Piazza Rock Shelter
July 28, 2006 - Spaulding Mountain Shelter to Poplar Ridge Shelter
We slept like sardines with eight in the shelter. There were two tents out in the yard too. I happened to have a stinky
thru-hiker beside me. We were all wet and all of our clothes were hanging all around. I did a total of 8 miles to Poplar
Ridge Shelter. The final 2-1/2 miles were steep 1500 foot climb. This shelter is the last of the baseball bat shelters
going south. It has been raining since 10 minutes after I got here. Jim and Rocket the dog are here. I feel sorry for
that poor skinny dog. He is a malamute. I stayed in the shelter and drank a lot of hot liquids and ate some weight out
of my pack. It is trying to clear and it is cool and windy. I took a break this morning by a little creek. When I got up
and left I promptly fell head first in the creek and got soaked. It was a freak fall. I just slipped on a rock and
immediately spun around and then head first in the 18 inch deep water.
We slept like sardines with eight in the shelter. There were two tents out in the yard too. I happened to have a stinky
thru-hiker beside me. We were all wet and all of our clothes were hanging all around. I did a total of 8 miles to Poplar
Ridge Shelter. The final 2-1/2 miles were steep 1500 foot climb. This shelter is the last of the baseball bat shelters
going south. It has been raining since 10 minutes after I got here. Jim and Rocket the dog are here. I feel sorry for
that poor skinny dog. He is a malamute. I stayed in the shelter and drank a lot of hot liquids and ate some weight out
of my pack. It is trying to clear and it is cool and windy. I took a break this morning by a little creek. When I got up
and left I promptly fell head first in the creek and got soaked. It was a freak fall. I just slipped on a rock and
immediately spun around and then head first in the 18 inch deep water.
Piazza Rock
July 29, 2006 - Poplar Ridge Shelter to Piazza Rock Shelter
I slept well in the shelter with 6 other people. I left after breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and headed for the Saddleback
Mountains which would be a hard 8.9 to the next shelter. It was cloudy till I got to the Horn, the second big climb of
the day for me. It cleared and I got great views of Saddleback Mountains. It was three miles of above tree line and
beautiful. The decent down was another thing. Over the next 4 miles it was 2000 foot drop, very steep at times with
hand over hand slippery climbing. It was 3:30 p.m. when I got to the Piazza Shelter. This shelter has a caretaker and
is neat and clean and has good water. The caretaker came around and said hi and took our pictures for an article in
the Trail Journals magazine later in the year. I was the only hiker to this point who wasn’t a thru-hiker and he wanted
my old pack in the picture too. He said once a through hiker always a through hiker! {The Rowmin goat is in the
December 2006 issue} I stopped by the caves before I got here and walked up and around them for a while. When
here don’t miss them and go to the Piazza Rock too. It is a huge rock outcropping south of the shelter. I had
Zaterans rice for dinner with asparagus and hamburger. I got the dried asparagus in a hiker box. I will go into
Rangeley tomorrow to resupply. I was alone in the shelter until 11:30 p.m. when another hiker came in. He was
asleep when I left the next morning.
I slept well in the shelter with 6 other people. I left after breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and headed for the Saddleback
Mountains which would be a hard 8.9 to the next shelter. It was cloudy till I got to the Horn, the second big climb of
the day for me. It cleared and I got great views of Saddleback Mountains. It was three miles of above tree line and
beautiful. The decent down was another thing. Over the next 4 miles it was 2000 foot drop, very steep at times with
hand over hand slippery climbing. It was 3:30 p.m. when I got to the Piazza Shelter. This shelter has a caretaker and
is neat and clean and has good water. The caretaker came around and said hi and took our pictures for an article in
the Trail Journals magazine later in the year. I was the only hiker to this point who wasn’t a thru-hiker and he wanted
my old pack in the picture too. He said once a through hiker always a through hiker! {The Rowmin goat is in the
December 2006 issue} I stopped by the caves before I got here and walked up and around them for a while. When
here don’t miss them and go to the Piazza Rock too. It is a huge rock outcropping south of the shelter. I had
Zaterans rice for dinner with asparagus and hamburger. I got the dried asparagus in a hiker box. I will go into
Rangeley tomorrow to resupply. I was alone in the shelter until 11:30 p.m. when another hiker came in. He was
asleep when I left the next morning.
