June 23, 2009
I couldn't help it. The idea of staying another day in Monson and going to a Bible Study were just too much for me to pass up.
I spent the day doing laundry, eating amazing food prepared for me by Rebekah and, eventually, going to the Bible Study group where they were eating even more food and studying in the book of Esther.
It's really good to get the opportunity to fellowship with a room full of believers.
The trek through Maine tends to get a bit lonely at times.
So, after this time of refreshing, I'm due to jump on the Appalachian Trail first thing in the morning.
God has been too kind to me in Monson and I am very grateful for it.
Day 19
June 22, 2009
Lakeshore House runs a shuttle to Greenville for hikers to get to the gear shop located there. So, I tagged along. I needed to get some replacement parts for my pack. The hipstrap is no longer being upheld by my creative duct taping job.
Come to find out, external frame packs are quite the 'dinosaur'.
But, I happen to like dinosaurs so that's not a problem for me.
It is, however, a problem when looking for replacement parts.
So, the gear shop wasn't able to help me out, BUT the guy who ran the shuttle was. He's got an old pack back at his house that he doesn't use anymore so I'm more than welcome to take it if I need.
When we got back to the Lakeshore House, I gladly recieved the pack and immediately went into 'scavenge' mode.
I was able to change out the hip strap and such so that my hiking endeavors should be a bit more comfortable in the near future. We shall see.
The Lakeshore House is closed on Mondays, as far as the Restaurant and Bar go, but Rebekah went ahead and spoiled me by not only making me lunch, but dinner, too.
She rocks the house!
After lunch, I mailed home 4 pounds worth of gear and decided it would be a good time to take out one of the paddle boats onto Lake Hebron and make myself a nice little video.
All in all, it's been a pretty good day.
At Rebekah's urging, I'm contemplating staying an extra day tomorrow so that I can attend a Bible study with her. It sounds awfully tempting and I wouldn't be surprised if I cave in.
I'm a sucker for Bible study and sitting around all day.
Day 18
June 21, 2009
Slugs are ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!
It's gross but, at the same time, I have to admit it's kinda fun flicking the slugs off of my tent from the inside. After scraping all of the excess visitors, I brake camp and head south on Elliotsville.
After nine miles, I eventually end up in Monson.
It's funny to think that it just took me four days to accomplish what most people take 10 to 14 days to do...
from Millinocket, up and down Mt. Katahdin and through the 100 mile wilderness.
I'd say that's a good thing.
Unfortunately, it also means that all of the people that I met back in Millinocket are so far behind me on the trail that it's safe to say that I'll probably never see any of them again.
At least, not on this trip.
So, I manage to meander my way over to the General Store, where I sign in to the AT Registry and sit down at the lunch counter to find out what all the fuss is about these wacky 'red hotdogs' that everyone in New England seems to rave about.
I tried one.
I still don't get it.
Basically, it's a normal hotdog with a snappy/crunchy outer coating. I fail to see the point.
But, I'm not a hotdog fan to begin with.
Now, there appears to be two bunk house/hostels to choose from in this town and according to the Thru-Hiker's Handbook, the Lakeshore House seems to be the only one that offers wi-fi, so that makes the choice fairly simple.
I check into Room #5, get me a shower and head downstairs to see what the restaurant has to offer. That's when I meet Rebekah, the owner, who gets a big kick out of my t-shirt (the mock up of the Trix rabbit saying, "Silly rabbit, Jesus is for everyone!").
The place has a small town tavern appeal to it so I wasn't expecting much as far as the food was concerned. But, WOW, was that some good food!
AND, a VERY healthy portion I might add.
It's also Sunday night, which is open-mic night, so the music is emanating nicely from the lake shore gazebo just outside and all the locals are having a blast.
I think I'm going to like it here.
Day 17
June 20, 2009
As you may have guessed, Brownville Junction sits right along the railroad tracks.
And, it just so happens that Mr. Belvin is retired from the railroad so he was able to give me some insight as to what lies on the western end of the horizon.
My newly gathered information tells me that no train runs on Saturday and about 20 miles worth of travel should put me in Bodfish, which is just about nine more miles up from Monson.
