Tough day, good end to it, though. Got going about 8, in the rain. Tried to wait it out, but just had to go. Ate 2 Pop-tarts, plus cold granola, nuts, cranberries with powdered milk. I think I need to eat bigger breakfasts, I felt good the first part of the day. The climb up Mt. Pleasant was tough, in that is was long and pretty relentless, though not too steep. The rain let up, and the clouds parted, finally. Made me think that sometimes you have to start with non-ideal circumstances, have to begin anyway, and hope that the conditions will improve. Can't just sit around waiting for the perfect time - life lesson if I ever heard one. Took a coupld of hours to climp the summit, and I fould Smash and the boys lying on the rock, taking a lunch break. Those guys are growing on me, they seem like good guys. I shouldn't judge people so quickly. My panic issues showed up to play today, and I battled them for a while. I didn't bring enough water up the mountain, I've been getting spoiled with the constant water sources, and I started to freak out a little. It all turned out okay [of course], but I should watch that in the future. The descent down the other side of Pleasant was tricky, the rain had made everything slick, like someone had poured WD-40 over the whole damn mountain. I slipped and fell 2 or 3 times; once I landed on my pack, which is the ideal outcome in a fall. My feel came right out from under me - I flinched, thinking I was in for some paint - and smoosh, right on my pack. I went slow from then on. The view from the top was great. After coming most of the way down, I found a stream, treated some water, and continued to the Pleasand Pond shelter where I took a load off, mixed some Emergen-C with a liter of water, and downed it. Got more water from the stream near the shelter. Ate gummi bears. Finally felt better. I considered staying at the shelter, but it was only 2:30 and I couldn't justify hiking a half-day. So, I rallied and started to Caratunk, especially since the terrain looked manageable, except a steep "blip" a coupld of miles before the AT hits 201. The terrain was, in fact, manageable, albeit a little muddy, and the woods were nice, sunny and breezy. The "blip" was a very steep climb, straight up a pine-needle covered hill in the woods. It was hard after a long day. After more mud, poor blazing, and requisite back-tracking, I heard the road (actually heard it for the last hour or so) and came out to the trailhead. 14-some-odd hard miles, and I laid down/collapsed under a tree, happy to be done. I walked to the road and started walking, trying to get a hitch. No one was stopping. I asked a young woman on a bike if I was heading the right way. She said I was heading to the PO, but Northern Outdoors, where I wanted to eat and stay, was the other way. I thanked her and switched to the other side, and was quickly picked up by the Sterling Inn [another hiker hostel in Caratunk, probably should have stayed there] van, which - guess who was in it - Smash and the Boys! We greeted each other and I got a ride up to Northern Outdoors, where I parlayed a cabin-tent [kind of like a yurt, a simple cabin structure with canvas walls and roof, and 2 beds inside] for the night for 16 bucks, put in a load of laundry, took a shower (used shampoo I found, good enough), and now am sitting at the bar in the lodge, having eaten chicken wings and a burger, and a lot of cran-sodas and water. There's an annoying drunk dude next to me cursing loudly at the Bruins game, and it hasn't even officially started yet. I get why towns seem loud and annoting to hikers, I kind of want to be back in the woods. No burgers in the woods, though. Smash and the boys are camping near the trailhead. Going to get the Kennebunk ferry tomrrow in the AM, after picking up my food drop at the post office. Gonna grab my laundry and leave the bar, hit my cabin-tent and get some sleep. -Ups
AM showers, cleared up as day went on, humid, hot(ish) and muggy
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