Date: 2005-09-13
From: Hurd Brook Shelter

To: Birches Campsite
Miles today: 13.5

Day 1839/13s: Hurd Brook Shelterf: Birches Campsitem: 13.5w: am clouds, pm sunYardsale and I left the shelter after all of the other nobos but still at somewhat early. We hiked slowly over the next few miles so as to take in all that the ¢wilderness¢ had to offer in its last few miles. But as they always seem to do, the miles went by pretty fast and we were hearing cars from the upcoming road before we expected. The positive side of reaching the road came in the form of a cooler filled with trail magic and left by Don Quixote. I especially appreciated the snack since I had only eaten a light breakfast to polish off my food supply. But I was able to refrain from exceeding my ¢fair share¢ of trail magic with the hopes of good food at the Abol Bridge store.Had I know the quality of the food at this small convenience store I would have probably eaten a few more oatmeal cream pies from the cooler. The menu on the wall looked pretty appetizing and included burgers, pizza and barbeque sandwiches.   But when Yardsale asked ¢Ma¢am, what time does the grill open?¢ our hopes were deflated with ¢Oh, its open right now; all the food is microwavable.¢ I had a double cheeseburger that was quite small, fairly expensive and filled with a light yellowish tan meat that did not resemble beef at all. Oh well, I¢ll start trying to avoid conglomerate meats along with other possibly poisonous foods in a couple of days.The terrain after Abol Bridge was very easy and it remained that way for the rest of the day. All the roots and rocks disappeared from the trail after we left the ¢wilderness¢ and the grade remained completely flat. Nevertheless, Yardsale and I took our time with the walk, fully aware that this was our second to last day on the trail. We checked out several possible swimming holes along Katahdin Stream and finally settled on a large pool that was about seven feet deep with very little current. The water was cold and invigorating and I cherished the opportunity to swim one more time in the mountains¢ living waters. Hiking certainly has the ability to make you feel connected to your surroundings, but swimming in the ponds and rivers that reside in and cut through the landscape always intertwines me with my surroundings and increases my appreciation. I feel more like I am a participant in God¢s living creation rather than just a detached observer passing through unnoticed and unaffected.We made one more stop by Big Niagara Falls for a snack and then hiked on to the Birches. Just before we got to the campsite, we met Cheshire Cat who told us several times about how he was finishing up his third end-to-end hike. He wasn¢t very modest concerning his hiking experience and neither Yardsale nor I could squeeze in enough words between his talking to tell him that he was bypassing the last available water source. So for his own benefit I finally interrupted him as he walked away still talking and informed him of his folly.The whole crew from the last couple of days was at the Birches ¢ Dead Animal, Draggin¢, Jewels, Dandylion, Livestrong, and three other guys from Indiana. The others already had a fire going when we arrived but I went to collect some more wood. Everyone hung out by the fire for a while, but then it was just Yardsale and I and then it was just me. I stayed out there pretty late and we planned on waking up early to climb Katahdin in the morning.