Sept 26

On a boat

It's dull and dreary this morning.  Just beyond the shelter area, the trail crossed over a wooden dam where the pond drained into an outlet stream.  It was a long way to the other side, and a treacherous route.  Hopping from wooden planks, over to rocks, all slick from the water rushing through the cracks and spaces between, and made even worse by the sprinkle of rain that was now falling on us.  In another mile, we passed the waterfalls on Pierce Pond Stream.  The falls were fairly large, with water flowing strongly, and made even more scenic by the red and orange trees along the banks.  This entire section this morning has been full of streams and cascades.  Nice, despite the rain.  We arrived at the Kennebec River and flagged down the porter on the other side.  The official route of the the trail is using the ferry service here, provided by the ATC.  There's even a white blaze painted on the canoe, just to keep the purists happy.  Crossing the river on foot, or swimming it rather, is not the official route.  The Kennebec is too dangerous.  It's extremely wide, swift, and over head deep in places.  The water level is effected by a hydro-electric dam upstream, which releases water without notice, causing the waters to rise several more feet, unexpectedly.  One by one, "Hillbilly Dave" picked us up, and got us safely to the other side.  That's a pretty sweet gig he's got there, just paddling across to pick up hikers all season long.  Also awesome is that the ATC provides the service for free.  Just after the river crossing, the trail came out of the woods and dumped us onto a road, at Caratunk, Maine.  This 'town' consisted of a post office, and a few homes, only a couple square blocks in size.  We stopped in at the post office, then called a hostel for a ride.  We went to the hostel at the Sterling Inn.  We desperately needed to resupply, and this place had a really good selection in the hiker room.  Not cheap, but considering the nearest grocery store was about half and hour away, it was well worth it.  We ended up getting a ride to Northern Outdoors, which was a sort of outdoor adventure resort, similar to the NOC.  Rafting, fishing, kayaking, and so forth.  We figured it'd be better to get an actual room in the hotel there and split it between the five of us.  Plus, there was a restaurant on site.    

The Kennebec River.  Hillbilly Dave on the opposite shore.