Last night was the first night I didn’t sleep well in my tent…..a combination of things on my mind and things moving around outside my tent. I’m pretty sure I was set up on a moose path. I could hear them walking around a good part of the night.
I was sleepy but I got up early as planned and was hiking by 5:20. I hiked 7.5 miles fast to get to Harrison’s Pierce Pond Fish Camp at 8:00 for breakfast. Tim, the owner, told me they only served hikers at 7:00. I explained how far I had hiked. He had pity on me and cooked me up a plate of 13 pancakes. They had blueberries, strawberries, and apples in them for the 4th. I cleaned my plate. smile emoticon
I left there at 9:00 with 2 hours to hike 3 miles to meet the canoe shuttle guy and get across the river. It is too dangerous to ford the Kennebec River so hikers have to use the canoe shuttle. If I didn’t make it, I would be stuck on the wrong side of the river for a day. I made it with time to spare.
Once on the other side, I cooked lunch and used the river water to clean up a bit. Around 3:00, I got so sleepy that I set up my tent and took a 45 minute power nap. This is the second time I’ve done this. It felt so good. I hiked on 7 more miles and set up camp near some powerlines. The locals were partying and setting off fireworks. I rolled up my tent door so I could be in my sleeping bag and watch the fireworks. Fun!