Date: 2015-07-13
From: Andover

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 18.8

I woke up at 6 and made an enormous amount of oats for breakfast in the kitchen. One thing about the Quaker oats- they're more expensive but they contain more oats per pack. I had brief conversation with a random hiker, where he asked how long I had been on the trail for. He later asked me if I had done much hiking. I reminded him that I had been out here for more than 4 months, so at this point I've done a fair bit of hiking.I was back on the trail by 7.20, and started the climb up. The trail wasn't too bad actually. It felt easier again, and I made decent progress compared to usual. I actually got to the shelter by 4.30pm, which is the fastest 18.8 miles I have done in forever.It was also an extremely hot day again, where I was rolling up my shirt and shorts and just constantly wiping the sweat off my face. It was unreal how much I was sweating. There was a point about 10am where I had to go over Moody Mountain, and the trail up was so incredibly steep that there were metal bars and wooden ladders. I was sweating so much that I couldn't even wipe it off, it was just too much. My bandana was completely drenched. I eventually made it to the road crossing at lunch time. I sat down and enjoyed my lunch. This time I got English muffins and grape jam. They're heavier than tortillas but so much better. After I finished lunch, I started brushing my teeth and got ready to leave. A car pulled up and slowly drove towards me. This was very strange, since I'd hardly seen any traffic. The man stopped and asked me if I was alone. I stupidly nodded, toothbrush still in my mouth. He asked if I was heading north or south and I pointed. Then he drove away. I immediately realised how dumb I was for just assuming that guy was harmless. Regardless of how safe the trail has been so far, I don't want to push my luck too much. I had planned to push on and camp further down the trail, but decided to stay at the shelter with other hikers than be alone tonight. After that, there was another climb up. It wasn't too bad, though steep again for about a thousand feet. The next thousand were a lot gentler and a steady climb. There were hardly any points in the afternoon that were tough. The trail was a bit rocky but not especially troublesome, so I could hike at a decent pace. My knees also felt better than usual, and my left ankle is a tiny bit less swollen and sensitive. There was a small section with a detour that was marked with orange ribbons. It was a bit random, I haven't seen an unexplained detour like that since Tennessee. There was also an enormous amount of moose scat on the trail. It got to the point where it was a bit ridiculous- as if the trail is just one giant toilet for the moose around here. It's so strange that they're obviously on the trail so much but I haven't even seen so much as a tail.I got to the shelter not long after, and met a teenage brother and sister who are out for a couple days. We were mostly by ourselves for a couple hours, until some SOBOs turned up. The SOBOs are very much the party type and are obnoxious. One of them keeps smoking inside the shelter. I wouldn't be surprised if he burnt his own sleeping bag. He's also loud, which makes him even more annoying. These are exactly the type of hikers that I don't like at all. The shelters in Maine have all been roomy so far, but the water sources aren't so good. The one at this shelter is incredibly bad, it's not even running. It's just a pool of stagnant water, but there were no other water options for miles. I was glad for my Sawyer then, despite its slowness. At least it filtered out the bugs. I wouldn't be overly surprised if I got some kind of waterborne disease from it.I'm hoping I can sleep early and wake up early. I'm heading to Rangeley where I'm going to meet Stoat and Poppins. I'm hoping the trail is smooth so I can get there quickly. They've already summited Katahdin, so I'm excited to hear about their trail adventures since I last saw them (in New York, I think).