Chip is an early riser like Bear. Chip does not share a shelter with Sassy who prefers to sleep in and keeps Bear from getting up before 6 every day. All hail, Sassy, the non-morning hiker that makes it possible for us to sleep until almost 7. As one might guess, Chip was the first to leave camp a full 20 minutes ahead of Bunny and me. We’re not sure how much longer Bear and Sassy took, but they were last to leave. They definitely fill the void for us since Patches left. Patches was usually first up and last out of camp.
Bunny and I tried to catch up to GCN but he was a Norris possessed today. He must be dipping into his Payday stash. After about 4 miles of trying, we came up to a beach on East Carry Pond where we saw a message sprawled in the sand. We were just a mere 10 minutes behind Chip, but we needed a break. We sat down for a snack and waited for Bear and Sassy to catch up.
A bit of regional history: Col Benedict Arnold led an expedition in this area to attack Quebec in 1775. He had a contingent of 1000 men who bushwhacked through these ponds and woods making their way up to Canada. I’m pretty sure everyone is aware of Benedict Arnold switching sides in the American Revolution. This was due, in large part, because he felt he didn’t get enough recognition and credit for all his efforts (much like me doing all the cooking, fetching water, and carrying of gear—a simple thank you goes a long way, but I digress). I’m sure it was maddening for the expedition to only have fife and drum music to march by. If Apple Music had only been around, Col Arnold’s name might not be synonymous with traitor.
An hour later, we saw another message in the sand for us—Tom Jones. This was a very good sign. Chip was wanting some music to drown out our singing along the trail so he was trying to download a Tom Jones collection to listen to. If he was able to download music, that meant he had connection enough to make a call ahead to Caratunk and make us reservations for tomorrow night (yes, Chip is still the only one with cellular data on a regular basis, but we’ve taken to him to the point where we’d still hike with him without the extra dimension his cell phone brings).
We were only about 5 minutes behind GCN. We quickly closed the gap and had lunch together. I started singing Peaches and Herb “Reunited” so Chip wouldn’t have to resort to Mr Jones to fill his musical void. It turns out that he didn’t have signal after all but had found the Tom Jones collection in a hidden file. We still didn’t have reservations for tomorrow night (Guthook says it’s highly recommended to call ahead for reservations at Caratunk House Hostel).
Another thing about Bear (and Chip, for that matter). Bear spent nearly 40 years working for NASA where they have to plan for every possible contingency on a mission, practice the scenario, and document a procedure for handling it. This is to reduce stress for the astronauts which are already in high stress situations just being in space and all that. Bunny and I don’t really plan ahead other that trying to find the next supply point down the trail and guessing how many days it will take to get there. Last year on the Camino, we never made reservations ahead and managed to find some great last minute arrangements. Bottom line, we don’t plan ahead where Bear tries to work out all possible details ahead of time. It’s in his blood.
Bear’s planning, although we benefit greatly from it, kind of puts me in a state of unease. One reason I’m out here is to get away from schedules and the stress associated with them. I know I could never have survived in the deadline driven world of NASA. I’m trying to learn to live in the moment and take life as it comes. I’m not trying to set speed records or go fast on the trail. Once we get done with this trail, we’ll take a bit of time off and head to the next trail. Why hurry or worry? Not that Bear is driving schedule or plans, he is also trying to live in the moment, but be prepared for every possible scenario in that moment. I’m pretty sure we would not have been able to pull off the 8 days of slack packing we just did without Bear’s planning ahead.
One reason we’re not pushing on to the Kennebec River crossing today is that there is a fishing camp near the Pierce Pond Lean-to that feeds thru-hikers breakfast (for a price, it’s not free but it is AYCE). When we made it to camp, we were going to set up then send a runner ahead to make reservations for the morning. It started raining while we were sitting up camp. Bear came over to the tent and said they didn’t want to eat there in the morning which makes sense. The breakfast is pancakes and Sassy’s chosen lifestyle of gluten-free doesn’t align. GCN also said he didn’t want to go, but we could. We’re going to be in town tomorrow night, so we can skip. Plus, I didn’t want to walk another mile round trip in the rain, to make reservations, or get up at 6a to eat.
Level spots were at a premium at the lean-to. Bunny and I got a prime spot right on the shore where Bear and Sassy were up closer to the latrine (as in all real estate; location, location, location). We didn’t feel like cooking in the rain so we just crawled into the tent and ate a non-cook supper. I slept with the food under my head until Bunny fell asleep, then I put it on her side of the tent (she always gets a thrill out of seeing bears). We were asleep before 5.
EFG