Date: 2017-08-08
From: East Flagstaff Rd

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Unsurprisingly I was the first one up in the household so I just hung out for a while and chilled in bed, a relaxing start to the morning. We had eggs, sausage, blueberry bread, and english muffins for breakfast and then hit the road. We stopped at a small lakeside convenience store (which also had a dock so that boats from 2 different lakes could park) and I grabbed a box of granola bars for snacking and a couple of apple turnovers for breakfast on the trail. After that we were off, retracing our steps from yesterday on the hour and a half drive back to the trail.I got back to the trail just after 10am and after saying goodbye to my uncle I was back on the trail, right where I had left off. The trail this morning started out pretty flat and followed the shore of flagstaff lake for a couple of miles. Of course the boardwalks over the muddy sections were wet and slippery and of course I ate it right in front of a dad and son hiking, but other than that the hike was pleasant. I passed the campsite I had picked out before I had made plans with my uncle and it was indeed a very nice site, right next to the lake and a couple of sandy beaches, but I think my accomodations last night ended up being a bit better.I got my one hill of the day out of the way early, though I hesitate to even call it a hill it was so gradual. I passed a SOBO who said that from hear on out the hiking should be pretty easy, a welcome bit of advice, and I crossed Long Falls Dam Rd and another two 2000 mile markers. Back into the woods the trail varied between nice pine-needle covered dirt and a mixture of roots and mud, but either way it wasn't a hill or mountain so I wasn't complaining.I had lunch at the West Carry Pond Lean-to, running into another ATC conference group and getting a handful of peanut M&Ms and a small bag of homemade cookies as TRAIL MAGIC. I sat and enjoyed looking out over the water for a few minutes, human civilization only visible in two or three places along the pond shore where a camp had been built. The next couple of miles were similar to the last with a couple of sections of really nice trail along the way, again leading to another pond. Here at East Carry Pond I found Pie and Otto splayed out on a small sandy beach, Pie half floating on his air matress and enjoying a nap on the shore of the lake. Being a little after noon, by this time I had realized that there was no way I could make the next 10mi before 2pm to catch the last ferry for day across the Kennebeck river, so there was no way that this was turning into a long day. In addition, the afternoon was beautiful, a few puffy clouds floating through the sky, the lake was peaceful, and only a light breeze disturbing its surface, so I took my shoes off and set my feet in the water to soak and enjoyed the sun.I think I hung out there for about two hours... we built up a little crowd throughout the afternoon as other hikers came upon us and decided that they had time to take a break at this idealic spot. Only a couple made it past us without stopping and we had a great afternoon on the lake. Eventually, at around 4pm I decided that I should probably get moving and put my shoes back on and started walking, but I didn't make it far before running into a ton of blueberries on the trail around the lake and it took me a while to escape their clutches.The trail to camp was pretty easy, but as usual this close to the end of the day, felt longer than the numerical milage would indicate. I finally came to a blue blazed trail to the west which headed towards a lake, and sure enough the shiny metal roof of the shelter was just visible over the rocky ledge. I headed down there to find the shelter already mostly full with a group of 4 older hikers doing a section, and though they offered I didn't join them, opting to tent tonight. There wasn't much flat ground to choose from, but I managed to find a mostly flat and rock/root free spot a ways down the shore and setup there, just a few feet from the water. After filtering my water for the night, cleaning myself up, and unpacking I headed back to the shelter to hang out with the other hikers. Not long after I got there an obviously non-thru hiker stopped in, carrying only a portable cooler. Could it be??? TRAIL MAGIC. The hiker, Wes, offered a selection of beer, an IPA, IPA, or an IPA, which just so happened to be my new favorite type of beer tonight.Wes hung out and talked for a while and packed out most of the trash from his magic, except for mine because I was saving mine to have with dinner, which I was in the process of cooking. I ate and then headed down to Harrison's, just 0.3mi down a blue blaze. Harrison's is a privately owned hunting camp which offered a place to stay and/or breakfast in the morning. I signed up for breakfast the next morning and then headed back to camp by way of the waterfall next to Harrisons and ran into a ton of blueberries there that I stopped to eat.By the time I got back to camp the sun was setting over the lake and after watching the spectacle we all drifted back to our shelters and off to sleep to the sound of a loon calling across the lake.