Date: 2003-02-23
To: Where it all began...continued...
Miles today: 0.0

Lessee...so where was I? Oh, right...Four years ago...I was a volunteer youth leader at my church, working with another youth leader, J. who had hiked 1300 miles of the trail with his then-girlfriend (now - wife). He and S.really wanted our youth group to experience the adventure that they had had, and he asked if I would be willing to join in as another chaperone. Having just hiked Katahdin the year before, I enthusiastically agreed. S.and J.planned out the distance that we would attempt...the south end of Nahmakanta Lake to the top of Katahdin. They also gave the youth and myself a list of the gear and food that we would need to bring with us. I trusted them and followed the list to the letter. One of my hobbies is sewing, so I created two sets of shorts/tops to wear on the trail...no reason not to be fashionable, right?? I headed to Maine earlier than the rest of our group, so that I could visit with my Mom before I headed out. I met J.,S.,T.(another advisor)&the five youth who were going with us at Dysart's in Bangor...and we set out. We arrived at our dropoff point at about 2 in the afternoon. The lake was beautiful, peaceful and calm. I found a birch staff that someone had discarded and picked it up to bring with me, as I didn't carry trekking poles. We met some guys from Michigan who had been hiking from the NH/ME border...a pre-college adventure. We shared some of our food with them, which was much appreciated, and moved on, wishing us luck. We set off, knowing we'd only trek a few miles before setting up camp for the day. We ended our short day at the Wadleigh Stream Lean-to, and experienced our first camp dinner. MMMMMM...ramen noodles! On our second day, we planned a good 9 or 10 miles, at least...however, we discovered that two of the youth had really overpacked...they were carrying too much food, as well as too much clothing...at least 45-50 lbs each! One kid also had shoes that were only being held together by duct tape. We moved v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y towards Katahdin. After redistributing some of the excess food, things were a little easier, but it was a long day...and we hadn't even made it to the next shelter! We'd only gone a bit under 6 miles for the day. We knew we'd have to really get going on Wednesday to be able to make it to Katahdin by Friday. The next day, we started off early, at a good pace. We split into three definite groupings, and I seemed to stay pretty much in the middle. The teen with the duct tape shoes was having a really tough go. By midday, she stopped taking breaks, had a fixed stare, but kept on going. She remained in the final group. Knowing we had to make good time, we walked on. J.went ahead to secure our spot at the Hurd Brook Lean-to. I was with four of the youth, and T.stayedback with girl who was experiencing difficulties. We were partway down Rainbow Ledges when a southbound hiker gave us the message that J.was waiting at the shelter with S.(she was quite pregnant at the time, and was acting as our support staff). It was then that it began to get dark...and I, as well as some of the kids, began to panic. What on earth was I doing here? Responsible for four of the kids, not even sure of the path ahead, I wished I had never agreed to the trip. It was one of the youth, my minister's son, who was able to bring some calm and rationale into our group. He suggested that we turn our lights on (now who would have thought of that???), and continue carefully down the trail. I was able to feed off of his demeanor, and rearranged our group so that the panicky kids were bringing up the rear, thus allowing us to safely descend the rest of the trail. We passed J.as we neared the shelter, and I angrily muttered something at him...after all, he'd been lounging at the shelter while I was watching over our youth, right?? He was heading up to lead T.& the final teen down. Just to add to my misery, I fell, pack first, in the stream we were crossing. We arrived at the shelter, only to discover that it was full...not even any room for us to set up tents. We would have to move on. We sat down and waited, interminably, for J., T. and E. to arrrive. Once they safely joined us, we set off on a trail that J. and S. had marked out with cloth blazes. It led to a logging road where we would set up camp, and where S. was waiting with cold sodas. I felt like an idiot. I had been so pissed off that J. and S. were just hanging out, meanwhile, they had been marking out a new trail for us and picking up provisions. I had to eat crow with my ramen noodles that night. I woke up the next morning feeling not only refreshed, but IN LOVE with the trail! Go figure... It was then that the real seed was planted. Dream begins...(We set out that morning, and made it to Daicey Pond Campground. E. took a ride there with S., as her 16 mile day in duct tape shoes had pretty much done her in. T., four youth and I set off on Friday morning to conquer Katahdin. I ended up turning back with one of the kids just above treeline, and we spent a long time exploring Katahdin Falls on the way down. The other three youth and T. triumphantly returned at about five that evening. It was a wonderful, fulfilling trip for all involved...)