Date: 2013-06-24
From: Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 17.7

DAY 15MILES ON AT FOR DAY- l7.7MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 18You're on your ownAnd you know what you knowAnd you are the oneWho'll decide where to go!-Dr. SeussSlept well, we got up early, and it was time for the famous 12 pancake breakfast We were the first ones there but then shortly after came Stilts, Globe, Moto, and the Stoners with Boners. Leg-it was also there which I can't recall if I mentioned him yet, but I had met him before in Monson but didn't know his name. All I know is he was passing out free cookies at the bar there haha. So we all waited patiently for Tim to bring these things out.Obviously since Gary and I were first there we got ours first while everyone drooled over our plates. 12 pancakes stuffed with apples, raspberries, and blueberries, two eggs, sausage, and coffee. One hell of a breakfast. I knew I couldn't eat it all so we both actually saved half our pancakes and took them to go in a zip lock Baggie. Actually, I could've eaten it all... But I didn't want to be stuffed and it would make a nice lunch After breakfast we thanked Tim for the stay and delicious breakfast, and headed out around 8:30am. Not too far down the trail we hit a super sketchy dam that we had to go over. Not really sure why the ever scenic AT would bring you over it but what do I know. Of course in the middle of it, while we're teetering on logs, a 2 foot long Gardner snake decided to slither almost right beneath my feet. I couldn't help but yelp. At least I didn't fall in the water! We had a long day ahead of us, but we wanted to cram in the miles because it was supposed to be relatively flat the whole way. For the most part we were cruising and making really good time. The weather was gorgeous and it was hot (a rarity as you've probably figured out in Maine) so we were dripping EVEN though it was pretty flat. We eventually passed a NoBo named Saber. Chatted with him really quick and then we were on our way. He was one of those hikers that you could smell them coming. I hope I don't end up that smelly :xWe continued on and came to Flagstaff Lake. It was a beautiful spot so we stopped there to dip our feet in the cool water and eat lunch... AKA pancakes. I slapped some peanut butter on those bad boys and it was even better the second time around! As we were eating our lunch, two more NoBos passed by named Red Beard and Tebow. Apparently they were with Saber as well. I gotta say I love the big beards on all the NoBos. You look at them right away and say, "You came from Georgia huh?" After lunch we continued on at a good pace. We hit a road where a mother and daughter were getting dropped off to head into the woods for a few overnighters. We let them get a head start on us down the trail as we laid on the pavement. As Gary said, "I never thought I would be so happy to lay on hot pavement." Neither did I, till I started walking the AT haha. We peeled ourselves off and headed onward. It was starting to become more uphill because we were getting closer to the Bigelows, which meant more sweating. We caught a glimpse of the lake again and Gary said, "If this trail goes down by that lake we are going in it." And thankfully it did. I hate sleeping in my sleeping bag all sticky from the day. It's nice to be able to cool off and clean up at least a little bit but this would be my first swim on the AT. At the spot where the trail dipped down near the lake we jumped off the trail and took advantage of it. Apparently the mother and daughter had the same idea as us!It was incredible. Sunny day, clean cool lake, mountains in the back drop. It's moments like that that I know why I'm out here. It was a great first swim and we only had a few more miles to go! It kept creeping uphill to the lean-to and continued that way for a few miles. In that last mile and a half is where the mileage from the day started to really hit me. My Achilles kept twinging and my body was obviously just done for the day. My feet were just dragging up that hill. Gary got way ahead of me but I didn't care. Id see him at the lean-to and I needed to pace myself before I tripped over a root or something. I ended up coming up to the lean-to right around 6pm and Gary was obviously there and he was talking to an older man named Froggie Pete.Froggie Pete is a sweet, 71 year old man who has completed a thru hike of the AT once and has attempted it 4 other times. He was now going SoBo to try and get to where he dropped off in NY. I sure hope he makes it! Not too long later the mother and daughter came along as well. The little girl was very cute asking me all these questions about my trip. We all settled into the lean-to, talked about hiking, ate, and went to bed