Day 14 - Sunday, June 26

Linda

Today was a miserable day! The trail conditions were some of the worst yet, and we also lost two of our hiking partners to equipment failure. It rained so hard all night that there was a lake in front of the lean-to when we woke up. Didn't get going until 9:15. The so-called trail was almost totally flooded. About the only place we walked on dry ground were a couple short stretches of gravel road. It's incredible the way the trail is routed directly up streams which were almost rivers today. No way to avoid getting wet. We were soaked to the knees at times, or stuck in muck so thick and sticky, it was hard to get out of. I fell headlong, face down in the trail in the afternoon, and that was almost too much. Ronald was doing his best to cheer me up, and he did a pretty good job. We leap-frogged with Steve and John all day, then finally got to the Jerome Brook Lean-to around 3:15. We intended to cook a meal, then go on a few more miles - that was not to be.

About 10 minutes later, Steve came in, minus his pack and told us his frame had broken back up the trail a ways. He was really upset, and I didn't blame him. The guys went back to survey the damage, then brought it to the lean-to to work on it. The break was serious enough that it couldn't be repaired to withstand any prolonged use, but they did manage to fix it up enough to get a ride into a town. Both Steve and John are determined not to give up, and plan to be back as soon as Steve can get his pack in order. What a heartbreak! There's always the possibility of serious equipment failure or illness, but that's small consolation when it happens to you. Fortunately, the lean-to was just a few yards from a road, so they walked up to the road, and in a few minutes they were gone. We hated to see them go. We've only known them for two weeks, but we have been through a lot together in those two weeks, so the bond was very strong. All we can do is wish them well and hope they catch up to us again, but there's no way to be sure.

Mike had already gone on before we got here today, so now it was just Ray and us. Ray was really discouraged, but I hope we can convince him to stick it out. We'll get an early start in the morning, so maybe we can finish the Bigelows tomorrow.

Ron

We awoke this morning to the sound of rain. The area in front of the lean-to was a lake three to four inches deep. We decided this wasn't the morning to rush. After a hot breakfast we set out around 9:15. From the lean-to the trail was one long swamp. The amount of water on the trail was unbelievable. During one stretch we hiked for over 1.5 miles with out touching dry ground. Our boots were soaked, our spirits soaked. We ended up singing songs in order to preserve our spirits. Today the trails were over 90% water.

We had planned to hike to the bottom of the Bigilows range and to start them early tomorrow. During a rest at Jerome Brook Lean-to, Steve and John come in all pissed off. Steve had broken his pack a short ways down the trail. He and John would have to leave the trail to see if they could find a new frame. Linda was feeling bad and in no mood to continue hiking. We decided to stay here. We sure hope Steve can fix his frame soon. Kind of looks like it is up to us to keep Ray going. A while after Steve and John left another hiker, Richard O'Berry, came in. It looks like he will be hiking with us the next few days.

With a little luck tomorrow we will be able to complete the Bigilows. I hope the weather clears. It would be terrible to climb them and not be able to see. Linda took a bad spill today. Fortunately only her pride was wounded. I managed to cheer her up a little. Right know I want nothing more than getting through Maine. I'm getting tired of bad trails, bogs, and ridiculous climbs.

(10 Miles - 168.5 Total)