Date: 2010-08-24
From: Andover, ME

To: South Arm Brookside campsite
Miles today: 10.1

23th Tuesday August ¢ 10.1m to Black Brooke (ford)Woke up at 4:45am after a weird nights sleep in the bunkroom. I had to pee several times. The night skies are always so moving when you stare into them. It¢s so peaceful when you can pee and stare into outer space. My bathroom at home is decorated with a Hubble telescope picture of the eagle nebula. No problems peeing when you¢ve got a miracle happening right in front of your eyes. So easy to focus! The only bathroom is in Grandmas house. That¢s too far away. I just piss out the back door. My plan was to wake early and write in my journal as much as possible before everyone woke up. I resupplied on toilet paper after taking one more cold shower.It¢s still early when everyone gets up. We¢re headed to the Red Rooster for breakfast. The Red Rooster is a breakfast dinner just across town. We don¢t even have to cross Andover¢s one and only intersection. Our choice to eat at the RR was a great one! $4.45 is a deal for giant blueberry pancakes and ham. They were out of waffle mix so she gave me pancakes instead. Diving into the bottomless coffee proved shallower than I expected. Timber and her man, Sugar Ray, Hollywood, and the locals were to much for the coffee maker. I felt sorry for the waitress because she was alone. No one seemed to mind the wait, in fact everyone was patient and the place reminded me of home. The locals even look familiar with their rough characteristics. The local men seem like hard working honest people. Every customer has terribly worn shoes. The thru-hikers almost seem to fit in here and I smell bacon.The pancakes arrive one by one from the busy waitress. She¢s running the grill and serving at the same time. The Red Roosters blueberry pancakes almost top the quality of Jerry¢s Kitchen¢s ¢ Hungry Man Special - at Troutdale¢s but not quite. Better luck next time. Jerry¢s Kitchen¢s pancakes held together under the weight of butter. Red Roosters pancakes turned to mush when I applied all the syrup. Red Roosters pancakes melt like birthday cakes left in the hot sun.I realized that I¢d been had when I couldn¢t find a VISA logo anywhere in the dinner. I¢d forgotten to bring cash and they don¢t take cards. Not this again! I had to walk all the way back to Pine Ellis for money. I had to walk all the way back to Red Rooster to pay for my breakfast.¢Good thing you came back!¢ said the short bald man.I¢d just walked back into the Red Rooster when one of the local men swings around to glare at me. I¢m barely even past the screen door of the restaurant. The waitress looks relieved to see me. She didn¢t remember that I had to get cash to pay. I¢d told her about my dilemma but she¢d forgotten. She was unsure of whether I would actually return to pay for those juicy pancakes. ¢Don¢t I have an honest face?¢ I ask the waitress and short bald man.Awkward silence.¢Didn¢t you know you can always trust a guy with a beard?¢ I awkwardly ask again.¢It¢s a good thing you came back.¢ said the short bald man.The short bald man is the sheriff of Andover, Maine. The sheriff is out of uniform today. He¢s wearing a faded black t-shirt and blue jeans. The short guy is really young but he has already mastered the cop moustache. Now that that situation is under control it¢s time to go back to Pine Ellis. The chariot waits to take us back to East B. Hill road. I¢m strolling along the sidewalk through Andover in no particular hurry. Today is going to be a great day! I can tell by the way its feels cool outside that I¢m going to have fun. Shiny dew covered plastic green grass pastures everywhere in the residential neighborhood.When we pile into the shuttle van, it smells of body odors. It smells of all the bodies present at this time. It also smells of all the bodies it¢s transported in the past. I pick on everyone for smelling so bad. Weirdos! David, Sugar Ray, Hollywood, Timber, Timber¢s man, and I pile into a 7 passenger van. We laugh at our horribly combined fragrances. The backpacks are inside and we have to roll the windows down to vent the thick fog. I¢m having a great day in case you¢re wondering. ¢Space Cowboy¢ plays on the radio and we all sing along. Woo ooh!We had to force our way out of the odiferous clown car. I opened the hatch door to remove our backpacks from the luggage compartment. Hollywood¢s backpack falls out with a loud thud against the pavement. We all watch it roll down the road and into the ditch.