Date: 2017-08-04
From: East Carry Pond

To: Caratunk
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: clear sky

8/4Caratunk B&B / hostel10.2 milesIt took me a little while to settle in my stealth site last night. I lay there learning the sounds of the woods around me. The loons sounding from the pond, the squirrels chittering, ravens cawing hoarsely, and mystery thumping sounds that probably weren't moose. The rain falling on my tent helped. As long as my tent isn't leaking, the white noise of raindrops against the roof is very soothing to me. I knew I wanted to wake up early. I was aiming for 5. At about 4:20 (according to what's left of my watch) I rolled over for a few more minutes. Minutes stretched to an hour. At 5:20 I jerked awake. It was light out! Time to get moving! I changed clothes quickly and packed everything. I struck the tent and moved my pack and poles next to a large rock by the pond to eat breakfast. I had cold coffee and a raspberry cream whoopie pie. The pie was excellent. A little smooshed but tasty. I made the coffee with extra instant. Since I couldn't find packets in Stratton, I'm carrying a ziplock with instant coffee in it, which means the amount is up to me. And when it's up to me, the answer is MOAR CAFFEINE PLS. Also making my coffee cold saves me a ton of time. No setup time for the stove, no boiling time, and no careful sipping so I don't burn myself. Win win win. I reserved some of the water I fetched last night in case of need, but I drank only water I already had. Even staring at it, I couldn't tell if the floaters were animal or vegetable. I didn't even like the idea of them being caught in my filter. I got by all right with my remaining good water from yesterday. It was totally fogged in. I liked the eerie Stephen King feel it gave the place. I was less crazy about the condensation on my tent and the moisture dropping off of the small trees and bushes crowding the trail. My clothes were quickly soaked. It was nice that the drops highlighted the morning spiderwebs, but I caught enough single strands on my face to put my mosquito net on first thing. I've never gotten over the icky feeling of spiderweb on my face. I can handle it on my arms and legs. But not the face. Yech.Today was very rooty and those roots were slippery as all heck. I did my best to step between them. It slowed me down some, but not critically. I reached Pierce Pond at 10 and had a mosquitoey snack. I got to the Kennebec Ferry before 1. Plenty of time! It took a little time for the ferryman to come get me and the other three hikers waiting. I determined that I am not super comfortable in a canoe anymore. My reactions are all wrong. Most of my experience with sitting on moving objects has to do with horses. They don't move like boats at all. To me it felt like the canoe kept dropping a shoulder and was probably going to spook or buck. I walked up to the Caratunk B&B. It's closer to the trail than the Sterling Inn, which pretty much made the decision for me. Im glad I came here, though. Paul and Boulder are friendly and welcoming. The building is a lovely old Victorian full of antiques. I was a little scared to touch anything when I came in all grubby. I almost wish it were cold enough for a fire so they'd light the charming wood stove in the sitting room. After showering, shopping in the little hiker resupply shop here, and eating a pulled pork sandwich, I got Boulder to drive me to Northern Outdoors. I got a giant chicken sandwich that sort of exploded while I ate it. I'm not even sure what all was on it, but definitely apple slices, avocado, and stone ground mustard. I got a beer sampler too, since they're a microbrewery. The IPA was the first one I've ever had that was even a little drinkable.  It tasted strongly of grapefruit, though, and I'm not a huge grapefruit fan. The other beers were all decent representations of their types. The building had a lot going on - swimming, hot tubs, pool, video games, loud music, and more. I found it overwhelming. I much prefer the quiet atmosphere back in Caratunk. The forecast for tomorrow is bad - thunderstorms, strong winds, hail, and up to half an inch of rain. I'll decide in the morning, but if there's room here I may take an unplanned zero.