P E D R O ' S   A P P A L A C H I A N   T R A I L
T H R U - H I K E   J O U R N A L

©1997 Megan Hearn
Trail Name: Pedro

Monson to Stratton
July 2 - July 7, 1997

Wednesday July 2

I've missed a few days writing .. We've been getting into the lean-to's so late that all I want to do is eat and go to sleep. We left Shaw's Monday morning and hiked 14.6 miles to Moxie Bald Lean-to - Moxie is the Indian word for dark water. Shaw's was nice, but not all that I expected. The hikers were great, but that warm homey feeling just wasn't there. Mrs. Shaw and little Keith seemed to be a little irritated with the whole situation. We stayed too long - 3 nights, 2 full days. I won't be doing that again. It was great to get back on the trail. We hiked for the first time with Trailvis and Sneaky. We had a nice long lunch. There was a moose carcass on the trail. Going over the last river crossing I fell in. It seemed like rocks and logs were put there just to cross. I thought before hand, "what an easy crossing" .. then BAM!! I slipped, and before I knew it, I was thigh high in water. It was already late, but I had to sit awhile and relax, and dump the water out of my boots. When I finally got to the Shelter, Alec, a north-bounder, was there. My Mom had been telling me to watch for him because she knows his Mom and it was nice to meet him. It was late and we were tired, so we really didn't have much time to chat. My sciatic nerve was bothering me for the last mile. I kept getting sharp pains from my lower back down into both knees. It sucked!

The next morning we intended to get an early start, Alec woke us up at 5:30m but it just didn't happen. We hiked 13.9 miles to Pleasant Pond lean-to. We met Dragontail and Sausageman who are finishing their north-bound thru hike. We climbed Moxie Bald and Pleasant Pond Mountains. (Moxie Bald Mountain - elevation 2,630´, Pleasant Pond Mountain - elevation 2,477´) I was hurting so bad at the end of the day! Pleasant Pond was 5 miles up and 1 mile down. It destroyed my knees, and the nerves in my back are killing me. It might have something to do with how my pack sits on my back, I'm going to try to adjust it. I left Shaw's with a 31 pound pack, not bad, but, like everyone else, I would like it lighter. We arrived at the shelter late and raccoons came after us in the middle of the night. We camped with Lego, Moose, Butterfly & Sparkleberry, and Sneaky & Trailvis. Butterfly & Sparkleberry are a very odd couple.

Today was GREAT! We got up at about 5:15 and left camp around 7. We made it to Caratunk by 9:30 and met Cliff. He gave us a ride to the next town where he said they have a better store. We also picked up Let it Be on the way. Cliff was awesome. He and his wife have a White Water Rafting Company. He had his baby girl, Emily, with him, and his dog Chance. They were so great! They even took up back to the trail and we caught the ferry across the Kennebec River. We also met up with Brett - trail name Cornrow on Monday. Once on the other side, Smiles, Sneaky & Trailvis, Cornrow and I went swimming and hung out by the water for about 2 hours. We also ate the snacks we bought in town. I got cheeseballs and a block of extra sharp cheddar - it was so good! We then finished off the hike with 3.7 miles to Pierce Pond lean-to. A nice 9.7 easy terrain day. My knees needed it.

We saw lots of waterfall on our hike today, and the lean-to is great. We swam and bathed again when we got here. We also passed a big dam and Harrisons Camping Area on the way here. The word is that they have great pancakes for breakfast. We're going to try them out in the morning.

I saw my first Brown Recluse today. A Daddy long legs is crawling up my leg right now. The dragon flies will also land on you and hang out. I've seen some beautiful butterflies. I wish I had some identification books for insects, wildflowers, and stuff while it's in front of me. Well, I hope my knees feel better in the morning. We're going to try to make it to the top of Bigelow Mountain for the 4th of July.

Thursday July 3

Pretty nice hike today. We went 10 miles to the West Carry Pond Lean-to. Woke up and had breakfast at the Harrison Camp. AWESOME PANCAKES!! They had spiced apples in them. I almost ate the whole plate. There were 12 of them.

Gloomy day. It sprinkled the whole walk, but not too bad. Hiked pretty much by myself today and I really enjoyed it. Smiles and Chivo went ahead to the Bigelow Shelter. Smiles is trying to make it to Stratton by Saturday morning. GOOD LUCK! I decided to take my time and get there by Monday morning to pick up packages. Saw a moose down at the Pond. She was beautiful. She was getting water about 100 yards from us and just kind of glared at us and then walked away.

