Haunted Pond
For some reason I could not organise myself this morning. I think it was because I was talking to Ref and OOC whilst packing away my stuff and preparing breakfast. I had a great sleep though.
Sleeping in the woods breathing fresh air away from roads, towns and cities, the body and mind get a deep sleep and a good chance to fully rest over night.
It’s been 18 days since I began hiking in Hanover, New Hampshire. I’ve meet so many hikers, hostel owners, people who picked me up whilst hitching. The past 2.5 weeks have been truly enriching.
When you hike you receive kindness from others in many forms. It really shows you the world is full of great people, you just gotta get out there and meet them.
I had run the section between ME Route 17 and ME Route 4 back in 2019. I remembered it being full of roots and had to concentrate as I ran. Being on trail here brought back nostalgic memories of being here with Gunsection, Campfire and Wrong Way.
Hiking on trail for hour upon hour, day after day and week after week slows life down. There is no entertainment besides your thoughts. During this trip I have had the opportunity to delve deep into my mind and found memories I hadn’t though about in years and even decades. It’s very satisfying to be able to cast your mind back and review your life.
Finally at ME Route 4, I collected a package that Iceman had sent me from the Hiker Hut just up 0.2 miles up the road from the trail. This is where Joe “Stringbean” McConaughey resupplied during his 2016 self supported FKT, the record still stands today.
I then hitched into Rangeley, actually the guy who picked me up was a shuttle driver but did not charge me. I offered to buy him a beer but he said he had stuff to do.
It wasn’t until I was in Rangeley that I realised I had spend several days there during 2019. It felt so nice to walk around recognising familiar places. Rangeley is such a sweet town.
I ate a bacon, cheeseburger and drank a 6.5% local IPA, the lady sitting next to me at the bar offered me a chicken wing, don’t mind if I do. I then walked to the Rangeley IGA grocery store to resupply.
I actually felt like sleeping. That burger was surrounded by a pile of homemade fries and the beer had sedated me. I ambled around the store doing my best to remember what to buy to last 4 nights in the woods.
Nanaman was standing outside the store talking with 2 other hikers, Rat King and Truncle. Nanaman asked if I wanted a lift back to the trail. Sure I packed my bag and jumped in his Subaru.
Nanaman thru hiked in 2019 and is here this year to party and have fun. He does some hiking but mostly parties hard with the dirty bubble (a group of 10 hikers, that started off as 20).
A tropical storm is on its was to New England where I am on the trail. It’s been raining all day. Feeling full and tired I hiked 2 miles to the shelter only to find it full with the dirty bubble, no space for me.
I hiked on to a pond (here a pond is like a lake in other country’s as they are big but more shallow compared to lakes). I set my tent up and it’s time to eat and then sleep.
Oh yeah during the day I arrived at a pond and took a canoe out for a paddle, that’s a photo of the front of the canoe. It felt spooky on the pond all alone without being able to clearly see the tree on the shore.
