 younger hikers that we met in the hostel ¢ Forest Gimp, Pipper and Stripe. Rhino and the 3 younger hikers have teamed up for the final push to Katahdin. They had planned on hiking 4.7 more miles to the next shelter, but when the rain arrived, they decided to stay. So with us in the shelter is Rhino¢s well behaved, but wet and smelly dog. Sure hope he does not cuddle up with me during the night! It was funny to hear Rhino ask his dog in English, ¢Are you ready for dinner?¢ The dog knew exactly what he meant ¢ a bilingual dog! Scofield, a hiker we met yesterday at the post office in Monson, arrived shortly after the group, but decided to push on since the shelter is full.Later in the early evening, an Asian mom and daughter team arrived. Crazy Feet is just 11 years old and upon inquiry said her favorite food is a mixture of butter and sugar, but that her mom does not allow her to eat too much of it at one time. We chuckled. Pearl is the mom and was most proud of her daughter, telling us about their highest mileage day, which escapes our memory, but may have been 30 miles. Our minds immediately thought that 30 miles was way too much for such a young kid who has not yet fully developed. But anyway, the mother and daughter team are flip-floppers and headed south to Harpers Ferry, so we will not see them again. They both seemed young, relaxed, and full of energy, and we wish them the best.Also with us is another middle-aged thru-hiker, Rabbit, who we just met, but did not get a chance to talk to due to the rain. He decided to tent behind the shelter, so perhaps tomorrow we¢ll run into him.The young hikers told us that Cricket was stuck at lean-to before Orbeton Stream (mile 1969.6), as he did not feel comfortable crossing it in high water. Everybody was giving him their extra food as they set off to ford the river by going downstream a bit and using ropes that someone ¢ perhaps the MATC - had put up. Cricket decided the river was more than his comfort zone and was waiting it out for 3 days. Of course, none of us are sure if his 3 days turned into 4 or 5 days, but we applaud his decision to know his comfort zone and stick with it. We really think that Friday, Saturday and Sunday of last week were the highest water days for everybody and that life is getting better each day.Tomorrow is an 11-mile day up and over more mountains, but we are running out of mountains to climb. Wow. We're down to 6 days plus a summit day. Our legs felt tired and klutzy today but some of that might have been because of some rocks and roots, rather than our normal mud. Our knees are definitely sore and we're hoping that tomorrow our stride will be a bit better and feel more normal. We had 4 creek crossings today and none scheduled for tomorrow, per our guidebook. We think there are just 3 more fords to go on this entire trip. Our anxiety is still a little heightened regarding the fords, and will be until we ford the last one. But we are definitely coming down home stretch. Just wish this hard rain we're having for the first time in 4 days would hurry up and stop so the ground can start draining again. Our spirits are good; our bodies are a little tired but we're looking forward to getting deeper into the 100 Mile Wilderness, kissing that sign at the top of Katahdin and getting on with normal life again. Goodnight from finally in the 100 Mile Wilderness! Just 99.4 miles left. We are in the 2 digits!!!