Appalachian Trail Adventure Day 9 (6/25/21)

Rangeley to Bemis Mountain Lean To 

17.7 Miles


I know I start every entry this way recently, but it was another cold night. You would think that staying in a hostel would help, but that seems to make it worse. The Hiker Hut gave me a big blanket, but even that didn’t help. I did the best I could to pull it around me tightly, and I made it through the rest of the night.


In the morning, Steve, the owner, made egg and cheese sandwiches, which of course I eagerly consumed. Then we started to have a reunion. First Gazelle, Mack, and Medicine Man showed up. I learned that Mack now has a trail name - Captain. As I got to hiking out, I ran into Bear and Hard Goods as they wandered up. Talking to everyone, I realized that we were going to have a lot of people at the shelter tonight.


As I passed through the parking lot to get back on trail, I saw a bunch of Connecticut license plates. I realized that the group of 17 I saw yesterday must be from Connecticut. 


There was a lot of wildlife today. I passed five snakes and three grouse on trail. Grouse are interesting. Sometimes they startle and come after you, and at other times they run away from you.




Not long into the hike, I ran into another strange girl. This girl was wearing pajamas and carrying an umbrella, and when I said hello she turned towards the forest so I couldn’t see her face. I think she may have been somehow mentally ill, but I don’t know what can be done in that kind of situation.


I stopped by a shelter for lunch, and I wasn’t sure if anyone would catch up, but Gazelle did. He is really fast. We didn’t really get a chance to eat lunch together, though. I was finishing up when he arrived.




The trail climbed down to Route 17, which turned out to be a beautiful overlook. There was quite a vista over a lake. Once I got past that area, I immediately ran into some trail magic. Trail magic is when well meaning people leave goodies for hikers along the trail. In this case, the goodies were in a cooler. I grabbed a banana, grateful for the fresh fruit.




For most of the hiking day, I had the song “Roller Coaster” by Bon Jovi stuck in my head, and I wasn’t sure why. Then I turned on my music and that was the song that was playing on the list. I realized that if I stop playing a song midway, it gets stuck in my head until I play it again.


When I made it to the shelter at the end of the day, I quickly discovered a problem. The shelter had no water. Well, technically it did. It’s just that the water was stagnant, putrid, disgusting, mosquito-infested, nasty, slimy, and… I think you get the point. Thankfully, a guy named Zack came by with some extra water, which I happily accepted.


One of the people at the shelter was Loco, who hikes in a kilt. This got a conversation about kilts going, and I asked if anyone had heard the song The Scotsman. Only Medicine Man had, but everyone else wanted to hear it. I warned them that I can’t sing, but nonetheless everyone still wanted me to perform. I sang the entire song from memory, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. It’s probably the only time that I can ever remember people enjoying my singing, so that was impressive.


As the night wore on, more people showed up at the shelter until it was basically full. Besides me, there was Gazelle, Captain, Loco, Medicine Man, and Bear. We all went to bed at 8:30, but then Hard Goods rolled in around 9:30, so we made space for him in the shelter.


Dinner tonight was Backpacker’s Pantry Lasagna. It is a classic, and always good. I think it’s time to end today’s entry, so always remember that you can’t take flight until you spread your wings.


And here are the flowers.




Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 27, 2021 at 4:03 AM

    I love reading about all of the characters you meet on the trail. And, the concept of trail goodies makes me smile, thinking this should be "thing" everywhere.
    Singing...perhaps an audition with the Chamber Singers is in order?!
    Stay safe and well!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 28, 2021 at 5:59 AM

    I agree about the singing! More of it on the trail perhaps? :-)

    ReplyDelete

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