Now, upon starting such a trek, I figured this might take a couple of days. But, wouldn't you know it, after ten miles of hiking on the tracks and eating some lunch, the day was still young and I felt really good.
So, I ventured onto the final ten.
Those last two were really starting to take their toll, though. By the way, did I mention that it had been raining all day?
When, finally, I found some semblance of civilization and was able to leave the tracks.
On an added note, I discovered today that ten miles on a train track will take you about four hours to accomplish.
As I desperately searched for, and eventually found, the correct route toward Monson, I came across some sort of park and camping area where I managed to ditch to the right side of the road just across from the river.
I am SO HAPPY to get some sleep!
Day 16
June 19, 2009
I woke up at 4:15?!?
Well, that's certainly different!
It seems Mr. Belvin has a morning ritual where he likes to get up before the sun and 'open up' some of the local coffee shops, convenient stores and restaurants around the town. Only, he was recently deemed 'too blind' to be allowed to drive himself anywhere. Oh, he could still do it, of course, but the locals aren't too happy about it when he does.
So, today, it's my good fortune to wake up and drive him in his diesel truck (good thing I used to be a valet) all around the town to visit the usual haunts.
Get this, he's such a fixture in these places that he has his own set of keys for them and he generally shows up BEFORE the places open. And, most of the time, BEFORE the employees get there. It's too bad that I'm not a coffee drinker because I certainly got the breakfast tour of a lifetime.
Needless to say, when we got back to the house, I found it delightfully easy to crawl into the trailer and take a nap.
It's a rainy day today so I found ample time to take care of my laundry.
Then, I tagged along with my gracious hosts to attend a Historical Society Benefit Dinner downtown, then finish up the festivities hanging out at The Junction.
All in all, it's been a fairly eventful and yet restful day. One more night in the trailer and I'm hittin' the trail.
I woke up at 4:15?!?
Well, that's certainly different!
It seems Mr. Belvin has a morning ritual where he likes to get up before the sun and 'open up' some of the local coffee shops, convenient stores and restaurants around the town. Only, he was recently deemed 'too blind' to be allowed to drive himself anywhere. Oh, he could still do it, of course, but the locals aren't too happy about it when he does.
So, today, it's my good fortune to wake up and drive him in his diesel truck (good thing I used to be a valet) all around the town to visit the usual haunts.
Get this, he's such a fixture in these places that he has his own set of keys for them and he generally shows up BEFORE the places open. And, most of the time, BEFORE the employees get there. It's too bad that I'm not a coffee drinker because I certainly got the breakfast tour of a lifetime.
Needless to say, when we got back to the house, I found it delightfully easy to crawl into the trailer and take a nap.
It's a rainy day today so I found ample time to take care of my laundry.
Then, I tagged along with my gracious hosts to attend a Historical Society Benefit Dinner downtown, then finish up the festivities hanging out at The Junction.
All in all, it's been a fairly eventful and yet restful day. One more night in the trailer and I'm hittin' the trail.
Day 15
June 18, 2009
So, I'm hiking south on Route 11 when, lo and behold, I find that I'm starting to run low on water. It's nothing to worry about, really, because I'm spending most of the day within earshot of running water.
As I get down to my last bottle, I start to think that refilling would be a novel idea, then a lady pulls to the side of the road and gets out of her car. She walks toward me and proceeds to let me know that my cell phone coverage isn't going to work.
(What an interesting thing to tell a guy hiking down a barren road in the middle of Maine.)
I assured her that my cell phone (Sprint) hadn't worked for the past two weeks, so it really wasn't anything new to me.
She offered me a ride into town but, of course, I had to turn her down. But, that opened up the door for me to tell her who I was and what I was doing. She was pretty excited about the whole thing and was pretty well beside herself trying to figure out how to help me.
I thought this would be a great opportunity to ask if she happened to have any bottled water in the car with her.
She did not. :(
But, she was more than happy to drive the rest of the way into town, keep her hair appointment, then bring me back some water when she was done. This sounded like a good plan to me...
at first.
A couple of hours later, I finally run out of water alongside the Katahdin Ironworks Road and my lips are getting quite 'chappy'.
