Date: 2010-09-02
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Caratunk (Northern Outdoors
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

02 September Thursday ¢ 14.0 miles to Caratunk (Northern Outdoors)There were so many rodents running a muck last night! They were everywhere around my head but none of them disturbed me. When I stopped worrying about the scurrying critters I fell deeply asleep. Pony and I placed our food bags into a plastic 5 gallon bucket that was already at the shelter when we arrived. The hard plastic bucket stood up to the investigations of numerous four legged creatures throughout the night. I could hear them crawling all over my suspended back pack.The howling loons were spooky last night. The ghostly call of the loon is creepy in the pitch black darkness. I found myself not caring about the pointy teeth of the mice and chipmunks. Screw it, if they chew a new hole in my backpack. I¢m practically at the finish line because journey is almost over! So what? I think to myself.Last night I had an awful nightmare. I dreamed that I went to get a haircut. While I was getting my hair trimmed, the barber accidentally shaved off my beard. It was very upsetting. The dream was so real I had to check to be sure my beard was still there. I rustled my face on the make shift pillow to see if the uncomfortable hairs were still on my chin.Pony woke at the crack of dawn. I could hear him removing our food bags from the 5 gallon bucket. The white plastic bucket is there for providing trail magic. Someone that lives in the area leaves cookies and treats inside the bucket. The bucket of trail magic was empty when we arrived last night. Nothing but aluminum wrappers and crumbs were left. I mentioned the emptiness of the trail magic bucket to the couple on the boat last night. I thought they were responsible for refilling the bucket but they told us someone else provides the cookies. I was hoping they were going to refill the container.I ate the rest of my New England style doughnuts before leaving the shelter. Seeker was the first to leave this morning. Seeker walks so slowly that she has to start early. Conan and Backward are still asleep. Pony is dreadfully placing everything back in his backpack.The moose are still bugling all around the pond. They sound like a kid learning to play a horned musical instrument. I¢m tripping all over my feet and the roots because I¢m not watching where I walk. The moose sound so close. They have to be on the shore lines just out of focus. The moose and loons were in rare form last night. It sounded like a zoo. This place was rocking last night to the sounds of wilderness at its wildest. I give up looking for the beckoning moose after passing an awesome island campsite. The campsite is a small wooded island with a tent spot. It¢s accessible via a beaver dam bridge.Today I¢m trying to see how fast I can walk 14 miles. I feel lazy and a shadow of my former self. I¢m curious to see if I could still manage a 28 mile day. My feet are moving as fast as possible to get to Caratunk. There¢s not much to see here today besides ponds. My entertainment was walking across log planks over swampy black water and tall wavy grass. If Maine weren¢t so cold, alligators would love it here. The area reminded me of PA when I exited the wetlands. Up, down, and twisty trails today. Knee high rocks and roots grab my ankle and pinch my heel when they slide into the cracks. I can see through the clear surface of East Carry Pond. The shallow floor of the pond is covered in sticks and debris. Pierce pond was beautiful but I practically only saw it in my rear view mirrors as I passed by. I¢d love to stay at the Pierce pond shelter but town food beckons me onward. I would find out later that Christian, one of Lish¢s coworkers, had left a postcard for me at the Pierce pond lean-to. Backward picked up the postcard and brought it to me in Caratunk. There were a lot of thru-hikers who believed Pierce pond lean-to had the best view of all the shelters in Maine.I didn¢t stop at the lean-to, but I paused while scrambling over the dam on the way out of Pierce. I had to stop and enjoy the splendid view from the bridge. I became dizzy from standing just above the rushing water beneath my feet. Looking down and seeing the motion of the white water gave me vertigo and I had to get off the dam before I fell into the pond.I¢m missing the ¢Lumberjack¢ special at Harrisons Camp. The meal is $10.00 and includes 2 of everything you can think of. I¢m still convinced that I can catch the ferry by 11am. The Kennebec River ferry runs from 9-11am and 1-4pm. My