Date: 2016-08-12
From: Stealth Camping Spot near Perham Stream

To: Stratton, ME / Spillover Motel
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: few clouds

Aug 12, 2016 - There was no rain during the night, but the sky this morning looked like it was about to explode. I quickly packed everything up and put my rain cover on my pack just in case. Then, Peach and I shared some coffee before the 16.9 mile hike to Stratton, ME today. Coffee goes well with Whoopie Pies. Who knew? As I left camp, I immediately started ascending Lone Mountain in some disgustingly humid air. The sweat poured down my face and, honestly, I wished it would rain. Less than 2 miles after camp, the sky obliged me with nature's free shower and laundry service. Rain can be a glorious thing. On the down side, rain meant slippery rocks and roots as I ascended and descended Spaulding Mountain, South Crocker Mountain (4,040 feet), and North Crocker Mountain (4,288 feet). I managed to fall only once with some minor abrasions on my already scabbed up forearms. That's a miracle considering how horrible the traction is on my shoes. With no exaggeration, I can say that my name brand Crocs have better grip than my Oboz. It rained for about 7 hours and nearly the whole time it took me to reach the road crossing that led to Stratton. Another downside to this was the extreme chafing that occurred in both my groin areas. Gold Bond was liberally applied and, since that stuff is actually imbued with some magical spell, the chafing subsided. About a mile from the road crossing, I came across a large, hand built sign in the dirt that read 2,000 miles! I remarked at how ridiculous a distance that is - you don't fully appreciate that until you've walked every foot. I still had 189 miles to go, but it was time to celebrate a bit in Stratton. Peach and I caught a hitch to town and tried to find a place to stay. We started with the Stratton Motel where we ran into a couple of hikers I haven't seen since at least the Shenandoahs: New Hampshire Bob Weebles (she had taken some time off for family events so she decided to flip flop up to Katahdin and hike south). Scavenger and Slam were also there. Since there were 2 weddings this weekend, everything was booked except for the Spillover Motel. Peach and I split a room there with Weebles and Moonshine - Yes, Moonshine, who had gotten off trail a few weeks ago, was back in Maine and was driving out from Portland to meet us for the night! We took showers and did a bit of gross bathtub laundry while we waited for Moonshine to arrive. My lunch consisted of a homemade peanut butter and fudge bar I spontaneously picked up at the general store. It must have weighed 2 lbs and filled me up like nothing I've ever eaten before. The Olympics were also on so our rainy day was looking up pretty quickly. Cookie, Longcloud and Slam had split the adjacent room. Moonshine arrived around 5 pm and brought all the resupply mail drops he never used much to the delight of everyone. He was barely recognizable without his beard. We caught up a bit - he's well on his way to starting up his construction business again. Then, all 7 of us hopped in his truck and drove to a place called The Rack for some dinner. I ordered beer and another pizza pie, which, of course, I crushed (182, Tim). I can't tell you how much fun that meal was, but Cookie did a pretty good job capturing it with the picture she took. It's amazing the sort of relationships everyone builds out here. I hiked with Moonshine for only 1 month and I'll be in touch with him for many years to come. After dinner, we headed back to town and realized that every store and gas station had closed at 9 pm on a Friday night. That meant the only beer we could drink was across the street from the motel. Afterwards, Moonshine set off some fireworks he brought from home - I slipped inside just as the landlord came out to yell at him. 16.9 Spillover Motel / Stratton,