Caratunk

Do you believe in magic?

I arrived in Caratunk at 9:15am, having re-supplied at the So. China Hannaford  and Green Bean Coffee Shop. Judd was not at the Post Office so I proceeded to the north end of the traffic hemi-circle where the AT crosses Rte 201. There he was, in his glorious yellow shirt, a couple hiking buddies right behind. They scarfed up my trail magic:  donuts, apricots and Gatorade, Rolling Rock,cherries and potato chips. (Did I say it was 9:15 A.M.?)  I felt like a fairy godmother. The through-hikers were in need of re-supplies in order to continue, so I ferried them up the 3 miles to Pleasant Pond where Judd had a re-supply box at friend Vic's camp.  As Judd was coming home for a spell and not in need of supplies, he was able to give away all his freeze-dried wonder food. Mav and Chin-Up were thankful for this boon and were back on the trail within an hour. Judd was happy to be in the 100% cotton T-shirt and shorts I had brought (SORRY! they're NOT yellow) and flip flops. Lessons learned to follow....

Where's Waldo?

You got a lot of moxie*...

No posts from Judd today but some Instagrams and messaging.  Of course most of the messages are about whether I've paid the bills on time and when can I schlepp Mav around on Saturday to restock. So, while I'm ensconced here on the deck with tiki torches and mosquito coils you are protected only by your jaundice-yellow shirt. The torrential rains yesterday cooled it off here--home you're cool.

"Yes,"and it rains too"

Pleasant Pond across Moxie Pond from Moxie Bald

**From the Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=moxy

Two notes from July 21st--"makes your feet feel good"

It's kelcy's birthday! I got trapped walking behind two Mennonites. Chet explained to me that after his girl friend broke up with him and his coach made him hurt himself he stood on tracks just like this to end it all and so began his mission as a preacher. I got ahead of them as fast as I could especially after overhearing the “one true god” discussion the other night.
We had to make a couple of fords today one at gulf Hagas and one at it Wilson stream. Moose carcass yuck. It sure makes your feet feel good. Took a wrong turn after one and stumbled into an old cabin maybe even homestead oops. It was a long day and I got into camp around 5. But it was a spectacular day for Maine sights ponds with pitcher plants gorgeous water falls all the sights you could ask for
73° Mostly Sunny
423–787 N Guilford Rd, Monson, ME, United States

Just one of the sights today. When I got into camp today, last one of course close to 5 pm, and dripping sweat. Everything hurt but it was a great day to be in the woods. I staked out a place for my hammock but just sat for a long time. There was a whoop from the stream down in front of the leanto and Betsey and Chuck had discovered a waterfall. That was just the frosting on the cake to sit under a waterfall and rinse in every stitch of clothing I haves  - was so good. It was so cold it just sucked the heat of the day right out of you. Tomorrow is Monson and I'm dreaming of a huge salad! IPooPed today!!!
75° Mostly Sunny
45.4336° N, 69.5743° W

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View from Sunday

Eating my last apple in the sun with this view. Expect to be in Monson in 2 1/2 days then on to Caratunk.

Long Pond and the back side of Big Spencer, from Roach

"Darn, this morning traffic"

Sunday pm: 

Another Rainey afternoon evening I've eaten and am laying in a nice dry hammock as the rains pitted pats on the tarp- seems to be getting harder. I left chair back gap shelter this morning at 6 and immediately started going up. Spend a good portions of the day going up . And this kind of up reminded me well of climbing a chair ack duh. It was hand over hand big rocks straight up and it was equally vertical going down. Mostly two ups and two downs . A mere 10.9 miles and I got into camp at 4:30 exhausted. That's why at 8 pm I'm in bed looking at a 12.1 day tomorrow ( lots of little ups and downs) which will put us within a half days walk to Monson the next day. Ole hasn't shown up but Mav and chuck and Betsey are here and a whole bunch of misfits. One guy Mav described as a kook. Fits perfect. Lost his socks at a river crossing. Long hair looks like a kook. The pastor boys showed up late Mennonites? I tried to walk with them today but all they did was talk talk talk. They aren't carrying a stove they are carrying Tupperware full of all kinds of food and a cloths line with cloths pins. That had fruit ups at supper. There's a kid we picked up at the last shelter who just graduated From high school not yet 18 and he's going to spend a gap year doing this. He was trying to reconstitute peas and beans when I left the leanto.
At the last lean to there was a work crew of 20 something's Interns volunteers and AMC crew spending about a week camped ther and working on improving the trail. It was muddy sweaty buggy back breaking work trying to build a rock stair in a particular trying section of trail. They did a communal kitchen and played music ( of sorts) afterward. There was only one Maine kid the rest were from all across the country. Kinda neat.

