August 18
Miles: 18
Location: Stealth camping along shore of East Carry Pond
Weather: Cold and windy, followed by a long stretch of cold, windy and rainy; Cloudy and dreary all day long
Complaint of the Day: The trail eventually got easier, but most of the morning was spent crawling up and over Avery peak. It wasn’t any harder than all the other peaks I’ve climbed over the last few weeks, but my knees were not liking it at all. It looks like I won’t have to climb any significant hills until Katahdin, which is good. My knees need a break and I don’t have time to take a bunch of zero days.
On one hand, today was cold, cloudy, windy, and rainy. But on the other hand, I did get to hear loons call on three separate occasions, and I was able to pick a few blueberries in a grove of large red cedar trees, so I think it all evens out. The trail this morning was pretty rough and it took me a while to get anywhere, but after this morning things flattened out considerably and I was able to cruise. It felt great. It was the first time in what seems like forever that I was able to just hike without having to constantly struggle uphill or downhill or carefully watching where I put each and every step to make sure I don’t fall and seriously injure myself. It was relaxing, like hiking should be.
Tomorrow I will be walking into (and then out of) the small town of Caratunk, ME. I have a package of food waiting for me that my brother James sent, and maybe even get a decent lunch at a diner. In order to get there though, I will have to cross a large river that has a strong current. Thankfully, there is a ferry service that shuttles hikers back and forth across the river. Unfortunately, the service only runs between 9 and 2 every day. I hiked late again tonight so that I should be able to hike the ten miles to the river and get across before they close for the day. If I am late, it would be a bad day for me.
On a different note, I looked forward in my guide book and made a rough plan for the next ten days. The way things look right now, I should be able to summit Katahdin by August 28 without having any sort of crazy long days. The 28th has been my goal for since practically the beginning, so it is both crazy and reassuring to realize that it is likely going to come together just fine despite all the challenges and stress I have put myself through.
Living Life on The AT 