Crossing the Kennebec.

Day 122 - 8/20/10
What an epic night Davin and I had. We were hanging out by the fire
for quite some time, and as the night got later I thought I was seeing
flashes in the distance. When we turned in, crawling into our
makeshift shelter, I started seeing more flashes. Then I heard a
distant rumble. Both started happening more and more frequently and I
was pretty sure we'd have a storm on our hands soon. With our homemade
shelter I was worried we'd end up getting soaked. We discussed our
options if the storm hit and decided to rip the tent roof off and set
it up asap. Sure enough the storm came, sprinkling at first, so Davin
and I started scrambling. Then the rain started pouring down, and we
were frantically putting the tent together. To an outside observer I'm
sure it would have looked quite comical. So by the time we had it set
up and threw ourselves and our gear inside we were drenched, our bags,
sleeping pads, and clothes were drenched, and there was sand
everywhere. Plus Davin's tent fits one person pretty snuggly, so with
the two of us shivering in there it was a tight fit. When we laid down
to try and sleep neither of us could extend our legs out straight
because the tent isn't long enough. We had to "sleep" that way the
whole night, legs scrunched up, but no sleeping took place. It was
just too uncomfortable. We ended up laughing about it over and over
again today, just thinking how silly the whole thing was. Makes for a
good story though, and it was easily one of the most interesting
nights I've had on the AT.

We got up at 5 so we could make the AM ferry across the Kennebec, and
there was a lot of discomfort packing up. The sand was the worst part,
it was just everywhere. But we still did a good job getting on our
way, Davin leaving at 6:10 and myself leaving at 6:30. I hustled to
try and catch up to him, and didn't do so until almost 2 hours later,
so he must've really been flying. Within a half hour we were at the
first shelter, making the 6 miles by 8:45. That put me at almost 3mph,
not something I've done often, if ever, but I was adamant on that AM
ferry because if you don't make it by 11 then you have to wait for the
next one, which isn't until 2pm. So we only took a quick 10 minute
break at the shelter, Pierce Pond. It was a great spot, facing right
out on the water.

When we started up again the first thing we faced was crossing this
very old fashioned dam, made out of nothing more than logs, boards,
and rocks. Kind of cool. I sped ahead for a bit after that, we only
had about 4 to the river, so when I made it there at 10:20 Davin
rolled in only a few minutes after. He did a very good job keeping up
the pace early on today, we definitely pushed hard to make it there
for the ferry. Someone was being taken across from the other side, but
it took less then 2 minutes to make it over. The ferry is just a guy
and a canoe, but they have you sign some paperwork and what not. The
guide was named Hillbilly Bob or something like that, and he was a
straight up 100% Maine character. That's not a criticism or complaint,
it was actually rather fitting, adding to the charm of being in Maine.
Another thing I like about the ferry service is that the floor of the
canoe has an AT blaze on it.

After we crossed the river Davin and I took a break right there near
the shore, snacking, napping, and finally drying out all our wet gear.
Ended up spending almost 2 hours lounging, which I think we deserved
with how hard we had pushed early on. When we geared up to go it was
about 1:30, and we did a nice 6 to the next shelter (Pleasant Pond
Lean-to) where we decided to call it an early day (4ish). Built a nice
campfire, and we both set up a spot in the shelter itself. I'm sure we
will both be sleeping like rocks tonight. After getting no sleep last
night then really hustling to make the ferry we are very tired.
Tomorrow we will have a big day, then it's Monson on Sunday where I
will be meeting my family, the last visit before I enter the 100-mile
wilderness! Heading to bed now so we can get an early jump on the day
tomorrow.

Total miles: 2033.6