East Carry Pond

I decided to stay at The Caratunk House last night. It had poured all afternoon and was still raining when we arrived, so it was best to get dry inside instead of trying to set up camp. It also gave me a chance to sort through my resupply boxes and repack. My wife is so thoughtful; she always tries to include a little surprise in with the necessities. Today, it was an apple crumb pastry. I also got my sleeping bag and quilts, as we expect colder temperatures in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  It's only a 3-day walk to my next resupply. After that, we have a tough 200 miles. First, we will come to the Bigelows, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Saddleback Mountain in Western Maine.

Next, will be the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, which are reportedly the most difficult part of the entire Trail. A lot of ridge walking on solid granite. Luckily, I'll have my new shoes by then. I'll be watching Forest's paws carefully, too. It's supposed to rain a lot in the coming week. I'm hoping it clears before we get to the Whites; hiking on wet rock can be dangerous.

It was a little hard for me to get going this morning. My back was hurting a lot from all of the rock climbing and the stream crossings. After I had a wonderful breakfast at the hostel, Forest and I headed back to the Trailhead at about 11 a.m. and hiked south to the Kennebec River Ferry. "Ferry" is a word that is used lightly; it's actually a man who takes both northbound and southbound hikers across the river by canoe. He is used to ferrying hikers with dogs, but it was a new experience for Forest. I was excited to see how he'd do. (More to follow when I have cell service again.)

Photo Credit: DownEast, The Magazine of Maine,
"Keepers of the Trail", Michael D. Wilson

After the ferry, we had an uneventful 10-mile walk past Pierce Pond Lean-to. We stopped for the night between the Trail and the northwest shore of East Carry Pond at about 8:15 p.m.

Here are a couple of additional views from yesterday's hike to Caratunk.