Date: 2020-08-08
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Kennebec River
Miles today: 13.6

We tried but failed to make it to the Kennebec River by 2:00 when the ferry service stops running. We were actually on course to make the 13.6 miles in time, but for my extreme slowness. We were hiking by 6:30 and cruising right along averaging over 2 mph. Then we stopped for a snack at around 9:30. When I started hiking again I noticed a new pain in my left leg above the knee. It felt like a sore muscle. I popped an Aleve, but the discomfort persisted, particularly on the downhills. By 11:00 it was slowing me way down. We stopped for lunch by Pierce Pond Lean-to after which I told Gayle she shouldn¢t wait for me. The wonderful superhighways we¢d had in the morning gave way to rocky downhills and mud. By afternoon I was moving very slowly and on  downhills barely moving at all. I took another Aleve but it didn¢t help. Now with no hope of making the last ferry, and having told Gayle to get to the river without me, I sat on a rock at around 3:00 and checked Guthook, my GPS trail navigator, and saw I still had 1.3 to go. I was in such pain that I began thinking about quitting Maine. The trail was following Pierce Pond Stream downstream on its way to the Kennebec so I knew it would be downhill all the way. Then I took a wrong turn and inched my way down along a huge boulder and found myself down by the stream with no trail in sight. I said some bad words and hauled myself back up and, cursing my pain and stupidity, I pushed on as fast as I could and the trail gods must have heard me because there was close to a mile of level trail. By the time I showed up at the River, Gayle had been there for an hour and a half. I¢ve never seen Gayle so frustrated. Not because of me, though I¢m sure my late arrival didn¢t help, but because the AT Guide said we¢d just need to give a shout and a woman named Cheryl Anderson would come and ferry us across the river for $40. She¢d been yelling, but nobody came. And there was no cell service. Makes me wonder why her number was listed in the guide. I bellowed at the top of my lungs to no avail. There was nothing to do but set up a makeshift camp and wait till 9:00 in the morning when the ferry service resumed. About an hour and a half  later we had both hung our hammocks and had prepared our dinners. I had just started eating my Stroganoff when we saw a little boat come by. He slowly worked his way toward us and killed his engine so we could hear each other. I knew it would take me an hour or so to put away food prep and break camp so I waved him off and said we¢d get the ferry at 9:00 the next morning. If only he had come earlier. It¢s frustrating not having cell service for two full days. We can¢t call our loved ones or make reservations in Caratunk, just 0.4 away on the other side of the river. We had been looking forward to a zero there and so was my leg. But it will be just fine to take a nero (a very short day) instead. I hope The Sterling Inn has rooms for us. On the bright side, the privy this morning at West Carry Pond Lean-to was maybe the nicest I¢ve seen on all my hikes. Built in 2017, is was spacious and clean, ADA compliant and fit for Her Majesty The Queen of England¢s royal bum.