Day 10

June 13, 2009

On the way out of Patten, I decide that buying a long-sleeved, hooded bug screen shirt would be an EXCELLENT way to spend twenty dollars.
The black flies know that I'm right!
I'm headed south on Route 11 again and this is where I find a particularly interesting turtle.
He was just at the edge of the road, about to take one more step into the lane of on-coming traffic when I decided to give him a hand.
So, I approach him from the side with my boot first so that he would duck inside the shell. This would enable me to pick him up and move him to safety, right?
Wrong!
This little guy wasn't ducking into anything.
He kept attacking my boot!
So, after about 5 minutes, I decide to distract him with a stick. While he's attacking that, I'm finally able to pick him up and toss him deeper into the woods.
He's was a feisty little booger. Almost makes me think that maybe he WANTED to get hit by a car. I've never met a turtle with a death-wish before, but there's always the first time.
The road eventually opens up to some beautiful views of Mt. Katahdin and the Baxter State Park area to the west (although I'm pretty sure there's no such state with the name Baxter).
And, today my travels take me to the other side of Staceyville, so that I can ditch and pitch behind a tree grove on the right.
Believe me, this new hooded screen shirt is a lifesaver!