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

Stratton to Rangeley
July 9 - July 12, 1997
The Rainstorm Above the Clouds

Wednesday, 7/9/97 (AM) ---

We left Stratton yesterday at 7:00. We were all in a lot of pain, so we decided to stay an extra day. We met Oz and Turtle, brother and sister thru-hikers. Bobby K was drunk the whole time we were there. He is so obnoxious. I hope I never have to camp with him again. We hiked up over Crocker Mountain which wasn't that bad going up, but the down part was very rocky and just about killed my knees. I used my new poles and they helped. We then continued up Sugarloaf Mountain to a side trail that lead us to the Summit House. It was a hard .5 mile out of the way. Lots of rocks and steep inclines. In all, I think we hiked 11.6 miles. The weather forecast predicted showers and thunderstorms. So I was happy to get here before they started.

  Trailvis, Sneaky, Rabbit, Supertramp, Shipra (I think that's how it's spelled - it means some kind of mountain guide - we met both of them in Stratton) Oz and Turtle. This place is really cool, but needs some work. Looks like some people have taken advantage and not cleaned up after themselves. There's a huge stairs with a balcony inside.

  The rains started right after we went to bed, but they were bad enough to wake me up. The winds were so bad the door could be heard opening and slamming shut. The rain was nailing the windows. When I woke up I couldn't see anything out the windows. There is 0 (zero) visibility, we are basically in a cloud. It's not raining too bad, but it's probably pouring beneath us. I'm thankful I'm in here and not in a tent or lean-to. I hope everyone who is, is OK. I'm sure they are. Well, I think I'll wait a while to see if this clears up. There's no way I'm even going to attempt to hike in this. The winds would probably just rake me away.

  On Monday I hitched into Rangeley with Supertramp and Shipra. This really nice lady gave us a ride there. I had to go to the Outfitters, and they had a free computer lab. It was great. I went in and sent my Mom an e-mail. Then, this strange character gave us a ride back to Stratton. He was a large, hairy man wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, and sunglasses. We all had to squeeze into the cab of his truck - a very tight fit! The first thing I noticed is that he had a Handicap sticker and he drove with his left foot. I guess something was wrong with the right one. He didn't say much, just kept changing the radio station until he found some heavy metal and bounced to the music the entire time. We never caught his name, but he said he's a gold panner in the mountains. Just hangs out all day and looks for gold, and goes to Florida for the winter. He was a real character. Almost ran a construction stop sign once and had to hit the brakes, and he swerved a little as he drove. Overall he was a nice guy and he dropped us back at the hostel.

(PM) ---

  We hiked about 3 miles to the next lean-to and were soaked. It was eery leaving the Summit House .. we were walking through a cloud and the wind was pushing us all over the place. It was also still raining and it was cold! Once we got beneath the tree line it got much better. I met Whippoorwill at the lean-to and she had camped with Jen last night. That made me want to go out there and catch up with Jen, but it was already 1:30, I was cold and dreanched, and it was still raining. I really didn't feel like walking any more in the cold rain, so I stayed at the lean-to with Whippoorwill, Supertramp, Brear Rabbit, and Down Under. Down Under and Whippoorwill are section hikers. Whip is finishing her hike after about 5 years. What a great feeling that must be. She's been working on this for so long, and now she's almost there.

  It's still really cold and windy, but the rain has stopped. Hopefully I'll have a nice day tomorrow so I can try to do 15 miles and catch up with Sneaky & Trailvis who went ahead today. I just don't really enjoy hiking when I'm freezing cold and sopping wet, but hey, what can you do but keep on trucking, or hang out in the lean-to. Well, praying for sunshine for tomorrow. Going to get an early start and we'll see where I end up.

