Date: 2015-08-10
From: Katahdin

To: Hurd Brook Lean To
Miles today: 13.4

I woke early and packed my things. It was a chilly night. Since I was in a lean-to for four, I had expected hikers to join me. It wasn't until the sun was setting I realized I would not be having company. That might happen in the thru-hikers campground but not at Abol with reservations. I easily got a ride from the campground to the Katahdin Stream Campground sign, the beginning of my hike today.   It was a zoo with all the cars trying to park. There were not clearly defined parking places. At one point, I was asked if I would move so they could park where I was standing, getting organized.    It was another pleasant day. Perfect for hiking. I was thankful today's trail was level. Katahdin the day before had been tough, so it was nice to take it easy. Walking by the ponds was beautiful.    I checked out Little and Big Niagara Falls. See the pictures. I met Catch Up. He was my age with children similar ages to mine. He started hiking the AT in 1976. He only had to do this part and the 100 Mile Wilderness to finish it. A few weeks ago, he started in Monson and headed north into the 100 Mile Wilderness. Two or three days later, he was severly dehydrated with a pulled calf muscle. He called someone to come pick him up. Now he was trying from the other direction. He was enjoying the beauty of the falls and missing that his children were not there to enjoy it.   This was the beginning of my bad attitude in Maine. I thought at home I can see waterfalls like this, without a 30 lb pack and without hiking through the 100 Mile Wilderness. I can see waterfalls like this on day hikes. I met Spirit and Newt and my attitude improved some.   I met the family I hiked with up Katahdin the day before. They were doing an easy hike while they recovered from yesterday.   I had a nice conversation with the ranger as I left Baxter State Park. I do not wear my trifocals when I hike. I can't see my feet clearly. This is especially important on steep descents. Not an issue today. Nonetheless, I could not read all the signage on the kiosk. The ranger explained what I was missing. I signed out at the register.   Shortly after leaving Baxter State Park, I was on a very dusty Golden Road. It was especially dusty near Abol Bridge as there were old school buses shuttling paddlers. I was very glad I was not staying at the campground near the bridge. My lungs wanted fresh air again.   Close to Abol Bridge, the trail headed south into the 100 Mile Wilderness. As I was walking in, three people were backpacking out. One of the women said, "You're not going in there, are you?" I said yes. She said, "Are you crazy or what?" I mumbled to myself that I probably was crazy. Another woman coming out said she had not had a shower in 10 days. She was really looking forward to a shower.   I came to the 100 Mile Wilderness warning sign. See picture. The sign read:Caution - It is 100 miles south to the nearest town at Monson. There are NO places to obtain supplies of help until Monson. Do not attempt this section unless you have a minimum of 10 days supplies and are fully equipped. This is the longest wilderness section of the entire AT and its difficulty should not be underestimated. Good Hiking! MATC    I was becoming more convinced I was crazy.   It was 4 in the afternoon, but in the dense Maine woods it was dark. These are the kind of woods that Dorothy, Toto, the scarecrow, the tinman and the lion would chant "Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!" This was my first encounter with the Maine bogs. Ole Man had warned us about the bogs on the van trip to Katahdin. Some planks in the Maine bogs have never seen the light of day. They can be very slippery. It seemed to take forever to walk the three miles of bog bridges to Hurd Brook Lean-To. Or so it seemed.   Hurd Brook Lean-To does not have a plywood floor. It has a baseball bat floor. So my Thermarest padding was extra appreciated. It also means that small items fall between the bats to the dirt below. On the good side, Newt and Spirit were at the shelter. Newt stayed in the shelter with me. Spirit had a hammock. There was a large group of French speaking young men who camped behind the shelter.   This was the worse privy I have ever experienced. I consider myself somewhat of a qualified critic. I have used privies in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. When I approached the privy, there was a man guarding (?) the privy and the large privy door was open. Not understanding what was going on, I proceeded up the stairs. I looked up to find the privy was in use by another man! The smell of ammonia was so strong, he had the door open so he would not pass out.   Later that night, I ventured to use the privy. After use, I tried to gather dry leaves to put in the privy. I discovered my bare hand was scraping up human feces. Yuck!