Date: 2007-09-03
From: Little Bigelow lean-to

To: Maine 27 - Stratton
Miles today: 15.7

The damn nobos were in a hurry to get to Katahdin and got up, and everyone else in the shelter, at around 5:45. Maybe they weren't in too much of a hurry because they didn't completely pack up their stuff until at least 7. I'm really not sure what takes a person so long to pack 25-30 pounds of gear after doing the same damn thing for 5-6 months is beyond me. I fell back to sleep twice during the whole ordeal only to be awoken by one thing or another. After they left, Em and I just kind of shook our heads. She packed up and headed out and shortly after, the flip-flop crew rolled into the shelter to cook breakfast. They all decided to head for Stratton 15 miles down trail which was also my plan, and Ragnar asked me if I'd be up for the possibility of splitting a motel room with them. I was liking the idea of a night in town and said sure. I'd just pick up my box on Tuesday, get what I needed and then roll out.I headed out and passed Otter on the way up Little Bigelow. He was struggling up the mountain and as I passed him I wondered if he had three more big climbs in him. Little Bigelow wasn't too bad, but after dropping into Safford Notch, the two-mile vertical ascent of Avery Peak was a killer. My lungs were burning and my legs ached, but I made the climb without stopping. The wind was outrageous on the summit so I grabbed a spot near some dayhikers out of the wind and enjoyed the view. Supposedly you can see Katahdin from the summit, but there were too many clouds and haze in the distance. Spyder eventually rolled in and he started chatting with the dayhikers. One was a 40-year-old mother who worried that we weren't eating enough so she gave us a few apples and the rest of her trail mix. It's funny how dayhikers and weekenders give your scruffy, dirty appearance an apprehensive look at first, but when they realize your nearly as normal as they are, they warm up to you in a hurry. Spyder and I chilled up on the summit fo over an hour but none of the others showed up. I decided to push on, and after dropping down a half mile and climbing another half-mile, I decided to push on to the South Horn. After a 10-minute break, the wind and a lack of water drove me on and I headed down to the lean-to where a pleasant surprise awaited. The spring at the site was damn near dry, and what little water there was didn't look too appealing. I sat reading my databook for the next water source when Spyder rolled in. He called Otter on his cell phone and Otter said Ragnar and Highlife decided to take the firewarden's trail off Avery Peak and would meet us in Stratton. Otter planned to stay at the lean-to that night and meet us in Stratton the following day. I wasn't too surprised since Highlife and Ragnar seemed to take logging roads and blue blazes when it suited them. I'll probably end up taking a few blue blazes myself this trip as I don't see a need to chase every white blaze since I was a purist the first time around.Spyder had run out of Aquamira, was also out of water, and like me decided not to get water from the spring so we hoofed our parched asses down trail hoping to get water from Cranberry Stream Campsite a few miles away. That stream turned out to be a disappointment as it looked and smelled like a pond outlet. Fortunately, the trail crossed a decent stream a short while later and I chugged a quart and a half. I've never treated my water, but Spyder normally does and he opted to go thirsty until we could get into a town. We were cruising along pretty well when we hit a sign indicating the road was only .9 mile away. Encouraged, we started off and could hear cars on the road. Unfortunately, the MATC must have been under the direction of a sadist when they cut that mile of trail because the damn thing climbed and dropped what must have been four 300-foot hills. There weren't gentle climbs either. I felt like I was back on Avery peak and Spyder and I were soon cursing the MATC and most of their family members. That .9 pretty much gave you an entire A.T. experience because we crossed bog bridges, climbed and dropped hills and crossed a foot bridge over a stream. All we needed was a ford.We eventually hit the road and started hitching. After 10 minutes of trying, a mooose rolled out of the woods. It had been a while since I saw a moose and Spyder and I didn't waste the opportunity to take a few pictures. We eventually got a ride from the lady that runs the hostel in town who was picking up someone that had called her from the trail. We headed to the White Wolf Inn where Ragnar and Highlife were already chilling in a room. Spyder and I split one and after a good meal and too many beers, I was out like a light.