  3 more thru-hikers came in. What a bunch of characters! There's a huge leak in the middle of the lean-to, but we made room for them. That makes 8 of us in a 6 man shelter. Cozy!! Well, one or their names is Movin'on-up and I think one of the others is his brother, I'm not sure. Right now one of them is trying to fix the leak. It's extremely amusing. They remind me of the Three Stooges. One of them just asked for Duct Tape to fix the leak. It's amazing some of the things people use duct tape for, it really will fix just about anything, this leaky hole, blisters, anything! It's getting really cold, and it's starting to rain again. At least the rain will cover Rabbits snoring. He's sick, there seems to be something going around. He's been taking Robitussin and then hiking, it's funny, he gets all drowsy and tipsy while hiking. Almost everyone out here has some accent. These guys are from Mass., but now live in D.C. and all have funky accents. They're cooking Spam, sausages and hot dogs. Sometimes it's really hard to hold back my views, I want to voice my opinion so badly, but it's better to hold it to myself. None of my business. These guys are awesome! 2 of them are on the roof now, and it's raining even harder than before. Well, good luck guys! I'm just going to pray for sunshine for tomorrow.

THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1997 ---

  I hiked about 8 miles today, over Lone Mountain and the Poplar Ridges to Poplar lean-to. It was still nasty our when I woke up this morning. I didn't even want to get out of my sleeping bag, but by the time I was ready to hike all the rain clouds moved aside and the sun started beckoning down on me. It was so great! and it gave me motivation, but I still didn't make 15 miles. Lone Mountain wasn't bad, but Poplar Ridges were more than I had expected. Rabbits shoulder strap busted while he was climbing them. I made it to the lean-to at about 2:30 and since my knee was bothering me I decided to stay.I don't want to have to rush over the Saddlebacks. They look like they might be rough at times, so I'll take my time and enjoy them in the morning. The bugs here are kind of bad, but I still haven't had to put on any deet in the past 4 or 5 days. It's great!

FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1997 - NO JOURNAL ---

SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1997 ---

  Well, here I sit once again in Rangeley. I had a great day yesterday. I climbed the Saddleback Range and it was phenomenal. Possibly the most beautiful yet. Views like you wouldn't believe. I saw a group of 8 hikers and 2 counselors from a camp. They were so enthusiastic! At the lean-to the kids were there and 3 sisters were there with their 5 year old, Hannah. It was her first overnighter. She was so cute and she was having a good time. I was sharing the lean-to with them and they gave me some black beans and rice, tortillas, and a role. I love it when people give me food!

  So, as I was sitting there telling them about my friend, Sister Smiles, who is about 2 days ahead of me and who I have been trying to catch up with .. A northbouder approached us. I asked him if he wanted us to make room, and I noticed he had the exact same backpack as Smiles. I found this funny, but didn't think much about it. Then I asked if he had passed Sister Smiles, and he said "Yeah, we switched packs" .. Before this had time to register in my mind, Smiles jumped out from behind the lean-to. I couldn't believe my eyes!! I was soo excited. She had hitched to Rangeley with Happy Jo and then they hiked 2 miles to the lean-to I was at. What a great friend! And not only that, but they also brought beer!! and pitas and hummus, and everything to make Smores. It was fantastic!! We shared the Smores with Hannah and all the boys. I'm sure Hannah's mom and the counselors appreciated us putting all the kids on a major sugar high right before bedtime. We spent the rest of the night shooting the breeze with Happy-Jo. He was a cool guy! Made me laugh, but his shorts have GOT-TO-GO!!!

  This morning I experienced more Trail Magic. Lisa, one of the sisters, offered us a ride into Rangeley and let us shower at her place. She and her husband have a beautiful house, and an awesome dog, Ranger. She then took us into Rangeley and told us about a blues band playing tonight. We had planned to get to the next lean-to by dark, but she offered us a place to stay tonight and a ride to the trail tomorrow morning. She was so nice and we couldn't resist the temptation, so we decided to stay in town for the night. How can we pass up such a great opportunity to experience Maine Blues! So, we'll hit the trail again tomorrow morning and have to pull 2 big days to catch up with Sneaky, Trailvis, and Brear Rabbit. NO PROBLEM!! So we did laundrym had an excellent lunch at the Red Onion, did some shopping, and now are hanging out with the Peanut Man. He's great, he let us leave our backpacks with him so we didn't have to carry them all over town. So tonight we relax, and then back to the trail in the morning!!