Date: 2004-10-05
To: another recent conversation
Miles today: 0.0

a recent conversation that i had with an employee of baxter state park went something like this:¢thank you for calling baxter state park, this is so-and-so, can i help you?¢¢hey there so-and-so, this is adam. i¢d like to make a reservation for a campsite for thursday night.¢¢okay. and, which campground were you hoping to stay in?¢¢the roaring brook campground please.¢¢let me check and see what we have available, adam. it will just take a second.¢¢alright.¢¢adam, it looks like we do have both campsites and lean-tos available at the roaring brook campground on thursday night. any preference as to which one you¢d like?¢¢campsite will be fine.¢¢okay. and, how many people will be staying there?¢¢it¢ll be just me.¢¢alright, adam. now, the campsite is $9 a night, but there is a minimum charge of $18.¢¢that will be fine.¢¢good. now, let me just run your credit card information and then we¢ll get you set up.¢¢sounds good.¢¢now, adam, i have you reserved for a campsite in the roaring brook campground for thursday, october 7th. let me go over a few of the park rules with you real quick. since you are coming from north carolina, there will be a $12 out of state vehicle fee....¢¢um, actually, two friends from maine are going to be dropping me off, so they don¢t have to pay the fee, right?¢¢that is correct. now, are these other two people staying the night?¢¢nope. they¢re just dropping me off and then leaving.¢¢are they coming back to pick you up?¢¢nope.¢¢well, how were you planning on getting out of the park?¢¢i was planning on walking out of the park.¢¢you know that you can only camp in designated campsites, right? and, just how were you planning on walking out of the park?¢¢well, i¢m going to leave the roaring brook campground, hike up to baxter peak on katahdin, hike down the hunt trail (the AT) to katahdin stream campground, and follow the AT to abol bridge where i¢ll spend the night at abol pines.¢¢excuse me? you¢re doing what? now, you realize that not only is it five miles from the top of katahdin down the hunt trail to katahdin stream, but it is still ten miles to the park boundary at abol bridge. not to mention what will be at least four miles just to get up to the summit.¢¢yes ma¢am. i¢m aware of the mileage.¢¢oh, adam, i don¢t know if that¢s a good idea. i just don¢t know how i feel about what you¢re telling me.¢¢it¢ll be fine. really.¢¢adam, can you hold on a second?¢¢sure.¢ (oh great).i can hear so-and-so pull the phone away from her mouth and start talking to two other people in the office at baxter state park. she is telling them the conversation we¢ve just had and is asking them what she should do. i can hear her saying things like: ¢he¢s trying to do 19 miles to get out of the park in one day,¢ and, ¢i don¢t know if he¢s an avid backpacker or what.¢ i¢m trying to get so-and-so¢s attention, ¢hey. i say, hey so-and-so. can you hear me? i am an avid backpacker. i know what i¢m doing. hey. can you hear me?¢ she can¢t hear me.so-and-so gets back on the phone, ¢adam, i just don¢t feel comfortable with what you¢re trying to do. we usually try to strongly discourage hikers from taking a full pack to the top of the mountain- especially up and over the mountain. have you ever been to baxter state park before?¢¢actually, i have. i¢ve pretty much done this exact same thing before. i know the trail. i know the terrain. i know the mountain. i also, know that if i get down to katahdin stream campground and i¢m feeling tired, there is a shorter trail that i can take to get to abol bridge. i know that i can cut that leg of the hike from ten miles down to four.¢¢you¢re talking about the rainbow ledges trail.¢¢yes ma¢am. i¢ve done my homework on this thing. i have been checking the weather daily. i am an avid backpacker. i know what i¢m getting into here.¢¢okay, adam. that puts my mind at ease a little bit. just make sure that you check in with the rangers both at roaring brook campground and katahdin stream campground so they will know where you are and that you¢re okay.¢¢i will.¢¢i¢m glad to hear that. good luck with your hike on friday. and, with the rest of your hike as well.¢¢thank you so-and-so, and thanks for your help. have a good day.¢¢thanks, adam. you too.¢the train ticket has been purchased. the food has been boxed up and ready to mail. the campsite reservation has been made. the time is drawing near.