After yesterday's fiasco, I was somewhat reluctant to get up this morning. There was no big rush since we didn't have to be at the camp for breakfast before 7:00. I was tempted to blow breakfast off, and just go down to the river. Still, Linda and I had a great time there 20 years ago, and I thought Brandon would get a kick out of it.

Most of our gear was still wet from yesterday's rain. Slowly we worked at pulling ourselves together. With packs packed and wet hiking clothes back on, we walked over to Harrison's Pierce Pond Camp. The rest of the gang was gone, and only Brandon and I would be there.

At the camp we learned more about the details of what happened yesterday after we left. The owner's wife had had a miscarriage yesterday and lost the baby. Needless to say that caused a lot of tension in the family. The camp was supposed to be closed this week while the owners were to be on vacation. When they are open their charter requires a reservation with a minimum two-day stay. Therefore no cabins would be available. When the guy from the hostel arrived, some words were traded and tempers flared. It's a shame, because all of it was simply a matter of miscommunication and poor support back at the shelter.

Even though the camp would make a great overnight spot on the trail, the owners want to keep it in the tradition of the early Maine camps. Those requirements make the place unsuitable for the needs of most hikers. That makes it sort of ironic. The early developers of the AT envisioned the trail with a number of camps along it similar to the ones in Maine. Yet here was the only camp on the trail left in Maine and it was incompatible with the needs of the trail hikers.

I was able to search through the old registers and find Linda's and my name from our 1977 hike. It turns out only thirteen hikers stopped in all of June 1977. Five of those were in our party. Today you could have that many hikers in a single day. It was a rush to see my name reach out to me after all these years.

Brandon and I did have the twelve-pancake breakfast, and it was indeed great. I was able to eat all my pancakes but Brandon could only eat half of his. After breakfast a moose crossed Pierce Stream between the footbridge and the falls. It certainly was a picturesque scene. Brandon was in the bathroom so he missed it. Of course, my camera was out of range as usual. Still I'll keep it in my memory for a long time.

As with the last time I was here, I would have loved to stay longer. But the ferry across the Kennebec has specific hours, and to delay any longer meant we might miss the morning run. Then we'd have to wait for the afternoon ferry or take our chances and ford the river. Fortunately the three-mile hike was nice, and we made the ferry crossing with plenty of time to spare. After crossing, the ferry guide gave us some 300 million-year-old fossils from out of the river.

A short walk from the river found us at the store in Caratunk. We found out the rest of the gang had already headed up the trail. We stopped to get some snacks and call home to check on Linda. After a bit, Easy 8 came strolling in looking like a drowned rat. He'd decided to ford the river. Everything that wasn't wet from yesterday's hike was wet now. We laid a few things out in the street in front of the store to dry out in the sun. Caratunk don't get much traffic.

After Caratunk it was just a boring hike. When we got to Pleasant Pond Lean-to we discovered that the gang had just left about five minutes before. We hung around long enough for a quick bite before starting the climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain. This mountain has to go down in the books as one of the greatest waste of time on the trail. A steep climb takes one to a moderate view. The trail then takes a major turn for the worse. It simply runs up, down, left and right with no apparent reason. It's the kind of hiking that really gets old quick. About a mile from the road we caught up with the gang taking a break at a stream.

Down on the road we came to the old two-wire bridge across the end of Moxie Pond. When I said that it used to be the only way the AT crossed, Minty Fresh and Old Crow wanted to try it. Soon they crossed and Brandon wanted to try it. I was nervous but I also wanted a picture of him. With both Minty and Crow there to help if needed, Brandon crossed the wire. Now I have a picture of him plus, a picture of his mother crossing it twenty years ago. Whispering Pine, Cowboy and I elected to do the rock hop.

From the wire it was a fast hike to the side trail to the shelter. Since most of it was over an old road we made good time. Instead of staying at the shelter, we elected to camp on the AT near the stream. With dinner over, we are all gathered around the glow of a nice warm fire. This is sure a far cry from last night. Twenty-four hours is a long time in a hike.

We packed our soaking wet stuff this morning and headed over to Harrison's for a great pancake breakfast. After breakfast we hurried off the catch the shuttle across the Kennebec. Crossing the Kennebec was easy - all we had to do was paddle. Once across, we walked a little way up the trail and through Caratunk to the general store. At the store, we got drinks and a bite to eat. We also called Mom and told her how we were doing.

Easy 8 showed up while we were there, and we helped him lay out his wet stuff in the street to dry off. From there, we took a six-mile blue blaze along a road that cut off a lot of time. We joined back on the AT, and ran into Thunder Chicken on the way to the shelter. Had lunch a little in from the road, then wen on over Pleasant Pond Mt. On the other side we met up with Cowboy, Minty, Old Crow and Pine. We hiked with them, then crossed the wire bridge across Moxie Pond. It was so fun.

We all kept hiking until we got to Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to where we set up tents and had dinner.