First Bite of my Big Steak
Little Swift River Pond
Moose
July 30, 2006 - Piazza Rock Shelter to Little Swift River Campsite
I was up at 5:15 a.m. and ate oatmeal and had two cups of coffee. It is a chilly morning at 6:30 a.m. I had visited the
caves yesterday before I got to the shelter. They are actually large boulders piled up and caves underneath. I
stopped at the creek near the shelter and climbed 250 feet up to Piazza Rock. I had missed this with regret in 1981 it
is amazing! The large boulder pointing out over the hillside, 10 feet thick and huge! I took some pictures of it and
left. I made it to route 4 and started to hitch into town. There was not a lot of traffic on this road. I got a ride in ½
hour by the second car which passed. John, a man from Cleveland area who is a hiker too gave me a ride to the
laundry. He has a friend, Hinds Feet who is thru-hiking and wanted me to keep an eye on her. He left me his card
and I thanked him for the ride. The man at the laundry was a 2000 miler along with his wife and they were very
friendly. They gave me loaner clothes while mine were washing and let me use their phone with my calling card. I
finished my laundry and walked to the grocery store and got my supplies. When I was ready to leave I walked to the
edge of town and stopped by the scenic overlook facing the big lake in town. I then got out on the road and got a
quick ride by a local who has given hikers rides for years. I need to hike another 4.6 mile to get to a campsite and
my pack was heavy! I made slow time to the campsite taking several breaks. I got to the Little Swift River Campsite at
2:15 p.m. and found a great little place here with a nice spring and free canoes to use. I set up my tarp and got a
fire going to cook the 2 pound steak I bought in town. My pack weight killed me but the steak was worth it. It was a
sunny day and I sat around the fire and cooked that big thing and then ate most of it. I then went out on the lake and
washed up on the other side of the lake. I must have spent 2 hours canoeing on this pretty day. There were rumors
of a big moose here and I thought I would have a better chance seeing it in a canoe late or early in the evening. At
dark I was in the canoe and didn’t see any moose. This area would make a great shelter location. It is very clear
tonight and will get cold tonight because of the clearing. I had ramin noodles and 2eggs dropped in the noodles for
dinner after the big steak! My hunger won’t cease. My right arm is itching badly because of my wool sweater. I left
my long shirt back a ways to save weight and now the wool on my skin itches. It is funny that Elvis a thru-hiker here
tonight at the lake picked up the shirt I left in shelter out of Monson and is wearing it tonight! Everything left behind
is needed by someone else. I was sitting down by camp at dark and a large jackrabbit came hopping by. He was tall
and skinny and funny looking.
I was up at 5:15 a.m. and ate oatmeal and had two cups of coffee. It is a chilly morning at 6:30 a.m. I had visited the
caves yesterday before I got to the shelter. They are actually large boulders piled up and caves underneath. I
stopped at the creek near the shelter and climbed 250 feet up to Piazza Rock. I had missed this with regret in 1981 it
is amazing! The large boulder pointing out over the hillside, 10 feet thick and huge! I took some pictures of it and
left. I made it to route 4 and started to hitch into town. There was not a lot of traffic on this road. I got a ride in ½
hour by the second car which passed. John, a man from Cleveland area who is a hiker too gave me a ride to the
laundry. He has a friend, Hinds Feet who is thru-hiking and wanted me to keep an eye on her. He left me his card
and I thanked him for the ride. The man at the laundry was a 2000 miler along with his wife and they were very
friendly. They gave me loaner clothes while mine were washing and let me use their phone with my calling card. I
finished my laundry and walked to the grocery store and got my supplies. When I was ready to leave I walked to the
edge of town and stopped by the scenic overlook facing the big lake in town. I then got out on the road and got a
quick ride by a local who has given hikers rides for years. I need to hike another 4.6 mile to get to a campsite and
my pack was heavy! I made slow time to the campsite taking several breaks. I got to the Little Swift River Campsite at
2:15 p.m. and found a great little place here with a nice spring and free canoes to use. I set up my tarp and got a
fire going to cook the 2 pound steak I bought in town. My pack weight killed me but the steak was worth it. It was a
sunny day and I sat around the fire and cooked that big thing and then ate most of it. I then went out on the lake and
washed up on the other side of the lake. I must have spent 2 hours canoeing on this pretty day. There were rumors
of a big moose here and I thought I would have a better chance seeing it in a canoe late or early in the evening. At
dark I was in the canoe and didn’t see any moose. This area would make a great shelter location. It is very clear
tonight and will get cold tonight because of the clearing. I had ramin noodles and 2eggs dropped in the noodles for
dinner after the big steak! My hunger won’t cease. My right arm is itching badly because of my wool sweater. I left
my long shirt back a ways to save weight and now the wool on my skin itches. It is funny that Elvis a thru-hiker here
tonight at the lake picked up the shirt I left in shelter out of Monson and is wearing it tonight! Everything left behind
is needed by someone else. I was sitting down by camp at dark and a large jackrabbit came hopping by. He was tall
and skinny and funny looking.
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