Date: 2015-09-09
From: Moxie Bald Lean-to

To: Rt 15 mile 2074.7
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Town day! And meet Gary in town day to boot! Unfortunately I did have to hike 18 miles first though. In the profile, this looked like an extraordinarily easy day, basically it was the heart rate of a dead person: very flat. But there were lots of rocks and roots and some mud, and, for the first time since entering Maine, fords!Maine is famous (or infamous) for not building foot bridges over most streams. I'm not sure if it's a philosophical or practical matter, but there normally would have been a few fords by now. This year though, at least currently, water levels have been so low that even the most unsure footed of rock hoppers (you called?) can make it across. Until today that is.The first of four (!) fords today was borderline, but I feel better keeping my shoes dry so I put on my crocs and enjoyed the cool water. The next one was an actual river, the Piscataquis, which had the warning in our guide that fording could be dangerous after heavy rains. There was no suggestion as to what to do in that case, so I'm glad it wasn't an issue. The water didn't even come halfway to my knees. By now I had found a way to attach my crocs to the outside of my pack to streamline the process a little, and also to help keep the inside of the pack a bit cleaner.I think I had lunch between ford three and four, four being another branch of the same river. At least I hope we didn't cross the river twice to end up on the same shore as where we started!I thought I knew where I was and I had cell reception for the first time since late afternoon yesterday, so I sent Gary a text to please pick me up around 4pm. A few minutes later though, I realized I was a bit further from the road than I had thought, so I sent another text to update. As soon as I hit 'send', I heard a phone nearby receiving a message. It was Gary, who had come to hike towards me! We had about 2.5 miles to the road and I was tired, sweaty and more than ready to be done. And my feet were sore, more so than usual. Probably just from the rocks and roots, though those are unlikely to disappear anytime soon!He had booked a room at Shaw's here in Monson and the place seems full. A whole bunch of the Warren Doyle group are staying here, bringing the average age easily to the highest I've seen in any hostel on the trail! Pace Car is here also, killing some time before leaving for the 100 mile wilderness tomorrow. She is planning to finish on a weekend so her parents can come meet her and that has involved some short days. Today she zeroed here and alphabetized the book case and cleaned the hiker box, so clearly she needs to get hiking! The three of us went to dinner in Greenville, which was, as Pace Car noted, much better than the convenience store in Monson. It's so nice to have a car! Yay for cars. And lobster rolls. While we had dinner, a tremendous rain storm came through, soaking our hiking shoes on the porch of the hostel. rain is also in the forecast for the next few days, just in time for Gary, poor guy.The rest of the evening was spent getting our food sorted and, much to Gary's surprise, all the food has been accounted for. We are taking the opportunity of a food drop in the wilderness, so we don't have to carry 6-8 days worth of food. Even with four days though, both our food bags are set to burst. Better eat a lot on day 1!We are also signed up for breakfast here, which is no longer the famous '1,2,3 or 4 of everything but Cindy Lou, who is staying here as well, said it was very good. And then it's time for the last stretch! I'm in counting down mode now. There are 6 sheets left in my guide, and 8 days total, including summiting Katahdin. That is, of course, if all goes as planned. Since Gary won't be able to update the journal, we have found a temporary Web Master in Spot of Tea, who is very kindly taking care of the updates for us. However, I'm not sure how many opportunities we'll have to actually send him anything, so updates may be delayed through no fault of the Web Master. I, or Gary, will write an entry for every day though, never fear!(Spot of Tea here - congrats and God Speed to Airlock and Sasquatch. Katahdin awaits! I'm happy to help out.)Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?