Caratunk Update

Greeting from the wonderfully small town of Caratunk. I just discovered that the town is one main street. The side streets were more like glorified driveways. The town consists of houses and a post office. I am actually staying down the street in the next town called The Forks. There is a micro brewery here and most of the group is liking it. I have hooked up with a group of other people going southbound. For the most part we are keeping pace with each other, but I think that we will soon be spreading out based on fitness. The next 20 miles will be fairly flat and easy but after that we will be entering the Bigalow Range which will be tough going. From there I thing those who are in better shape will move on faster then those who aren't. I am not yet in shape so I may start falling behind. They are a great group and I will miss travelling with them. I may try pushing to keep up. It will all depend on how my feet are doing and if I can lose more pack weight.

I was supposed to take a nice relaxing zero day today at the resort we are staying at. Instead I find myself walking a few miles down the road to the post office to get my bounce box then bounce it on. Then I had to stop at the resupply shop to get more food. In all I think I walked about 4 miles and ended up with about 4 blisters on the sides of my feet from the sandals I was wearing. I will have to tape those up in order to walk tomorrow because I am not taking another zero day. One more day and I will put down roots and not want to leave. My next stop may be Stratton but depending on how fast I am moving and how much food I have, I may just press on for Rangeley. Most of the group will be going there and it seems to be the in place to be. We are also starting to run into more northbounders now. That means the pack must be coming along shortly. The shelters will be crowded and I will likely be sleeping out more. Thats fine as the hammock is really comfortable but I hope it refrains from raining. I really hate breaking down in the rain.

The resort here is the micro brewery and it seems to have it all. They have a hot tub, home brew, a pool, cheap tenting, movies, pool table, great food, and internet. The tenting area is right next to the Kennebec river and the star gazing is great. They also do white water rafting. It would have been cool if we could have gotten in on the action but it seems to be a busy time for them. Maybe some other time.