Date: 2006-09-06
From: The Birches

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 0.0

It rained!      I awoke about midnight to the sound of unforecasted rain. It got steadily heavier and was a regular downpour by 1:00AM. This was not what I had expected. By 4:30AM it was still raining and I decided to await the 7:00AM forecast at the Ranger Station before making any ¢Go - No Go¢ decision.   By 7:00AM we were all ¢ Rocky, Swampfox, Ol¢ Man and NaviGator, Professor and myself, along with Sir Lancelot and Freed Bird, assembled in the enclosed porch of the Ranger Station. Forecast for today was, ¢Mostly Cloudy with 50% chance of Rain¢ For tomorrow ¢ ¢Partially Cloudy¢ no comment about rain. Freed Bird and Sir Lancelot were committed to go, even in a wet and overcast morning, and were off and on their way.   The rest of us hung around, discussing our options, and indeed by 8:00AM it had stopped raining and by 8:30 AM a little blue sky was showing. Rocky and Swampfox decided to go for it.      Professor and I, and Ol¢ Man and NaviGator decided to stay. For me it was a combination of the better forecast for tomorrow and the fact that it would have been a very late start. Paul the Ranger, told me that Lean-To #5 ¢ which I had reserved for just this eventuality ¢ was already empty, and that I could move in, which is what I did by 9:00AM   NaviGator and Ol¢ Man are staying in #7 so we all had coffee together. They decided that they and Professor would go in to Millinocket and then come back in the early morning tomorrow to climb. Professor has his vehicle there so we would have two vehicles here tomorrow night. After removing the cooler and water carrier from the Tracker, there was just enough room to squeeze The Professor into the vehicle, and off to Millinocket they all went.    I spent some time chatting with Paul Corrigan again. It turns out that he is a poet and has written a book of poetry ¢Tails of a River Runner¢ ¢ so we had a long chat about poetry, life, and aging mothers.      I also spoke with Blackfoot, who summited yesterday, and has yogied a ride back to Portland with a group of hikers who are leaving tomorrow. He has a big interest in Native American religion ¢ although his trail name is due to the fact that his feet got physically dirty ¢ and we talked about Celtic and Amerindian beliefs.   The day had steadily improved. The rain stopped completely and the sun began to shine by early afternoon. I was seriously second thinking myself on my decision not to climb today ¢ the Mountain was covered with clouds, but it was indeed a very doable day. As I wondered why it was that I had not gone on the Mountain today, a voice calling ¢Slow Walker¢ made it clear. It was Pipesmoke!   Pipesmoke and I had met on the trail in ¢04 and have been in touch with each other ever since. I did not know it, but he has been right behind me all of this time, trying to catch up to me before I finished. He was convinced that I would have climbed today, so he was more than surprised to be told by Paul that I was still here at #5. I was just overjoyed to see him ¢ and all was explained ¢ this was the reason that I had not gone on the Mountain today ¢ Pipesmoke and I were going to climb tomorrow, on a better day and in harmony with a completed circle of friendship!   Pipesmoke is hiking with two other hikers ¢ The Roman Noodles, They are Family Practice/E.R. Doctors from Rome, Georgia. We, all four of us, sat outside the shelter and talked for a couple of hours. The Roman Noodles do a lot of missionary work in Africa and Peru and spent a lot of time trying to convince me that I should come out of retirement and help.      It was just great to see Pipesmoke again ¢ the whole delay of today was explained in a way that made perfect sense and I feel a great deal of harmony about tomorrow.   Freed Bird is just back from the summit ¢ it took him 8 hours ¢ so I am looking at 10-12 hours. I have decided not to use the day packs that are available at the Ranger Station - they just didn¢t feel right on my back ¢ and rather empty my own pack of all of the nonessential items and hike with my own pack on my back tomorrow.   If Rocky and Swampfox don¢t get off the mountain until late, the plan is for them to stay with me here.   Again we await tomorrow1Thought for Today ¢    The Circle is Joined!