7/16 Day 135 Stratton to Little Bigelow Lean-to – 15.3 miles
We decided to have breakfast across the street at the
Stratton Diner—pancakes, bacon, eggs, the usual. Then we caught a right back to
the trail with Sue for a grand start at 0940. We started our morning off with a
2000 foot climb up the South Horn and on to Bigelows. According to all the
southbounders back at the hotel, the Bigelows were horrendous and we should
prepare for the worst; but according to northbounders, these were some of the
last big mountains before Katahdin which meant to get excited, and a little
sad. Okay, so back to the Bigelows, they weren’t the worst climbs we’d ever
seen but they definitely had some nice views. Today was another hot one and the
last 7 miles turned out to be tougher than expected. The best surprise of the
day, however, was the blueberries. There were blueberries everywhere and they
were delicious. Sharpshin and Kestrel joined us at the top and we filled a
whole peanut butter jar. Finally it was time to move on to the shelter for a
nice evening surrounded by a lot of south bounder company. Plus we had made it
5 whole days without rain and crossed our 2000 mile mark!!!
7/17 Day 136 Little Bigelow Lean-to to Pierce Pond Lean-to
–17.7 miles
Today was a beautiful day from start to finish. The morning
started with a cool swim in Flagstaff Lake. The water was so clear, surrounded
by rocks, trees, and mountains. What more do you need? We were finally getting
to see all the beauty that Maine had to offer. We enjoyed easy hiking around
the waters followed by lunch at West Carry Pond Shelter with more easy and fast
hiking. I wanted to get to Pierce Pond early to swim and relax and enjoy; also,
to pay our respects to a fallen thru hiker. Parkside was a 20 year old NOBO who
drowned on June 15, 2012 while attempting to swim across Pierce Pond. I read
that his ashes were carried to Katahdin by those that hiked with him. Since his
death, his mother has made huge strides in educating the hiker public as to the
dangers of swimming immediately post hiking due to potential electrolyte imbalances
and muscle cramping. A memorial is set up in front of the shelter at Pierce
Pond, overlooking the water, and reminding hikers to not take a single second
of life for granted.
After taking everything in for a few minutes, I decided to
go hop in the water and take in the views. This place is absolutely beautiful;
just so hard to believe that anything bad could happen here. I didn’t swim far,
staying close to the edge. When Moose came down to the ledge I swam over to
stand on a rock and kept noticing something touching my leg; when I looked down
I saw a lovely little leech trying to attach itself. Let’s just say I wasn’t in
the mood to swim anymore. Besides, Giussepi showed up and it was great to see
him again. He had taken a short day and just returned from placing his pancake
order. You see, Pierce Pond is famous for another reason. There’s a man by the
name of Harrison who has ran a sporting camp for 28 years 0.3 miles from the
shelter; hikers can walk up there in the evening and place their pancake order
and he’ll have it ready for you in the morning. I can’t wait. After talking
with Harrison for a while, the four of us went back to the shelter for a lovely
evening, watching a storm roll in across the water. I even got to hear my first
loon that night.
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| Someone painted the road for us, even though it was in the wrong spot for us this year, it was still exciting to see :-) |
7/18 Day 137 Pierce Pond Lean-to to Bald Mountain Lean-to –
18.7 miles
Breakfast at Harrison’s was amazing—12 “patriotic” pancakes,
2 eggs, 2 sausage links, juice and milk. I didn’t think I was going to
finish…but I did. Harrison told me that I would be the only thru hiker to not finish
and I couldn’t fail again. We sat and talked with Harrison, and his dog Trudy,
for a while but we had a schedule to keep. The ferry quit running at 11 and we
didn’t want to risk missing our canoe ride. When you start out in Georgia, you
think about all those things that seem so far away, like the Whites, and the
ferry ride, and here we are, walking towards the Kennebec River. The
canoe/ferry has become part of the official trail with a white blaze painted to
the bottom. The Kennebec is wide and there’s no notice as to when the dam up
stream is going to be released; sadly, some thru hikers in the past did die
while to trying to cross this river. Two by two we signed our waivers and
crossed over to the other side. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. We
picked more wild blueberries atop Pleasant Pond Mountain. The day seemed to
drag on as we were just getting tired these days but we eventually made it to
Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to where we caught up to Highliner, Tarzan, Pack Rat,
Norseman, some SOBOs and sectioners.
Love and prayers,
Wide Load
"Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly." Micah 6:8
