Date: 2015-07-18
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Kennebec River
Miles today: 21.3

Last night about 9:40pm I was rudely interrupted by six section hikers. They came to the shelter with their headlamps shining right inside where I WAS sleeping. They were loud and immediately started breaking branches to build a fire...actually it looked like they were trying to send smoke signals. There was a ton of smoke and it was going right into the shelter. I was extremely annoyed and it took quite a while to go back to sleep. But before I fell 100% asleep, I had developed a plan for the morning; Payback. I figured I'd get up at normal 6:00am time. Today was a few minutes earlier. I knew there was no way they'd be up early. The main difference with me packing up today is that I had no intention on trying to be quiet. Not a single bit. I made sure to bang my shoes around, crumple my plastic backpack liner, move gear around that didn't actually need to be moved and just in general be loud for 6:00am. I could tell it bothered them. They, much like myself last night, were moving around and trying to get comfortable again. My job was complete. On trail, it was a bit rainy when I left the shelter. It was more like sprinkles actually. They continued for a few hours but tapered off. Unfortunately it made the rocks and mud more slick. I'm so concerned about slipping, falling, and getting hurt now more than ever. This late in the game leaves no room for error. Despite the wet trail conditions the terrain was flat allowing me to make good time. In fact today was the flattest day in I don't know how long. I banged out 7.7 miles before 10am, and 17.7 total by 2pm. I was moving! It was such a nice change from the big climbs lately. It was also really good I climbed the Bigelows yesterday. The slick rock and steep climbs would have been slowing, difficult and possibly dangerous. Maine has been pretty cool so far. It has huge, steep climbs. It has amazing views for as far as I can see. It has flat terrain that parallels ponds, like today. The trail was literally two feet away from the water and there was a small beach to use. I would have loved to have gone for a swim but I like to just keep moving towards my destination. At 2:00pm I made it to the Pierce Pond Lean-to. It's really early if I called it a day. The only thing I could do was to hike 3.6 more miles to the Kennebec River and camp. I couldn't cross the Kennebec however. All AT hikers need to be ferried across the unpredictable waterway. The ferry is the official AT transport across and the last one leaves at 4:00. If I wanted to really hustle I could make it. However I didn't eat lunch yet and I could tell food was the priority, not crossing a river. So I sat in the shelter and enjoyed a nice lunch instead. I ate, leaned back, closed my eyes and relaxed until about 4:00. It was really nice. I generally don't take time to relax because I have personal goals of miles I want to complete by certain times. This...was a nice change. At 4:00 was when break time was over and I hiked 3.6 more miles to the edge of the Kennebec River. I was about 20 feet up on a flat woods road on the bank of the river. I set up my tent, got my evening chores set and walked down to the edge of the river. There I sat, cooking up some broccoli and cheddar pasta with a packet of tuna mixed in. I ate dinner and watched and listened to the river in front of me. I had no rush to do anything because I was all set for the evening.I don't have too many more days out on the trail left. It's rather bittersweet. It may be just 11 more or so. I'd like to summit on the 29th but I'm just enjoying each day until I climb Katahdin.