Date: 2007-09-30
From: Safford Notch Campsite

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Passed the 2000 mile mark today, but I had no one to high five with...Milesremaining:165.2 [Editors note: the mileage listed above if off and I haven't figured out how to fix it yet.]Boy, am I into camp early! I got here about 3:30 and there's no sense in goingon because of the darn ferry schedule. Today is the last day there's anafternoon ferry, so I can't push on and get tomorrow's afternoon one. I'm about14 miles from the river and have to wait to get Tuesday morning's ferry. If Iwere a youg'un I could try to make tomorrow morning's ferry...and I didcontemplate doing another 5 tonight and then getting up at 4 am to do the other9 before noon...but I decided that was crazy! This way I'm in early today, haveonly 10 miles tomorrow, then have until 10 am to do the other 4 miles to catchTues. ferry. I'm beginning to feel a push on because Dana and Dennis are comingto summit with me (I think)and I have to try and put together a day to summit,but I don't want to stress myself not knowing what lies ahead. Weather can playin here too, either by laying me up for a day or so, or delaying my summitbecause Katahdin's closed for the day. "Hard tell! ing, not knowing."This morning was a bit emotional for me saying goodbye to "the boys". At leastI got a chance to give Thumper a hug and thank him for getting me toMaine...don't know if I could have gotten here without him! Being alone is avery different kind of hike. I have to push myself, make decisions all alone,figure things out with only my perspective, which is often in error. Will be aninteresting 2 weeks if I stay alone. Only time will tell.Forgot to write about my getting lost yesterday. This was very frustrating(because there was one white blaze but no others and no path) and a bit scary(because it was getting late and I tought I'd have to camp there.) I was hikingalong following mostly the worn path, but occasionally checking for blazes toconfirm I was on the trail. I got to an rocky outcroppoing and there was awhite blaze on a rock. There looked like a worn path straight ahead but when Ifollowed it, it took me to a rocky ledge with no visible trail off of it. Iwent in another direction and found a blue blaze (signifying a side trail) thatwent out on a ledge. Found another blue blaze in another direction from thewhite one, but again no trail continuing on. What gives??? Nobody else ishere, so they must have figured out where this trail went. Check again...yupthat's a WHITE blaze on that rock. What am I going to do? The next hikerthrough here may not be until tomorrow. I've spent 15-20! minutes here and can't find the trail...let me back up and see if there's anyclues before this last white blaze on the rock. Let's look for the white blazebefore it. So back I hiked, and hiked, and hiked...no blazes. Finally about .1mile back I see a white blaze and a sign pointing the way I was coming sayingthis was a view...the trail had turned off at this point and I missed it! Whew! Mystery solved, except for why there's that white blaze way out there...musthave been a trail reroute and they forgot to paint it grey.Well, I'm going to spend some of this leisure time I have tnis afternoonreading.Step lightly