I have 60 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine to get done. It's time to get started on it. There's a section up near Caratunk that is only 12.2 miles. I figured I could get it done without Lynn's assistance, so I "gave her the day off". It was a 2.5 hour drive up to Caratunk. I brought my bike with me to assist. I drove to the end of Pleasant Pond Road. The plan was to bike back to Caratunk, hike the A.T. north for 12.2 miles and hike the logging roads back. I briefly thought of biking the entire way back, but I was unsure of the condition of the logging road. Here's today's track.
The 5 mile bike ride down Pleasant Pond Road was most enjoyable. It was all downhill! I hid my bike in the woods and headed off.
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About a half mile in, I realized a flaw in my plan. Well, not really a flaw. It was a sound plan, I just goofed and left my truck key in the pouch under my bike seat. Uggh! Well at least I didn't get all the way back to the truck before realizing it. I jogged back to my bike and grabbed the key. This section of the trail was quite runnable at least by Maine's standards. I started out again. I met a thru hiker named 'Spanky'.
"Are you thru hiking?"
"Yes," he said. He then added, "And I'm a missionary!"
"A missionary?"
"Yes, when I decided to do this hike, I decided to make it a missionary journey by telling people about Jesus along the way. Do you know Jesus as your Savior?"
"I sure do."
It was great to meet another Christian. I was convicted by his openness. I know I should be more open about my faith. I wished him well on his missionary journey.
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This bog bridging was so slick that I opted to walk next to it rather than slip on it.
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Despite the set back in having to return for my key, I blew through this 6 mile section. As I neared my truck, the skies opened up with a fairly good shower. Perfect timing. I jumped in my truck, had a snack, and waited it out. About 15 minutes later, I was off again. 6.2 miles to go (On the AT, of course I then need to hike the logging roads back.)
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Pleasant Pond Lean-to was slightly off the trail, but I went to check it out anyway. I was hoping for a view of Pleasant Pond. The lean-to has to be close to the pond, but I didn't see it.
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I returned to the AT. A few minutes later I came across a sign stating the pond was .2 miles away. I decided not to check it out and kept going. I met a thru hiker named 'Not Mother'. It's a line from the movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". She said it has been a joke between her and her kids.
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There were lots of roots and rocks as I made the climb up to Pleasant Pond Mountain.
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View as I neared the summit
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Sign on the summit of Pleasant Pond Mountain
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The best view of the day was just north of the summit. This is looking north to Mosquito Mountain which is not on the AT. I felt like I was on Mosquito Mountain now. Those pesky little guys were out in force today.
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Here's a video clip.
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Looking east to Moxie Pond and Moxie Bald Mountain
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I met two more thru hikers, brothers named Brendan and Eric (nice name). All the thru hikers that I met today were sobos. I don't know if any nobos have made it this far north yet.
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The next 4 miles were filled with rocks, roots, and puddles from all the recent rain. I came out at Joe's Hole.
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My AT miles were done for the day, but now I need to get back to my truck. I started to walk up Moxie Pond Road. A man in a pick-up asked me, "Do you know where you are going?"
He probably figured I was hiking the AT and missed the turn. "I sure hope I know where I am going." I told him how I planned to hike the logging roads back. It sounds easy enough but logging roads usually aren't marked and there also a lot more logging roads than the map shows leaving you scratching your head when you come to a fork. He gave me directions which seemed to match the waypoints I plotted on my GPS. I thanked the man and continued on. It was a great walk along Moxie Pond.
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I turned onto Little Sandy Stream Road. It was a nice easy walk.
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The walk back to my truck was 1.5 miles longer, but the road was 10 times easier than the trail. The last 6.2 miles of the AT took me 3.5 hours. The 7.5 mile road walk back took me 2.5 hours, so I made the right choice for my return. Before heading back to Caratunk, I drove down to see Pleasant Pond which had managed to escape my view all day.
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I drove back to where I had ditched my bike. It would have been awful if I had driven home without remembering to pick up my bike. Since I was here I decided to check out the Kennebec River. It was only .3 miles away. I'd have to rehike those .3 miles when I actually cross the Kennebec, but I wanted to see what I would be up against.
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The Kennebec is the largest unbridged river on the Appalachian Trail. It's not safe to ford the river especially because of unpredictable water releases from hydroelectric dams upstream. The ferry should be taken.
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The Kennebec River
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I learned from one of the hikers today that the ferry was closed for three days. I found some information on the ferry. I took a picture so I could post it here. I will definitely call and make sure the ferry is running before I attempt this section.
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Once I saw the high level of the river and the powerful current I understood why the ferry was closed. I needed to get some of the grim off. I jumped into the edge of the river. I stayed right on the edge and tried to swim. Nope. The current would have swept me away. I stood up and got out of the river. Yep, that's why the ferry is closed. There is no way anyone could paddle a canoe across under these conditions.
Here's a video clip of the swift moving Kennebec River.
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I returned to my truck and began the long drive home.
A few miles down the road I stopped at a historic spot.
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So what's left for the AT. 48 miles of Maine + 155 miles in North Carolina and Georgia for a total of 203.
