McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 9/16/2024 | AT Mile 641.7 | Day Total: 20.3 miles | Gain: 3465 ft

Woke up this morning at 5:30, earlier than I expected. I deflated my sleeping pad and packed up except for my tent to let it dry a bit. The outside and inside is covered in a layer of dew. Camping in grass tends to do that…

I walked over to the front porch and plugged my phone in while I scouted today’s hike on FarOut. A hair after 6 Tom came out offering coffee and I happily said yes! Next thing I know he’s also bringing out a platter of bagels, cream cheese, donuts and hard boiled eggs. What an amazing surprise!

While I sipped on coffee I talk with Tom for a while and eventually Kill Bill awoke and joined us. Tom has been allowing hikers to stay at his house for over 45 years. Amazing! After hearing that I instantly went to my dad’s journal and searched to see if he had stopped here. Although he didn’t spend the night he did mention that he got water and icecream from in this town. Sure enough years ago Tom made ice cream sundaes for hikers! He went inside to grab the log book from 1999 and I found a short log from 1st Degree. I can’t explain the excitement of finding a little piece of him hundreds of miles away from home and 25 years later.

Tom explained how he had gotten an envelope with a wanted poster in it for Eric Robert Rudolph. He had been spotted on the AT and was #1 on the FBI’s most wanted list. Tom said FBI agents were posing as AT hikers on the trail (although Tom explained that they weren’t very good at disguising themselves).

After exploring the log book Tom went back inside and brought out a picture book. He had taken pictures of hikers coming through that year. I flipped through the pages but didn’t see any of 1st degree. There were pictures of tent city’s in his back yard. Upward of 20 tents at a time. I had messaged my family the picture of his log and was about to hit the trail. As I was about a quarter of a mile down the trail my dad sent me a photo of him and Tom 25 years ago with two ice cream sundaes in his hand. I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of checking my dad’s photos earlier. I made the split decision and dropped my pack on the side of the trail and ran back to Tom’s. I rang the door bell and he didn’t answer and he wasn’t out back… he must have left just after we had gone.

After that little quest this morning I climbed out of town. There was a little bump in the climb but the cool morning made it tolerable. Once I was on top it was flat for nearly the rest of the day. It’s notoriously muddy in this area but because it’s been so dry all the mud has hardened. Passed a set of power lines on my way up.

Once I was up and out of town I came across Warner Hill. It had tall brush obstructing the view but it was better than nothing.

This morning went by fast. I was able to hike at a swift 3mph to The Cookie Lady’s house for lunch. The Cookie Lady has a wooden box filled with cookies for hikers and a picnic table for eating. I made two peanut butter and Nutella wraps. They had a log so I also filled it out. I’m getting better at stopping to fill in the log books.

Like this morning, the miles this afternoon were also fast and easy. There were not many views but we did pass a few bogs and ponds. Finerty pond was one of the ponds I walked by and got a glimpse of.

Just a few miles before Upper Goose Pond Cabin (where I’m planning on staying the night) I walked over interstate 90. There were two bridges, one for the east direction and the other for the west.

At this point of the day the sun was beaming and it was hot. Getting packed up in the morning is nice but the past few days high temperatures have been nearing 80. Looking forward to the high of 70 degrees a few days from now. That being said the climb before the cabin was sweaty and hot. I had drank a lot of water today so at least I’m hydrated.

Unfortunately Upper Goose Pond Cabin is .5 miles off trail… not the most ideal but well worth it from what I’ve heard. When I walked up to the red cabin the caretaker was reading on the porch with a friend that stoped by for the night. He gave me the rundown and I headed to the back to drop my food in the bear box before I went upstairs to the bunk room. They have 16 beds up here for hikers and don’t charge a penny.

There are 3 other hikers here tonight. Two of which are nobos but they have decided to stop when they reach the whites. At this point you’re likely not going to make it to Katahdin before it closes. They seemed content and knowing that they weren’t going to finish the whole trail this season were taking it slow and enjoying it.

The caretakers volunteer and usually stay here for a week or so. It seems like a very relaxing “vacation” from the real world. The current caretaker is only going to be here for three days as it’s his first time. He mentioned that they had burnt some pancakes this morning while cooking breakfast. Oops… Very grateful form them and they are very welcoming.

Out back they have a picnic table you can cook on. No stoves are allowed in or on the porch of the cabin. I hung my tent to dry from this mornings dew and cooked dinner. The two nobos joined us and we talked while we cooked and ate. I eventually walked down to the pond to check it out. There’s a small dock and another caretaker had just pulled up on a pontoon boat and were checking in on the new caretaker.

I started today’s journal sitting on a concrete block near the pond. One thing that I’ve realized is that in New England ponds are usually really big. I’m not sure how they distinguish between a pond and a lake because every “pond” I’ve passed seems lake sized.

Kill Bill walked down to the pond without me noticing. He was standing on the dock and the moon was shining brightly. I snapped a picture of him and it looked wonderful.

I headed back up to the cabin just as night was falling. The caretakers were inside in the common area and offered us cookies and tea. Next thing we know I’m sitting on a couch in the middle of the woods drinking tea and eating cookies. What a wonderful moment.

Looking forward to pancakes and coffee in the morning. This has been an amazing stay so far. For now I’m going to brush my teeth and head to bed.