Day 142, miles today - 9.4, total - 1,965.5

August 7, 2013

Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to to ME 4, Rangeley, ME.

We started hiking at around 8:00 this morning. It was a clear and sunny morning.

We had a couple nice views today. We passed three large  ponds. They were each very pretty. I looked at each one in hopes of seeing a moose. We see moose droppings many times each day and see hoof prints. So we know they are in the area. I sure hope to get a picture of one.

The trail is getting a little easier than it was the last week or so. Hopefully that trend will continue. My knees felt good today.

We passed several fourteen year old boys who are backpacking. They are from Canada. They are with the same camp program that the girls were with that we saw a couple days ago. The boys along with two adult leaders were spread out along the trail. The girls we had saw talked French among themselves. So I figured the boys did too. I asked B-Rocket how to say hello in French. She said it was bonjour. When I passed any of the boys I said bonjour. I did this a few times and each time they replied hello. Then I came to four buys standing together. I said bonjour and they all replied bonjour. I know it's very minor, but it's the first time I communicated with someone in another language.

When we got to the ME 4 road crossing we went into Rangeley. We tried hitching for maybe five minutes, without luck. When we were hitching, if it was obvious the person wasn't going to stop, we would wave at them as they went by. Showing drivers that we are friendly, might help other backpackers on another day. We walked 0.3 miles to a hostel. The guy there gave us a ride into town for $5. 

We went to Ecopelagicon. It is an Outfitter. B-Rocket and I both had a problem with our trekking poles. They do warranty work, so we were hoping to get them repaired. They had the part for mine but not for B-Rocket's. I repaired B-Rocket's poles with a little duct tape.

We had planned to do two more miles, but instead are staying at an inexpensive hostel across from the outfitter. It's called the Gray Beast. It's a run down two story frame house in very rough condition. There was a safety issue with one light switch. I showed Lori, who operates the place. We then went to the library to use their computers. We stayed there until 4:30 when they closed. After eating dinner we went back to the library and sat on the front porch so that B-Rocket we could use their wi-fi.

We then went to Sarges Sports Pub and Grub. I had a half pound hamburger. It was very good. While there we saw that they have karaoke tonight. B-Rocket sings very good. We planned to return this evening so that she could sing.

At the hostel there are five other thru-hikers. Bulldog is here. He started the same day as me. After talking, we realized we had stayed at the same shelter our first night on trail. We both remembered having a brief conversation then.

Three of us went back to Sarges Sports Pub and Grub. B-Rocket sang two songs. She did a great job. She has a very nice voice.