Date: 2009-08-31
From: US 201, Caratunk

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 15.0

I joined Minnesota IPA for breakfast, where I ordered an egg and bacon sandwich on a bagel. After I finished eating it, a man nearby said, ¢YOU are a good eater! I watched you eat that whole thing.¢ I didn¢t know how to respond... I didn¢t think it was that big of a breakfast in the first place, and secondly, I¢m a hiker! Canteloupe, Shorty, and MudD all came along and we started to talk about our plans after the trail. Our journey was coming to an end...   I got on the first shuttle out and made my way down the third of a mile to the post office to pick up my resupply. A southbounder got a nice package from his girlfriend while I waited in line. She had baked him a batch of lemon squares and written him a nice card. I was a little envious. Then, the lady handed me three packages! Two were unexpected: one from Erik¢s mom and one from Laura in my lab! She had baked me a batch of brownies and included some blondies from work as well. She also wrote me a nice card and had the lab sign it! I felt so happy! I shared some of my goodies with the southbounder, and then Joker and Ewok, and the driver of the shuttle. The second group were lucky to be driven right up to the post office! The driver waited for us to repackage our new goodies and then dropped us back at the road where we would begin again.    The brownies and blondies were heavy, but I was glad to have them. I took a break at Pleasant Pond Lean-to and decided that I was sick of eating tuna and ate brownies for lunch instead! This shelter was near both a stream and a beach, but I wasn¢t quite sure of the direction of either. I left my pack in the shelter and followed one of the paths for awhile. Then, I saw three people heading to the shelter without packs and started to worry about leaving my pack unattended. I turned around to get it, went back to the AT, and began my climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain, where I found the four northbound guys I had been around recently, lounging. They had found their friend, The Flying Scottsman, as well, and someone was playing rap music on their speakers. I tried calling Erik, but I didn¢t have enough reception. I moved on, along the ridge, stopping to take pictures at the many viewpoints. It was another pretty day!    This was also my first real day of fording in Maine, where I had to take off my shoes and put on my crocs! And I had to do it twice! After I crossed the first river, I stopped, dried off my feet, put my sock layers back on, and then my shoes, only to find that I had to take them off again a little further ahead! This process is so time consuming!      I smelled a campfire and soon saw the four boys and The Flying Scottsman, who were camping at the Bald Mountain Brook Campsite. They said I could camp there as well, but I decided to go ahead and check out the shelter. Ewok and Joker were there and they also had a fire going. I was going to set up my hammock by the side of the shelter, but Ewok pointed out a much nicer, more private spot, that was closer to the water. It was great! I went to join them for dinner and offered them another blondie, which they happily accepted!