Date: 2007-09-24
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 2155.4

To: Katahdin Stream Campground ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 2168.8
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

Day 173 ¢ 9/24/07Start: Hurd Brook Lean-to ¢ 2155.4End: Katahdin Stream Campground ¢ 2168.8Day Miles: 13.4We are up and out as planned, quietly leaving camp just before 6:00 am with a breakfast of granola bars and a Snickers Bar as we head up the trail. We feel it is kind of a race now to secure a spot at the campground. We fly up the trail and get to Abol Bridge store just after 7:00 am. We buy some odds and ends including hot coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and beer (poor man¢s champagne for the summit). A few hikers I had not seen before are here as well as Backfire and Spock. This is not the ¢Navy¢ Spock that I hiked with in the South. That Spock did a flip/flop at High Point, NJ and we passed him heading southbound back at the Dartmouth Skiway. The Navy Spock was a pretty happy go-lucky guy who owned a sailboat and loved music and literature. This Spock is from Texas and I first ran into him back at Bear¢s Den. We have wound up in the same campsites and hostels quite a few times since then. This Spock makes all his own gear and is somewhat an expert on every subject. He tends to be pretty judgmental of people and thus is somewhat of a loner.We were unable to buy or beg showers from the store/campsite owners. Shadow even offered to pay for a campsite in addition to paying for the coin operated shower but was refused. The store is not that hiker friendly and you get the feeling that they wish the trail ran elsewhere.Today is opening day of moose season and the store is a check-in/weigh-in station. The first moose have begun arriving already which draws our interest so we hang around for quite awhile. We are finally ready to go and Shadow decides to try Poppie one more time on his cell phone. There is limited reception and Shadow has to stand on the edge of the road and face just the right way to make a call. This time he retrieves a voice mail from Poppie saying he is in the area and to look for his red truck. At that very moment a red truck rolls into the parking lot.Poppie has a hotel in town and offers to take us in for hot showers and a hot meal. We jump at the offer and all pile into his truck. Once in town we realize that Numbtoe¢s family is in the same hotel just a few doors down but they have already left for the park. As the day begins to disappear we realize we are going to be late because Numbtoe¢s family plans on meeting us between 1:00 and 2:00 pm at Katahdin Stream Campground.Poppie offers to drop us off at Abol Bridge then pick us back up in the park later in case we miss Numbtoe¢s family.Once we heard the forecast we were glad for the delay. There were high winds forecast for the summit on today and Tuesday was supposed to be the best day of the week. By Wednesday or Thursday rain was supposed to set in and possibly close the mountain.We finally make our way back to Abol Bridge where we run into a number of thru-hikers including Gypsy Spirit and Speaks Little who have reunited. Once on the trail we are flying along. I am hiking way beyond a safe pace and wind up falling a few times in the roots. I have limited vision in one eye and thus no depth perception. I cannot tell how high an object is sticking out of the ground unless I see it from the side as I approach. When I am practically running I cannot scan ahead fast enough. Match that up to my 28¢ inseam and you can imagine me running through a rocks and roots scramble. Anyway, the last fall I jam two fingers on my right hand that immediately swell up. This will probably match my left hand which I jammed back on Old Speck in the Mahoosucs.We arrive later than expected at Katahdin Stream to find Numbtoe¢s family has a cookout set up for us. Poppie is here as well with refreshments. We get to see Rhode Island Red, Sven, and Uff-Da who have all summited today. The winds were so strong they could not stay more than a minute or so on top. We also heard that my old friend Buffalo Bobby went up with his slack packing crew of Barking Spider, Plodder, Bear Spray, and Wagos. At one point the group was stopped by the high winds and it looked as though they would have to abandon their bid for the day. But finally one brave soul blazed the trail in a break in the wind and the others followed.There are long goodbyes and also hellos as other hikers arrive at camp including Popeye, Lightweight, and JB. For some reason Spock and Backfire did not summit today and are waiting for tomorrow. At the end of the day we head back into town to our hot showers and soft, warm beds.