Date: 2003-08-26
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: Horns Pond Lean-tos
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It didn't rain last night, and I was happy about that. I left my tent fly open to get some fresh air, and it felt great. Hotdog and I were the last to leave, as Tom and Thirsty Boots were anxious for a town stay and Old Corpus was up and going early too. We weren't exactly late-risers, getting on the trail just after 7am. We've been gettng up early lately and on the trail around 7am. I like it.We climbed to the top of Crocker Mountain, first the South Peak, then the North. At the north peak, we caught up to Thirsty Boots and Tom, and joined them in a break. It was mostly downhill to Maine 27 and a short hitch into Stratton. It was cloudy this morning, hiding most of the views, but it made for cooler hiking. On top of North Crocker, I got a bit chilly while we were taking our break, but warmed up once moving again.Hotdog and I didn't take another break until we reached the road. I didn't really mean for that to happen, as I was planning on stopping for water about 2 miles before the road when we crossed a stream. The stream must've been dry, because I never saw it.At the road, we started hitching, and while it only took about 8 cars passing to get a ride, it took about 15 minutes, as the road wasn't heavily travelled, not including logging and dump trucks. A nice lady gave us a ride, and as usual, she and her family are hikers and know about the AT. She dropped us off at the grocery store, which is conveniently located next to a diner. Perfect!While chowing down my cheeseburger, curly fries, and cheese sticks, I saw Thirsty Boots and Tom walking outside, and went out to talk to them. They got hotel rooms and took showers, then, after we finished our grocery shopping, we joined them for dessert as they ate lunch. I didn't want to leave them and head back to the trail, but I'm hoping we will catch up to them after the wedding and summit Katahdin on the same day. I'll miss hiking with them; it's been a lot of fun. Someone today, as we were talking about how beautiful the AT is in Maine, jokingly suggested that we come back and hike Maine together sometime. It then sounded like a good idea. I'd love to get together with a lot of people I've met along the trail. It's just been a great experience, and we shared that experience.Hotdog and I got back to the trail around 2pm, and were planning on going to a shelter about 5 miles north. We had plenty of time, and took our time, taking long breaks. One break in climbing up this Bigelow Range was just beautiful. There were huge, HUGE, moss-covered boulders amongst the trees. It was awesome. I thought it would make a great place to play Hide & Seek. I sat on a moss-covered rock and it was so comfortable! Nice and cushy. I wished I had a bed that soft! We left that wonderful place and headed on up, meeting Nature Boy (flip-flopper) and Relentless (3-week section hiker), who gave us some pointers on Caratunk and Monson. We talked trail for a while before heading our separate ways.Just before we got to this shelter, we came to a viewpoint. There was a ledge that overlooked Horns Pond, and across that, to the Horns peaks. I could also see Sugarloaf and it's ski trails. We sat up there for quite a while, and would've stayed longer, but I started getting cold. It was about 60*, but mostly sunny, except for this ledge which was shady. It's so nice to just sit at a place like that and just... look. So peaceful. And so beautiful.There are two shelters here, because it's a highly used area. There is also a caretaker here, but no fees are charged. We are sharing a shelter with Bog Momma and Evil, who are from Ottawa and were out for a 4 or 5 day trip which ends tomorrow. Old Corpus and two guys out for 3 days are in the other shelter. There is a group at the tentsites as well.It just sprinkled for about 30 seconds a few minutes ago. I hope that doesn't mean tomorrow will be cloudy, as I'd like to get some great views from the Bigelows tomorrow. The weather has been quite cooperative here in Maine. We've had some showers, but not the day after day rain that we've seen this summer. Maine has been rough, but awesome! The mountains are tall, and tough to climb, but once at the tops... wow! I noticed today, looking northward, that I didn't see mountain after mountain like I used to. Instead, there are still a lot of mountains, but there are also breaks between them. I'm excited to be hiking past all of the lakes and ponds north of here. Although, if the weather stays cool, I won't be doing much swimming. I'm hoping for warm enough days to swim and cool enough nights for good sleeping. But, as always, I'll accept whatever I get. I can't be too picky. The miles to go are becoming less and less. That makes every mile more valuable to me, an!d reminds me to enjoy each moment. I wish I didn't need the realization that this adventure will end soon to make me do that, but I do. I will try to keep that lesson, even after this trip. I've learned a lot on this trip, and still have more to learn in the weeks ahead. Moslty, I just want to mindlessly enjoy it.