June 12
End: Stratton
Miles: 21.5
Total: 3856.7
I awoke. It was the day I was going into Stratton. The post office there would close at four in the afternoon, which would make it difficult for me to get there in time, yet I was slow to get up. By the time I actually left the shelter, I was already thinking of staying in town rather than try to get my mail and move on.
I left Achilles behind and started hiking. Pretty soon I had to do my second ford in as many days. It had been a long time since I had to ford multiple creeks and streams, and I was not looking forward to resuming the long and painful process of removing my shoes and socks, then attempting to walk across the slippery rocks without falling entirely into the water.
From there forward I still had three mountains above four thousand feet to climb. Thankfully they all turned out to be tree-topped mountains, not piles of rock. I did Spaulding Mountain and then descended steeply. Down I went, despairing somewhat at the inevitable climb back up to do the Crockers.
After crossing a river and road I began climbing slowly, which helped me gain elevation without having to go slowly. Soon it was time for the steeper climb, but I powered through it as best I could and reached South Crocker Mountain, followed by a dip and then North Crocker Mountain.
After doing those I checked the time and saw that I probably couldn’t make it into town before the post office closed. Remembering other times I had finagled my way to my mail through generous postmasters, I called the post office and eventually the postmaster gave me his cell phone number if I really needed the package after hours.
I hurried down the mountain to the road which it seemed no one was driving on. After a few minutes a car came by and I stuck my thumb out. The car pulled over and a nice gentleman gave me a ride to the grocery store in Stratton. From there I went across the street to the Stratton Motel, where I met a large group of Southbounders. The post office could wait until tomorrow.
The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the motel. I got to know the other hikers a little bit and enjoyed relaxing with some ice cream and other snacks. Stratton was not much of a town, but it was probably a booming metropolis in comparison to everything between there and Gorham on the trail.
The upstairs was apparently incredibly hot, and no one really slept upstairs. I slept in the motel office area adjoining the television room, which was fine.
