July 2
It was another lazy morning for me. Matt got up around nine, and went to continue his girl chat with Alpine and Princess Brat. I tried to get more sleep, since it had finally warmed up. I woke up when they headed off. I joined Matt for breakfast. We had the last of the poppy seed bread and some hot chocolate. I then began the process of packing up.
I hit the trail at noon, and Matt said he'd be an hour and a half behind me. I summitted Saddleback Junior, and it was quite windy at the top. The elevation was only 3,600 feet, with two more peaks to climb, both at 4,000 feet, I knew it was only going to get worse.
As I was going down and climbing back up the Horn, I came across Treats. He asked if I had seen Castle. When I told him I hadn't, he seemed a little concerned. Apparently they had separated in Stratton with plans to meet on July 3rd at the next shelter. I wanted to tell him we were tired of seeing his used condoms everywhere, but I kept my mouth shut and continued on my way.
The views from the tops of the Horn and Saddleback we're great. Luckily the rain held off, and all I had to deal with was the wind, which was easily 30 to 40 miles per hour. I was at the shelter a little past seven. There's a caretaker here during the summer, and he offered to give us a ride to town for pizza and beer. Alpine, Bluebird (a Northbound hippie section hiker), her dog, and I jumped at the chance. Matt still hadn't arrived at the shelter, so I had to make the executive decision to pick up town pizza instead of having our ghetto pizza. It was a quick .8 miles down to the dude's car. We had to go down part of the old trail.
Our first stop in town was the supermarket. Alpine and Bluebird picked up a couple packs of beer and I picked up some cokes. We then headed over to the Red Onion to order the pizzas. The ranger dude and I looked through a Where's Waldo book with little success. I washed my hands at the restaurant and felt like a new person. We were all excited when our food was ready. We headed back to the lean-to with huge smiles on our faces.
The trip back up the trail was slower than the trip down. No one remembered to bring their head lamps, but luckily the ranger had a not so very bright flashlight, which did not offer much aid. We had to stop for two beer breaks on the way back from camp. At one point Alpine fell, but sacrificed his body in order to save the pizzas and beer. Bluebird also displayed her fancy footwork on a rock. We all made it back safely with the food. Although the pizza had cooled off a bit, it was still delicious.
I finally met the girl that knows Ms. Ramer. She went to Hume-Fogg. I didn't get her real name, but her trail name is Solar and her husband's name is Lunar. The trail is their honeymoon. We all sat around the fire enjoying our town food and chatting. The party ended around midnight. Apparently Matt and I are the only ones stopping in Rangeley. Everyone else is planning to zero in Andover in a few days. We had originally considered that, but since that is where Willie's from, we didn't want to chance it.
I hit the trail at noon, and Matt said he'd be an hour and a half behind me. I summitted Saddleback Junior, and it was quite windy at the top. The elevation was only 3,600 feet, with two more peaks to climb, both at 4,000 feet, I knew it was only going to get worse.As I was going down and climbing back up the Horn, I came across Treats. He asked if I had seen Castle. When I told him I hadn't, he seemed a little concerned. Apparently they had separated in Stratton with plans to meet on July 3rd at the next shelter. I wanted to tell him we were tired of seeing his used condoms everywhere, but I kept my mouth shut and continued on my way.
The views from the tops of the Horn and Saddleback we're great. Luckily the rain held off, and all I had to deal with was the wind, which was easily 30 to 40 miles per hour. I was at the shelter a little past seven. There's a caretaker here during the summer, and he offered to give us a ride to town for pizza and beer. Alpine, Bluebird (a Northbound hippie section hiker), her dog, and I jumped at the chance. Matt still hadn't arrived at the shelter, so I had to make the executive decision to pick up town pizza instead of having our ghetto pizza. It was a quick .8 miles down to the dude's car. We had to go down part of the old trail.
Our first stop in town was the supermarket. Alpine and Bluebird picked up a couple packs of beer and I picked up some cokes. We then headed over to the Red Onion to order the pizzas. The ranger dude and I looked through a Where's Waldo book with little success. I washed my hands at the restaurant and felt like a new person. We were all excited when our food was ready. We headed back to the lean-to with huge smiles on our faces.
The trip back up the trail was slower than the trip down. No one remembered to bring their head lamps, but luckily the ranger had a not so very bright flashlight, which did not offer much aid. We had to stop for two beer breaks on the way back from camp. At one point Alpine fell, but sacrificed his body in order to save the pizzas and beer. Bluebird also displayed her fancy footwork on a rock. We all made it back safely with the food. Although the pizza had cooled off a bit, it was still delicious.
I finally met the girl that knows Ms. Ramer. She went to Hume-Fogg. I didn't get her real name, but her trail name is Solar and her husband's name is Lunar. The trail is their honeymoon. We all sat around the fire enjoying our town food and chatting. The party ended around midnight. Apparently Matt and I are the only ones stopping in Rangeley. Everyone else is planning to zero in Andover in a few days. We had originally considered that, but since that is where Willie's from, we didn't want to chance it.
