Date: 2014-09-13
From: Little Bigelow lean to

To: Pierce Pond
Miles today: 17.7

Last night I just jumped in my tent hunkering down from the cold. Temperature was forecasted to drop into the low 30s in town so I didn't even try to stay up long to see if I can witness the aurora borealis. Read a little about the solar flare when I was in Stratton which got me a little excited that I may be able to see the Northern Lights sensation for the first time. However I knew My chances were slim being in the North East. The sun was going down by the time I got to setting up my tent and I wasn't going to stand around looking through the trees all night. Despite only having a 45 degree bag I managed to sleep well by putting on all the clothes I have and laying a space blanket underneath my pad. Some people were wondering how I get any sleep at all through these cold nights and that's one of the ways. I curl up the sides of the excess space blanket like its a canoe inside my tent so it reflects heat back to me without soaking me in condensation. It was so chilly and windy that my tent didn't even condensate with my rain fly zipped all the way down. Actually slept well enough that I lapsed into a deep enough of a dream state that I lucidly dreamed in a dream. Basically dreamed I was dreaming and did not realize I was becoming aware only from a deeper dream if that makes sense. Only remembered that happened because I actually woke up when a large animal walked up to my tent. It was heavy so I stirred and talked to let it know I was there at which it immediately turned a 180. It may have been attracted by my cookware which I left outside of my vestibule because I didn't clean it as well as I normally do. My hands were getting frozen last night after I ate inside my tent and I was going to cook breakfast in the morning anyway. I hiked most of today actually wearing my rain gear which I have only done once, way back in Georgia. It was chilly enough to wear without breaking a sweat if you stayed mindful of it. But I wore it only because it looked like it was going to start raining any second. It was also nice to have something holding your body heat when stopped.While having lunch I watched 2 hikers I've never seen before making a bow. Didn't get a thru hiker vibe from them but they were obviously doing the AT. Seemed to be outdoorsman but oddly out of their element backpacking. Weird how that works because backpackers are like astronauts in the wild with all our gear. These guys seemed like fisherman but not exactly vibing like the long distance backpackers they were appearing to be. The bow they were making consisted of a pine tree branch and para cord. They actually had serious intent to kill and eat a grouse with it. I may have managed to accidentally step on a grouse last week but this was just retarded. They were nice though so I didn't give them any crap about it. Finished eating by the time they strung it up and hiked away as they were test shooting. No need to wish the grouses around good luck.The trail actually leveled out today which meant I could make some easy mileage despite my late morning start that's becoming the norm. Managed to reach Pleasant Pond before 5pm when I noticed the first drops of rain were starting to come down so I decided to quickly set up my tent. Caratunk in the morning.