Date: 2004-08-19
From: Shaw's Lodging, Monson, ME

To: Cloud Pond Shelter
Miles today: 19.1

Ah breakfast at Shaw's. Keith Shaw Sr. fixed breakfast for the 4 of us at 7am. He was a big guy and I don't mean tall. He was also quite a character. We all sat down at the table in the kitchen and he asked us which we wanted, a one, two, three or four. We responded with bewildered grins and asked what he meant. He said something about the number of eggs and asked who would be first. It might have been me but who ever it was they asked for a number 4. Keith cautioned us, in his jovial manner, that we had to eat it all if we got a number 4. If any one didn't finish a number 4 he would be doing the dishes. 4 eggs didn't seem like much of a problem, so that's what I ordered. Then he served up the plate of not just 4 eggs but also 4 sausages, 4 pieces of toast and 4 pancakes. Oh no. Being a vegetarian the other guys took my sausages. Keith took each of our orders and cooked each of our meals separately with lightning speed. Some how we were all eating at the same time. After serving all of us he dropped another set of pancakes on my plate to make up for the sausages. What a swell guy. It was pretty funny but it all went down with perhaps a little trouble. It was an excellent meal, too. Eating all this breakfast scared me a bit but it would be a little while before actually setting foot on the trail.Keith had offered a ride to the trail after breakfast. Trip, the guy at the end of the table, and I took him up on the offer. He also opened his little camp store for us all for a bit. That was good because my fuel bottle was getting low. Not much later we piled into his big old full size American car.It wasn't a long ride but it was sure great to have the chance to talk with and listen to this icon of 27 years of trail lore. Moreover the stories of his life were just amazing. He told us how the doctors were saying that his health was failing but he didn't pay them much mind. It seems he had been declared dead three times already and he was still here. My recollection is that the first time he was a teenager playing sports. He was declared dead until he got up. The stories were great. He dropped us at the trail under slightly less than perfect weather conditions at 8:20am, made a plug for his business and services and wished us well. Sadly, sometime in the next year there was a article in the Appalachian Trailway News that Keith Shaw Sr. had died. I felt honored to have met and spend a little time with the man who had dedicated so much of his life to thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail.There was a sign on the post where the trail reentered the forest from the road. It read:    CAUTIONThere are no places to obtain supplies or help until you reach Abol Bridge ¢ 90 miles north. You should not attempt this sectionunless you carry a minimum of ten days' supplies. Do not underestimate the difficulty of this section.Good Hiking!   M.A.T.C.Wow, Ya gotta love a sign like that. It made me think of the: ¢STOP ¢ Turn back now!¢ signs in the Whites. The AT sign above was much newer and listed a bunch of distances. It said Abol Bridge was 97.5 miles and Katahdin was 112 miles. The 2004 Handbook says 114.5. That was impressive. It was hard to imagine that anything could actually get in my way now. Of course the caution sign suggested 10 days. Could it really be that hard. Naw. My plan was to do this stretch in 5 nights without really pushing it. Pushing it might get me to Katahdin early but that would certainly dash all hopes of meeting friends there. Besides, what's the hurry now. These last few days were to be savored. Hopefully, the weather will be getting better. This was one of those days when it was unclear as to whether to wear the rain jacket.Trip and I hiked together all day. The last time that had happened was way back in Bear Mountain State Park, New York with Buick. That was back in the beginning of July. Wow. It was good to have someone to talk with for the day. We talked about the trail and lots of stuff. He was in his 20s and got his name as the result of a trip on a root or something way back near the beginning of the hike. Hike it again?One of our discussions related to folks who hike the trail more than once. At the beginning of the trail, in my book, they were just nuts. The idea of hiking the trail from end to end had great appeal. The idea of doing it again had seemed ridiculous to me. That's not to mention those who get finished with a thru-hike and simply turn around and go back. This had all seemed quite warped to me. Now there was a new understanding.At this point, I was anxious to get to the end of the trail but not so much for the end of the adventure. The Appalachian Trail was a life style, a way of life unto itself. It needed no justification. It simply was. And was it simple indeed. The only concern of a thru-hiker was to find the next blaze. There was never any question what was to be done tomorrow. You simply get up, eat, pack, walk, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, make camp, sleep. Then do it again the next day. It was pure beauty in simplicity.Sure there was the stress of being sure to have enough food to get to the next town and keeping your stuff dry in the rain but you learn those skills. The seeming monotony of the trail actually frees the mind and soul to posit and ponder so many other subjects. In reality there is no monotony because every step is new and different and the sites and scenery constantly change, not to mention the people.The allure of the trail was obvious to me now. Just crossing a road was awkward for me. To be in town for more that a short stretch of hours made me antsy. Life on the trail was much happier. The people there were great too. There was a true society of people, linear as it may be, concerned for one and other. Sure, to get to the end, turn around and just keep hiking made perfect sense to me now. There was security in this passion and we were good at what we did out here. The reward was reaching a destination each night in great health and shape.There was now no question in my mind that I would hike the AT again. There was no better way I could think of doing it either. There had been those that thought my mode was too fast. They thought more time in towns would be better. Less time walking each day would be better. Take in the sights and the culture more. Well, that's all fine for them but this has been perfect for me. There are no regrets and the next time it'll have to be with the same objectives for sure. Oh, it'll be different but just due to the randomness of all things. I can't wait. But first there is other stuff on my plate.This was a low photo count day mostly due to the weather and the distraction of having someone to talk with. Trip set a good pace too and who wanted to mess with that. We covered 3 miles in the first hour alone. It was a good hiking day despite the rain showers and the several streams to ford. There were also abundant water falls and ponds to see. The trail was moderate with no serious gain in elevation till near the end of the day. We made good time.The last 4 miles of the day included a 1,000' climb in 1.1 miles followed by a not to shabby 700' climb to the top of Barren Mountain. This was not a day for views however. A mile later a trail led right 0.3 miles to Cloud Pond Lean-to. It felt longer to me than that. The side trail was full of roots and boulders and mud. It was a bit overgrown so the water laden spruce enjoyed dumping their loads of collected rain water on passing hikers. To top it off it was beginning to rain in earnest. Rain now was better than it would have been earlier.Coming around a bend some tents came into view. Did that mean the shelter was full. Hope not. Pitching a tent in the rain on soggy ground was no fun. Actually it was Nobody and Alright tenting here. That was cool. There were some others, too. Finally there was the shelter. It was a 6 person log shelter with a porcupine pit. There were already 5 in the shelter but they made room for 2 more and that was great. We filled it up but it was late, as usual, and unlikely anyone else would show.The pond and shelter earned their names today, Cloud Pond. The air was dense around here. The shelter was full of hanging packs and clothes as expected on a soggy day like this. We got to meet everyone camping nearby since the privy was just up from the shelter on a steep narrow bouldery trail that left from the very edge of the shelter. Everyone had to walk right in front of the shelter. It was funny because with all the wet it was actually kind of tricky navigating the trail down from the privy.It was nice to meet everyone except when one of the dreadlocks boys, either Nobody or Alright, came by with a lit cigarette. The smoke blew right into the shelter and just hung there. The damage was done and he was gone but grrr. These guys were nice enough, maybe we'd talk about it later, not now. One thing was for sure, since leaving Pennsylvania there were considerably fewer smokers on the trail.It was a good night in a cozy shelter with a flat (no baseball bats) floor. The first day in the Hundred Mile Wilderness came up to 19.1 miles. That was on a very full stomach. This was going to work.