Date: 2015-09-07
From: Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 14.0

Today was all about schedule hiking. I don't usually like schedule hiking, I find it stressful and distracting, but I did not mind today at all because a) there would be town at the end and b) Gary would be there!I had no signal at yesterday's camp or all day today until I was almost at my destination, so I didn't know how far Gary had gotten yesterday and what time he might get to Caratunk. My plan was to catch the afternoon ferry, which ends at 4, and make it to Caratunk before dinner.I got up early, before it was really light, and did all the morning camp chores in short order. Last night after dark, I could hear two people arriving at the shelter. I suspected this was Billy and Sota Sam and I was right. This morning, as I collected my food bag, a sleepy Sota Sam gave me a hiking pole point protector that Cruise Control had given him for me. She had found it and thought it was mine. It wasn't, but I'm going to use it anyway, as mine are worn through. Very few people use the protectors but I dislike the sound of the metal points on the rocks and I'm not a big fan of the scarring it causes either.I left camp at 6:30 and stopped by the pond to see if any moose were there, but they remain elusive. I learned a new word at Lake of the Clouds hut: crepuscular. Moose are crepuscular, which means (as the pamphlet in the bathroom stall there told me) that they are most active at dawn and dusk. Cool word, crepuscular, but I still haven't seen a moose on this hike at any time of the day or night.The hiking today was at times rocky, muddy and rooty, but it was all pretty well level and for the most part it was super easy. I had checked my watch around 11, estimating I had another half hour to go to Pierce Pond Lean-to and then there it was! I took a break and chatted with Tick and Pocahontas, who were on their way to the ferry also.Just past the shelter we came to a road where I saw what looked like Mudder's truck, but he wasn't there. My hopes for soda were sadly dashed. . There was another lady there though, waiting for her Sobo section hiking husband and she had snacks and cold water, which was really good on a hot day like today. Humidity is up and I think thunderstorms are forecast for later in the week. It certainly doesn't feel like September in Maine, but I'm loving this sunny weather!After the road, the trail got marginally more challenging but compared to what we've done, it was all a piece of cake (copyright Cherokee). I ran into Mudder who had forded the river with Advil (and then back), while Kansas opted to take the ferry. I don't really understand why anyone feels the need to ford, but to each their own I suppose.I got to the ferry at 1:25 and it resumes service at 2:00 so I put on my crocs to soak my feet while I waited. I hadn't been waiting for five minutes when I saw the ferryman take out the canoe! He came over early and got me across in short order.He told me it would be an easy hitch to Northern Outdoors, where Gary had booked his cabin, but I found that most vehicles were vacationers with loaded cars and no inclination to stop. I decided to walk. It was hot and a bit further than I thought, but I saw Gary's car in the parking lot, so all was well.It was of course great to see him again for the first time since Lake Placid a month ago, and we caught up over lunch (enormous burger with excellent fries that I couldn't even finish). The cabin is simple but nice and has everything we need, including a porch. That's where we sorted through the food he had brought and the box I had given the nice people from the Farmhouse Inn to send to Caratunk for me. When you see it all together, it's a lot of food but it's not even everything!Tomorrow and Wednesday I will hopefully cover the distance from Caratunk to Monson. Unfortunately there is no well placed road for me to get picked up at tomorrow (one is too far to hike in one day, the other not far enough), so I'll be camping on the trail tomorrow. Wednesday we'll either stay in Monson or here (negotiations are ongoing between Gary and me on this matter) before heading into the 100 mile wilderness!Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?