Date: 2014-07-08
From: Monson

To: Stratton
Miles today: 74.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hello! It's been awhile since my last entry, since my access to internet has been quite limited. Thus this is the first part of one massive update. The second one should be up right after this one.7/2: got a ride out to the trailhead a fair amount later than I had hoped, as I planned on the day to be 18 miles long. Despite the 9:00 start time and some random cramping in the arches of my feet (I blame the zero), I made good time to the first shelter for lunch. The others in my bubble eventually showed up as well, bringing news that thunderstorms were on there way. With a ford in our guidebook marked 'dangerous', we kept on walking; even as halfway to the ford thunder boomed overhead and rain trickled down. At around 5 the rain was intensifying and there was at least another 2 miles to go, so I made the personal executive decision to stealth camp alongside the trail. Of course, right when I got my tent set up the rain petered down, but I decided to stay.7/3: an early start after an early night, as Moxie Bald lay ahead of me and the weather was being rather sporadic. The hike up the bald took me by surprise; it was too steep to simply walk up it, yet too shallow for any sort of 'foliage belay'. It proved quite a bit more difficult than something so small perhaps should have been. After catching up with the others, we all called it a day just on the other side of the mountain, making it a short 6 mile day. Waiting for the eventual rain, we swam in the swimming hole and lounged around until night fell.7/4: Maine decided to celebrate the 4th with its own set of fireworks; early that morning lightning lit up our shelter, thunder shook the platform under us, and the heavy rain made sure we weren't going back to sleep anytime soon. As the sun came up there was a lull in the rain, so I started my Fourth of July coming up Pleasant Pond mountain; a mountain entirely comprised of false summits. Halfway up the rain came back, and with it a decision: do I put on my rain jacket and get soaked from sweat and condensation, or disregard the jacket and get soaked from the rain? I chose the latter, and by the time I summited (for real this time) everything I wore was absolutely drenched. To make matters worse, I arrived at the shelter to find a summer camp group had completely taken it over. They had done a short hike in from the road, and were now in their sleeping bags, too demoralized to do anything but wait out the rain. When everyone else in my bubble arrived we collectively decided to keep moving; our guidebook mentioned a place further on where hot food, lodging, and a warm lounge waited. In just over 2 hours we hiked 6 miles to the road, them another two to the booming metropolis of The Forks, population 30. We stayed at a sporting lodge combined with a brewery, and celebrated the fourth with gratuitous amounts of food, showers and a night in a bunk in a 'tent cabin'.7/5: Brew and I noted an interesting fact in the morning; the rain had simply not stopped the night before. A large puddle greeted us outside of the cabin, as we made our way to the lodge for the ride to the trailhead. Our day would take us over the Kennebec River by way of a ferryman and his canoe, which proved to be a delightfully charming way to cross. It was then a short 4 miles to Pierce Pond and Harrison's Camp. NoBo's all the way from mile 30 had been talking of this place, and the 12 'patriotic' pancakes for 9 dollars. I placed my order for the following morning, then spent the rest of the short day lounging about at the windy lean-to nearby.7/6: at 7 am precisely, all of the hikers that had stayed in the lean to were gathered at the table at Harrison's, as plates topped with homemade apple, raspberry and blueberry pancakes came out of the kitchen. And oh man, they were absolutely marvelous! I've learned a secret to thoroughly enjoy pancakes (as I always saw them as dry): drown them in disgusting amounts of syrup. Sugar makes everything tastier! The day ahead was 15 miles of solo hiking over flat mudlands to a campsite at the base of the Bigelow range. I was expecting to meet the others in my mini bubble there, as I had gotten ahead of them, but to my surprise I camped alone there that night. Such is the way of the trail, as groups form and disperse at a whim.7/7: '6000 feet of elevation gain, 4000 of loss' explained a sign the next morning, talking about the upcoming Bigelow range; the range I was planning on completely knocking out that day. Yup, I've come to the first of the large mountains of Maine. In truth, the hike proved to be far easier than I had hoped, with great motivating views at the top and terrain that was steep, but outrageously steep. Along the way it was possible to see across the valley to Sugarloaf, Crocker Mountain and Spaulding, the mountain range I'd be tackling after Stratton. I also ran into a couple of elderly day hikers named Rock and Roll on the summit, and chatted with them a bit along the alpine zone. Upon arrival at an empty lean-to it promptly started raining, so I made some chili and went to bed early.7/8: The descent down Bigelow was rough the next morning, with it's severity and my soreness making the going slow. None the less I made it to the road, and got a hitch into Stratton for resupply and a night in town (before I got the hitch, a guy pulled over and gave me a root beer. Thanks, random guy!). The library had no internet that day, so once again I had no method of updating this journal. Instead, I got a pint of Ben and Jerry's and a rather large soda and spent an hour on the grass before watching that abysmal game between Germany and Brazil. My choice of cuisine came back to haunt me, however. For the rest of the day, my stomach completely disagreed with me. Who knew that a massive sugar bomb wouldn't be an optimal food choice? I chose to skip dinner, and settled in for the night in the hostel.