Date: 2005-09-15
From: Shaw's Lodging (Monson, ME)

To: Long Pond Stream Lean-To
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: moderate rain

7:36 pm - Strange CurrenciesWell, yesterday didn't go as planned. Professor hiked on as Ug and I waited for UPS. And then we waited, followed by yet another round of waiting. Finally, at 4 pm I decided something may be amiss and called my Dad. He'd been tracking the camera online, and some bad weather had delayed a flight. Hence, my camera would be a day late. Heated calls to UPS couldn't budge it from Manchester, NH, nor could they partially refund the costs paid to ship it overnight. So much for guaranteed delivery.I sucked it up and spent another night at Shaw's, as did Ug. Baltimore Jack suggested an idea that would let us make up a few miles. There's a fifteen mile slack that's possible from the Wilderness back to Monson. We could hike that while waiting on UPS to come, pick up our packages, and head back out to the trail later on. The original plan called for 25 miles over the first two days. This plan would drop us (in theory) 15 miles in at the end of day two (yesterday and then today), only 10 miles behind where we agreed to meet Professor. With a long third day we could be back on schedule.As you may have guessed, Ug and I did the southbound slack. Moose, a southbound hiker who got sidetracked in Monson and has been working at Shaw's for a month, shuttled Ug and myself to an old logging road in the middle of nowhere. We followed it for fifteen minutes as it faded to a thin foot trail and intersected the AT. It was a rougher fifteen miles than we expected - lots of ups and downs, roots, and rocks. Furthermore, it was raining so everything was slick. The two river fords we faced were very quick flowing and rather deep. Still, we covered it fairly quickly, passing a lot of familiar northbound faces - Pathfinder and Grey Walrus (both at Shaw's last night), Bear Tracks, the whole crew Red Wing and Hopeful had been waiting on, and, of course, The Mad Chapper (also at Shaw's last night). Sam-I-Am and Origami were in the process of zeroing at a shelter three miles out of Monson.Finally, at a waterfall eight miles out of Monson, we passed Professor Nutbag stretched out in his hammock. He, too, had decided to zero in the middle of the woods. He assured us he'd catch us, but there's always a shadow of doubt with him. He's a strong hiker when he wants to be one, but he can also be unbelievably lazy. I'm tired of waiting around. I'd love to summit with him, but I'm planning to reach Katahdin no later than September 22nd. I'm not going to drag my feet through the Wilderness waiting up. If we're to summit together, it's now up to him to keep pace.Slack accomplished we caught a ride with a pickup that had already pulled over to pick up a hitchhiking nobo, The Sundance Kid. Upon reaching Shaw's, we found the place hopping. My camera had arrived and Baltimore Jack had already started charging the battery. Ug's package was waiting, too. But most exciting were the hikers in attendance - 49er, a nobo named Swinger from my area, Gozar, and Low Bridge! That's right - Low Friggin' Bridge had hiked in from Caratunk after all! After rolling his ankle near Moxie Pond he had hitched to Bingham and spent a night in a motel, talking on the phone with family and friends. He doesn't think his ankle will get better quickly, so ultimately he decided it's now or never. He bought an air cast and hiked on, albeit slowly. He's taking eight days of food into the Wilderness and is combing his pack to find excess gear he can ship home. His summit suit may get the axe - he needs to make room for food and doesn't trust his ankle with any more weight than is absolutely necessary.We caught up the best we could, but it was soon time to go again. Bridge and I said goodbye, knowing it was likely to be the last time we'd see each other on the trail. I parted ways, too, with the Gozarian and Swinger, inviting them both to the eighth annual Blades and Booze Halloween Party. Moose dropped Ug and me off at a familiar logging road and we retraced our steps, reaching the shelter just before dark. We're nestled between Bear Tracks, Pathfinder and Grey Walrus, hoping for a clearer day tomorrow.I've often said that no plan out here is final until it happens. These last two days are just what I mean by that.