Date: 2004-09-01
From: Oberton Stream. ME

To: Day 127: Crocker Cirque Campsite, ME
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: broken clouds

Maybe it was due to my desire to wait as long as possible to try and ford Orbeton Stream, or just my fit-full sleep worrying about the crossing, but in any event, I completely slept through my alarm on AT Day 127 and I did not get up until nearly 6:00 a.m. Rushing quickly through my cereal (with the low water and limited time, I skipped my usual high protein chocolate milk drink), I managed to get packed up and be on my way down to the stream by 8:00 a.m.Much to my surprise, just as I was approaching the stream I saw another backpacker gingerly making his way across the still rushing waterway. After he successfully made it to the other side, I told him that I envied his long and youthful legs and then I proceeded to remove my boots and socks and put on my water sandals. Most importantly, I also unbuckled the hip and sternum straps on my pack so I did fall in the pack would come off and I wouldn¢t drown. With the other backpacker¢s successful route as a guide, I then started across the stream using my hiking poles to stabilize my slow progress as I gingerly moved from one ¢ often submerged ¢ rock to another until I reached the other side.Luckily the water was not all that cold, and most important of all, the other hiker was considerate enough to remain at the stream¢s edge until I made it to safety. I thanked the young man (mid-30¢s) for his moral support. He told me that his trail name was Greenleaf and that he had completed the AT in 1998 and 2000 and that now he was out for a section hike to see portions of the trail under more favorable weather conditions. As he left he wished me ¢clear weather on Katahdin.¢ I thanked him once again ¢¦I then put on my boots so I could move on to Orbeton Falls which I knew was supposed to be near-by. Sure enough, I quickly found myself fixated on the loud and gorgeous waterfall, so much so that I missed a turn in the trail just before reaching the falls. Not seeing this turn I crossed the stream at the base of the falls, took the requisite picture and then I proceeded up the other side. Luckily, I soon discovered that I was clearly no longer on the AT so I quickly retreated to the original side of the stream. Checking with my guidebook I noted that after reaching the falls, I was supposed to cross a gravel road at the top of the falls a mere 0.1 miles away ¢ clearly I needed to re-find the trail.Looking around I saw some obvious signs of an old run-down trail that included some now completely destroyed log ladders leading up the steep embankment. To be honest, I was a bit surprised that the MATC would let the trail degenerate to this point, but I was confident that I could safely scale the hill to the top of the falls. After successfully making this climb I soon found a gravel road and a well-marked, White Blazed, trail leading in from the side. Thinking for a moment that I was supposed to follow this trail rather than cross the road, I started down ¢ and I mean, down ¢ the trail, but it quickly became apparent that this was leading back to Orbeton Stream and my error became obvious. This was the correct path from the stream to the gravel road above the falls. Not wanting to have a repeat of the ¢Wrong-Way Fireball¢ error of the day before, I turned around and soon found the correct northward path.The cool (mid-50¢s) and clear weather made the hiking over the often muddy, and occasionally steep trail a real pleasure. None of the major climbs (the 1,700-foot climb up Lone Mountain, nor the 900-foot climb up Spaulding Mountain) were all that difficult and I made decent progress all day. The views from the summits were a bit disappointing due to the heavy tree cover, but the descent down from Spaulding Mountain (beyond the bronze plaque commemorating the CCC¢s completion of the AT in 1937) was challenging. The latter was especially true after the turn-off to Sugarloaf Mountain where the AT skirts a 500-foot steep ravine, the bottom of which I could plainly see the South Branch of the Carabassett River. The trail along the ravine¢s edge was often interrupted with the remnants of previous landslides and the final descent to the river was extremely steep with numerous large boulder steps. However, compared to what I had already climbed in the Whites, I found these challenges to be more fun than scary.The same cannot be said for the challenge of crossing the rapidly moving Carabassett River. In addition to being still swollen from the rains earlier in the week, the mid-point of this river crossing included a 10-12 foot span, 3-4 feet over the water, between two large boulders that the MATC trail builders had supplemented with an 8-inch wide plank to use as a bridge. At first I was grateful that I would not have to wade across the raging waterway, but then I stepped on the plank and it wobbled! I stood there for a moment letting both the plank and my heart calm down and then I proceeded to take a couple of short slow steps. Realizing that my courage wouldn¢t last long enough at this pace to reach the other side, I swallowed my fear and quickly stepped across the rest of the void ¢ all the time imagining how it would be to fall into stream, with my hip and sternum straps still buckled. Well I am pleased to report that I made it safely, but this second ¢hairy¢ stream fording in one day, has left me a little more apprehensive about the other ¢wild¢ river crossing I have yet to face in ME.A hundred yards or so after crossing the river, I was passed by a long-legged through hiker, named Stretch who told me that he too was headed to the Crocker Cirque Campsite a mile or so up the trail. I reached the 2,710-foot campsite around 5:30 p.m. and quickly found a lovely spot to set up my tent for the night after a total day¢s hike of 11.5-miles. In addition to my usual duties, this evening¢s chores included the need to wash out my water bladder to see if I could rid it of the strange ¢organic odor¢ it had picked up the day before ¢ no such luck, the bladder still stinks and I will need to replace it until I can get it properly cleaned and disinfected.