Date: 2004-07-04
From: Backpacker Campsite #2

To: Blue Mtn Lakes Road (Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec)
Miles today: 13.0

Ghost CampMileage Countdown: -893.7Slept well last night. The tent/tarp was nice and airy, so I had a nice breeze all night long.The ridgerunner's tent was right next to mine. (A ridgerunner is someone jointly employed by the National Park Service, which has ultimate jurisdiction over the Trail, and the local trail maintenance club. His/her responsibilities include providing first aid, educating AT users about the 7 points of 'Leave No Trace' hiking, first response trail maintenance, and just generally monitoring the Trail and its users in the local area. Most maintaining clubs have 2 ridgerunners. Some have 1. NJ has 3.) He told me I would almost certainly see a bear this morning. I haven't yet.I packed up and started walking before breakfast (unusual for me since I'm a breakfast nut, rarely missing). My aim was to eat breakfast next to Sunfish Pond, the southernmost glacial pond in the Appalachians. I found a bench at waters edge right at the southern end of the pond, and had my usual breakfast, but this time accentuated by watching the sun rise over the pond and being serenaded by lots of birds.The walk around Sunfish Pond was every bit as rocky as most of PA. I was never more than 20' above the water's surface, but since the Trail went up and down many times, it was almost like climbing another mountain. After leaving the pond, the Trail ascended a ridge, where it stayed all day. About halfway through the day I came to Mohican Center. This is a former Boy Scout camp that is now owned by the National Park Service and run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (yes, the same AMC that runs the huts and maintains the trails in the White Mountains.). I wasn't planning on stopping there for lunch, since I haven't eaten any of my lunch/dinner purchases from Wind Gap yet. But the tempatation of a ready-made sandwich and a soda was too much, so I plunked down my $5, and plunked myself down in their very pleasant front room and thoroughly enjoyed my lunch. The manager made me an offer of a free meal if I stayed overnight. I don't know whether it was in jest or not, but I had already decided to stay further up the Trail, so moved on. I had occasion to regret that decision later in the day.After having a few interesting conversations with some day hikers and with N R Chi (also of Hike Naked day fame), I came to the road crossing where I was to get off for the night. There was a water pump there with 4 people standing around it. I explained that I was looking for a Y camp near there that puts up thru-hikers (but didn't mention the camp's name since it is hard to remember). One of the people sad she worked at the camp, and gave me very explicit directions on how to get there.After walking the expected mile, and descending over 500', I came to the entrance of a Y camp. I was a bit puzzled that the name at the entrance was not the Ken-Etiwa-Pec that I had expected, but something like Fairbridge Camps. I just figured that the camp I was looking for was one of them. I went into the camp and moved toward the young voices I could hear. When a vehicle approached I flagged it down. The driver, Steve, was the environmental director of the camp. But not the camp I was looking for. That camp was up the steep mountain I had just come down, and on the other side of the AT. The counsellor I had run into was simply mistaken about her camp taking in thru-hikers. GRRRRR!! (In all fairness, the directions in the Handbook were correct. I had just not consulted them, preferring to rely on local knowledge.) Steve gave me a ride as far as he could. (The steepest part of the road was closed off, and it would have been more than a 20 mile drive if he had taken me all the way.) Just as I was about to cross the AT I met the 4 people who had sent me in the wrong direction. I was not as upset as I was before Steve gave me a ride, so the 5 of us had a good laugh together about it. However, I did promise the person who said her camp put up thru-hikers that I would put her picture in my rogues gallery on this site. She is the one in red.I found the entrance road to Ken-Etiwa-Pec easily enough, but right away things seemed strange. It was clearly an active camp, I could see parts of a current project lining the road, but the gate at the entrance was closed. Even more eerie was that I coul hear no voices coming from the camp like I had from the other Y camp.Finally, about 200 yds from the still-silent camp I was relieved to see some people coming toward me. But no! That was a group of day hikers I had met about an hour earlier. They told me that the camp was completely deserted, but that some of the buildings were open.Sure enough, as I walked through the camp, I saw no one. The big dining hall was open, and I decided to sleep in there, on a small stage that must be used for performances. There was even a Pepsi machine there that seemed to be working. It accepted my money, an made the apropriate clunking sound when I made my selection, but nothing came out. Not even my money when I pressed the Coin Return button. Spooky!So I went outside to eat and journal at a picnic table. About halfway through my dinner, a ridgerunner came through. He was as puzzled as I was about the lack of kids. But at least he knew that one of the bunkhouses was open, and that it was OK for him to stay there if there were no campers. So I joined him, and spent the night in a bunk in a private room. We figured that the previous camp session had ended just before we showed up, and since it was July 4th, the entire staff took a vacation. But it was very different having a whole camp all to myself for a while. Sort of like a character in 'On the Beach'.Milestone: I now have less than 900 miles to go to reach Mt Katahdin.