45.4211° N, 69.4106° W

Out OF Order

Today, Sunday July 20th,  is actually Trip Day 9 for Judd. His emails, Instagrams and rare phone messaging must get out unreliably, getting batched when he has a glimmer of cell signal. Either that or it's just hard for him typing with his thumbs on the smart phone to keep items archived and get them out to me in order. So, far below, is a post from 3 days ago, before he met up with Mike (Rocket Man.)

Rocket Man made it out of the wilderness yesterday to tell the neighborhood supper club all about it. He hiked 5-6 miles north from Gulf Hagas. He asked a couple SOBOs if they'd run into Father Goose but no one could ID him precisely from Mike's pic. When Mike got into the Carl Newhall lean-to, he discovered Mellow Yellow and a colleague had just arrived there from the north side. Mellow Yellow is the moniker hikers have given South Bound Judd. (Unclear whether because of his Mellow personality or his persistent and intensely Yellow shirt.) No wonder no one had seen Father Goose.  Judd was sure surprised to see Rocket Man AND his steak and potatoes. They shared a feast with fellow hikers. Mike replaced Judd's hiking poles and up-graded his hammock. Mike explained sleeping diagonally in the hammock to us but it's hard to get an idea of how comfortable (or not) it is to try to sleep 10 inches off the ground. Mike mentioned it was a little cold with your buttons hanging int the breeze. In addition to the tons of trail magic food, Mike had hiked in a Newman's knee fire stick and the buddies at the lean to autographed it for Judd. (pictured above.) Mike packed it out back to China in hopes I would hang it prominently in the living room. Sorry, Rocket Man, I can't create that possibility.  Maybe it can hang in Judd's Hiking Lair over the garage.

Can you spot the banana yellow shirt?

Hard to scrounge up firewood, huh?

July 17: Rained all day yesterday and the bugs were fierce. Got to copper brook falls shelter early and set up. Occasional breaks with sun went for a nice swim. Rain let up to cook supper and go to bed but came back in earnest around mid night . I was worried about the tarp shedding rain I had really just set it up to dry out figuring we had already had our share of wet- HA. It's cold this morning and from the warmth of my bag it sound like the wind is howling. That's good I guess something will get dried out. Come to find out the roar was the river and copper falls. Looks like another drippy day.
Sun is trying to come out am on Little Boardman mt . Broke my second hiking pole on the way up. These things just weren't built for Maine trails. A cold orange gator aid sure sounds good right now

Sent from Judd's iPhone, only when?

from July 18 & 19!!! - RocketMan

Ok so guess cahoots comes bopping into camp this afternoon right behind me? Rocketman! Talk about trail magic! I had rib eye and bourbon. Fresh garlic new potatoes and cheese and olives for appetizer- no gin. So we have our whole SOBO crowd Mav , and the couple Chuck and Betsey and Ole showed up after we had consumed all of Mikes treat. But it was good to see him catch up with us . He had gotten a bump on the head that the frozen Poland spring water trail magic did wonders for. The stream out front is full of 4 to 8 inch Brooke's and is is just amazing to watch them work. The pool they are holding in is all of 4 feet wide and 10 on he's deep. I tell all these tourists if they really want to see some Maine wildlife watch these native brookies for a bit. It's a beautif thing. I watched one come completely out of the wAter to take a caddis fly.

Came up over white cap today and I was going to eat breakfast there but the wind was blowing too hard. It was as clear as a bell and could see for miles in all directions. This is the last bit of high ground for the NOBOs and they get a good view of Katahdin and what they. Have to do to get there. Lots of ohs and ahs

Rocketman addenda: had a fantastic time on the AT with father goose and MAV. I've been told I have trail magic. Amazing what steak and potatoes for dinner can do! Thanks for letting me join you man for a taste of the 100 mile wilderness!
Here I sit onChairback Mt the last of my ham and cheese sandwich coming out of my teeth(compliments of Rocketman) an almost icey cold gator aide and two whole walking poles by my side compliments of you know who.
Stopped and talked to the ridge runner at Gulf Hagas crossing, she was sure chatty. Took a picture for the AMC magazine but forgot her name. Went over to repackage all my trail magic goodies and repackage for the last 3 days. After I left Mike and was on my way back to the trail I saw Ole on the other side waiting for his boat and tucking it up with the ridge runner. Seems like it has been all up hill since. It got kinda cold last night. I slept in the hammock Mike brought up its different but certainly longer, I dunno. Oh and breakfast was bacon and eggs and there's left over bacon for tonight. Mmmmm good!
73° Mostly Sunny
200–298 Williamsburg Rd, Northern Piscataquis CNT, ME, United States

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what's in a name?

