Date: 2008-08-04
From: Andover, Maine

To: Rangeley, Maine
Miles today: 77.9
Weather: light rain

August 04, 2008    Rangeley, ME    AT Mile 1,956.2    220.0 Miles to Katahdin       Rain, Mud, Rain, Mud, Rain, Mud . . .    Arrived in town about 3:00 pm with Alohahawk, Memphis Tim, and Forest Gimp after a long dreary 13 mile hike through a totally water and mud saturated trail.    It has rained off and on for days now and we have been sloshing our way through mile after mile of mud that is sometimes two feet deep or more. It's like trying to hike through wet cement. Very tiring and very hard on the knees.    Maine is a beautiful state, but we are all starting to get weary of the weather and its wet, muddy, rocky, and twisted root trail.    The sun has poked through briefly several times a day, then the rains soon return.   It looks like the unsettled weather will be with us for several more days.    The first night out of Andover the four of us plus Pipper and Bearfoot camped at a great stealth campsite just before the stream at South Arm Road.         There was a nasty mud/rock slide a week ago on Moody Mtn that took out about 50 yards of the AT. It was tough and somewhat dangerous to get up and across, but everyone seems to be making it OK.          Yesterday we hiked up and over Mt Blue (3600 ft) and the three peaks and long ridges of the Bemis Mtns (3500 ft). Even with the mix of rain and some sun the views of the Rangeley Lakes were awesome.    Late yesterday afternoon Alohawk, Forest Gimp and I had planned to hike past the Rt. 17 road crossing to the Bemis Mtn Lean-To.   We all were wet, muddy, and tired, so we called the Riff Raft Friendly (hostel) to see if they had space for us for the night.    The Riff Raft Friendly is a house rented by several past thru-hikers who let as many current thru-hikers stay there as floor space for sleeping will allow. Its kind of like a big continuous slumber party for hikers with pizza and beer. Way Cool.    As soon as we pulled in - there was my friend HighLife sitting out front playing the guitar and singing Neil Young tunes. Happy Go Lucky as ever.       There were a bunch of South Bounders there whose names I don't remember. We met Memphis Tim there for the first time and later that evening Chef, Mouth, and Peg Leg arrived.       The guys that run Hiker Friendly do everything they can to help hikers including shuttling to and from trail heads and Rangeley.    About 7:00 am this morning Superman drove the four of us back to the Rt. 17 trail head to start our 13 mile mudfest.                As soon as we arrived in Rangeley we had lunch at the Red Onion Restaurant and found that the cheapest available motel rooms were at the pricey Rangeley Inn. We booked the last two vacant rooms, cleaned up, and when to the IGA to resupply. We also bought fried chicken, potato salad, and munchies to take back to the Inn for dinner.    Early tomorrow morning the four of us will get breakfast at Moosely Bagels, then the mother of a very special hiker I met in the White Mountains with her niece and goddaughter (Dawn, Emily, and Gracie) has offered to shuttle us back to the trail.    We have two 4000 ft mountains to cross tomorrow (Saddle Back and The Horn) so I'm not sure how many miles we will cover. We'll see what the weather holds in store for us.    My next report will be from Stratton, ME in about three days.    Bye for now.    -Wes-    Katahdin Bound . . .