I left Stratton in the pouring rain and hiked, well dripped, 15miles without stopping. The trail, I mean river, traverses four mountains (one of which is a 4000 footer, and two of which are wicked exposed) only to ford a raging brook in the dark and slop into the shelter freezing, soaked, exhausted and more proud of myself than I have ever felt. It was a difficult and very cold day, but the dry shelter was a welcome comfort. To my surprise Traveler (a hiker I'd barely interacted with previous to that night) was huddled in the shelter; we were equally excited to see each other and chatted long into the night! We cranked out a 17 the next day through the swamp, around ponds, across flat trail adorned with fallen leaves, over bog boards and right into a shelter with a lake view! Then this morning we headed for the Kennebaec River, on the other side of which lies Caratunk.
To cross the Kennebec River you have to make the "ferry," a guy in a canoe who asks for your help to paddle you and your gear across the river! He is only there from 9 to 11 am. Traveler and I arrived just after 10am absolutely jazzed after the most beautiful and brisk 4mi walk of the entire trip!
We hit up the local pub to celebrate overcoming a few tough days!
No comments:
Post a Comment