Date: 2003-08-23
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-To

To: Rangeley, ME (Route 4)
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I¢m falling asleep as I write this. Today was a long, but nice day. A cold front came through last night and today was a crisp, clear, Sunny day! A perfect day for hiking. We woke up and were on the trail early, and were across a fgew lesser peaks and down the mountain to a river by snack time. Again, lots of Moose poop and moose tracks, but no Moose butts yet. We spent most of today 20 minutes behind Boots and Tom, all the way to Rangeley. But our first real surprise was a south bounder we ran into, ¢Detour¢. It was the first south bounder I actually knew, We met him at Trail days, in Damascus. He had jumped from Waynesboro, VA to Katahdin and headed south so he would finish (ahead of the weather, and while he still had money). I believe he finished most of the trail, but did not complete it¢¦ Still a success any way you look at his hike. After talking to Detour, we continued on across the river, then up a steep stepped hill (of course Wench pulled away from me here), when I saw Note to me, written on Birch bark on the trail. The note put a big smile on my face, someone was nearby that knows me!!! My note said ¢Go hotdog, go!¢, Wenches (I found out later) said ¢Go Teresa, go!¢. It was from her friends Bob and Joyce (They still can¢t call her Wench.), they met us at the route 17 road crossing with snacks! Wahoo! As I was climbing up the last part of the hill, I heard their voices and hurried my pace. I really like these people, they are so friendly and nice. So we sat in their car out of the wind and talked as we ate muffins and drank juice they brought. They knew we wee coming, because Thirsty Boots and Tom talked to them when they passed by (and said we weren¢t too far behind them). Looking south from Maine route 17 is a beautiful sight, Lake Mooselookmeguntic. We stood there and stared at it for a while, the colors were so intense, the day so clear. I can see why peole come here from all over the country top see this lake and take pictures. So what else did we do? We took pictures of course. Pictures of all of us in front of the lake, and of Bob and Joyce¢s car with the Teresa and Hotdog signs on it. Then we headed north again (another 13 miles), knowing they would meet us at the trailhead in Rangeley at the end of the day. What a day, Sun, cool breezes, no humidity, and friends along the trail¢¦ Awesome. We passed a few ponds along the way (Long pond looks like a Caribbean lagoon with a beach, it seems so out of place in Maine). And still no moose¢¦Finally, near the road to Rangeley (about 1 mile in), we ran into Bob and Joyce again(they were talking to Tom and Thirsty Boots), and we hiked the rest of the way to the car with them. FInally, the long hiking day was over, and we all crammed into the car and headed to town (it was interesting having six people (4 smelly) and 4 packs in the car). Thirsty Boots and Tom went to a hostel, and the rest of us went to the Rangeley Inn. It felt good to get into a hot shower, then eat a cheeseburger (ok, a couple of beers helped relax me too). Next was a walk around town, an ice cream (did I mention it was COLD out?), and then back to our room to relax (I passed out almost immediately, and only woke up when Shari called me from home). Now I¢m journaling in my sleep, and then I will pass out again. Life is good!