Date: 2018-08-03
From: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to

To: ME 4 - Hiker Hut
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a day of recovery of sorts. For starters I slept in. Instead of my usual 4-5AM wake up, I didn¢t start moving until around 0545. By the time I finished up the journal entry from yesterday, packed up, and ate breakfast it was 0715sh. Next, it was a short hike to my destination on fairly easy terrain. Finally, I just kind of strolled along, covering about 10 miles in 5.5 hours. I took two long breaks along the way. The first one was to stretch, upload the journal pics, and talk to Which Way and our son. The second time was when I came across several moose tracks and heard alot of crashing just off the trail as I came over a rise. Certain that I had heard one or more moose, I eased over the hump and down the other side until I found a good spot to listen and observe. I heard the initial crashing sound to the right of the trail, but after about 10 minutes of waiting I was hearing something about 75 yards to the left of the trail. Peering through a strand of trees and some thick ground cover, I noticed some movement behind a boulder in a distant clearing. It was either a dancing squirrel or moose ears twitching the flying bugs away. As it turned out, it was the latter. The large animal continued moving along in the clearing grazing on something. This one appeared a lighter shade of brown than the one I saw before. It also looked bigger from my vantage point. I was hoping it would turn my way, but it just continued creeping along parallel to the trail. I waited for it to pass through the most open view point before taking a picture. Still the resolution was poor.I posted it anyway.Trust me though, it was much more exciting through human eyes. After the encounter, I continued to move along slowly in hopes of getting an even better view.I passed several ponds and bogs on the way to ME Route 4. When I hit the road,I took a left and walked for a 1/4 mile to the Hiker Hut Hostel, operated by Steve and Catherine. The quaint little hole-in-the-wood is quite rustic. There is no electricity or phone service. There is a kitchen/office area, a medium-size bunkhouse and several small private huts dispersed around the property. The bunkhouse was full so I took one of the private huts. Which Way would have loved this and the little town of Rangeley, located about 10 miles west of the Trail. After taking an outdoor shower (heated with propane) down by the stream, I got a ride from Catherine to where I hung out most of day, eating, resupplying and planning my final couple of weeks on the trail (hard to believe). The little town of Rangeley sits in the midst of several lakes and ponds. It derives it¢s name from an Englishman, Squire James Rangeley, who inherited a 31,000-acre (130 km2) tract bought from Massachusetts in 1796 by his father. He arrived in 1825 to establish an estate. Tenant farmers produced hay, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes, with cattle grazing the hills. Logging became a principal industry, with booms of logs towed by steamboat across the Rangeley lakes, then guided down rivers in log drives. Timber and other goods were shipped to markets, and tourists arrived from the large east coast cities. Consequently, the region developed in the 1900s into a seasonal resort area with camps, cabins, summer homes, inns and hotels. Today it is most definitely a tourist town.Steve picked me up at the local ice cream stand at 7PM. He dropped me by the IGA to pick up some hiker food on the way back to the hostel. One thing was missing today that made me very happy¢my post hike hobble. That¢s a good thing because I have a few tough days of trekking ahead. It is raining now and the forecast is calling for 1-2 inches tonight and the same tomorrow. That should add to the fun!Peace and BlessingsNext StepElevation Data:Ascent - 1,250Descent - 2,025Grade - 6.2Weather:Day - 75 / Mostly CloudyNight - 63 / Heavy RainOver The Horizon: Saddleback Mountain, ME