At this point, I'm starting to feel a little desperate and foolish for deciding to wait for her delivery instead of refilling in the creek somewhere when I had the chance. I'm just on the verge of knocking on someone's door and begging for water when a car pulls up in the distance.
She made good on her promise, though, and brought me, get this, an entire gallon of water!
Normally, this would be a ridiculous overload of weight but I was EXTREMELY happy to oblige.
I filled up all three of my water bottles and still had plenty left in the container. So, I gladly drank till I could drink no more.
She assured me that I was within a couple of miles of the town and I should stop at a place called, 'The Junction' to find myself some food.
So, I did.
And, believe it or not, they knew I was coming! The nice lady had apparently already been there and told them all about me and what I was doing AND she even prepaid for my entire meal.
How cool is that?
The guy running the place is named Donnie and he set me up with all the fixins!
Delicious!!
He runs the place with his brother and it's WAY MORE than just a convenient store with a lunch counter. It's a supply store, campground, concert venue, outdoor movie theater PLUS who knows what else! It's really pretty cool and you can check it out at: www.theJunctionGeneral.com.
His parents eventually came in to grab a bite to eat as well. I got to meet them and they decided to let me come spend a couple of nights in their fifth-wheel trailer in the front yard.
This is turning out to be quite a day!
For those of you who know anything about the lore of the AT, you've probably heard of Bill Irwin, the first blind man to hike the whole trail. Well, it just so happens that when he got to that part of the AT, he came into Brownville and stayed with this very same couple.
He apparently even mentions them in his book.
I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Mr. Blevin said something about needing a 'taxi service' in the morning, so this should be interesting.
Day 14
June 17, 2009
Well, today I had to make a decision.
Normally, an AT hiker takes a shuttle to Baxter State Park to start out their adventure with an ascent up Mount Katahdin.
I, unfortunately, am not your typical AT hiker.
So, I'm faced with the option of having to walk to Baxter, climb the mountain and venture through what they call the 100 mile wilderness. Now, to do this, I'm going to need about 10 days worth of food and supplies AND it's not a real time-saver to help me get to Mexico.
I've also come to the realization that anything that takes longer than it should is going to dip further into my funds, and that's one luxury I can't quite rationalize on this trip.
Instead, I'm heading west on Route 11.
But, not before grabbing a quick breakfast at the AT Cafe, where I'm forced to notice something new and exciting. Yes, I'm pretty sure that in the past two weeks of travel time, from Mars Hill to here, I've finally come to see my very first black man, dreadlocks and all.
Shocking, right?
Come to think of it, things have been so pasty white up here, that I can't really recall seeing any human being of any shade darker than Nicole Kidman.
Strange, you would think the rednecks would flock to an area like this.
Anyway, life is pretty barren as I pass through West Seboeis and find a spot to ditch to on the left side of the road. Tomorrow, it's onward to Brownville Junction!
Well, today I had to make a decision.
Normally, an AT hiker takes a shuttle to Baxter State Park to start out their adventure with an ascent up Mount Katahdin.
I, unfortunately, am not your typical AT hiker.
So, I'm faced with the option of having to walk to Baxter, climb the mountain and venture through what they call the 100 mile wilderness. Now, to do this, I'm going to need about 10 days worth of food and supplies AND it's not a real time-saver to help me get to Mexico.
I've also come to the realization that anything that takes longer than it should is going to dip further into my funds, and that's one luxury I can't quite rationalize on this trip.
Instead, I'm heading west on Route 11.
But, not before grabbing a quick breakfast at the AT Cafe, where I'm forced to notice something new and exciting. Yes, I'm pretty sure that in the past two weeks of travel time, from Mars Hill to here, I've finally come to see my very first black man, dreadlocks and all.
Shocking, right?
Come to think of it, things have been so pasty white up here, that I can't really recall seeing any human being of any shade darker than Nicole Kidman.
Strange, you would think the rednecks would flock to an area like this.
Anyway, life is pretty barren as I pass through West Seboeis and find a spot to ditch to on the left side of the road. Tomorrow, it's onward to Brownville Junction!
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