Date: 2009-06-22
To: Friendly folk, smelly backpacks, and a moose.
Miles today: 0.0

Whatever Millinocket lacks in size it definitely makes up for in friendliness. The people here are splendid. Everyone we spoke to was extremely friendly and helpful. And as expected in a tiny, tiny town, everyone knows everyone else. Marsha, the owner of a charming little art gallery here helped me work out an issue with my credit card when the payment didn't go through for a fantastic piece of carved wood I wanted to buy. All of the art there was by local artists, Marsha included, and one of the displays was a collection of carved "tree spirits"-- the faces of wise old bearded men carved into the whole pieces of tree. She chatted with us about Katahdin, whose majestic/terrifying slopes seem to dominate the artwork around here. (Millinocket is the closest town to Katahdin, said by the local signs to be "living in its shadow.") Later Marsha pointed us to the direction of the AT Lodge, a hostel that caters, as its name suggests, to Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. The AT Lodge is known for its hospitality and I wanted to stay there but the Katahdin Cabins (now poo-flooded) had more space for the three of us.We did drop by to chat with Paul, the owner, and he did not disappoint on the hospitality front. He let us in, answered all of our questions regarding summiting Katahdin tomorrow (we had no idea which one of the several trails to take), and even let us borrow two of his daypacks so that we didn't have to lug our big backpacks up several miles of stacked rock. They smell... well... well loved. We walked around town with them and I could basically smell them from three feet away, and that was upwind. I am saddened to know that someday soon people will be able to smell ME from three feet away. Another reminder that thru-hiking is not glamorous. It's sweaty, stinky, and often uncomfortable. We do it because the rewards we reap-- the views, the chance to experience our natural surroundings fully, the generally sense of unity with the earth-- are worth the discomfort.Meanwhile, and AT Lodge mascot, Yogi the extremely furry grey and white tomcat, was winding himself around Josh's legs. Even the cats here are friendly. Paul said the smellier the hiker, the more Yogi loves them. When Paul brings down a load of raunchy thru-hiker laundry to wash, Yogi immediately runs in and ROLLS AROUND in it. Ahhhh! I was extremely surprised at how clean and not smelly Yogi was considering cozying up to 6-month sweated in clothes is his favorite pastime.After a nice lunch at the AT Cafe, also owned by Paul and his wife, we went to a little cafe recommended to us by Lisa, the owner of a wreath shop. She cuts down all sorts of wood and braids it into elaborate wreathes which decorate every inch of her store. The cafe, owned by her father Raymond, serves fresh blueberry muffins-- I was after some kind of blueberry baked good, which is apparently a northern Maine specialty. Ray arrives at the cafe every morning at 4 AM to start baking the muffins. They make blueberry, pumpkin cream cheese, chocolate and peanut butter, and other fabulous-sounding flavors. They ran out of the blueberry by the time we got there this afternoon so we enjoyed a chocolate and peanut butter one with some fresh coffee he made just for us (he was closing up at 1pm, I guess you have to do that if you're up at 4:00!).We have to be at the Baxter State Park gate tomorrow at 6:30 AM to get an early start on this beast of a mountain. Coincidentally, the road we take out of Millinocket and into the forest to the state park goes right by the caf©. So a pre-hike breakfast of coffee and a just-out-of-the-oven muffin is in order for tomorrow!And for the best part of this post: I saw a moose! Everything here is moose-themed or named after a moose. All the postcards, hats, key chains, and glasses have moose on them! Everything is Moose Cafe, Moose Inn, Moose River, Moose Mt., Moose Lunch Special, etc. Just when I thought these people were crazy and there were no moose here really, one ran across the road in front of our car! It was a pretty far ahead so Josh didn't see it from the backseat as it sprang back into the thick pine forest, but my mom and I sure did. Can't wait for more; they are just the coolest animals with their fuzzy noses and antlers. My mom said she doesn't understand my affinity for moose since probably stink like crazy up close. All I can say is we'll be stinkin' right along side of them soon enough so who am I to judge?Today is our last "prep" entry. Tomorrow we fight our way up Katahdin via the Abol Slide Trail, the "easiest" (relatively speaking) of the trails up. Once at the top, we'll take the Hunt Trail/Appalachian Trail down, our first while blazes and first AT miles.Wish us luck!Anya