Still no direct info, but tinysecretmonkey posted a comment on this blog this morning that she had spotted a Judd Instagram from earlier today. Sadly, I don't know if it will be in time. Rocket Man got up at the crack of mid-morning to drive up to Gulf Hagas today and start hiking toward Father Goose (if that is still his trail name.) But Percy and I (professional trail followers) weren't sure which direction to send Rocket Man to hike, not knowing how many miles Father Goose had made in the last 72 hours from his last known location. I'm sure seriously-entertaining stories will follow. Here are the Instagrams from White Cap in his cha-cha yellow shirt:

OR USE THIS HELPFUL iPhone AP:

Incommunicado

Okay:  48 hours with no Juddly communication.  Maybe he's out of cell service range. Maybe he's out of batteries.  Maybe he's fallen and he can't get up.  Our most recent pact is I won't call the rangers until it's been 5 days......

Here, to entertain you while you wait with me:

Drawing from a friend at Messalonskee 

"Trail Magic" - left at the Monson Hostel for any takers 

Contents: candy, TP, dry matches and 4 ibuprofen.

July 15 - 8PM - Fort Relief, a disappointment

A view of Jo-Mary from inside my hammock IN THE RAIN . I had another nice poop today in Fort Relief , the famous two holer here at Antlers campsite. Technically there was supposed to be a cribbage board built into the throne --no such luck the only thing there was the campground journal. It is raining hard but I seem to be staying pretty dry. And comfortable! I'm getting better at this hammock thing . I've become almost a shelter snob in that I would rather sleep in it under a tarp in the rain than in a leanto. At one point today I was hopping up and over and around rocks roots bottomless mud pits and marveling at how my guide book could call this level terraIn. I mentioned to one NOBO it was more like dancing than hiking. He didn't get it but he's in top shape doing 25 miles a dAy and focusing on getting up and down Katahdin so he can catch his Bangor flight home . If you close your eyes and just surround yourself with the rain on the tarp you can float right away…. Whoa !!! I seem to bE surrounded by SOBO's, some better prepared than others. One at the last shelter that I walked past on my way here didn't know how to get the water out of their platypus bladder…. One fellow didn't realize it was going to take him 10 days to get to Monson, he brought food for 6. Others much better prepared: Mav recently retired army will do well and understands what two weeks of conditioning on the trail means, Ole from Canada has great stories of hiking the Camino Real older and slower but at least He'll know when to go home. Somehow I've hooked up with Forrest and Forrester. Forrester is a flip flopped who got as far as Penn. then had to get off for family then decided to get back on Katahdin to be able to see all his mates finish up as he goes SOBO . And Forrest is a Georgia fellow with more grey than me. He seems to think he's walking home. I gotta figure cold will set in before he gets there but who knows. These last two are the guys in the campground. They are going to go 16 miles tomorrow- I thought I might but changed my mind. They'll walk past one shelter at 8 miles and go on to the next. I'm going to take some time fishing in the morning and only do the 8 miles to the near shelter- HA campsite. TTFN
72° Heavy Thunderstorms
45.708° N, 68.8535° W

Loons and bull frogs and minges, oh my!

I seem to have lost my spoon. My only eating utensil. And my freeze dried scrambled eggs and freeze dried corn ( separate packages) are Ready to eat! I improvised with a plastic dental floss container and my after supper chore was to whittle a wooden spoon. I saw a baby loon swim by right next to the shore doing regular loony things but this bird was going it still had spots and fluff there was no grown up around then I saw two big ones come around the corner but they didn't see the little one. Maybe I was too close. Everyone sort of went their own way and I don't know what happened. The minges came out at dusk. The bull frogs are singing away I saw a couple today that were as big as chickens! Now that I am in bed I can hear the fish rises out on the lake. Blasted fish

Nahmecanta and Katahdin all in one breath. It's a good thing today is only a 9 mile day I've spent so much time in the water I'm not sure I'll get to my campsite. A sandy beach on Nahmakanta lake. I tanked up on bug dope this am so I really need a swim. Ate lunch with a cow moose and her calf.
Northern Piscataquis CNT, ME, United States

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Big news: POOPED!!!

Pooped!  Good news, right?   The Thompson first rule of traveling (ask ANY of my kids) is "DON"T GET CONSTIPATED."  He just texted that he also caught a trout today--so maybe he's got extra  freeze-dried stroganoff for a fellow hiker.... Now if he could just bag some wild carrots!

