Date: 2006-07-10
From: East End of Rainbow Lake, Me

To: Abol Bridge Campground, Me
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I was tented just a few feet from the lake and the loons were calling most of the night...nice. :-)))I woke up at 3:55am to first lite and just layed in my sleeping bag looking out over the lake.It was about 5am when I started brewing my coffee, then I had the last of my apple pies for breakfast.Frogcaller wasn't feeling well this morning, but her and Mrs Gorp left camp at 5:45am.I was packed and walking at 6:40am. Zulu was still packing up when I walked out.I was climbing up Rainbow Ledges and ran into a sobo that didn't seem real happy to be out here.I got up to Rainbow Ledges and caught up to Frogcaller and Mrs Gorp. Frogcaller was still not feeling very well.While they were resting, I went out picking blueberries. There were blueberries all over the place.I brought a handfull back for Frogcaller hoping it would help here feel a little better, then went picking more.I heard someone make a rooster crowing noise from the north. I just figured it was a sobo picking blueberries and I hollered back that it sounded like someone was choking a chicken.I didn't get a response and after a short while, I forgot all about it.In about 15 minutes, John Galt comes walking up. He was the one making the rooster noises.He said he heard me talking and thought that I would know it was him.He tented up there last night and finished packing up before he came over.Zulu had left before John Galt and I did. Mrs Gorp and Frogcaller walked on together.John Galt has been training for a marathon and he took off at 3 1/2 miles an hour.It was all I could do to keep up with him. I guess he was paying me back for when I used to make him walk faster to keep up with me in '03. :-)))We got to Hurd Brook Lean-to and I signed the register. Zulu was there and he decided to wait on Frogcaller to show up to see how she was doing.I took off trying to keep up with John Galt again. We got the 3 1/2 miles to Abol Bridge Campstore in one hour flat.On the way, we stopped and got some water from a nice spring, then saw a sobo by the name of Band-O-Luke who was walking with his dad through the wilderness.I later found out that when Frogcaller and Mrs Gorp met those two sobo's, the dad said to Frogcaller that looking at her makes him think that it might be possible for him to do the whole trail.Ha, he just needs to learn what a put-down is first.I talked to Linda at the campstore and she told me that Linda at White House Landing had found Mrs Gorp's headlamp and sent it with Jim, the seaplane pilot back to his office near Millinocket.I got a campsite for all 5 of us, then went and set up my tent and put my backpack in it so if it rained, it wouldn't get wet.It had started to thunder in the distance.John Galt stayed at camp and I bought 3 ginger ales and walked back into the wilderness to see how Frogcaller was doing.I figured the ginger ale might help settle her stomach.I saw Zulu coming out about 25 minutes after I walked back into the wilderness. I gave him a ginger ale and he kept walking.I kept walking and in another half hour, I came up to Frogcaller and Mrs Gorp.Frogcaller looked all right when I first saw her, but when she went to sit down, I could see she was a little dizzy.She drank some ginger ale and it seemed to help.All three of us walked north out of the wilderness together.Frogcaller had to sit a few more times, so I knew she wasn't feeling well at all.We got to Abol Bridge Campground and she had a seat out front for a while.I bought a few snacks and went back over to our tent site.I was sitting on the picnic table and a duck came over to within 7 feet of me. He was looking for a handout. I guess he doesn't know how dangerous it is for a duck to get that close to a hungry thru hiker. :-)))Everyone seemed in a hurry to get their showers, so one by one, we all got cleaned up.I washed my clothes in the shower with me and put them back on wet.I went back and was sitting on the picnic table trying to dry out when the rain hit. Lots of thunder and lightening along with heavy rain.I was laying in my tent, but because I was still wet, I started to get cold. I pulled my sleeping bag over the top of me and fell asleep.When I woke up, the rain had stopped and Mrs Gorp was yelling over to me that she was hungry. :-)))John Galt had his car parked here, so we all rode into Millinocket and ate at Motel Terrace.I had 16 ounces of sirloin tips, baked potato, salad, clam chowder and some nice warm bread with real butter. That sure beats trail food!!On the way into town, we also stopped at Katahdin Air Service and picked up Mrs Gorp's headlamp. That kind of made her day. :-)))We went to the grocery store and I resupplied, then checked my email. I called Shortcut to see how she's doing, but couldn't talk long because the others were waiting on me in the car.We had seen a cow moose and a young bull moose on the way into town and we saw a cow moose on the way back out of town.I brought back a pint of Ben and Jeery's Cherry Garcia and sat on the picnic table and ate it. I took a few pictures of the setting sun over the Penobscot River and a few shots of Katahdin, then crawled into my tent to escape the mosquitos.I sure hope Frogcaller starts feeling better. She only has 15 miles to go to finish the whole AT!!