Day 168: No burger for you!

Hiked 15.0 miles, staying at the Appalachian Trail Lodge in Millinocket, Maine.

Today I got going pretty quickly.  It was a "town" day afterall.  Ok, maybe not really a town, but right near the entrance to Baxter State Park is a small general store with hot food and beer and snacks.  I've been thinking about the burger that I would get there for the last two days and I wanted to get there around lunchtime to enjoy it.

Looking up at Katahdin from Rainbow Lake Dam

9 AM photo

Katahdin from Rainbow Ledges

Leaving the 100 Mile Wilderness

I did take a short side trail to Rainbow Dam to get an early morning view of Katahdin.  It is getting close enough now that I am no longer looking across at it, but I'm now getting under it.  A large part of the day was spent walking the length of Rainbow Lake, before climbing up to Rainbow Ledges.  The clouds had started to really thicken up and I wasn't expecting to see much from here but when I got to the top there was Katahdin standing tall only about ten miles away now.  Barbarossa, Why Not, Oreo, Quahog and myself took a break there to enjoy the view.

A short roadwalk to the bridge

Katahdin from Abol Bridge

Crossing Abol Bridge!

Looking down the Penobscot as I cross

At Hurd Brook Lean-to I ran into Slow'n'Steady and Machine Gun Jim.  Most people took a break to say hello, but at this point I was on a mission for that burger and it was only three more miles to get it!  I made quick work of the miles and stepped out onto the Golden Road and crossed Abol Bridge.  There was the general store and I made a beeline for it only to be informed by the clerk that the grill was closed permanently and the restaurant wasn't serving food because the electricity was out.  Wow, what a let down.

Abol Bridge store

We all relaxed with some warm beer and snacks

The store did still have some beer in the fridge that was not completely warm and some potato chips and a couple pre-made cold cut sandwiches.  I made do with what they had and hung out at a nearby picnic table as the others trickled in.  My original plan had been to camp here for a day and hang out at the store to say hello to people so that I could still summit Friday.  With the store having almost no food, no electricity and rainy weather I changed my plan and decided to hitch into Millinocket, fifteen miles away.

Who me?

Gomer phone home

There is a hostel in town and Carbon, Why Not, Barbarossa and I all got a bunk there.  The impromptu trip into town turned out to be a nice way to spend the time.  Millinocket is the town that everyone passes through after finishing and many spend the night here after summiting Katahdin.  This meant that I got to catch up and say goodbye to a bunch of people that finished a few days before me that I otherwise would not have seen.  Handstand, Daddy Long Legs, Pacemaker, Runnerup, Little Engine, Timber and Ambassador all summitted today and I went out on the town with them to celebrate their success with them.

Carbon is such a gentleman

Carbon, Why Not, Barbarossa, Handstand and Machine Gun Jim at dinner