intention is to finish hiking before the heat sets in.The trail turns into a nasty entity after Pierce Pond stream. The place reminds me of Pond Flatts with this August heat burning down my neck. I thought about my August 9th shakedown trip anniversary. My am I a different person since my test run on the AT. I¢m a horse of a different color now. It feels like eons ago since the heat and sun baked down on us back at Hwy 19.The trail profile makes it look easy here but it¢s as hard as ever. The elevation doesn¢t change but it¢s 50% up and down. I¢m getting tired and frustrated when the trail twists back on itself and my progress is taken away. I wish I couldn¢t tell when we double-back. If only I had no navigational skills and had no clue, then ignorance would be bliss. I walked around a few of the pointless rock climbs. The MATC has a sense of humor and this is their punch line. Sadistic bastards!I skipped the waterfalls and felt guilty about it. I¢m tired and still delusional about making the ferry before the two hour lunch break. I catch a section hiker that we named, Mr. Meeagie. (Daniels mentor in Karate Kid) His real trail name is, Out There. It fits him. The name Mr. Meeagie would refer to the way that he looks. Although he¢s not Asian, Backward thought he resembled that famous character. An appropriate trail name for sure. He¢s a nice guy who talks a little too much for any of us. It¢s hard to get a straight answer out of him during a conversation. He quit his last Thru-hike attempt in the Whites. He claims he had double vision and second stage Lymes-disease. I made the mistake of asking him if he thought the PCT was harder than the AT. After a very long description I still had no idea what his opinion was. I would assume that the AT is harder for him. He quit the AT but finished the PCT. Mr. Meeagie tells me that it¢s after 11am and we¢ve missed the first ferry. Out There and I have to wait by the Kennebec until 2pm.I lay on the shore of the river in the cool shade provided by an oak tree. My mind dreams of coffee and dining room tables. I can¢t wait to see forks and spoons and ice water. The tree above where I¢m resting is dropping so many acorns it sounds like popcorn. After rinsing off in the shallow river I came back and slept on my foam pad. I¢m not sure how long I slept, but it was a quality nap. Mr. Meeagie and I didn¢t talk the whole time we were waiting by the river. It was weird and I was thankful when I saw the ferry operator putting the boat in at the other side of the shore.The ferry is a red three person canoe. You wouldn¢t think you needed a ferry across this river but the Kennebec is wide here. It¢s shallow when they¢re not releasing water said the ferry driver. He¢s dressed from head to toe in green fleece. He¢s wearing long pants even in this hot weather. He looks like a hillbilly with his gnarly floppy hat. His teeth are crooked but he¢s very friendly. He works 4 hours a day transferring hikers from the trail to the highway.¢I¢ve got enough pop-tarts and Lipton sides to get you to Caratunk¢ says the ferrymanIf you meet him at his truck between 11am and 2pm, the ferry operator sells food products. There¢s a general store 7 miles away. The Northern Outdoors Center is 5 miles away. The ferry driver tells informs me that hurricane Earl is approaching the coast of Maine. The storm should arrive within two days. The hikers who came across the Kennebec this morning were trying to make it to Monson before the hurricane. Mr. Meeagie and the ferry guy started talking about politics, wind generated power and mountain top removal and I evacuated the area.I¢m tempted to camp by the road after resupplying near Caratunk. There¢s a chance that I could get over Moxie Bald before the storm hit. There¢s also a chance that I¢d be on the exposed ridge line right in the middle of the hurricane. I could also be stuck at the foot of Moxie bald waiting for the weather to clear up for days. Earl the hurricane is messing up my plans but it would turn out for the best.My god it¢s hot! Jesus Christ the asphalt smelled like it was on fire while I tried hitching to town. The sun is blistering hot and it feels like I¢m in the tropics. I really dislike hitchhiking in the hot sun. You can¢t stand in the shade or else no one will see you. I wasn¢t standing there long before someone picked me up. However, I stood there long enough to see at least 8 logging trucks roll by with my trees.The lady that gives me a ride comes from the parking lot of the Forest Service. I knew she was my ticket when I saw her eyeballing me. She works for the Northern Outdoor Center so I guess that¢s why she¢s giving me a ride there. She has an enormous black wolf dog in the back seat of her small SUV.