Day 157: Canoeing the Kennebec

Hiked 3.6 miles, staying at the Sterling Inn.

Today I got up earlier than normal.  With only 4 miles into Caratunk planned for the day what could possibly get me underway so quickly?  A twelve pancake breakfast.  Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps is a lodge that is on Pierce Pond and is only a short distance off trail.  Thru hikers can buy breakfast here and refill water.  Breakfast starts promptly at 7 and I had to do half a mile to get there, but it was totally worth it.  The pancakes had blueberries, apples and raspberries in them, with a side of eggs and sausage.  Handstand, Why Not, Daddy Longlegs and I all chowed down on this great meal.

Harrison's Lodge

This is what a 12 pancake breakfast with eggs and sausage looks like!

Everyone is excited to dig in!

We hung out talking to the lodge guests for a while.  There was no rush.  Today we cross the Kennebec River.  There is no bridge and until the 90s you had to ford it.  But the river can run very high and so many hikers got stuck waiting for a safe crossing that a ferry service via canoe was started and has been bringing thru hikers across the river for about 20 years now.  The service only runs for four hours a day and so we had needed to get there sometime between 9 and 11.

The trail followed this stream for almost the
whole morning until it fed into the Kennebec

We've reached the Kennebec River!

Daddy Longlegs and Snickers waiting for the ferry

Here comes the ferryman

Daddy Longlegs, Handstand and I all walked and talked together for most of the distance and the morning went by very quickly.  When we got to the crossing we found Snickers there waiting to cross.  The ferryman soon arrived and we hopped in two at a time.  It was really cool to finally cross the Kennebec, another moment that I've been excited for for a long time!

The canoe has a white blaze on the bottom, making it the official trail across the river

Getting a canoe ride across the Kennebec!

Here come Daddy Longlegs and Handstand

Handstand strikes an excited pose

It was only a half mile from there to Caratunk.  The Northern Outdoors is a lodge and rafting company that is just outside the town.  They have a brew pub there and we all headed over there for lunch.  While there Fig, Wrangler, Doc and Boon showed up and everyone enjoyed good food and drinks.  I had been planning on staying there as tenting is only eight bucks and they have a hot tub!  Unfortunately when I arrived I found that the hot tub was broken which meant that my main reason for staying there disappeared.  Handstand, Snickers and Daddy Longlegs all headed back out on the trail so I followed Why Not back to the Sterling Inn in Caratunk for my evening lodging.  Staying here with us is Smoke Break and two other southbounders.  They do resupply here so a number of northbounders passed through to get food but didn't stay.  I spent the afternoon catching up on my blog and relaxing.