¢I hope you didn¢t have anything fragile in there¢ I apologize to HollywoodI should have packed out one more whoopee pie. I¢ll be finished early. Maybe I¢ll get one tonight! I could easily return to Andover this evening. South Arm Rd is exactly 10 miles away. There is a campsite right by the road.Thoughts swirl in my head while the hiking remains nice and easy. I¢m whistling ¢Don¢t worry be happy¢ and thinking that the AT is being gentle with me today. This is going to be a great day! The fact that it¢s cool out and the sun is shining and it¢s still August makes me appreciate being in Maine. This place has weather like I¢ve never imagined possible. The summer is nice in Maine but I hear the winter isn¢t as dreamy. It¢s hard to imagine all this moose poop and moss blanketed in 6 feet of snow.The sound of teenagers talking alerted me to their campsite location before I even reached the pond. I saw my first canoe by the edge of the pond. The canoe was green and close to the trail. Someone left that boat there for anyone to use. The boat¢s not even chained to a tree! It¢s available to all who wander around this beautiful place. They even included two life vests for our safety! The pond is small and secluded except for the few kids sleeping under a giant white tarp. I try not to disturb their fun and privacy as I pass nearby. The AT follows the banks of the shallow pond all the way round. I¢m tempted to take the canoe for a stroll. For some reason I don¢t think this will be my only opportunity to go for a boat ride in Maine.My mind is spinning with plans to sleep in a boat one night. Maybe I can anchor out in the middle of a lake and sleep in the hull of the canoe. Would I be cold? I¢d probably fall out while dreaming of rock climbing. Bobbing weightless on a lake and staring at the Milky Way sounds like an excellent plan!Not struggling or staying warm today. I¢m having a great day in Maine! I¢m thankful to be here finally! Thankful that all the work has finally paid off. Thankful for all the friends I¢ve made. I¢m happy that I can relax now and enjoy myself! I¢ve got so much time to think about ways to make myself better. There¢s plenty of time to consider all the aspects of my life. To get things right this time. To straighten out the wrinkles and become a better person. I¢ve learned how to use large power tools to chisel away at my rough edges. I¢ve developed survival techniques that have nothing to do with being in the wilderness. I want to look old, weathered, beaten and cool before my time. I want to have stories to tell about adventure and heartache. This place has fertile soil and I feel something changing with each step towards Katahdin.I¢m starting to get the feeling that I want to keep going after this journey. Lish is coming with me! I want simplicity for dinner and life for dessert! No more consumption. I want to sell everything and go on tour. This is about the time I started thinking about my next big adventure¢¦Biking America? Floating the Mississippi? Hike the PCT?Dreams like those may be silly fantasies. They may never become reality. Maybe they¢re not as hard as they seem. They just might be easier than they appear.I haave been to the University of the Appalachian Trail¢¦I want whoopee pie! I¢m going to town. Done! Moody Mtn. is all that stands between here my second date with Andover. Actually, Moody Mtn. and one landslide stand between me and town. There¢s a reroute coming up where all the erosion has caused a mud slide that destroyed the old AT. The MATC has been hard at work providing us with a suitable route through this area. The MATC has done and incredible job of making the reroute as clear as possible for us. They¢ve even installed hand rails and metal steps for us to scale the tough areas. If it were raining I¢d be covered in mud. Foot traffic is truly detrimental to the environment. I haven¢t seen fresh trails like this but its obvious how our feet play a role in the development of the pathways. The loose soil clings to the roots but it¢s a loosing battle.¢These shoes are walking all over you!