SSmiles and Chivo left at about 4:30 for the next shelter. It started raining right as they left, and it's pouring now.We can hardly hear each other speak it's so loud. It's great! I'm so happy I'm in a Shelter and not walking. Brett also proded on, which surprised me, she's pretty slow and I don't think she'll make it, especially in this rain. And what horrible weather to have to set up a tent in. 2 girls walked up and set up a tent right next to the shelter. They didn't even walk over to say anything. They're crazy sleeping in a tent in this weather when there's still room in the shelter. Brear Rabbit finally caught up today, and Sneaky & Trailvis are here. We have all decided to take the next few days easy. My knee started hurting about 300 yards from the shelter, so I'm glad I didn't have to move on.

Trailvis stove almost blew up today. He entertained us every night trying to use it. Everyone always kind of moves away from him when he brings it out, we call it The Fireball. But it died. Almost blew up and he had to chuck it out of the Shelter and it left a stream of burning gas. Luckily no one was hurt. They can all use mine until they get to town. They are letting me use their water purifier since I was sharing with Smiles and she's moved on. I hope the rain stops before morning. 3 guys and a dog were struck by lightning sometime last week. Glad to be in a shelter!! Just going to sit back and watch the rain and listen to the sound it makes all around me.

Friday July 4

What a great day! The weather wasn't that great, still sprinkling this morning, but we hiked 7.5 miles to Little Bigelow Lean-to. It was a real laid back day! I've hiked alone for the past 2 days and I love it. I like not having to worry about going at someone elses pace. We climbed 2 little mountains and then started up Little Bigelow. I'm camping with Sneaky & Trailvis, Brear Rabbitt, and Daddy. Daddy is a northbounder. We're going to play some spades tonight, we played Scrabble last night. Had a great dinner thanks to the brothers Moose & Lego who left some food in the hiker box at Shaw's. Thanks guys!! We passed a few cabins by Flagstaff Pond. Trailvis asked to use a phone and they offered him food and beer, but he turned it down because Sneaky is already past him going to camp. I was glad to hear that Smiles, Billy Goat & Lucky made it there safe in the rain last night. But they were wet! Well, won't be able to see any fireworks, but wouldn't be able to see them up on top of Bigelow either because it looks like it's about to storm. My knees are feeling much better, but I can't wait to get to Stratton where I have poles and Superfeet waiting for me. YAHOO!!

Saturday July 5

This is amazing! I'm sitting on top of Avery Peak on the Bigelow Mountain. I feel like I'm sitting on top of the world. I can see forever all around me, and I just met a couple who gave me some grapes, an apple, and a nectarine, which is especially a good thing since I have no more water and I've been sharing Brear Rabbit's purifier since Smiles took off. I'm going to get my own as soon as I hit an Outfitter, probably in Gorham. The wind is spectacular. I LOVE it! It feels like it could just push you off the mountain. Well, I'm going to move on to the next Lean-to.
Bigelow Mountain - elevation 4,088 feet

P.M.

Well, I went to the next campsite and decided to wait for Sneaky, Trailvis, and Brear Rabbit. We decided to stay here for the night and hike the 8 miles into Stratton tomorrow. Rabbit is letting me crash in his tent. There used to be a lean-to here, but it appears they took it down. Last night another northbounder named Crash came into the lean-to. He and Daddy know each other. We stayed up and played Scrabble for a while and I got my best night sleep yet. I only woke up once during the night. I think it's because of the temperature. It was nice and cool last night. Right now it's about 50 degrees, maybe less. I love it! You get all cozy in your sleeping bag. Usually I get hot and want to unzip my sleeping bag, but then the bugs will attack you.

We had a little snowshoe rabbit checking us out while we were eating. She was so cute, not at all scared, just seeing what's going on. There is a lady staying here with some kind of mountain dogs. They are awesome. There are also 2 campers from France or somewhere. They don't really speak English. Ran into 2 families day hiking today and a group of French Canadian scouts going to Katahdin. It must be great to be exposed to this stuff at such a young age. It's tough, but they all seemed to be having a great time. The sounds here are great. There are a bunch of birds going crazy. It's only about 8, but we are going to try to get an early start tomorrow to get into Stratton kind of early. Maybe do some laundry. Have to wait till Monday to pick up packages.

Monday July 7

We made it to Stratton yesterday at about 2. It was nice to get to relax for the afternoon and do some laundry and take a shower. The weather is great. There are a couple of other thru-hikers here, but they are taking the day off and leaving tomorrow. I'm leaving after the Post Office opens and I can pick up my packages. My knees are hurting. One of them gave out on me this morning while I was walking and I almost fell. I'm getting sticks today (thanks Aunt Betty) and hopefully they'll help me out.

Bobbie K passed out on the couch here last night. He hurt his back and hitched in here. He's quite a character. The hike yesterday was beautiful, but super tough on my knees. We hiked about 5 miles of steep downhill. My knees were killing me. Ran into Nubis who was going northbound, and a bunch of high school kids out for a day hike. It's so great that they take advantage of having access to such beauty. We're sleeping up in the summit house on Sugarloaf today.