Date: 2006-08-17
From: Stratton Motel

To: Stafford Notch campsite
Miles today: 0.0

It looks like the makings of a beautiful day as I rise at around 6am. We had our breakfast across the street, thanked Don for letting us park our home in his driveway, and then Navi drove to the trail for my long climb to Bigelow Mtn, (west peak) at an elevation of 4,145ft. I left Navi with a smile on my face this time because I knew I would be seeing her again when I reach Caratunk in 3 days. One thing I can say about hiking in Maine is that you certainly don¢t have to go looking very far for water.If any hiker got dehydrated, than you weren¢t in Maine. The trail here in Maine has many ponds that you traverse and you can¢t help but take notice of all the tall and beautiful cedar trees that line these ponds. I haven¢t seen this anywhere else on the trail. It is wonderful to see but, I have also noticed the devistation from all who have passed this way. Hopefully the trail will be relocated some time soon to help revitalize these areas. I have enjoyed the day so far and when I reached Horns Pond Lean-to, a young man who just happened to be the caretaker, came over to where I was taking a short break at the lean-to. He was very nice, and very talkative. He said that he hasn¢t had many hikers come through but when they do, they don¢t stop. I¢m sure he gets very lonely up here by himself because he said his job is to be up here for months at a time. He does keep the area very groomed and the pathways are lined neatly with stones. I also can¢t help but notice all the Leave No Trace and the Pack In - Pack Out signs posted everywhere. I think he has to much time on his hands, and is bored to death. I should have asked him about a certain plant that I see just about every day along side the trail. It has three or four large leaves on the bottom, along stem, and three large blueberries at the end. If anyone knows the answer, please sign my guest list. If I asked this young man, it would probably take the rest of my hiking day. I am sure these brries are not eatable because even the animals haven¢t eaten them. When I approached the Avery Peak at the fire wardens tower and the memorial, I could hear what sounded like girls talking and it turned out to be a whole soccer team of girls. There was also three older men with them which I talked to, and one said he is the head coach of the girls team here in Maine. They were all interested in my journey so we chatted for a few minutes, and before they left, one of the girls came over and gave me an orange a banana, and an apple. That made my day, or did I look so bad, they thought I needed it. Needless to say, when they were out of sight, I devoured the fruit in less than a minute. The views from the summit were so awesome. I got some pictures and even one of the memorial stone with a plaque of why this memorial was put here. I still had to get to the east peak before I have only 2.5 miles to the campsite. The views were so clear that I could see Katahdin from where I was standing. The descent down from Bigelow Mtn. was a little steep and ruff on the knees at times. I was surprised to run into a few of the girls from the soccer team on the way down. They were having a hard time getting down they said because it was their first time ever to do this kind of hiking. I told them to just take their time because they weren¢t very far from the trailhead where they would turn off to get back to their camp. They were amazed by how fast I could down without falling. When I got to the junction at Stafford Notch, I made my way through the maze of trees, and even went through a rock formation that didn¢t look like it was part of the trail. Finally I made it to the first platform and decided to move on to site 2. The tent sites weren¢t very appealing, so I pitched on the platform. That was fun because it¢s the first time I ever pitched a tent on a platform, so I got a self portrait with the tent being held up with huge rocks holding the steaks in place. It took some time to find the water source but I was successful and made my dinner. I did end up alone at the site, but it was peaceful accept for the loudmouth ravens. Once and awhile I would hear a small creature scurry through the leaves. Still no Moose or deer to be seen. Very disappointing, but it¢s been a nice day. Tomorrow it¢s on to West Carry Pond Lean-to, just over 12miles.