START LOCATION: Little Bigelow Lean-to
FINISH LOCATION: Pierce Pond Lean-to
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 17.3
TRIP MILEAGE: 2,023.9
MILES TO GO: 155.2
I awoke and packed up this morning as if I was still doing my 21 miler... Up at 5:15 and hit the trail at 7:10. Today was a comfort cruise compared to every day since I started in the Whites 2 1/2 weeks ago. Within a couple miles I was standing at the eastern shore of Flagstaff Lake, looking up at the Bigelow Range I'd completed the day before. The lake was beautiful... No camps to be seen and a clear blue sky backdrop. I tool it in for a few minutes. I love Maine.
I was 7+ miles in when I hit West Carry Pond Lean-to at 10:15AM. There was a third Colby College orientation group camped nearby and most were still asleep. I chatted with a few of them as I upped my water and snacked. I ended up staying long enough to see Michael J. and Two Rings come in... Also coming from Lil Bigelow. I stayed longer and had lunch. All told I spent 2 hours resting there... Unheard of when hiking the nasties we just finished. But, when the elevation stays between 1,000' and 2,000' over a 17 mile day, one can afford 2 hour lunches. As the Colby crew departed they offered their remaining camp food to us. I jumped at it. I was short one dinner meal to get me to Monson and was expecting to have to split the last one I had in half. Not now... They gave me a giant bag of rice and dehydrated black beans. The best trail magic... When you really need it.
A chance of rain was expected in the late afternoon. It came early. It sprinkled on me a bunch of times in the afternoon. But, it never amounted to a soaking. It did however keep me moving faster than normal and I cruised into Pierce Pond camp around 3:45PM. A 17+ mile push in 6 1/2 hours of hiking. It felt great to hike fast again. This was a nice preview of what I can expect in the Hundred Mile Wilderness later this week. There I plan on doing consistent 20's over 5 days. Its a 100+ mile stretch from the last trail town, Monson, ME to a place called Abol Bridge, the last resupply point of a northbound thru-hike. It's relatively flat hiking but with some rooty, rocky terrain.
At Pierce Pond I waited for Michael J. and we headed the 1/2 mile walk over to Harrison Camps. It's a backwoods retreat that offers fishing, canoeing and of course hiking. But what it also offers is an $11 thru-hiker breakfast... 12 silver dollar berry pancakes with eggs, sausage and coffee. The trip over there in the evening was to make our breakfast reservation and place our order. All we have to do now is show up hungry with $11 cash in our pockets at 7:30AM.
For dinner I enjoyed a giant pot of rice and beans thanks to Colby College. I'm now lying here blogging and listening to one of my favorite sounds in the world coming from Pierce Pond... The loons. They're talking to each other from all corners of the pond. It's the most magical and haunting sound... Like icing on the cake that is this hike. With only 11 days left until I summit, I feel the end coming. It's all good. I'm enjoying thoroughly the time I have left.
-natedog
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