Date: 2014-09-22
From: Harrison's Pierce Pond Camp, Mile 2030.5

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to, Mile 2048.8
Miles today: 18.3

The famous 12 pancake breakfast was at 7:00 so we were up early and ready to go by then. JRex, Toots and Navigator were also there along with Hog Driver, so we had good conversation around some great food! 12 blueberry pancakes with strawberries and apples piled high on one plate along with another plate with eggs and sausage. Yum! JRex, Toots and NavigatorAfter hiking only a short distance up the trail, Mailman noticed some smoke rising in the woods about 30 feet off the trail. When we investigated, we found a campfire someone had started but not fully extinguished. There was a small ring of stones which they had apparently put in place for a fire ring, but the mossy, rooty ground outside the rocks had burned down a couple of inches into the ground and was smoldering with red embers in places, including up under the base of a dead tree a foot or so away. They had also placed some dry wood next to the fire ring which was really close to the burning embers.We spent an hour or so moving the wood away from the embers and getting water from the nearby stream to cool it down some more. Chip came along and helped put water on the embers. Mailman talked about the squirrels chattering away at us as thanking us for saving their habitat rather that telling us to get away from it! :-)We got to the Kennebec River in plenty of time for the ferry ride across. During this time of year it operates from 9-11 in the morning and 2-4 in the afternoon. Hillbilly Dave was the ferry pilot today and was on the other side when we got there. He came across in his canoe and ferried Mailman and No Rush across first since they had to hitch into the Sterling Inn to pick up a mail drop once they got to the road on the other side. Chip and I went next. When we got to the road, Mailman and No Rush were hiking down the road still trying to get a hitch. Hillbilly Dave the Ferry PilotChip and I headed to the Caratunk Post Office just down a separate road. I was just mailing a few things home and Chip was picking up a mail drop. About the only thing in Caratunk is the post office and a few houses. I chatted with the woman who's been running the post office and found out she's retiring next week and that the post office is cutting back to just two hours a day starting next month. I also met the young woman who's taking her place. Nice folks!There was a hiker box outside the post office. I looked inside and there was a container of fresh home made cookies for hikers - trail magic! I ate a couple and then headed back to the trail while Chip went through his mail drop.I stopped by the Pleasant Pond Lean-to for lunch and discovered Onisimus was there grilling chicken on a fire in the fire pit! More trail magic! I had first met him back in Vermont on Aug 2nd when I was hiking out of Manchester Center with Tabasco and he was grilling hamburgers for trail magic. Delaware, Sassafras and Engineer were also there having lunch. Engineer is a young man with an engineering background who had been hoping to meet "the astronaut" hiking the trail, so we had some good conversation during lunch.I guess I was making pretty good time in the afternoon. I was planning to stop at Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to for the night and figured out about what time I'd get to the side trail leading to it. It's on a loop trail, meaning there's another side trail coming from the other side of the shelter back to the trail further north. Fortunately for me, the AT Guide also mentions a road crossing just north of that second side trail. I was cruising along, not looking for the shelter side trail yet, when I came to the road crossing! Oops! I backtracked to the shelter! It was getting late, so I decided to spend the night in the shelter with Puzzles, Simba and Blueberry, who also showed up about the same time. Blueberry remembered meeting me back in Virginia - she was one of the ones around the campfire when I night hiked into the campground at Hog Camp Gap on June 2nd.Mailman and No Rush didn't show up, so I suspect they had to stop someplace prior to here after going to the Sterling Inn for their mail drops. They were planning on another two days to Monson, and I hope to get there tomorrow.