Date: 2004-10-07
To: traveling to maine: day 2
Miles today: 0.0

three a.m. is either really late at night or really early in the morning. it all just depends on how you look at things. for me, i think that three a.m. seems to fall somewhere in the middle. what is even more obscure than three a.m. is two a.m. who in their right mind gets up at two o'clock in the morning to make sure they catch a train by three? oh. wait. that would be me.two o'clock seemed to come entirely too soon this morning. (can two o'clock really even be considered the morning?). it seemed like hardly any time at all had passed since i laid down on the couch and closed my eyes. i was slow to get up, but knew that i had to- i definitely didn't want to miss this train. we left lara's place at a little after two and had the city streets to ourselves. it was incredible. if you ever want to see a beautiful sight, drive through the streets of our nation's capitol at two o'clock on a thursday morning. the buildings and monuments are awash in dramatic white lighting and the streets are virtually empty. union station was virtually empty as well. the only occupents were me, about ten other passengers, a janitor, a few homeless people, and a policeman with his K9 accomplice. i watched the officer play with his dog- who seemed so playful and so happy, but i knew would turn and bite my face off if given the secret signal.i went to the automated ticket machine to retrieve my prepurchased ticket and for some reason the machine wasn't working properly. the officer tried to help me figure out why i couldn't get my ticket, but we just couldn't get it to work. i called amtrak at 2:45 in the morning and i'll have to say that the woman on the other end was very nice and helpful and rather chipper given the time of day.i ended up having to purchase a new ticket once on board the train. i was told that once i got to boston, i would be able to get the matter sorted out. at three o'clock this morning i really didn't care what got sorted out. my only concern was that i was finally on the train and would soon be heading north once again; and, that i would soon be asleep.i dozed in and out for a few hours and woke up as we were pulling into new york city- just as dawn was starting to break. during the hour long layover in new york, another passenger offered to pick me up something to eat from one of the concession stands up in the station since she was going to get something for herself. i politely declined and decided to get up and stretch my legs a bit.i got my camera and walked out onto the platform. i walked the length of the train and stopped to take a few photographs. i hadn't gotten off a few frames before an amtrak conducter walked over to me."are you an employee of amtrak or of penn station?""no sir, i'm actually a passenger on the train.""you aren't allowed to take pictures down here for security reasons.""really?""yes. if security or police see you down here taking pictures, then they will escort you out of here.""oh. i didn't know. thank you for telling me." i returned to my seat for the rest of the layover.when we left the tunnels of penn station at just after seven o'clock, the sun was up and bathing the new york city skyline in its soft glow. i enjoy new york city. i could see myself spending an extended amount of time there someday.the gentle rock of the moving train made it somewhat difficult to stay awake. i danced that fine line between asleep and awake for quit a while. the warmth of the sun felt nice shining through the window. it wasn't long before i drifted off to sleep again.i awoke again and looked out to see hundreds of sailboats anchored in the calm waters of mystic, connecticut. the train was never crowded. there were never more than twenty people in the car that i was riding in. the train arrived at the back bay station in boston right on time. i left the seat that i'd become so acquainted with over the previous eight hours. i grabbed the duffle bag that contained my backpack, hiking boots, camera equipment, and other assorted pieces of gear, and found my way to the metro orange line. this took me to the boston north station, where i would be able to get this ticketing thing sorted out and where i would board the train that was to carry me to maine.the ticket clerk gave me a refund on the ticket that i'd purchased over the internet and sold me a new ticket on my next train- the downeaster. i think i may have ended up paying ten more dollars for the two tickets i bought today compared to the one i bought last week. i didn't mind. the almost three hours that it took to get from boston to portland seemed to pass rather quickly.i departed the train and walked into the station to find grace and cheers (AT2004), who were picking me up. i reckognized them immediatley. we made intoductions and walked out to the car to begin the next and final leg of my journey to the trailhead.ross drove while amanda and i played connect four. i won a few games, but she pretty much worked me over in the long run. i was much too tired to posess the wits and mental aptitude required to win a game such as connect four.we stopped in the town of augusta to have my final meal before entering "the woods." we had an early dinner at longhorn steakhouse, where ordered a very delicious grilled chicken sandwhich- one of my favorites. after dinner it was back to the open road where ross proceeded to drive like a madman, sometimes going upwards of 90 mph.we arrived at baxter state park at 7:30 and were pointed towards the roaoring brook campground by a very pleasant gate keeper. after what seemed to take a really long time, we finally arrived at the campground and pulled into the parking lot. grace and ross waited at the car while i walked over to the ranger cabin to check in.i walked inside and introduced myself to ranger bill. he welcomed me to the campground and told me where i could find my campsite. (it just so worked out that it was the site closest to the trailhead). i told ranger bill of my plan to climb to pamola peak, cross the knife edge to the summit of katahdin, descend on the AT, and make it out of the park all in one day. bill offered up a suggestion that he thought would make the trip a little easier. instead of carrying my full backpack up and over the mountain, ranger bill said that i could borrow one of the smaller daypacks that the campground keeps on hand. that way, i could just carry a few essential supplies up and over the mountain and it would make the going much easier. while i was up on the mountain, ranger bill would make arrangements to have my full backpack shuttled around from roaring brook to the katahdin stream campground where it would be waiting for me when i finished hiking. i told bill that this was a great idea and thanked him for his help. ranger bill wished me luck for tommorow's hike and told me to be careful.i returned to a patiently waiting ross and amanda in the parking lot. i retrieved my gear from the car and we said our goodbyes. i am going to have to dispell any myths or rumors right now about our friend, amanda aka grace. she is not at all the queen b that she comes across as on the internet. she is such a kind and wonderful person and very pleasant to be around. i thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet and spend time with both her and ross. they are both such very nice people. ross is a swell english chap who's company i enjoyed so very much. i am very grateful to the two of them for giving me a ride to baxter state park today. ross and amanda drove away into the night, leaving me alone once again at the roaring brook campground in baxter state park. this seems all too familiar to me. almost as if i have been here before. oh, right, that is because i have.i have laid out my sleeping bag beneath the stars tonight. i know that i will soon be asleep. tomorrow marks the beginning of yet another adventure on the appalachian trail. i am a little nervous and a little excited at the same time.