¢ I sing.Moody Mtn. is the only obstacle of the day. The melting trail proved difficult but worthwhile. Honestly, the mangled mess left from the landslide wouldn¢t have been that hard to climb.Got my first clear vista of Maine today! Looking southwest was magnificent! The skyline looks like a moving breathing masterpiece. There¢s a pond below in the green carpet valley. There¢s either a giant reflective mirror or a lake between two cliffs. I don¢t know how to describe things very well. It looks like candy? Sounds stupid but I¢m eating it up here. I¢m pretty happy today!When I turn to leave I get a face full of someone¢s exposed ass. Timber¢s boyfriend has his pants down and he¢s standing in the middle of the trail. Timber is standing right beside him, watching. I recognize it as an awkward situation so I turn around and look at the vista again. They know I¢m there. It¢s as weird as it sounds. It¢s even weirder to me that he¢s naked and in the middle of the trail. It¢s that much weirder that it looked as if he was wiping his ass with a black towel? I looked away of course, but I have an active mind that notices things. Odd things in particular seem to catch my eyes.I¢m still looking at the vista of Maine and enjoying the view. After a while, I turn around to leave again and they¢re gone. Awkward situation averted. Timber and the guy are lying in the grass at the next vista. I don¢t even stop to look because they¢ve got the best view yet. I was going to stop to dry my tent and watch the clouds but I don¢t want to invade their privacy.Instead, I¢m talking to Six Course and Cheeseburger who have caught up with me. The two of them are slackpacking. They¢re returning to Andover tonight also. We¢re discussing the topic of Cheeseburger¢s impending visa expiration. Cheeseburger is a young german boy. Six Course and I are trying to figure out a method for Cheeseburger to stay in America longer. Cheeseburger¢s visa expires on the 10th of September. Cheeseburger likes America!¢Marry an American¢ I say to Cheeseburger.Cheeseburger likes the idea but doesn¢t want anything serious. ¢Marry a crack head¢ suggest Six CourseCheeseburger, Six Course and I were serious. We all maintain serious faces the entire time like these are viable options for young German immigrants. Cheeseburger is large and German built but he still seems immature and young. He¢s 22 years old and this is his biggest adventure yet. A large number of German¢s are hiking the trail this season because of a documentary that recently aired in their country.¢Cross the Canadian border. Then sneak back into America!¢ I suggestThe documentary was about their countrymen¢s Appalachian trail experiences and his adventures in America. It must have been good because even Spring Kat mentioned the documentary as his inspiration. Spring Kat¢s not even from Germany, he¢s from Ireland.¢Become a college student¢ I advise Cheeseburger.1 12 hours of walking down Moody Mtn. and we¢re standing by South Arm Rd. I¢m staying here for a while before going into Andover. It¢s only 2pm. SnowFox arrives and sets up his campsite. He¢s staying at South Arm tonight. That¢s a brilliant idea! I¢m not staying in town. There¢s a chance that my mail drop will arrived today. The water source for the camp is a calm black river nearby. The river trickles over a simple rock hop leading to the edge of the dirt road.Maybe my box arrived today. Perhaps, my cookies will arrive when David (Pine Ellis hostel) comes to pick up Six Course and Cheeseburger. David is coming at 3pm. I¢m done for the day. For entertainment, I dry out my tent in the middle of South Arm Rd. There¢s no traffic. Not much at all. I¢m still on the fence about the logistics of returning to town. Should I pay for the shuttle? Can I hitch to Andover for free? Will anyone pick me up on the side of South Arm Rd? I¢ve learned not to worry about that.Don¢t worry as much about the ¢how¢, as much as the ¢why¢I want a whoopee pie because they¢re good. That¢s a good reason. Good enough for me.David picks up Six Course and Cheeseburger but he doesn¢t have my package. He doesn¢t know where my package is. David doesn¢t know where my package went. Neither does the UPS. How has Brown helped you? They stole my cookies! David charges $1.50 per mile per person so I¢m staying at South Arm until tomorrow. I¢m staying here unless someone gives me a free ride.I¢m still drying out my tent on the road side, when an old couple offers me a ride to town. I pack up my belongings and hope into the back