Date: 2015-07-28
From: Avery Memorial Campsite

To: East Carry Pond
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: broken clouds

What a thrilling and unnerving experience to be so high up in a thunderstorm. It didn't rain as much as it thundered so my tent was wet but not soaked this morning. I set out and climbed Avery Peak which has spectacular views of the Bigelow West Peak where I had been last night, Flagstaff Lake to the west and Sugar Loaf Mountain to the east. It was a little windy up top but beautiful! The descent was not as bad as other descents but still very slow due to rocks and mud. Somehow I couldn't find the trail as it appeared to dead end at a view. I saw a couple blue blazes but couldn't figure out where there had been a turn off. I spent 20 minutes walking back and forth baffled since the trail was nice and looked like the AT. Finally I backtracked further and climbed back up the wet rock I had descended and saw that I had continued straight onto the view trail and the AT actually turned left. There was a small view sign on a tree hidden from view. And the view wasn't listed in AWOL's book either. The view I thought it was is on the trail. It was a spectacular view so a happy mistake but I was frustrated going back and forth. Guess that's how I missed the 2000 mile sign!! Looking down at mud and rocks! The next couple of miles were also slow. I passed a couple SOBOs including Fireball who was very congratulatory on my almost being done. I planned to take a break on top of Little Bigelow Mountain but after a few false summits I started to descend. I guess LB doesn't get a summit sign. I was bummed because I had hoped to enjoy a break with a view. However I passed a large rock and decided to stop there. It worked out as I had a view of the Bigelow range including Little Bigelow so once again it was for the best! I pulled out my wet tent and sat in the sun drying everything out ... Shoes, feet, tent, socks ... Happiness is a dry tent and dry feet! I stopped longer than planned so I got moving again. It was almost two miles to the lean-to and I needed water. I stopped at the stream in front of the Bigelow Lean-to. SOBO Loon arrived just after me. He went to the lean-to and said it was full of high school girls. I asked him about camping spots after the West Carry Lean-to but he couldn't remember if there were any flat spots. I'd been asking SOBOs if they recalled any since I wanted to hike further than the lean-to. Loon did tell me there was a 2000 mile sign I would pass which is odd since we were already at 2016. He left and I did a few minutes later. The trail got miraculously nicer as the trail just before the Bigelow lean-to was finally the end of the "227 Most Difficult Miles" section on the AT per Warren. It was like a switch! Flat, minimal roots and rocks... I cruised! The trail then went around part of Flagstaff Lake then went up to a peak and down again. It intersected with another trail a couple times which was a little confusing. Just before Long Falls Dam Road, I saw the 2000 mile sign Loon told me about. Technically it was mile 2020.5 but at least I got a 2000 mile picture. On the road, someone painted "Mile 2000 congrats". It's been a long time since this was the 2000 mile point and the signs weren't that old. Bizarre! I kept hiking and was surprised to arrive at West Carry Pond Lean-to just before 5 pm, over a half hour sooner than expected which meant I had really hauled the last 7.7 miles though I didn't think I had since there had still been muddy and rocky sections. Just before I got there, I decided if it looked nice, I would stay and enjoy the pond. I was really trying to hike 20 miles just to get to Caratunk sooner. Plus you can only ferry across the Kennebunk River 9-11 am and 2-4 pm so you must time your arrival. However, I could hear boisterous voices before I realized I was at the lean-to. It was a bunch of high school boys and they had their gear all over in front of the shelter. Zen plan aborted, I asked if they remembered any tenting spots 5 miles out. They gave me a location and I hiked on, following the perimeter of the pond before turning away and passing a sign about Colonel Benedict Arnold leading a small army in the area in 1775. Lucky Laura had also told me about this and to think of her as I passed by. I kept going through a lot of mud, then suddenly the trail would become piney, then muddy again. I finally made it to East Carry Pond and came upon a small sandy beach. So I took off my shoes and filtered water and then washed the mud off my legs. I repacked and started following the trail along the pond when I saw a yellow sign saying no fires and realized there was a flat tent spot just beyond the trees. Zen plan immediately reinstated!! I set up camp and then went for a rinse in the pond. It felt great! I enjoyed dinner sitting on a rock in front of the pond where the moon and blue sky reflected nicely off the water. It was a good compromise. I didn't quite hike the planned 20 miles but I only have 10.3 to Caratunk tomorrow so I will get up early to try to make the early ferry window!