Decided to explore another AT zone to the northeast this morning (i.e., farther from home). The route was partly the same as yesterday but my target was US-201 (AKA Old Canada Road), which was on the east side of the Kennebec River - I reached it at North Anson by taking ME-234 and US-201A. The drive north from there was very scenic! When I reached the AT trailhead at Caratunk, I found the parking lot full. Dang! Fortunately, my NatGeo map showed another place to park, just north of Paradise Pond. After navigating some sketchy gravel and dirt roads, I found the AT again (0945) and started my hike (NOBO). Like yesterday, the weather was great (high 60s, mostly sunny). I the first part of the section involved a climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain - it wasn’t really steep but I had to really watch my footing on the rocks, roots and mud. Signage was excellent (someone with the Maine ATC really spent some money). At the top, I marveled at the spectacular views, enjoyed the cooling breezes and rested in the total silence. That is, until some other people came up (from the other side of the mountain) and spoiled it... Headed quickly downhill again to try to find solitude. Passed a family with their huge white dog (husky or wolf mix?) and made good time to my car. Didn’t stop, continuing towards a gravel road crossing (Hangtown) I’d seen on the map. Highlights in this section were signs warning me about a “diving hawk” (never saw him), a massive blowdown of trees (trail maintainers had to do a lot of work to clear the trail) and, when I backtracked, a SOBO Thru hiker (“Zan”). We talked for a while about landmarks (he told me there was parking at Moxie Lake so I didn’t have to drive over there to find out), the lower number of hikers in 2020 (he was #368 at Katahdin) and the 100 Mile Wilderness. It was great to chat with someone else who was tackling the AT across wild state of Maine... I was back at my car shortly after that (1255, six miles). As I was getting ready to leave, I encountered a young lady and her dad who told me they’d walked about six miles (on logging roads) from Moxie Lake. They were NOT happy to learn about the backtrack distance via the AT... Tried to explore Pleasant Pond but couldn’t find an easy access point (private homes). Decided to check out the AT lot on US-201 again to see if there was anything else I could learn there - fortunately, it was empty this time. From my car, it was about 0.4 miles to the River - I decided to follow the AT to learn more about the Kennebec (ATC) Ferry. When I arrived, I found the boatman and his dog relaxing in the sun. It took a little bit (I’ve found it always does) to get the Mainer to tell me all about how he got one of the most interesting jobs (“best office view ever”) connected to the AT. In all my reading and hiking, I’ve never known a river crossing that required a boat - but one is needed for the Kennebec. The ferryman regaled me with stories of 10 foot tall ice jams, water surges (released by dam upriver) and his job of recording the number of Thru hikers crossing his checkpoint (he added that there were a lot of dumbasses who try to cross without his services). We talked long enough that he asked me to help him stow his canoe on the high embankment (his day was almost over). I gladly obliged and he ended up giving me a lot of advice about navigating the AT between Flagstaff Lake and Moxie Lake). It was a nice visit and his Intel filled in a lot of gaps (and saved me some Recce driving). I was back at my car by about 1345 and then drove south towards Bingham. Got some great views of Wyman Lake and an odd assortment of bird houses on a high wall along US-201. It was a nice morning and I feel better about Maine hiking logistics than I did yesterday. Decided to check out AT trailhead(s) to the southwest before calling it a day... It started raining after I was done hiking but that didn’t stop me from continuing my research on AT trailheads! I drove towards civilization (via several back roads) until I found myself back on ME-234. From there, I located ME-4 near the town of Phillips. There was a lot of construction on that route but I found the AT southeast of Rangeley. Explored back roads nearby (west of Long Pond) - they didn’t look like very promising routes to reach the AT mid-section... Continued northeast until I reached Rangeley and then drove east again to the Saddleback Ski Resort. It was rather dead (nowhere near as busy as Sugarloaf). On the plus side, the sun had come out again and warmed up the mountains - I got more spectacular views. Had heard about a hike up the ski runs to reach the AT but it was getting late. Backtracked to Rangeley and then drove around the south side of the biggest lake until I could access ME-17. Crossed another trailhead at Height of Land (didn’t stop, since I’d been there before) and then continued south to Rumford. Got dinner at McDonalds, just outside of town (1805) and continued west on US-2. Before I left home, I'd made a reservation at the Rodeway Inn in Gorham (NH) and got there by 1905. Hoping I can get some more AT miles before I go home - it’s been an adventure filled Recce weekend and I don’t want it to end! AT Today = 3.4 miles / G.T. AT = 1637.2 miles