¢I don¢t think he¢ll attack you¢ said the lady while drivingThat¢s nice because the giant beast has its wet nose inside my ear lobe. I can hear the wind turbines inside it¢s nostrils as it breathes down my neck. The dog was so close I could feel its whiskers on my face. I buckle my seat belt, face my fear and turn around for a better look. It looked like the Big Bad Wolf. I thought it looked evil but I presented my hand for examination anyways. The dog didn¢t tear off my fingers or tear my hands off at the wrist. We were at the NO and I had to say goodbye to the pitch black mildly demonic appearing German Shepard mix.Sticks is already at the bar when I arrive at the Northern Outdoor Center. He¢s been here for a day already. I went from exhausted and overheated to refreshed and happy after drinking a Coors light from a mason jar. $3.45 for Coors light piss water in a glass container is expensive! It¢s cold and it has alcohol, so I¢m happy.Seeker arrives at the NO after me. She¢s opening her mail drop that she received from her friends back at home. Seeker offers to buy me a beer. I feel obligated to hang out with her after she bought me that drink. Things got awkward because Seeker became emotional when she opened the contents of her mail. Her friends back home sent items that made her feel all gooey inside and she started to cry. Seeker receives $10 in every mail drop from a group of ladies that she trains for triathlons. She told us she is a personal trainer back at Cranberry campsite. Pony heard Seeker say, ¢Most of the ladies will never compete in an actual triathlon¢. Pony, being the honest man he is, spoke up in reference to Seekers job description.¢So you train fat girls?¢ questioned Pony Seeker starts crying when she sees the engraved necklace that they included in her package. The jewelry has her trail name stenciled into it. She¢s bawling and wiping snot out of her nose so I have to leave the scene. I left despite the ¢thanks for the beer¢ etiquette.I checked the computer provided by the NO for hiker and guest usage. Averi has already started her first day of kindergarten! The pictures of her first day are up on facebook. She looks all grown up and mature. I don¢t remember looking or feeling that good about my first day of school. She seemed to be handling it very well. Now I¢m feeling all gooey inside also and I need some fresh air.Backward and Conan are getting a room tonight. The bunks are very expensive. The private room is even worse. I ate a giant pile of chili nachos while talking to them about the ferry operator character that took us all across the Kennebec today. Rock¢n¢Roll would later describe what his first impression of the ferryman. Seeing the man clad in all green and a funny shaped hat made him look like ¢Robin Hood¢. I hadn¢t even realized the resemblance but now its funny.General Sherman is an older SOBO hiker from Georgia. He has a bunk room and offers to let me stay if we split the room upstairs with him. Seeker is in on the deal already. I turned it down at first. My intentions were to return to the trail, but for $15 I¢d be nuts to sleep in the woods. There¢s a hurricane on the way so I¢ll probably be wet tomorrow if I leave. I¢d like to talk to Lish and my Dad on the pay phones down stairs. I¢m staying!I ate 34 of the nachos and Seeker ate the rest. For a tiny little lady, Seeker sure is a bottomless pit for food and free things. We all unpack, do our laundry and play UNO until it gets dark. Seeker orders another giant plate of food. Conan and I go swimming in the pool. There¢s a hot tub nearby. We play volley ball with the brightly circus colored beach ball. Two local Maine residents hang out with us for a while and play in the pool.I¢m the last one to bed after talking with Lish and Dad. Lish is making reservations at Baxter State park for the 16th! I¢m obligated now! So close to the end and all I want to do is keep walking all the way to Canada.Dad has a new job that¢s 50 miles away in Wilson, NC. He drives 2 hours a day through heavy traffic on the interstates. He hates it. He asks me if he should take another job that he¢s been offered. The new job is 30 miles away. That¢s a 25 minute drive which is a significant difference in the boredom of commuting to work everyday. The new job pays half of what he¢s making now. He hates his job. When he asked what I thought he should do about the new job offer, I replied ¢Take the new job¢ Dad didn¢t agree with my opinion. Half the pay would be worth not driving as much, to me at least.