Date: 2014-09-07
From: Long Pond Lean To

To: West Branch Tentsite
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

Again today the trail was not too bad until I went to climb a rather rough section or rocks and boulders. As I made my way up one section I had a rather tall up and as I pushed with my leg and my body started to move upwards to the ledge I was suddenly slammed back down 4 feet where I fell on the rocks below that I had just climbed. To say I was stunned was an understatement. Apparantly I had not noticed a broken spruce branch sticking out over the trail and the top of my pack had caught on it and like a spring shoved me back down. I laid there a while assessing myself and luckily my back pack had taken the brunt of the crash. After a bit I was able to right myself with only a bruised elbow and tail bone. Needless to say I would be more careful in the future when making such climbs. There have been a number of former Armed Service people thru hiking as part of the Wounded Warrior Program. I had not had the pleasure of meeting any of these men and women until today when I ran into a Marine named Stich. We kept passing each other thru the day as one of us took a break at a view or getting something to eat. Then at one overlook which offered a spectacular view Stich arrived and also stopped to enjoy it. As I saw he a number of tatoos with USMC in inquired as to his service and he noted he was part of the Wounded Warriors. I thanked him for his service and shared with him that my son is also a Marine. We talked a bit and I enjoyed our conversation as short as it was before he moved on. The bogs have continued to remain fairly dry despite the little rain we got the other day. This has made hiking the trail much more enjoyable than it would be if it had been wetter. As I got nearer to the river I noticed some tentsites but had not reached the bank yet. When I finally did there was not much in the way of places to put up a tent. Stitch had already gone across and I enquired if there were any on that side. He indicated that he had not gone far down the trail and had not seen any. I decided to take a look for myself but was not sure if I could get across without having to take my boots off. There were a number of stepping stones but some of them looked a little sketchy. Against my better judgement I decided to try and rock hop my way across, but of course this did not end up good as about two thirds of the way across I hopped on a rock that was not secured in its place and quickly dumped me into the stream up to my knees. Man i was pissed at my self for being so lazy. Now I had 2 very wet boots which was not conducive to hiking and for me usually ended up with me getting blisters on the top of my toes.To make matters worse I did not end up finding any tent sites on that side and now had to go back. I thought I was being smart by now taking off my boots and walking barefoot back across the stream. IT WAS NOT SMART!!! One would think that after walking 2100 miles your feet would be tough as rocks, but while th calluses they have may be for the most part your feet have been cradled inside the softness of a smart wool sock and protected by a nice comfortable boot. As a result, the foot itself is softer than a babies bottom and no match for the sharp rocks laying in wait under the water. By the time I got back across I was swearing up a storm (under my breath of course) and had a number of small incisions on both feet. While in the past I would have probably remained furious at myself for such a bone head move I just laughed it off and started to set up camp on a little spot next to the river. After setting up I was able to relax and watch day hikers come back across and what a show it was as some tried to rock hop like me and were just as successful and others waded across to suffer the same foot beating that I had endured. One of the people who came across was a SOBO Section hiker I had met the day before and after he and his wife and daughter made across we chatted for a while. As they got ready to leave he asked me if I needed anything such as food and I replied that if he had any snack things I would appreciate having them. This is when the fun started. He rummaged through his pack realizing he did not have anything despite offering me some and then looking at his daughter who was munching on some gold fish told her to give the rest of her bag. I quickly declined as I was not about to take food from a 4th grader but she herself gratiously gave them to me and insisted I take them. Now as I have tried to impress everyone in the pass, a thru hiker does not decline food especially one who is traveling with as little food as possible in the 100 Mile Wilderness! Mesa, if you are reading this now I once again want to thank you for your kindness and remind you that you are now a trail angel.The rest of the evening was enjoyed watching the river run by and the sun sink in the west over the hill I was to climb tomorrow. Ronnie, one of the Ridge Runners happened by and I had a chance to talk with her about her job. One of the things she did besides educating hikers about the trail was the building of the rock hop on the river which she had just worked on this morning. I was a little too embarassed to share my story with her and hoped that she would work on it a little more so others would not meet a similar demise. With darkness approaching and getting tire I got into my tent with the thought that in a couple of days I would be meeting my good friend Gray Ghost who was not Flip Flopping southbound due to an injury he had in NY. I was looking forward to seeing him again. I also thought about how the wilderness was ot so wild as I had come across a couple of roads today and knew more were to come and that the day hikers had come from a parking lot .2 miles away from where I was camping tonight.