Date: 2014-07-27
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 12.6

Day 137-July 27, Unnamed Gap at Mile 1942.9 to Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to, 12.6 miles. Rain was in the forecast for today so we hoped to get some good miles in before it started. We had to climb Bemis Mt., both its first and second peaks. We did lots of walking on rock slabs on top of both peaks and in between which made for easy footing and good views. There were also several blueberry patches on top with some ripe berries! Yummy! We stopped at Bemis Mountain Lean-to for a privy break, water and a snack. As we were hiking back to the trail two SOBO's were coming towards us and asked if we were Flossie and Gray Squirrel. These 2 introduced themselves as High Five and Iceman Dan. High Five had been reading our journal up until they left on their hike in early July. Then Iceman Dan told us that he knew Gray Squirrel's nephew's Michal, who thru-hiked a few years back! Small world! It was fun to talk to them and my only regret is that I didn't get a photo of them. We wish them the best on their southbound hike. The terrain today was pretty gentle, but the trail was quite rocky so we couldn't cruise along. Our only serious descent and climb was into and out of the notch where 4 braids of Bemis Stream flowed. On the climb up from the stream we encountered ME 17, a fairly busy road with an overlook of the nearby lakes and mountains. We decided to eat our lunch at the overlook, hoping to get a cold drink from some of the tourists that had stopped for the view! The first car we saw had New York plates on it and 2 people standing behind the open hatchback. I asked them where they were from (near Syracuse) and then we realized we were talking to another thru-hiker and his friend. We all introduced ourselves and the hiker was Lunch, a name we've heard of. They then shared some peaches and apple muffins that they had in their car! Trail magic! The peaches were perfectly ripe and the juice dripped off my hands as I ate it. Lunch then hiked away and his friend drove away, to meet again later today in Rangeley. We then ate our PB&J and moved on to finish our miles. We checked the weather while we ate our lunch and the radar showed rain moving into our area so we packed up and hoped to get 3.8 miles in before the rain. No luck! After an hour of walking fast we felt the first drops. We put up our umbrellas and moved as fast as we could on the now wet rocks and roots. Our destination was the Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to and we saw the pond about 20 minutes before we got to the lean-to. Upon arriving at the lean-to we were surprised to see lots of tents set up in the area. We learned that there is a group of girls here from a camp in Canada. They came in yesterday, did trail work this morning and will hike out tomorrow. Jim and I claimed a corner of the shelter since it is a rainy night. Sisyfus and Ketchup came in about an hour after we did and they are in the shelter with us. A SOBO named Freight Train just arrived. The rain has stopped for a bit so we'll see how many more hikers seek shelter here. Two things we've noticed here in Maine: 1- shelters are now called lean-tos. 2- things that I would call a lake are called ponds. Tomorrow we have 9 miles to hike into Rangeley, ME where we have a motel reservation. All is well. 229.8