Date: 2006-08-14
From: Pierce Pond Lean-To

To: Caratunk
Miles today: 4.0

Northern OutdoorsBoom Chain Cabin   The shelter was full last night with myself, Skunk, Rightside, Tinkerbell, Hinds Feet and ESP. Camping out were Orca and her friend. Orca is a surgical nurse from Canada. We watched the sun go down and had a visit from Tim, who runs Harrison¢s Camp ¢ famous for its Lumberjack¢s Pancake breakfast. It all sounded so good that I decided to join the throng for the 7AM feast.   Tim has been married for a long time and is now undergoing a divorce. He has several children in the 7-17 year range, and will have to sell off the Camp as part of the divorce proceedings. He is very distressed about the whole business.   So I slept late and, alone among the herd, followed the white blazes across the dam, spurning the shorter blue blazed trail to Harrison¢s Camp. Then it was a short 0.1-mile side trail down to the camp. It turned out to have been an excellent decision to go there for breakfast. The main dining room is beautiful and I was able to sit outside on the porch and watch dozens of hummingbirds feed at the bird feeders, gazing out over the early morning landscape with the sound and sight of the falls on the Pierce Pond Stream, and a great view of the small wooden bridge crossing it below the camp. A magical moment indeed.   Breakfast was so good that I took a photo of the 12 stack of pancakes [it is in the photo collection on this journal]. I had no difficulty in demolishing the entire stack of pancakes and, stuffed to the gills with pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee and OJ, - I wished Tim well with his future, and started off to the river.   It was a wonderful hike. A smooth gradual descent along the banks of Pierce Pond Stream ¢ you know I love streams ¢ rushing and dashing itself over rocks and falls, until at last exhausted, both it and the trail flatten out and become calm once again.      I realy surprised myself by covering the four miles in two hours ¢ an unheard of pace for me ¢ and soon there was the broad reach of the Kennebec River before me. I did not even have to raise the signal flag to get the ferryman to start over, standing upright in his canoe and paddling from this position all the way across the placid ¢ but treacherous ¢ waters of the Kennebec.    The ferryman turned out to be the famous Steve Longley himself! He is famous for being the ferryman for the last 17 years and has ferried over 17,000 hikers across the river. I had thought that by now, he would have had a horde of minions to do the physical work, while he relaxed on the bank with a cigar and brandy. But no ¢ the man himself ferried me across!   There is something very primeval about being physically ferried across a river by a boatman. For some reason I was reminded of the River Styx and the crossing into the underworld ¢ and the need to pay the price to cross over the water. Steve turned out to be a very knowledgeable and interesting person, and we spent some time chatting on the North bank until the rest of last nights band appeared on the South bank ¢ having partaken of a second helping of pancakes ¢ and raised the flag to request crossing.      The 2.5-mile hike on Route 201 upstream here to Northern Outdoors seemed much shorter than the reported mileage. I passed Steve¢s store along the way ¢ closed at that hour because its owner was ferrying hikers across the river.      No room at the Lodge here, but I did get a cabin ¢ named Boom Chain! The cabins all seem to be named after things used by the logging industry. It is very nice and clean. It is a new log cabin with a bathroom, shower and kitchen ¢ complete with running water and electricity. No TV, no phone ¢ although there is a phone at the main Lodge ¢ and no cell signal.   I have had a large lunch, showered, and hiked back to Steve¢s store to resupply. He shuttled me back here after treating me to an earful of excellent taped Irish music. Who would have thought that I would hear the Gaelic language in Caratunk? I have also done laundry and had a long talk with all at home.      What a day! I realy enjoyed my time with the NOBO thru hikers. They are all heading on to summit in about 10 days. They are all so fixed on that goal that they can literally feel it in their feet and their eagerness to push on.   I thought again today of our need for human companionship and society and the need to be with other people, which led me to this thought for today;Thought for Today ¢    Do we crave the company of others to help them with their difficulties,    Or to impress them with our own prowess?