Date: 2003-10-18
From: west carry pond lean-to

To: horns pond lean-tos
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

i crossed the 2000-mile mark today. hooray for me. no, wait, i guess i crossed what would be considered the 172 mile mark. oh well. i did cross long falls dam road and on that road was painted in big white paint, "2000." of course this isn't even the 2000 mile mark anymore. since the total length of the trail is constantly changing due to reroutes and relocations, the 2000 mile mark is constantly changing as well. the same holds true in pennsylvania where someone once built a sign marking the halfway point on the AT. that sign no longer marks the exact halfway point, but i bet a lot of people still get their picture taken with the sign. i would venture to guess that the same holds true with the 2000 that is painted on long falls dam road. i didn't take my picture with it but i did take a picture of it, and then i took a break beside it.and, then i walked through blow-down city. for the 2 1/2 miles after long falls dam road i probably walked over, through, and around at least thirty or forty trees that had fallen across the trail. some were easy enough to just hop over while others were like a giant maze. i was crawling and climbing and at times finding myself twenty feet from the trail. i would say that a little trail maintenance might need to be done in this section. i did cross the 172 mile mark (or the 2000 mile mark- depending on which way you look at it) at the little bigelow lean-to. from there the fun really began. i climbed 1300 feet to little bigelow mountain, from which i could see the ski slopes of sugarloaf mountain- which were covered in snow. i could also see the jagged peaks of bigelow mountain- avery peak (4088') and west peak (4145'). i passed a sign before entering the bigelow range that said i would be climbing over 6000 feet before it was all said and done. and, i soon found out where most of that climbing would come into play. from little bigelow i dropped down to safford notch just to climb 1800 feet over he next two miles to avery peak. as soon as i started climbing out of safford notch it started snowing. nothing heavy -just flurries- but, snow at that. the first snow of the season. i knew that this day would come eventually. i was expecting this day. i didn't know when or where, but i knew it was only a matter of time. by the time i reached avery peak, there were about two inches of snow on the ground. the wind was howling across the peak- blowing snow everywhere. i hurried across the peak and back down to the safety of the trees, just to do it all over again across west peak. from there it was ups and downs to the south horn and finally down about 700 feet to the horns pond lean-tos.it was nearly dark by the time i got here. i walked out in between the two shelters and could see that they were both fairly packed. i asked if there was room for one more and the people in one shelter were silent while the occupants of the other shelter said that there was always room for one more. of course there is always room for one more. that is how it works out here. these people obviously know what is going on, unlike those people in that other shelter.tonight i share the shelter with mark- member of the matc (maine appalachian trail club) and part of the maine search & rescue, larry- matc member who has helped build 13 AT shelters in maine, steve- manager of the bigelow preserve, and two weekenders- corey and sean. it is nice to be in a shelter with people. i'll take it as often as i can.i did a little over 17 miles today. as far as mileage goes, that isn't too terribly much. but, a little over 17 miles across the bigelow mountains is something else entirely. i had quite a little workout today. tonight i will sleep soundly regardless of whether or not any of these guys snore.