Date: 2003-09-03
From: Stratton, ME

To: Bigelow Lean-To
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

For our town breakfast, we tried the hearty portions of the Mainely Yours restaurant, complete with a glass display case full of Elvis memorabilia. I'm going to miss these big breakfasts.Last night I found out my thru-hiker friend Trooper ('97) was coming to summit with me. This was great news, as he'd been an early mentor - in fact, the first thru-hiker I'd met after my gear guru Wendy. I'll climb Katahdin September 19 or 20, weather permitting. Trooper finished his thruhike on a cloudy day with no views, so I am hoping for the both of us that it is clear as gin.Chief and I are out early this morning, about 7 am, but no one slows their headlong rush to work to pick us up. We hang our thumbs out in the chill morn for about 45 minutes. Very little traffic on this road. It's so cold this morning my knuckles hurt. I want my gloves, but of course they are deep-sixed in the pack. Murphy's Law of Backpacking: The thing you want the most is always on the bottom.We can see the Bigelows looming over the town to the east. A cloud has caught itself at the very top of the first peak, and the sun rising behind the mountain is setting this cloud afire, glowing. All we can see are dark mountain and incandescent cloud.Eventually, local traveler Kevin takes pity on us and slows his truck. He always picks up hikers, he says. We are grateful for that. We are hiking down the AT by 8 am.The first mile or two are easy, then the climbing begins. Heavy packs, of course. We climb most of the day, with downs only to retrace our elevation. The peaks are spectacular! No one told me we were going above treeline again, but here we are, on stony peaks, with tiny calf-high trees at best.From the top of the peak before Horn's Pond, we heard the mournful howls of a dog. Clearly, it was the sound of a dog who had lost its owner. I feared that dayhikers had lost a pet out in the woods; perhaps the leash had hung up in brush. I marked the spot mentally as I descended. I didn't much want to deal with a dog on the schedule I was trying to keep, but I wasn't going to leave a creature in trouble either.The register at Horn's Pond Lean-To contains a funny entry from Butter and Basket - true connoisseurs and fellow Badger cheeseheads: "Butter and Basket are NOT fans of Kraft Singles or ANY other mock dairy product... we are post-margarine, just like our forefathers before us. To consume anything trying to imitate DAIRY products is a crime against nature. Liberate Wisconsin, Butter and Basket (Team Esterhew)."We continued on. The dog howls had stopped, and a few hundred feet up the Trail I saw why. A fat, furry brown puppy bounced up to me and covered me in puppy kisses. Thankfully, his owner was right behind.She was the site caretaker, and had been out on a maintenance run to Avery Peak col, too rough a hike for such a little guy with such short, tender limbs. So she had tied him to her tent, and he was howling out his abandonment and sorrow. Little Cyrus was about 10 weeks old, and part Border Collie. A charmer, that one.Luckily, the caretaker warned us that Avery col was dry, and to tank up nearby. The last water for miles was about .3 miles up the Trail by a small bog bridge. "People walk right by it," she said. We found a charming enclosed spring, a wooden box with a wooden top and handle. Cold water. Up, up, up we continued. The West Peak of the Bigelows was dramatic, stony and windswept. The approach was on pure rock, and steeply up to a bony knob. Trail shoes: $89.95. Ibuprofen: $1.79. The views - priceless!I believed that I could see Katahdin from here, for the day was clear and the vistas long. But without a compass or someone to point knowingly, all I could do was sweep the far horizon in a likely spot for a tall peak, standing alone. I perhaps saw one, if I used my imagination.The wind whipped us about as we shot about a billion pictures. The clouds were spectacular, big skies. We looked east toward an enormous, long lake below. We saw this lake, Flagstaff, for most of the day. It's dotted with piney islands. Uniquely, there was no development at all apparent on this large, gorgeous water. Situated in the Bigelow Preserve, it's likely protected as 36,000 acres are public land. A rare thing of beauty, it was. The drought Maine is still experiencing was evident in the low shorelines.About 6:30 pm, our weary selves happily tumbled into the completely empty Bigelow Lean-To. Upon this spot we can honestly say we have walked 2,000.1 miles!TWO THOUSAND MILES!!! Yes!I remember back to Harper's Ferry, when 1,000 miles seemed so HUGE. And...it was! It's just that 2,000 miles is twice as huge. Only 172.5 miles left! The last five of that is The climb up Katahdin.Speaking of 2,000 miles, I want to say a word or two about the effects of long-distance hiking on the body. My feet have been good sports, but they are ready to cease hiking for awhile. I'm trim and healthy, and eat like a racehorse. My body fat ratio probably hasn't been this low since my teens. I have strong lungs, heart, legs and bones. I know I reported that, after 700 miles walked, it was still possible to have cellulite. Now I have to mention - and Debby G., I know you've been waiting for this - but it is entirely possible to walk 2,000 HARD, BACKPACKING miles and STILL have cellulite! So, let's give it up, ladies! Accept it, love it, wear our cellulite with pride. Like a diamond, it's forever. If only Lady Di had known this little-publicized secret, she'd have been much happier.We're foot-weary and tired tonight. I've been told that once you're through the Bigelows, southern Maine eases up a bit. We're nearly through.For supper, I cook up a concoction I haven't named yet. Four-cheese mashed potatoes for carbs, pepperoni for fat and maybe a dab of protein. Potato Pizza Mush? Against expectation, it is delicious. Molasses cookies for dessert. Then, off to bed. Rain has been promised for tonight, and showers continuing through tomorrow morning. Hypothermia will be a concern, in these fall temps. We have been lucky with the rain, since Franconia Ridge, really. We've escaped the worst downpours, and the rest of the time has been dry for the spectacular walks and views of mountains of NH and Maine. The AT truly has saved the best for last.