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Published: September 9th 2007
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Wednesday, September 5th, 2007. Upper Richardson Lake, Maine. Darrin got up before dawn, skipped breakfast, and crossed Richardson Lake before daylight intensified the winds. After Richardson, Mooselookmeguntic Lake was next. Paddling was rigorous, but he managed to fight the strong headwind, and cross the Lake by paddling from one island and bay to the next to minimize his exposure to the wind. He completed Mooselookmeguntic by 12:30 p.m., and then portaged to Rangeley Lake. On Rangeley, he was thrilled to find that what had been a headwind was suddenly a phenomenal tailwind.
On Rangeley Lake, he had lunch and considered the next big challenge: the South Branch Dead River. It would be his next waterway, and local reports indicated that it had no water. This wasn’t surprising; even the Appalachian Mountain Club book, a “bible” of New England wilderness trippers, reported that the South Branch Dead rarely had water, and called it navigable only during spring snowmelt. Darrin arranged a shuttle and found his concerns validated as he watched the River from the highway. It was bone-dry.
His shuttle took him to Stratton, Maine, where he would spend several planned layover days. Stratton is along the Appalachian Trail, which Darrin through-hiked in 1998, so this layover would include plenty of mountain views and satisfying reminiscence. He checked in at the Stratton Motel’s Hiker Hostel and began to plan his days off.
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KT
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You're almost done!
It was nice talking to you the other day. I hope you were able to get back on the water today. Good luck with the rest of your journey!