Date: 2003-10-17
From: trailhead @ us201

To: west carry pond lean-to
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

oh, Lord, what in the world am i doing out here? i know that You have me out here for a reason, but these past couple of days have really sucked. just give me an excuse to leave this trail and i will. first off, i twisted my ankle (it doesn't really hurt much anymore, but it is still about the size of my calf). then, the rivers were to big and to fast to cross. winter is just around the corner and i am out here. i have no idea what i'm doing here. i have no idea what you want from me. but, i trust in You. i put my faith in You. i know that You have a great plan for me. if this is where You have me, then this is where i will be. i thank You and i praise You for everything that you do in my life. needless to say, these past couple of days have been rather discouraging. i'm barely a week into this thing and i'm ready to call it quits. but, i just have to remember that today is a new day. today will be a good day. the sun is shining and God is good. things can only get better. i know that this journey is going to be hard. i know that it is going to have its good days and its bad days. if nothing else, i just need to realize that i've got faith and because of that God can and will get me through anything.so, it rained sometime during the night. my rocket tent seemed to stand up fairly well. (not that i ever doubted rocket in his tent making abilities). i'm not sure, though, if i'll carry it through the winter, i think that it may be more of a summer tent. i walked down the street to the post office, leaving my tent where it was in the parking lot so that it might dry out a little bit. i left everything inside except for my camera and my books. those i carried with me. i was in the mindset that i wouldn't really even care if someone happened upon my gear in the trailhead parking lot and decided to take it. part of me actually kind of hoped that it would happen. that is how down i was when i woke up this morning. i don't know why i felt this way. the events of the past couple of days have just gotten to me.but, of course, after a few phone calls and a few great conversations with my mother and my brother, i had done a complete 180. i have been blessed with an incredible family. after i'd received these much-needed words of wisdom and words of encouragement, i was ready to once again do some hiking.i sorted through my food drop and got it all organized. i called the company that is in charge of the ferry service across the mighty kennebec. after being routed through a couple of different phone numbers and even being told that i might not be able to get ferried across the river until tomorrow, i finally was able to speak to someone that could help me. the guy told me to wait at the post office and he would be there shortly.a few minutes later a truck pulls up and the guy behind the wheel asks if my name is adam. i say yes and ask him if he is the guy. he says yes and tells me to hop in. we drive down to the trailhead -is my stuff there or is it gone? is it there? is it gone?- and i am happy to see that all of my gear is just as i left it three hours earlier. i pack up my kind of dry, but not really, rocket tent as well as the rest of my gear. i sign a release form, and the guy and me walk down to the river. there it is- the mighty kennebec.the guy and i hop in the canoe and paddle across the river with no problem. this river doesn't seem too bad, but i know that it can be. because of the dam upstream the water levels can rise upwards of four feet in a matter of minutes. hence, the ferry service. i unload my gear on the far shore, shake hands with the guy (who wishes me luck), and watch him paddle back across the river and disappear into the woods. i am now south of the kennebec. i am now getting somewhere. my spirits are up. this is a good day. i hoist my pack onto my back and start down the trail.in maine, you say stream when i say river, just as you say pond when i say lake. the pierce pond lean-to sits on the pierce pond. well, the pierce pond is quite a pond. much bigger than most ponds that i have encountered in my day. i took a short break at this lean-to and was kind of glad that i wasn't staying there. a stiff, cool breeze was coming in off the water, which would have made for a long and windy night.the temperature held steady at 40 degrees pretty much all day. i would say that the cooler weather is finally setting in and is going to be here for the long haul.tonight i have the shelter all to myself. i would say that except for the weekends, this is how it is going to be from here on out. the west carry pond lean-to sits on a pond, which is more like a lake, but called a pond none the less. go figure.