Date: 2004-09-21
From: Piazza Rock Lean-To ME

To: Sugarloaf Mountain ME
Miles today: 19.8

09/21/2004GatherWake up, good sleep last night, cold and nippy this morning. Gonna get much colder before this trip is over!!Cook, eat and hit the trail. Very beautiful out here, leaves are turning. Another week these mountains will be on fire with fall colors.Keep pushing on north. Cross Saddleback mountain 4,120 ft. making good time today. Knee is much better, but I don¢t want to over do it. Pass by the Poplar Ridge Lean-To, stop and take a break here.Pass by the Mt. Abraham trail, climb up Lone Mountain 3,260 ft. Climb up Spaulding Mountain Pass by the Spaulding Mountain Lean-To. Come to the Sugarloaf Trail, we decide to camp here. I set up my tarp, I really like this trap, except when it rains.Very beautiful here on top of Sugarloaf Mountain, an old Ski Lodge up here. Little red squirrels everywhere, one walked right up to me. I gave him a peanut, he liked it and seemed to beg for more. These little fellows are not afraid of me.Cook, eat and turn in, gonna get down cold tonight on top of this mountain. When the weather man says it¢s going to get down in the 30¢s, you can bet it will be in the 20¢s in these hills.Turn in, we should make it to Stratton ME tomorrow,Piazza Rock Lean-To ¢ to ¢ Sugarloaf Mountain ¢ 19.8 miles09/21/2004SlimerWake up, it¢s so cold this morning, hard to get out of the bag. I have a 20 degree sleeping bag with a liner, weighs a little over 1 lb and packs to about 3¢ X 13 ¢ has served me well.Cook, eat, pack up and hit the trail, gonna be a pretty day today. Pass by Long Falls Dam Road 1,225 ft. Go up Roundtop Mountain 1,760 ft. Keep digging north.Pass by the West Carry Pond Lean-To, Maine is nothing but beautiful ponds and streams. I would give anything to be able to stop and fish some of these ponds and streams. They seldom get fished as remote as this is.Pass by Sandy Stream, go by East carry Pond, pass by the North Branch of Carrying Place Stream. Get to Pierce Pond Lean-To, stop and take a break here.Come to the Kennebec river, big river. In the past several hikers have drowned here trying to ford the river. No bridges through here like it was down south.There¢s a canoe ferry here, red flag in a holder fastened to a tree. Instructions say to wave flag until you get the attention of the ferryman. I wave the flag, few minutes later I see a man pushing a canoe in the water. He paddles across the river towards me. This is something else, all the man does is wait until he sees the flag wave!He gets over to me, his name is Dean. He asks me to take my pack off, sign a release waiver saying it¢s not his fault if he drowns me!! We start across the river, I help him paddle. Gather and I have canoes and kayaks, we love white water.Let me tell you, this is one swift river, we end up a little down stream from the landing, Dean says this is a good landing. Depending on who¢s helping him paddle, he says he has ended up a mile down stream before.Get to the other side, we set and talk for a while. He said in the last 16 years canoes at this spot have ferried over 14,000 hikers across, he has to keep a log.Dean says he bought 23 acres of land up here and built a house on it, he loves it here.Dean tells me the Kennebec River is the most formidable unbridged water crossing on the Appalchain Trail. Ironically ¢Kennebec¢ is an Indian word meaning ¢Long, quite water¢.A thru-hiker drowned here trying to ford it, many others had had close calls. Dangers include rocks, strong currents and unpredictable water levels due to releases from the dams upstream. This is a free canoe ferry, there is no charge.Backpacking Maine's AT this year and wondering if it's safe to wade across the Kennebec River? Well, it's not safe to wade across the Kennebec River, which is the most formidable unbridged crossing along the entire 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail.The Kennebec is approximately 70 yards wide with a swift, powerful current under the best of circumstances. However, as a result of releases of water from hydro facilities upstream, the depth and current of the river surge quickly and unpredictably. You cannot cross faster than the water level rises. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FORD THE RIVER.PLEASE USE THE FERRY SERVICE.The MATC and the Appalachian Trail Conference have contracted with Rivers & Trails Northeast, to provide a scheduled ferry service across the Kennebec River at the A.T. crossing at no cost to hikers. Dean tells me about Steve Longley¢s store about a mile and half from here, I decide to go there. The store is in a place called the ¢Three Forks¢. Get there, Steve Longley is a very nice person and has everything I need in his store. Steve is a guide and outfitter, he has a website: http://www.riversandtrails.com/. We set around a talk a while.We all go eat at a nice Lodge, very good food, ¢Regular Brian¢ ¢Sundance¢ (girl) ¢Podini¢ (girl) ¢Poky¢ ¢Chris&Ellie¢ ¢Ghia¢ when the bill came, Poky grabbed it and bought lunch for all of us, Thanks Poky!!Time to head into the green, ate too much, rough walking. Make it to Pleasant Pond Lean-To, decide to camp here tonight. Eat some snacks I bought and turned in. Best day in miles in a long time.Bogs Brook Road, Flagstaff Lake Inlet ¢ to ¢ Pleasant Pond Lean-To - 25.5 miles