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[at-l] Spurs Journal - oops
Trail Day 145, 9/11/01
Hiked 22.2 miles from Safford Notch to Pierce Pond Leanto, AT mile 2012.9
Miles married, 1172.7
Miles to Katahdin, 155.2
The rain stopped before midnight last night. Not all that much fell but it
was nice to be warm and snug inside our cozy Nomad tent.
We get up before daylight again, before 5 AM, and are hiking at 6. We've set
our sights on Pierce Pond, 22 miles distant, which will set us up to catch
the canoe ferry across the Kennebec River near Caratunk early tomorrow.
It's 3 miles up to the Little Bigelow summit where we have great views of
Avery Peak, Sugarloaf Mtn and Flagstaff Lake. 2 southbound hikers, Mike and
Bill, join us at the top while we're sitting in the sun taking a break. A
cold front has moved in behind the rain leaving a pleasant crispness in the
air. Up top here it's quite cool in the strong breeze.
We descend a couple miles and stop briefly at Little Bigelow Leanto. The
privy here is a 2-seater so there's no waiting. It's certainly a memory to
cherish.
At the foot of the mtn we pass the shoreline of Flagstaff Lake, pausing to
look across the waves to Roundtop Mtn whose summit we'll reach in a couple
hours.
In between there's an unnamed ridge we cross. Coming down a steep rock my
shoes skid and I bounce on my butt then land on my feet at the bottom. Ready
has to laugh at my reaction to the fall.
At Long Falls Dam Road the words "2000 miles" are painted on the pavement
right in the middle of the road. The mark corresponds closely with the actual
distance I've walked since leaving GA back in March. Ready takes a photo of
me sprawled out on the road grasping for the painted letters.
Ready sets a fierce pace climbing the gentle slope of Roundtop Mtn. I'm
behind her and breathless most of the way up. She slows a bit down the other
side as her sciatica decides to flare up again after days of absence.
We cruise into the leanto at West Carry Pond about 12:15 and eat lunch.
Peace, a northbound thruhiker, is here. After he leaves, first Joe, then
Crowded Feet arrive. We chat away while Ready naps in the sun, till finally
we take off again around 1:40 PM.
Joe walks extremely fast. Since he's still gathering his stuff as we leave
the leanto after lunch, we decide to play a trick on him. After a short
distance we duck off the trail and wait for him to pass by. We can hear him
singing a heartfelt rendition of rhythm and blues as he goes by. We know
he'll think we're still ahead as he hurries to catch up and pass. We are so
mean.
>From here it's mostly level to the next leanto 10 miles distant. We push
along at a good pace. At one point we're walking along old boglogs and I'm
leaning forward straining to hear something Ready is saying. I fall off the
log and do a near faceplant. 2 falls in one day! Fortunately this one does no
damage either.
Ready leads the way and despite some discomfort has us movig rapidly. We stop
briefly at a tiny sandy beach on East Carry Pond where I wade out and refill
water, then we cruise over Bates Ridge down to Pierce Pond Leanto, arriving
around 6. The wind is fierce coming off the pond here but I find a nice
tentsite near the pond but behind a natural windbreak.
Joe has gone to the fishing camp nearby to sign up for breakfast tomorrow. He
returns with terrible news about airplane hijacks and terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and elsewhere. We're dumbfounded and have a hard time
assimilating this news.
We wander over to the fishing camp and sign up for breakfast ourselves. When
we return Joe comes back and asks us how he managed to get ahead of us on the
trail without passing us. Neither of us feels in a mood to play out the joke,
so we play dumb till he invents his own creative explanation. We don't argue.
After supper I get lost on the way back from the privy. Fortunately the cry
of the loons leads me back to our tentsite near the pond.
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