Date: 2010-08-29
From: Perham Stream

To: Crocker Cirque Campsite
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

 29th of August Sunday ¢ 9.5 m to Crocker Cirque campsiteConsidering the multiple naps I took yesterday, I slept extremely well. My tent directly faced the stream. The vestibule was on the edge of the bank. Lucky for me, I didn¢t fall into the water during a late night trip to the bathroom. I don¢t think I woke up at all last night.Not much of a vista from Lone Mtn. I¢m glad I stopped at the stream for a break instead of looking for a non-existent view. Nice and cool this morning but I¢ve been told it¢s going to be hot. Somehow I doubt it will be uncomfortable here in the great state of Maine. I¢ll take Maine¢s hottest weather over North Carolina¢s late summer temperatures.Took an M&M break at Spaulding Mtn. where I met Bird and another guy with sign language tattoos on his leg. They¢re both NOBO that I haven¢t met yet. Cheeseburger¢s register entry said that he¢s already in Stratton. He was here at lunch yesterday. Bird and his friend are making it hard for me not to eat. It¢s interesting that watching others eating makes you want to eat also.Sticks arrives and seems to be happier today. He claims that he can¢t look at the vistas if the trail is rocky. Today he actually got to see some views instead of staring at his feet. Sticks is terrified of falling since taking a hard one in the Whites. Wizard arrives next to the shelter. His eye sight must be horrible because he didn¢t recognize that I was in the shelter until I spoke to him. When I said something he was startled by my voice. Stick¢s brother-in-law owns a condo on Sugarloaf Mtn. Sticks and Wizard are going to stay at the ski resort tonight. Sticks is worried that his brother-in-law hasn¢t paid his mortgage and the condo might be in foreclosure. Sticks is taking a side trail and then skipping the Crocker Mountain. I¢m a little surprised to hear that Wizard is going to blue-blaze but I was mistaken.Wizard and Sticks left but I remained at the shelter for a time. I¢m waiting around for Conan and Backwards. There¢s only 6 miles left in my day so I¢m not in a hurry. Sometimes these slow days weigh heavily on me. So many questions of what, why, when, where and how twirling through my head. I wished someone would show up to distract me but nobody does. All alone!I took a picture by the old terminus of the AT. It¢s in the middle of nothing worth seeing. The sign is just plain copper with MAINE written with a few words beneath. How anticlimactic!There was a day hiker couple at the intersection of Sugarloaf Mtn. summit trail. They looked at me like I should take the time to hike to the summit. I¢m inclined to stay on the AT because I do enough hiking. The number of vistas I see on the AT is enough for me. I don¢t feel guilty at all about skipping the side trails. We do enough just to hike this trail from start to finish. The couple I met by Sugarloaf are from Maine. Today I¢ve been wondering about the resupply availability in Caratunk. I should have asked these locals. Monson is a long ways from Stratton and I want to split up how much I have to carry. Maybe I¢ll mail a package to myself in Caratunk.My thoughts turn towards getting down Sugarloaf . You wouldn¢t believe how difficult it is here. I kept expecting to fall 100ft down the mountain. It¢s hot and the trees can¢t grow tall here. The trees are short because there¢s no soil and I¢m walking down a cliff. Few times have I felt threatened like that on my way down the valley. It feels irresponsible for me to be here. The erosion is horrible. They¢ve rerouted this place due to a nearby landslide. The sunshine is nice and toasty on my shoulders. ¢Am I in the Whites?¢ I questioned myself. Does the MATC want us to do this? Are you serious? Do I have to walk down that cliff?Through the short trees, I can see a river in the valley below. In the center of the valley is a road that parallels the stream. Looking back, I can see large rock slides on the southwestern edge of the ridge. The leaves are preparing for fall. The colors of autumn are beginning with the changing seasons.When I arrive at the valley floor, Wizard is there by the river. The rapidly flowing river prevents you from getting to the gravel road. Crossing the river requires several cat walks. Avoiding the small waterfall isn¢t that complicated though. Wizard is drying his clothes on the smooth rocks all around. He¢d already washed them in the stream. Wizard recommended getting in the river. There¢s a small hot tub sized wading pool right in the middle of the rapid. Wizard decided not to go with Sticks to Sugarloaf resort because he would have to blue blaze. There was no way for him to return to the trail without skipping a section of the AT.Good for him! Wizard gave up a free place to sleep, laundry, and drinking someone else¢s beer just to keep his convictions. Wizard highly recommended getting in the river. I agreed with him. I¢ve very glad that I did get in the river. I sat down below a small 3ft waterfall on a comfy flat rock! The cold water didn¢t allow me to enjoy the ¢hot tub¢ for very long. The water was a lot warmer than I had expected. It was also highly refreshing. The icy water made me cringe when it ran down my back.¢I¢m staying at Crocker Cirque campsite for the night¢, I tell my old friend. Wizard hadn¢t really paid attention to where he was staying. Maybe tomorrow I¢ll go to Stratton, get a Wolfburger, and leave town late evening to camp near the road.On the way to Crocker cirque campsite I thought about the song Wizard had written. He sung it when we were at Spaulding lean-to today. It¢s a great tune he¢d been writing since starting in Georgia. He wants to talk with Abel about putting it to music.There¢s supposed to be a creek near the campsite. We walk down the side trail to investigate where we¢d be sleeping tonight. We would rather have water near our tents, so we pass by the first water spring on the way to the campsite. Crocker cirque campsite has two large tent platforms and lots of level ground. There¢s even a marshy area next to the campsite, but there isn¢t any water. We¢re out of luck and have to walk back to the first spring we¢d already crossed. Wizard and I made our campsites and prepared to make dinner.As Wizard led the way back to the spring, we discussed our plans for the future. Wizard was an avid marathon racer in his younger days. His grey beard and eyebrows make him resemble the Wizard of Oz, thus the name. We discussed triathlon training and life after hiking the AT. He¢s not sure if he¢ll go on to another adventure like this one. It¢s his wife¢s turn to go on the next journey.¢Hopefully, her adventure will involve me!¢ says WizardWizard recommends staying active when we return. Don¢t stop! Keep busy and don¢t let up. Wizard has a Massach-ooo-setts inflection in his drawl and it makes me laugh¢I think we¢re gonna see a Mooose tonight, Skip!¢ says Wizard.