8 miles from Bigelow to West Carry Pond – found left glove – dropped and broke the Nikon camera
05:45 wake up in Little Bigelow shelter. Perform morning routines outside in the sun in proud solitude. The other two boys are still sleeping.
07:43 depart down the hill towards East Flagstaff Dam Rd. Very good mood as main hills and peaks are behind me. Everything is on schedule. The weather is super nice and mild. And the whole long weekend is just starting.
On the way down I’ve met a huge group of youngsters – up to 50 people with mosquito masks on. I do not even notice the infestation – just flying down as if on wings. Wait a second, if they are going up the Bigelow – why didn’t I ask them to search for my glove. Ok – it was a missed opportunity.
08:26 I’ve reached East Flagstaff Rd.
08:32 the cornerstone of the whole trip – my left glove is here at a kiosk in the parking lot. The night runner – the only one who I’ve met going down yesterday apparently picked the glove up and brought it down here to parking lot. What a fortunate turn of events.
09:00 find a signal to message Lira that everything is OK.
09:38-10:02 breakfast on the lake. I found a secluded exit to the lake shore and made my “breakfast mix” with water. Wonderful.
11:12 catch an area with a signal and do my Duolingo. The trail goes along the lake here, and I’ve met fellow hikers here from the night of May 30-31, 2021, at 100-miles wilderness with their dog Coda. At first, I thought they were guys from September of last year where we’ve met near Orbeton Stream in Maine.
12:23 1660′ – I climbed the local knob and now I am ready to go down to the road. The super greatness reached its climax. Things can’t possibly be brighter and sunnier.
12:51 I am crossing Long Falls Dam Rd and taking some pictures. Nikon camera falls to the ground, hits roots with the extended lens.
Yes. Everything was too perfect. And now I am back to the earth. The last self-time shot completes after the fall, so it shows a blurry figure leaning over the camera. The exact minute when it happened.
15:41 swim in the West Carry Pond and an attack from the bugs
15:51 my hike ODO is at 8.1 mi. I arrived at West Carry Pond shelter.
15:54 The shelter is a bit away from the pond and from the lake, so the trip for water is a bit long and collecting water is awkward due to strong waves. But the water in the pond is OK.
5PM – the fire is going
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| 17:23 Finally, I had time for some regular camping activities at Carry Pond Shelter | 12:51 Last image taken on NIKON camera. The happiness was checked with the fall and break. |
17:23 last picture taken – campfire is going nicely. There is an axe here at the shelter. I was able to cut some great logs from a perfect trunk.
At 6PM the supper (Pad Thai) and tea is ready
18:58 I am sitting far from the fire pit. There is no one around, but I can hear motorboats and excited people in them passing occasionally. Bugs attacking any open skin. Smoke helps, but the bugs are very tough.
7PM – My main meal is consumed and tea with a LARA bar remains.
I will sleep inside a hammock strapped across the shelter
8PM hammock is hanging. I did not venture outside for fear of dead falling branches and trees. The wind is very strong.
20:28 All my wrists are covered with bites. Bugs attacking by sheer numbers. They are not afraid to die. The slow and deliberate. They are in your face. They are between eyes and glasses. They are in your meal and in your tea. In one swipe one can kill 3 black flies at once, but that doesn’t help. We are in the middle of the trip – 3 days and 2 nights are behind.
The erroneous thing is that I found $17 gloves but dropped the camera for $200 repair. But gloves age back, and camera can be repaired with NIKON. All is good.
20:42 I am lightly swinging in my hammock. The fire is slowly dying out, but I can’t see it – I am too low in the hammock, but I can smell it. Every 2 min I kill more and more bugs stuck inside the net. Frogs are singing their songs. I only have 2 layers on – a t-shirt with long sleeves and Patagonia. It will be enough as nights are much warmer now.
20:55 I do not want to get out because every time a new batch of bugs scramble inside the hammock. Time to sleep.
Navigate through the List
- 00 AT 2023-05 Preparation for the trip (2024/05/24)
- 01 AT 2023-05-25 TH - hitchhike for 5H to start the hike (2024/05/25)
- 02 AT 2023-05-26 FR - jumping over 4K Bigelow peaks (2024/05/26)
- 03 AT 2023-05-27 SA - gloves and camera miracles (2024/05/27)
- 04 AT 2023-05-28 SU - hike, swim, enjoy solitude (2024/05/28)
- 05 AT 2023-05-29 MO - conquer last unfinished section in Maine (2024/05/29)
- 06 AT 2023-05 Summary (2024/05/30)
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