Date: 2020-09-29
From: Little Bigelow Lean-To

To: Pierce Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 17.7

Today's goal was to get close to Pierce Pond, where there's a fishing camp that offers a big breakfast for the next morning. That in turn is only a few miles to the Kennebec River. The ferry across this supposedly dangerous-to-ford river stops running tomorrow. I'll be coming in just under the wire.The terrain around the eastern end of Flagstaff Lake was easy but I was not feeling particularly energetic. Any climb, even the smallest, was tiring. I've experienced this before, also in Maine after finishing days of tough hiking. I probably need a day off.I filtered water at a slow moving stream. Leaves fell around me in batches when the breeze picked up. Leaves have been covering the trail, causing a slight hazard as they conceal rocks underneath. It forces me to be more careful placing each step.I plugged in an audiobook and cruised slowly over a long hill. Caught up with Dutchman just as he was getting up from a slip with some choice words. He seems to be giving the trail a piece of his mind whenever I find him. On West Carry Pond I followed a rough bushwhack out to Arnold's Point. Didn't look like more than a handful of people had tried it recently. Took a dip in the cool, rock-bottomed water on the way back and dried out in the breezy sun.The trail for the next couple of miles followed Benedict Arnold's portage path when his brigade launched an attack on British Quebec during the Revolution. It then wound around Middle and East Carry Ponds before shooting north to Pierce Pond. Other than Dutchman I saw only an old dayhiker and his dog. At Pierce Pond Lean-To I dropped my pack and took another swim while the sun was still out. Two fishing boats tooled by, having no luck. It was nearly five and the sun was low. I followed a quarter-mile blue blaze from the shelter to Harrison's fishing camp, where I found Dutchman. Tim Harrison has been running the camp for over forty years. He is very generous to hikers. He gave us lemonade while we chatted and looked through the old hiker logs. I found my entry from 2017. Tim lives here year-round. The temperature often doesn't get above 20 below for long stretches in the winter and the road is only kept open thanks to a logging company's operations. He told us how Maine's governor back in March had ordered fishing and hunting camps to close until June. Unfortunately May is the height of their season - the ice has melted but the water is still cold - and most of the camps couldn't survive that loss. The owners came up with a reopening plan, but the governor ignored it, he said. So most of the camps stayed closed and some will go out of business. Tim decided to reopen anyway, and the anglers came. Tim offers hikers a 12-pancake breakfast, which we eagerly signed up for tomorrow. From here it'll be a short three miles to the Kennebec River to catch the ferry. Back in the shelter, Dutchman and I spied two mice scurrying around. Dutchman decided the best defense is a good offense. He lugged in a large rock, baited a leaf with peanut butter, waited for a mouse to come out from under the sleeping platform, and crushed it. Cleaned it up, then it was the second mouse's turn. I guess it hadn't learned anything from its friends demise. Dutchman, the physics PhD, got philosophical and turned to me and asked if I knew what Robert Oppenheimer had said when the first atomic bomb was tested. Wondering how this was related, I replied without missing a beat "We sure could kill a lot of mice with this thing!" Which cracked us both up much more than it should have. (For the record Oppenheimer quoted "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" from the Bhagavita.)The rain started as dusk turned to dark, pattering away on the metal roof. Good timing.