Having awoken to dry gear and a warm cabin, we restocked our water supply from the pond, packed up and headed out. After a few miles of easy trail following Katahdin Stream, we came to two consecutive river crossings, which made us very happy that we had not attempted them the previous night. With careful planning, and slow and steady progress, we made it across the water with only one tumble and no wet gear. P.s., in Maine they call these "streams" but I have never seen a twenty foot wide stream with class II whitewater, so I will use terminology more familiar to the rest of the planet.
After fording the rivers, we hiked along a stream for quite some time, finally exiting Baxter park. We emerged onto a logging road, and were hiking along to Abol Bridge when the most wonderful sight appeared before us.. A restaurant! The Northern Restaurant was a huge blessing, providing us with the tastiest barbecue imaginable and a mushroom swiss burger that couldn't be beat. We had planned on picking up a little more food before entering the 100 Mile Wilderness, but this allowed us to eat a huge lunch, saving our supplies, and even giving us enough leftovers for a full dinner.
Leaving the restaurant, we entered the wilderness, knowing we wouldn't have any supplies available for the next four days. Trying to make up for our lost day, we hiked past several beautiful campsites, including "Rainbow Ledges" which has a beautiful view of Katahdin, and a nice lean-to. Looking for a viable place to tent for the evening, as the sun was finally dropping, we took an ill advised detour into what we now term "HELL'S BOG." Big Beaver Pond has no viable campsite, mosquitoes so thick the swarm impedes visibility, and crumbling log "balance beams" over knee deep swamp. Take this place out of the guidebook.
We hiked back to the main trail, found a suitable campsite ten yards down the trail, ate our leftovers and called it a night. Maybe tomorrow will redeem us.
View of Katahdin from Rainbow Ledges!
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