Date: 2014-06-26
From: Stratton, ME

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 32.2
Weather: scattered clouds

I debated on whether to even journal about this or not because I was worried it would freak my mom out but have decided to be true to the trail and go ahead... After one night in Stratton I was ready to get back out on the trail. Too many town days will make you lose your trail legs. Plus it is crazy expensive. It was calling for rain in the afternoon and thunderstorms that evening so all of the other hikers were staying another day. I set out by myself. Hitched a ride with a super nice local lady (and her German shepherd) who was headed into town for supplies. Got back on the trail ready to put as many miles behind me as I could before the rain started. The clouds loomed overhead ominously and at certain times it seemed like I was walking among the clouds. I came to the Carrabassett River in the early afternoon. Now, there was a campsite just before the river where I could have stopped for the night and tented. In hindsight, that is exactly what I should have done. But at the time it was really early in the day to stop hiking and with the threat of thunderstorms later I was highly motivated to try to get to the next shelter which was only 5.4 miles away. Due to the previous rain the river was very swollen. I paused at the river and spent a few minutes looking up and down stream for a better place to cross but nothing looked any better than where the AT says to cross. I made it half way to a large, flat rock in water only up to my knees. Not that bad. I stopped there to plan out my next steps and noticed a plank that was secured with a wire to the rock that I was standing on. That plank is supposed to serve as a bridge for hikers over to another rock about 7 feet away. However with the water level so high the plank had washed downstream. I attempted a couple of times to pick up and replace the plank on the rock but each time the water quickly washed it back out of place. Again, in hindsight that was a clear signal to turn back. I said a prayer for protection, slung my pack back on and started in. The first step was knee deep. The second step was mid-thigh. The third step though was waist deep. That was where things started to go awry. I just wasn't strong enough to stand up to the surging water. Away I went! The river quickly carried me downstream. The shock of the cold water covering me head to toe startled me, and I may or may not have uttered a few expletives. I quickly turned my body so that my feet were in front of me so I could kick off any rocks rather than smash into them with my body, arms, head... As I was carried away I would grab onto rocks to stop me from continuing but wasn't able to pull myself up on them so would eventually let go. I kept working my way rock by rock over towards the side of the river. Eventually I came to a rock small enough that I could haul myself onto it. I crawled over to the river bank and threw my pack off. I was freezing cold after being dunked head to head in the icy waters of Maine. My teeth chattered and I shook uncontrollably all over. I stripped off all my wet clothes right there on the bank and began to dig through my pack. Blessedly everything that was inside the trash compactor bag lining my pack was bone dry. I put on dry pants, a long sleeve shirt, my coat, and dry socks. Then I assessed what I still had and what I had lost. Thankfully the only things I had lost were one sock and my crocs (so yes, Vicki from NH, that was me 3x5 was talking about in his journal). I had even somehow managed to keep my trekking poles. Thank goodness for wrist straps! I wrung out all my wet clothes and stuffed them and everything else back in the pack. After that I put on my wet boots and bushwhacked it back to the trail and onto the shelter.The fact that I made it through that episode (which probably really only last a few seconds but at the time seemed to be an eternity) by losing only my precious camp shoes (and one sock) and without so much as a scratch on me I can only attribute to God's mercy and protection. I said prayers of thanksgiving over the next several miles as I hiked on. My nerves were completely shot, and I was more than a bit rattled. I was hard on myself for being so foolish and vowed to never try to ford a river again right after rain. The clouds still loomed ominously making the sky dark. I was a little teary and flat out told God that I really needed to see a sign that He was with me. Just then a ray of sun peaked through the clouds. It was exactly I needed to know that my Father truly loves me. He has the whole universe to worry about, but in that moment He was carrying and protecting me. I breathed easier and felt as if a weight had been lifted. As I hiked on to the shelter the clouds completely disappeared and the evening turned out beautiful and warm. When I made it to the shelter there were two hikers there, Hummer and G-Pa, who listened to my tale of woe and kindly comforted me as I hung all my wet gear up to dry out overnight. It was an experience both positive and negative. One I don't wish to repeat but that reassured me that the Lord has my back on the trail and wants me to be here.