An Interesting Dynamic

I woke up on September 6 very excited to be taking a zero after a long hiking day the day before. I got up and did my laundry and dried out some gear — normal zero-day kind of stuff. I also got a ride into town to do some resupply. And while I was out doing my resupply, a whole group of people came in off the trail, including Not Yet, Crazy Sticks, Ultra, Half Boot, and Groovy. So it was nice to see all of them when I got back.

Generally, the hikers staying at the Maine Roadhouse get food for themselves and maybe some beers and just kind of hang out outside and socialize. There's a really nice yard here. So that's pretty much what I did for the rest of the day.

Two of the hikers staying here — a guy named Lost and Found, whom I’d met a few days earlier, and a guy he’s hiking with, named Mouse — were interested in doing a slack pack over the Bigelows. So they were asking around to see whether anyone else might want to join them. The way that it works is that The Jens charge $100 to take you out to the northern end of the Bigelows, and then you slack back. And it's $100 whether there's just one person in the car or a whole group.

Mouse & Lost and Found [Photo credit: Betty Rodrigue Latham]

I threw my name in the hat, and Groovy and Half Boot decided to do it, and then Not Yet and Salamander did, too. So that brought us up to seven, which was great. And it was a big relief to know I’d be slacking the next day. So the rest of the zero, I just relaxed and got ready for the hike the next day.

This morning (September 7), we all enjoyed the great breakfast the Maine Roadhouse always puts out and then loaded into the hostel’s Suburban to head to the northern end of the Bigelows. It drizzled a little bit on our way there, but then the blue skies kind of showed up, so we were optimistic that we'd end up with some good views. It didn't work out that way, though.

It’s about an hour or so drive from the Maine Roadhouse to the northern end of the Bigelow mountain range, even though it’s only 17 miles hiking. There are some road closures on private lands that prevent people from driving through, so you have to go all the way around the mountain range on a very circuitous route, which takes a while. I guess that's why the slack pack option costs a hundred dollars.

We got to the drop-off spot at about 9 o’clock and had a big day and a lot of elevation gain ahead of us. I was really glad to be slacking it. And basically, as soon as the group started hiking, everyone just dispersed. Lost and Found and Mouse are both really fast, so they were out of sight quickly. And Half Boot had gotten a little car sick from the drive — he and Groovy were sitting in the way back, and Salamander and I had been in the middle — so they hung back a bit to give Half Boot a chance to recover.

Not too far in, I bumped into Shenanigans. He was still headed north, but since I was slacking, I was southbound, so we crossed paths that way. It was nice to see him and say hello.

When I got up to the top of Avery Peak, I saw a group of people who were laying a stone dedicated to a soldier who had lost his life in Afghanistan in 2011. This group will take a stone and have it engraved, and then hike up to the peak of the family's choice and lay the stone as a memorial on that peak.

It was very emotional. The soldier was only 22 years old, and it was just gut-wrenching to hear his story. He'd already done two tours in Afghanistan, so he didn't have to do a third, but some of his troopmates couldn't do it, so he decided to step up and fill in for them. And unfortunately, he lost his life in a gunfight. I hope he’s at peace now and that his family gets some comfort from that memorial.

I proceeded on from there, and it was very cloudy, so the rocks were pretty slick up on the Bigelows. No view plus slick rocks equals slowgoing. About halfway through the day, I bumped into Turbo, who was heading north. It was great to see him. Although I had exchanged some information with Shenanigans earlier, I didn't with Turbo, but I wished him the best. I might or might not see either of them again. I don’t know. Things are sort of getting down to the end, so you start saying your goodbyes to people you suspect will be finishing the trail ahead of you, since that could be the last time you see them. It's kind of an interesting dynamic.

Not much else to report from the Bigelows, since there was no view. Salamander and I hiked the last 6 or 7 miles back to Route 27 together and waited for one of The Jens to come pick us up. There was a big group of hikers scheduled to come to the Maine Roadhouse tonight, so on the ride back, Jen dropped us off at the grocery store while she went to pick them up. They kind of coordinate things so that by the time the earlier hikers are done shopping, the shuttle is on its way back and can pick them up.

When we jumped back on the bus, I saw that Hootie was there, as well as Karaoke and Sleepwalker, who are a really funny couple I met way back on July 4th in Pennsylvania. And Bumble, who I saw a while back at the Galehead hut, where he was doing a work-for-stay.

And yesterday, while I was sitting in the backyard at the roadhouse, one of The Jens had come up to me and asked whether I’d seen a hiker named Bumble recently. I’d definitely crossed paths with him a few times back in the Whites, but I hadn’t seen him in a while. Apparently, she’d received a phone call from his mother, looking for him. I guess she’d sent a package to the hostel for him, but he hadn't checked in with her for a few days, and she was getting a bit worried.

So when I saw Bumble, I said, “Hey, your mom's worried about you.” And he was like, “You know that, too?!” So I guess everyone up and down the trail knew that Bumble's mom was looking for him except Bumble, which was kind of funny.

But that's pretty much it for the day. I got those miles done, did a bit of a resupply, came back to the hostel, and now I need to finish prepping my backpack to hike the next leg up to Monson. It’s been a great, great stay at the Maine Roadhouse, and I’m lucky to have been able to spend three nights here. I'd actually love to bring S. back here to stay for a night if it works out on our little post-hike vacation in Maine. I think she’d absolutely love it. So we'll have to see if that pans out.