Our hike today is 10.5 miles, south on the AT from Monson. Jeff is our leader and we have a group of 8 from all up and down the east coast. Jeff thru hiked Maine in 2006 and that was the last time he was on this section. The drive to Monson had the normal number of wrong turns as I have experienced on each hike here. With little delay we arrive in Monson and turn onto Pleasant Street where the well known hostel, Shaw's is located. Looks like they had a full house as we drive by. Then we pass the sign for the start of the Hundred Mile Wilderness. Jeff says it is 107 miles but that doesn't have the same cachet as Hundred Mile. We park the cars for the key swap. We have already swapped cars with our counterparts headed the opposite way. The plan is to run into them on the trail and swap keys.
I spot many Lobster mushrooms on the trail. Never having seen one before, this is exciting. Of course I have no way to cook them while here, so they remain in place to be foraged another day. The woods are lush and the mud is thick. We walk on level trails for much of the mid morning. I am excited because we have two wet crossings. They are always fun.
Here is the crossing of the East Branch of the Piscataquis River. Say that five time fast. No problem here. Everyone made it without mishap and it was great to relax a bit pulling boots back on.
The trail now follows the West Branch of the Piscataquis River for several miles. We don't get a clear look at it until miles later when we cross it. It is always obscured by tree trunks. It sounds happy as it bounces its way toward the confluence. Henry keeps us entertained with his bad jokes and sophomoric wit.
It isn't long before we reach the only leanto on this section. We flop on some rocks well away from the leanto to eat lunch. At this spot is a sign advising hikers of the Kennebec River Ferry. Jeff says the boat has a white blaze painted on its floor so the purists will be on the trail when they are in the boat. We find our counterparts eating in the shelter and the all important key swap is made with little fanfare.
We were a peloton for all morning but just after lunch it takes over a mile for the peloton to regroup. During this time, I slip off trail to this great swimhole and take a photo.
The 2009 map which seemed to be in ubiquitous use by our group, turned out to be inaccurate in that the route no longer followed streamside. It went up and down like a yoyo, requiring more of our energy. Finally, we made it to the second wet crossing. We were told it could be rock hopped but it would have been a wet rock hop.
Now, this is retirement living!
The rest of the route was an easy walk out. Check out this fearsome bunch, led by the alpha orange shirted Maniac. We loved this hike and are grateful to Jeff for taking time off to guide us.
Alas, the day is not over. We must find our vehicles and negotiate our way out of the timber company land. We were handed cryptic instructions which listed such landmarks as a purple bug box and a sign facing the opposite way. Almost immediately we were lost and made many turns this way and that, down roads we had to back out off and other fun stuff. Even with Garmin GPS, Maine Gazetteer, Siri and the cryptic instructions, we had a hell of a time solving this puzzle. Finally on blacktop, it became clearer but we did have to add a couple wrong turns, because that is just the way you do things here.
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