Somewhere, over the rainbow

An AT-widow's version of Day 1

First message I got from Judd was a text Sunday morning in response to my text Saturday night:


                                                                I just got home (and found your hot sauce.)  Pole pole. (*)
                                                                          (me)

Yup. Can you call Tim and tell him we're not planning
on being at the closing August 5.
          (Judd)


All that tells me is he found a hill with cell service. Did he find water?   Did he hang his food up away from that mother bear and cub he saw yesterday?  Did he catch any fish now that he's packing a rod? Did he sleep in a lean-to or in his cocoon?  i.e. his hammock where the screen and /or rain fly envelope him and he dangles a foot off the ground all night.

hammock practice in the garage this spring

* = sorry (in Swahili)

First news from Judd

Monson drop

I didn't really get to see Judd hit the trail last time either. Last September, I put him on a plane in Portland and he got himself to Atlanta then to Springer Mountain.  So it's okay that I didn't drive back the 1/4 of a mile to see the Abol trailhead with Judd. I saw his sunshine yellow shirt sleeves and blue Osprey pack loaded to the gills through the serious dust in my back windshield. The Golden Road from Kokadjo, where Judd filled up his platypus with spring water,  was more of a dirt brown road than a golden road.  It was very dry and from next to no rain this week. We only got lost once on the unmarked dirt roads and decided to call it a "short cut" from Silas Hill Road to the Golden Road. We saw the compulsory moose causing traffic to stop on the road side.  Judd avers that he saw a bear and her cub.  ("Second bear sighting I've had ever in Maine.)  "LOOK!" he had shouted, pointing no where, so I looked out the wrong window, at the wrong shadow on the wrong side of the road, and I saw no bear, no cub.

Friday night we had departed after dinner, Judd having packed, tidied, sorted, temporized all over the place. (No, the bathroom is not done, but progress has been witnessed.) We left Ryley in charge of catdog feeding and walking. Judd wanted to leave a drop box in Monson where he will finish up the 100 Mile Wilderness so we decided to break up my drive and stay at the hostel overnight there. Shaw's Lodging is a legend AT hiker hostel. We walked right in to the living room and I saw someone I worked with at Togus VA.  HIs wife co-manages the hostel during summer months. Hikers come and go, some just starting, some just finishing a long stretch, some just day hiking.  The place is a trove of leftover hiker food, supplies, clothes for the taking. We were walked up the thin, steep steps to the "purple room. " Comfortable bed, two bathroom choices right down the hall. Clean towels, shared bulk shampoo etc and special hiker amenities in the bathroom like poison ivy cream and bug spray.

We walked a block over to the Lakeshore House for a refreshing adult beverage and view. We had some chicken wings and fried cauliflower just to be polite while taking up a bench seat at moonrise over Lake Hebron. It was astounding to think how idyllic it was for such a short summer season. We could envision how cold and desolate it must be in the winter.

Saturday, we had the massive, famous breakfast, family style with other travelers sitting around various tables. They bring you 3 blueberry pancakes as a first course. Then they take your order. 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 eggs, cooked as you like, with bacon, sausage, home fries on the side. It was daunting to try to get the lady to stop delivering food for us. At our table a Connecticut couple and a retired looking gentleman had just completed the 100 mile Wilderness. Another guy had completed the trail many years ago, but now volunteers on various sections and had much wisdom and factoids to impart. if Judd had hiked last week he would have had 6" standing water on many trails. The nice Connecticut couple asked where we were from.  We said China, just a couple hours south.  "How far a drive to Albuquerque ?" she asked the other hiker. He explained he was flying back to New Mexico.  Maybe the lady thought there was an Albuquerque, Maine. Maybe there is. 

Deja Day 1 vue

Judd hit the trail (well, the road) about 11:45 this morning. I left him just crossing Abol Bridge. His map had told him the trail was just to the left. He had options to hike about 4 miles to the first camping place at Hurd Brook or  or 11 miles to the Rainbow Lake Campsite.

Stories of getting there in following posts (my stories, if he doesn't have any better cell phone coverage that we did today driving there. We might not hear until he gets out of The Wilderness  in 10 days.

Stay tuned for more of that fluorescent yellow shirt 

Is that even right-side up?

Yes, that's an autographed plastic lobster he's taking as a talisman

Day minus two

The hiatus is over. Judd is packing. He's sending food/restock boxes around the state. He's a SOBO this time (south bound.)  Tomorrow, we plan to drop a box at the hostel in Monson and Saturday, I'll drop him at Abol Bridge.  (As a section hiker, he's done Katahdin so many times, he doesn't need to start at the summit. )  He's looking to do the 100 Mile Wilderness before the Caratunk International Mexicans and Aliens Food Fest. 

The "Last Supper:"

fresh peas and Judd's invented rhubarb-garlic-scape slaw

cat-dog chill in' on the deck

fish tacos....

Planning the next section - July 9, 2014

Judd dropped a food package at Caratunk today. He's walking daily in his boots and bug dope. He's planning the 100 Mile Wilderness......