Yesterday the group and I arrived at Caratunk after 37 miles of hiking. We hit a couple of great mountains on our way. My favorite by far was Moxie Bald. We camped yesterday next to some power-lines right after Moxie pond. Our group has been doing a lot of stealth camping in spots where it looks like people have already been. I sent my tent home in Monson so I just have a mosquito net and a tarp, which gave our campsite a homeless/vagabondy sort of a feel. I am sure the others weren’t to thrilled about sleeping next to a hobo. Oh well. Mabel is not psyched about the change either. Every time I try to get her to come into the tent, her tail goes between her legs and she tries to get in any other tent. She is not 100% happy with all of my pack “innovations” but she is managing. She had a great day yesterday and was very happy to be over the top of Moxie.
From the top the visibility was unlimited. You could see mountains in every direction. It is really cool to see the mountains and rivers that you have forded or climbed. And then see everything around your path that you couldn’t see from the trail.
We arrived in Caratunk around 3:30 pm yesterday and took a wrong turn at the trail-head down 211 S. The post office was supposed to be .2 miles trail east, but we walked about 1 mile before we realized that we went the wrong way. The girls just plopped down and stuck out there thumbs and the guys stubbornly turned around and started walking back. Of course the girls were picked up by some guide dudes drinking beers in a sketchy van in about 3 minutes and passed us in no time.
We too got a hitch after about 15 minutes of walking by a really nice guide lady on her way home. I think Mabel helps add a sympathy card. They dropped us off at Northern Whitewater Expeditions. A vacation wonderland in the middle of nowhere. They have hot tubs, pool, food, craft beer, tent sites, showers, breakfast buffet and INTERNET! All reasonably priced!
To top it off after eating an amazing bbq bacon cheeseburger with a salad and nachos, we met a group of white water rafters that offered to take us down the class IV river for FREE! So I am leaving to do that now after having an amazing rest at campsite #4. Oh and I took two showers in the last 12 hours. I probably won’t be stopping in Stratton, ME after-all. It’s five miles off the trail and we are doing pretty good. Below is the next stop and I will be writing more and posting pictures soon!
James Puckett
C/O General Delivery
Rangeley, ME 04970
Please hold for AT hiker
ETA 7/21/2013
If you sent something to Stratton, you can call the post office and they will bounce it forward for free.
Cheers,
James
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