Location: Katahdin Stream Campground
Mom and I drove for nearly two hours through Baxter State Park. We weren’t sure exactly where to go, so we didn’t get to the campground until the early afternoon. My hike will be postponed one more day. Tomorrow, if the weather allows it, I’ll summit Mt. Katahdin and return here for another night. I hope the skies are clear tomorrow so I can begin the trail at the true beginning atop Katahdin, not five miles from it. I’ll likely start south in two days. (Mom has just returned with a watch for me. She insists I take it.) I’m excited about the adventure to come. The anticipation makes me smile as I write this entry. I know that I can overcome any obstacle I encounter, even the black flies and mosquitoes that swarm around my face and bite my flesh. They buzz incessantly, and they keep flying into my nostrils and ears. I’ve been told that I’ll hike out these bugs in a few days, but I encountered the swarms 60 miles south while hanging a cache at Jo Mary Road. The wind is picking up and the temperature is falling. I think the expected cold front has just arrived.
I met a man today. Buddy I think was his name. He said he is the cook at Shaw’s Boarding House in Monson, Maine. I suppose I’ll stay there once I’ve completed the 100 mile wilderness. Buddy informed me about the rivers ahead of me. The first foot bridge is out, head a tenth of a mile upstream and cross where the water is deeper but less swift. Don’t use the ropes to ford if I’m alone. Unclip my belt strap when fording. Good advice. I probably wouldn’t have thought of any of that.
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