Date: 2004-10-07
From: Logging Road

To: Bald Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 22.9

46 miles in 2 days and I¢m exhausted. I¢m here with Dapper Dan tonight and its past 10 p.m. Still we made it and I just enjoyed a dinner of Pork Fried Rice. Now I¢m ready to sleep. I awoke with the sun, as is my custom lately, and quickly packed up. I hiked through the morning cold enjoying the beauty around me, specifically the red and yellow tunnel of leaves. It seemed almost as though I was walking on a red carpet. I moved quickly singing worship to God. It was a lovely way to start the morning and in no time at all I was 4.2 miles in and rejuvenating myself with ice cold spring water. I found myself standing before a pond as smooth as glass reflecting the mountain majesty. To my right was a shelter, and there in the shelter I found my sleepy friend ¢Dapper Dan¢. ¢GET UP DAPPER¢!It was fun to officially catch up to Dapper after my slow departure from Stratton 2 days prior. After Dapper packed up we hiked out. We walked along the lake shore and Dapper took pictures (my camera had no batteries due to last night). As we walked we caught up on the past 2 days. I told Dapper how God has touched me so much. The 3.7 miles to the ferry passed a cascade brook as well as the pond. We tip-toed with precision around the unending roots and rocks, but still we arrived at the Kennebec at 10:30 a.m. As we reached the river we waved the orange flag for the ferryman to come get us. The river was no more than 100 yards wide but had a strong current. With autumn banks, an azure sky, and the morning sun streaming down, the river was gorgeous. In no time at all Steve the Ferryman (not like that :-)) paddled over to us in the canoe. In years long ago hikers used to ford the Kennebec, but now the AT ¢official route¢ is on the ferry. In but a few minutes, we navigated the rocky river, and reached the other shore. There Steve gave us a Three Musketeers and told me he had a headlamp he could lend me (Steve Rocks!!!) Dapper Dan and I headed to the road to hitch to Caratunk for lunch. I could hear a cheeseburger calling my name. We stood by the road for what seemed forever. Every vehicle whizzed by. Then a man drove up to us from a side road and asked ¢Have you boys ever been on this trail?¢ While we could not believe the idiocy of the question, we figured we had our ride. He proceeded to tell us ¢Sorry, I¢m headed the other way¢. (Disbelief). We finally had a mini-van pull over with a Redskin fan for a driver. Just at that moment Mad Scientist, Yoda, and Lucy (Yoda¢s dog) emerged from the woods. A moment later all 4 (OK, 5) of us were on our way to Northern Outdoors Resort for lunch. Lunch was AWESOME!!! I had a ¢North of the Border¢ burger with Mayo, fried onions, pickles, cheddar cheese, and Canadian bacon. I also had a coke (yay) and a blueberry beer. The meal was awesome and we had a blast. It was 1:40 when Dapper and I left for Steve the Ferryman¢s store. Steve sold me batteries and denatured alcohol, and gave me a headlamp and a fabric strip to use as an emergency bandana (I¢m down to one). Thanks to Steve, I can now cover my ears in the cold, take pictures, and hike at night¢¦YAY! Steve dropped us off at the trail at 2:40 p.m. The next 6 miles were a gradual up, again surrounded in fall trees. Dapper and I moved quickly and talked. It blew my mind to hear that Dapper knew of my friends Jen and Matt from a Christian Retreat Center called Sandy Cove that I worked at for 2 summers in high school (small world). I learned of Matt, who I remember as a 14 year old, recently getting married. In addition to random connections to the past we also talked about The Lord of the Ring¢s Trilogy. I was caught off guard as we reached the shelter 6 miles from the river and 14 in at 5:00 p.m. At the shelter I ran into ¢Poppy¢, a sobo who I met in Vermont on my worst day on the trail (he was skipping ahead). I informed him how God has blessed me since then and he congratulated me. I¢m scared of premature congratulations. We left at 5:15 to climb Pleasant Pond Mountain with 9 miles to go. Pleasant Pond Mountain was steep, rocky, and rooty. Still it was a nice little challenge and the view from the top with the sun setting was gorgeous. I would describe it but it would do no justice. As we hiked on night was falling. I went to turn on my light and I noticed: PRINCETON TEC AURORA¢¦AHH! My last 2 lights (both of which have had significant troubles) were auroras. I swore I would not get another unless it was free. Well, here I am. Sure enough the light switch would not turn on. I was supremely frustrated until Dapper fiddled with it for 10 minutes and got it to work dimly. Yay, light!The 5 miles off Pleasant Pond Mountain were NOT PLEASANT! Despite being downhill, it kept going back up. Rocks and roots abounded, the trail winded like a maze, and my ankles nearly quit on me. Time for pointless games. I introduced Dan to ¢Smoosh¢ and ¢The Random Connection Game¢ (examples of both below). In no time at all we were at the bottom of the treacherous mountain with 3 miles to go. A) Smoosh: Each answer shares syllables to form one pointless work.   Example:         Clue 1: Person who is mentally slow                Clue 2: Ant-eating animal                 Clue 3: Really poor state   Answer:        Retaardvarkansas B) Random Connection Game: Think of 2 items. Creatively link them through other things. Example: Cheeseburger to shower         - a cheeseburger is served with fries        - fries are dipped in ketchup        - you catch up (ketchup) when you¢re behind        - you clean your behind in the showerIf the games above do not make it obvious, the night was dragging on. Still we pushed on through the dark determined to reach our goal. Then we reached a pond. A blaze stood in front of the pond and across the pond. The guide said nothing of wading through murky ponds. I was about to try it when, Thank God, Dapper saw the actual trail which goes around the pond and over a beaver dam. Two minutes later both of us had circumvented the pond and were still dry. A short time later a magnificent sign appeared: Shelter. Now my ankles, feet, knees, and mind are at rest. It¢s great to be huddled up in a sleeping bag and ready to drift off. I will close with a poem:        7 miles into the dark      Far from a walk in the park      Still the last 3 seemed quite nice      And I just ate some Pork Fried Rice      Into my bag now I do creep       And slowly drift away to sleep      To dream below the starry skies      Goodnight now I shut my eyes.The night sky is again beautiful and tomorrow we will hike to Monson. Goodnight, BEATBOX   ttt