Everyone on the beach woke up covered in dew. Warthog and I had decided to leave the rainfly half off last night so we could look at the stars. We didn’t think about the fog that always covers these lakes in the morning. Anything that wasn’t under the rainfly was soaked. Our sleeping bags were wet, but at least they still kept us warm. Things will dry quickly. We just made our morning chores a little more difficult now that we have to dry everything out. But… it means more time on the beach! I’m okay with that.
Early in the morning we heard the noise of machines start up and realized they are logging machines. We are most of the ways through the 100 Mile Wilderness now. We’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not all that wild. As we were packing up, one of the ladies who camped next to us pointed out a beaver swimming across the lake. Sure enough, he was swimming about twenty feet from the shoreline just plugging away across the lake. I joked that he was going to beat up the competition. I had visions of a muscled up beaver taking on the steel monster. Random, I know.
We had another twenty one miles to cover today. Our late start means it’ll probably be dark when we get into camp tonight. Warthog was stressing about it, but I felt confident we would make it up. At the end of the day he would be the one that was right.
Even with the late start, we still stopped after a mile and a half at the shelter so people could use the privy. I like whoever maintains this particular shelter. They must have a sense of humor. They put a piece of wood with a painted mural in the privy to decorate it – adding a certain air about the place. Additionally, it had a hook on the back of the door with the words, “Good Morning Gorgeous” painted in glam lettering. It was absurd, but awesome. There have been a few privies and shelters that have stood out because of humorous touches like these. They tend to be my favorite. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good joke. Let’s be honest… it doesn’t even have to be all that good. I’m just a sucker for a joke, period.
Later in the day we got another view of Katahdin. If you drew a straight line from the point we were standing, we were only sixteen miles away. However, we still had about thirty five trail miles to hike before we get there. A register box near the viewpoint had the words, “continue the adventure wherever it leads” written on it. My stomach dropped a bit at those words. This particular adventure is almost over and I don’t know what is next. I know some of what is not next and some of what direction I want to go, but I don’t have a clear view of the next goal, the next Katahdin. I’m perfectly okay with that for now. It took a long time to be able to see Katahdin. For the last six months, I’ve had to walk by faith that I was getting closer to it. When I’m home, I’ll follow wherever true north points and know I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be. I’ll continue the adventure wherever it leads.
Today was beautiful. There were some points where we were dragging ourselves out of sheer exhaustion. Mostly though, the terrain was kind to us. We keep an eye out for a moose. Our desperation is increasing exponentially each day as we get closer to completing the trail.
Sure enough, we had to night hike for about forty five minutes. Warthog had planned for us to camp at the edge of lake, but it was a quarter mile off of the trail. I wasn’t sure we wanted to do that after a long day. I kept an eye out for other potential sites. I hadn’t found any by the time we reached the spur trail to the site and I was feeling good so I was game to hike the extra bit. We camped in an open area right near the water. An old, small dam was to the south of us. The stars were starting to come out when we arrived. They tend to distract us at night. It’s almost indescribable how many are there and how bright they are. It was late, but we have a small day ahead of us tomorrow. So I’m not panicked about getting to bed.
For the first time in a long time I heard owls. I had just been telling Warthog I missed the sound of these beautiful birds. After a bit the loons joined in. I really value hearing the sounds of nature. The shuffling of a chipmunk through the leaves. The territorial warning of a grouse as it beats its’ wings. The papery fluttering of a hunting dragonfly. The occasional one-off squawk of an owl. The yips of a coyote. The pine cone bombs from a squirrel. The still quiet of a deep forest. The sound of water running under the ground you are standing on. The crack of a tree or limb falling. I’ve heard it all and so much more. Sometimes the sounds marks a time like sunset or early morning. Sometimes they are merely the evidence of the amount of the life that is moving around you. All if it is a reminder of your connection to this earth. And that makes me happy. I went to sleep happy listening to the owls in the trees and the loons in the lake.
-ansel