seat of their SUV. The whole time I¢m answering their questions, I¢ve got one eye on the route back. I need to know how to get back to South Arm Rd. because it doesn¢t go directly to Andover. The path from the AT back to town involves turns. There¢s so little traffic that I may have to road walk back from town.I¢m eating a whoopee pie by now. The gooey center is squirting all over my beard and fingers outside of the Andover dinner. Six Course and I are sitting outside on the bench, loitering. I¢ve got a 99cent can of icy cold soda in my other hand. Six Course is eating a gigantic triple cheeseburger with all the works. The dinners lunch menu prices are very reasonable for the quantity of food you receive for $4.75. The dinner even includes waffle fries at that price. Six Course and I agree that it¢s good to be in Maine!I walk down to Pine Ellis after seeing the UPS truck turn towards the hostel. There¢s only one intersection in Andover. I might catch the driver of the UPS truck as he comes back. My certainty that the confusion over my package would be resolved was crushed in the out stretched confused arm expression of David when I walked back into Pine Ellis. Still nothing! The UPS guy kept driving past the hostel and didn¢t even stop. No cookies tonight!Walked back to the dinner where Six Course was almost finished resupplying. We¢re both going to try to hitch back to South Arm Rd. It¢s free to sleep there. I tell Six Course that I¢ll sleep under the town pavilion if we can¢t get a ride back.No worries at all. A minivan with North Carolina license plates drive past Six Course and I. Six Course yells, ¢We¢re from North Carolina!¢ The van comes to a screeching halt an we¢ve got a ride instantly! Perfecto! The older couple are both from Asheville. They¢re retired and completing their section hike of the entire AT. It¢s taken them 9 years to complete Georgia to Port Clinton, PA. They just completed the section from Katahdin to Andover! The man is an aeronautical engineer that graduated from NC State University. He never used his degree. He retired from a textile factory. The older couple are unsure of their ability to complete the Whites at their age. Sadly, they don¢t think they¢ll be able to complete that section. The North Carolinians make us homesick by reminding us of good old southern hospitality! They go out of their way to drop us off at the trailhead.SnowFox already has a fire going at the campsite when Six Course and I return. I learned that SnowFox is an MIT graduate. He¢s been working for a civil engineering organization and he has a job already lined up for after the AT. I told SnowFox I haven¢t been treating my water. SnowFox is a water purity specialist and he thinks his company would fire him if he contracted any water borne illnesses. He played lacrosse in college. I know nothing at all about that game so I quizzed him on the details.As we¢re talking I hear voices nearby. The voice sounds like a girl. It¢s Backward and Conan! They¢re getting annoyed with some guy asking them a ton of questions. The man is still in his truck. Conan and Backward are standing below on the river rocks. I interrupt the conversation by sneaking up behind them and scaring the daylights out of Backward.We talk more about giardia, New York, and how happy we are! They¢re going to Andover tonight to stay at Pine Ellis. I tell them about the ¢Joe Grubb¢ special. I¢m still kind of bitter about my misplaced mail so I¢m trying to persuade Conan to stay here at this campsite. I tell them my goals to travel the world with Lish while they wait for their shuttles arrival.David arrives with a surprise. He tells me from across the river bank! I know what he¢s reaching for when he opens the hatch of his minivan! My package arrived! The UPS delivery man left the box at the house next door! How wonderful!!! Here it is!I open it and it¢s like Christmas morning. David waits for me to sort it and switch out my ramen noodles and crackers from the Andover General Crap Store. I got my letter from Lish and a giant bag of red cookie¢¦powder. The galloon sized bag of red dust must be red velvet cookies?! That¢s my favorite kind of cake! She remembered! What are the cookies falling apart when they¢re packed so tightly inside a box?All along I tried so hard not to believe someone stole it!Turns out¢¦you can trust guys with beards! Wink!