Date: 2009-09-29
From: Hurd Brook Lean-To

To: The Birches
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: light rain

September 29 --Another night of unnoticed light rain left the fly wet, and the air damp and foggy, but warm, with no sign of clearing. My right shoulder was noticably sore when hoisting my pack, but the discomfort faded as I made it down the trail of rocky woods 4 miles or so to Linda's Store at Abol Bridge, thrashing through the freshly fallen leaves. I had made an early departure, probly the first one out, but I was soon overtaken by Ox, and we walked and talked briefly. He was young, and he moved too quickly for my comfort, even in the flat woods. Before long there was a now familiar destination wooden sign, painted red with 4 or 5 destinations and distances, seen often in ME and esp lately in The Wilderness, this one proclaiming "Baxter Peak 14.0M". Fuel for enthusiasm, I was so close, that the sign no longer showed "Mt Katahkin xM", but now read "Baxter Peak", I was in the neighborhood. I soon reached Golden Rd and walking on it I saw a familiar logging truck approaching, crossing the narrow Abol Bridge, and the store just across it where I stopped for a break. Ox was there resupplying and although I didn't need food, I bought 2 hot dogs on principle and an optional root beer to meet the $5 credit card minimum. We snacked outside at the picnic table and got to know a bit of each other, and I could sense his excitement and he probly mine, when a pickup truck and open 10' trailer pulled in with a dead moose in it. Strange sight, we thought it might be road kill, no, Monday, two days earlier, was the start of hunting season, and the store was a weigh station. I was on my way, while Ox lingered, and stopped to witness the moose weigh in, under 600 lbs, I was told it was about 5 yrs old, shot by a 13 yr old girl last evening. I was surprised at the dark color of the fur and the dark color of the antlers and I moved on as the steady rain began to fall. I soon reached the boundary of Baxter State Park and the kiosk where I was to sign up for a campsite at the Birches. The rain was heavy now and as I signed the sheet on the clipboard, rain water was dumping on me off the little kiosk overhang, not a particularly pleasant moment, but not enough to dampen my spirit. Since hiking in ME, I had described it as having a little from each state previously hiked, and heavy rain was certainly nothing new, and in discouraging times I would simply remind myself that "Better days are coming", which would need to be modified to "Better day is coming". That by itself was enough to bring a smile. Soon the rain stopped as I walked along the Abol Deadwater of the West Branch Penobscot River, a broad, swollen quiet river, more than a stream, with logging trucks roaring by, unseen on Golden Rd which followed the opposite bank. It was here that I met Floater, and his son, a thru-hiker from New Orleans, past my age, who had the look and gentle voice of a seasoned traveller, one who was out there truly enjoying the journey despite his slower pace. He was seated resting as we talked for 10-15 minutes, we shared the same first name which he only used, never once my trail name, and I could see in his eyes and his face many stories of different times that I would have loved to explore. I had been mostly isolated from other humans in The Wilderness and this conversation was more that welcome to me. His plan was to hike Mt Katahdin and return to High Point, NJ and complete the trail in CT, while taking off most of November, he declared that he would be the last person to complete the AT this year, projecting his finish on December 31. His son, David nodded. I wished them well and soon came upon a high water bypass trail for the fording of first the lower fork and, 1 mile later, the upper branch of the Nesowadnehunk Stream. The lower was easy, two long logs placed across boulders was no challenge, but I was now committed to the upper branch, but nothing could stop me now. The trail followed the stream, now steeper and noisy at times with occasional small waterfalls which is where I came nearly face to face with a bull moose, right on the trail near the loud gushing stream, who bolted to the right, disappearing quickly in the dense woods. I soon reached the upper branch crossing, three 4" logs, ~10' in length across a fast moving 3' deep run, no alternative in sight. I paused on the end of the logs before crossing, reciting "remember what you've learned" to myself, taking one step, wavering, then rushing 3 or 4 quick steps safely to the other side. The weather was sunny now, and passing Elbow Pond offered reflective views of O-J-I and Doubletop Mtns, before reaching Tote Rd where I soon overtook two familiar hikers, Rookie and Dioko, and we traveled together to the Ranger Station for check-in to The Birches Campsite. I was recorded as #440 GA->ME hiker. We grabbed day packs for tomorrow's climb and we found our way 1/2 mile or so up the gravel road to the campsite where I took 1/2 of a platform after clearing it of wet, fresh fallen leaves. I strung a line and was drying some gear when a car pulled up, honked twice and finally 2 people emerged and approached us. The man and woman were close to my age and were looking for Many Names, her parents. Ox and I gave them recent accounts and assured them that she'd be along shortly, meanwhile they asked, "Are you guys hungry? We have sandwich food in the car." I quickly responded for all of us, "Asking a thru-hiker if they're hungry?!" and we were soon wolfing ham/cheese and roast beef sandwiches and beers, a pre-summit feast! We talked for awhile and then directed them to the Ranger Station where I headed for water from Katahdin Stream. I got back, finished setup, ate, and prepared the daypack hoping for an early start allowing plenty of the day for the 5.2m final climb and return. My idea of an early start was not shared by the entire group, the campfire and socializing continued well past 22:00, activity I could not critisize for this final night in the woods.