Date: 2011-09-16
From: AT Lodge

To: Day 127
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up at 5:30 AM this morning. I had one last safety meeting with Zen and Mt. Dew and said my goodbyes; having completed their thru-hike, they didn't feel like sticking around for the festival and just wanted to go home. I then drank coffee, ate hiker-box oatmeal, and mentally prepared myself to go work my ass off all day. The van came to pick us all up by 7:00 and we were at the trail head at Gulf Hagas by 7:30. The crew consisted of me, Turn Around, Muffin Man, Stretch, Hand Stand, the kid from the High 5, two older NoBo's, two guys from the M.A.T.C, and the two guys who run the hostel. We all grabbed hard hats, safety glasses, bagged lunches, shovels, and pick axes and headed out into the wet and chilly morning.    We immediately did that long slippery ford through the Pleasant River and climbed for about a mile and a half until we reached the work site: a 75-foot-long stretch of the AT that had been eroded to Hell and back by rainwater. So we began by digging a 2-foot-deep drainage ditch along the entire stretch. This was no easy feet because of the rocks and hard-packed mud. Then we spent hours yanking big rocks and boulders out of the surrounding swamps and bogs and rolling them to the work site. We used our 'locally harvested' boulders to build a 2-course rock wall along the inside of our ditch that would hug the new stretch of trail. Then we literally re-built the AT from the ground up by packing dirt down and constructing a nice treadway next to our ditch. By the time we were done a beautiful, flat, soft, well-irrigated, root-free, rock-free section of trail stood where there was nothing but mud before. We really did work our asses off, but it felt so good to see our finished product at the end of the day. It was also really cool to work next to the old M.A.T.C. guys and learn a bit about the history of the Appalachian trail in Maine. Apparently, a lot of the AT up here is still comprised of old Indian footpaths and cattle trails. Which means that these trails have remained relatively unchanged since long before white folks came to this continent.   Sometime around 5:00 we loaded back into the van and went back to Millinocket, tired and sore. Back at the AT Lodge, those of us who did the Hard Core project were welcomed with a free AYCE BBQ hiker-feed. The food was so so good. Especially for me because I was too broke to buy any food myself. That is, until bought some opium from me later that evening. So the Trails End festival starts today so us thru-hikers are kind of like local celebrities right now. All of downtown Millinocket will be devoted to music, beer, food, and the AT for the next 3 days so I should fit right in. Me and the guys prowl around downtown for a while and get to know some more locals. My friends Lenny and Joe accepted an invitation to work for the Blue Ox during the festival and are staying in an Airstream behind the bar for a few nights.So, later on in the night, I decide to go pay them a visit. I am surprised to find Stretch there hanging out with them because Lenny and Joe are so cool and Stretch is kind of a loser. Anyway, we all decide to hop in Joe's truck and go buy a 30-rack of PBR and a bottle of whiskey. Turn Around came over too so the 5 of us hung out behind the bar and drank and smoked until Stretch, Joe, and Lenny hit a wall and passed out on us. Turn Around and I were nowhere near quitting-time so we just went back into the Blue Ox and continued to drink and smoke weed with locals until last call.   After that, we went back to the AT Lodge where we waited about 20 minutes for this townie whom I had exchanged #'s with to come back from his house with more weed. Surprisingly, the townie made good on his promise and drove across town, grabbed a bunch of homegrown, and drove back downtown to hang out with us. It must have been 2:30 AM by this point. Turn Around had passed out so me, townie, Twoper, and John Wayne all go back to the Airstream and continue to drink PBRs, smoke bowls, and laugh hysterically until about 4:20 AM. I finally have to get John Wayne to stop dancing in the middle of the street and the 3 of us stumble back to the hostel. It was no doubt the latest and craziest night I've had in a while. And the earliest morning to boot. After this super intense 23-hour-long day filled with hard work and hard play, I think I just proved to myself that I really am a no-limit-soldier.