Date: 2005-09-25
From: Abol Bridge

To: Rainbow Stream Lean To 
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

start Abol Bridgedestination Rainbow Stream Lean Tomiles 15 It was another cold morning.The lake was covered with a early morning fog.Thetop of our tent was dripping with condensation.By the time I got the water wipedoff of the inside of the tent my fingers were numb.I would pack a little whilethen stick my frozen fingers inside my jackets to warm them up,then pack somemore.I headed up to tje campstore and as soon as I walked from under thecovering of the trees I was greeted by warm sunshine! I went inside the storeand fixed me a cup of Cherry Vanilla Cappacchino and got a bacon,egg and cheesebiscuit.We should be eating bagels from our foodbag since it is so heavy,but theallure of hot biscuits was just too much.Papermaker bought himself a pair ofgloves.He carried a pair for five weeks and never needed them so I mailed themhome last week. We were just heading into the woods when Visionquest's husband passed by us inhis car.He is helping his wife finish her thru hike.He and Papermaker had beentalking the talk only Marines can understand yesterday,and today he was biddigus ggod luck for the rest of our hike.It hit me as he drove out of site,he wasslack packing his wife,and we were headed in the same direction!He could carryour packs forward for us.We turned around and went back to the store,but he wasalready gone.Between the three of us,you would have thought that at least one ofus would have hadthis thought earlier.We hiked back down the trail dejected andfeeling foolish that we had missed a great opportunity.A cooler just inside thetree lined ,filled with cold drinks helped to perk our spirits somewhat,eventhough we were not even hot or thirsty. The trail was littered with leaves of yellows,reds and brown,polka dotting thebrown earth.Fall is definately in the air.In just a few days the rest of the redmaples willbe a flame with color.The roots and rocks keep us from maintaining asteady pace,but we still make good time.At the Hurd LeanTo,the last shelter fornorth bound hikers,the register is filled with profound thoughts andreminisings.Hikers have left their adresses and emails for those they metearlier andhave not seen again.Their hike is coming to an end and for most ofthem,they will never see each other again.The only thing they have in commonmost of the time is the trail.They are relunctant to let go of that common bond. We stop at Rainbow Ledges for a snack and look at Mt.Katahdin through thetrees.It stands alone,looming above everything around it. We stop at Rainbow Pond and eat lunch.I am eager to be finished with thetrail,yet I do not want to rush through the last two days.I spend the rest ofthe day just walking in the forest,following the white blazes,thinking back tothe beginning of my hike.How horribly ill prepared I was,yet how confident thatI was well prepared to hike. By early afternoon the clouds have moved in,and the sun is hiding onceagain.The temperature hovers around 60.Perfect if you are moving,but too cold tostop without getting a jacket on. Rainbow Stream Lean To is a small lean to,perchd almost on the bank on RaonbowStream.Thanks to some earier hikers who have put a couple dead trees across thestream,we cross it without getting our feet wet though it takes some fancy footwork to get across. There is a tent site overlooking the dstream,high on a rockyledge,with just enough room for us and Africa. Papermaker had found some instantrice in the hiker's box back at Abol Store and he is going to boil some ofAfrica's beef jerky in water to make supper.He is disappointed that he did notfind any mushrooms to add to it.I fix some macaroni and cheese to eat.Boiledbeef jerky and rice just doesn't appeal to me. The way the two of them carriedon about the meal,you would avre thought they were dining on filet mignon,orthat they had invented some exotic dish.The rain began to fall just as duskdid.By the time it was dark,the shelter was full and there were several othertents srinkled around the forest.Level places! were at a premium tonight.I can listen to the stream as it flowsby,intermitent raindrops splatters on the tent.My last night out here.I hadhoped for great weather,I get rain.I will remember this night better though because of the rain.And if Papermaker does not quit snoring he will rememberthis night as well when I boot him out of the tent.I tear off bits of toiletpaper annd stuff them in my ears. Now his snoring isa muffled roar,but now Ican't hardly hear the stream either! Bumpkin                           5 Million Steps for Polio