Date: 2011-08-20
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

(In which I go swimming and meet another hiker from Northampton)After a short downhill, the trail becomes flatter than it has been in Maine yet, and though with its roots and mud it's not as pleasant as a Virginia trail, it's still a nice reprieve. On the way to the first shelter I meet Mean Gene and Bum Knee for the first time. The both hiked with Cayenne for a while after she left the slow train behind, and I caught up to them after they took three days off in Gorham. The number of new nobos I meet has been steadily decreasing, and the number of those who don't immediately pass me is smaller still, so it's a treat to meet people familiar with the hikers from the first half of my hike.The shelter is near a large pond, and after leaving the shelter and walking along the pond for a bit I see a small inlet for swimming, occupied by two questionably attired hikers. I stop short of the inlet and ask about the water to give the hikers time to cover up if they so choose. After being assured by the guy that the water is quite nice, I poke my head over and see a clothed girl on shore and stark naked guy hanging out in the water. This being the last chance to swim in the pond I am tempted to swim despite the couple, but am convinced not to when the girl shoots me a sharp, "exCUSE me".A few miles up the trail I come to an even nicer and larger pond, this one with a small sandy beach and no hikers having yet claimed it for their private use. Maine's frequent use of the term "pond" to describe large bodies of water is unintuitive; I am told that the state's distinction has to due with the average depth of the water, which seems odd, since rising water levels might actually decrease average depth by expanding the shallow areas. The upshot is that I never know what to expect when approach the next pond listed in the book, and sometimes, like now, I am pleasantly surprised to find a pond a mile or more in diameter.I wade out to waste deep water, preferring the slow immersion to the quick dunk. Glad not to have an audience, I try to swim for the first time in years. My hiking-toned calf muscles respond with an immediate cramp, and I'm glad that I'm in three feet of water and not the bottomless quarry in Dorcet. The calves settle down and I spend an hour or so wading and paddling my way in the shallows before I hear the rumble of thunder and despite the blue skies I head back to shore.Clouds roll in as I dry off, and though I hear the thunder grow closer as I hike on, the expected rain never comes, the storm apparently held at bay by a nearby mountain. The flat ground is accompanied by incessant swarming of gnats, but the gnats remind me how lucky I am to have reached Maine after the worst of the black fly season has passed.I reach the last lean-to before 4pm, my earliest stop in a while, but the next lean-to is across the Kennebec river, whose ferry service only runs between 9 and 11am and 2 and 4pm. Fording the river is discouraged because the upstream dam has the nasty habit of releasing water at unannounced times, creating sudden dangerous surges of water, and having an excuse to stop early is not unpleasant.Sherpa, Sprout and Lil' Scrappy show up, followed by Guinea Pig, and then a sobo named Dark-Thirty. The sobo explains that he got his name because that's when he usually shows up to camp, and I eventually figure out that he is also from Northampton. He's the first other hiker I've met from the same town as me, and I admire his relaxed, exploratory style of hiking, which has gotten rarer and rarer as the trail has progressed.Tomorrow, with forecasted thunderstorms I might nero into Caratunk. This unplanned stop would likely result in my summiting in September rather than August -- at least if I stick with my plan to complete the thirty hour challenge before Katahdin. Sumitting in September would mean, well, absolute nothing, since I don't have to be back by any particular time. I did like the ring of finishing on August 31st after exactly five months, two on the first half, three on the second, but have no intention to rush the final days of my hike.