Today the plan was to get to town as quickly as possible, allowing us maximum time to prepare to tackle the 100 Mile Wilderness, starting tomorrow morning. Our short five-mile hike featured more roots and rocks than we’d hoped for, plus a detour around beaver activity that had left parts of the AT near Doughty Ponds three feet under water, if the posted signs are to be believed. Still, we arrived at ME 15 in about 2.5 hours.

We were planning on staying at Lakeshore House, but had heard that Shaw’s offered Monson’s best breakfast. As luck would have it, the shuttle from Shaw’s arrived to drop off hikers just as we reached ME 15, and we were able to catch an immediate ride into town. When we called Shaw’s yesterday to inquire about reservations for breakfast, they had not been very encouraging. However, when we arrived about 9:15, although they had already served 38 people this morning and were closing down the kitchen, they agreed to fire up the stove and cook for us as well. They offer meals based on appetite, numbering them 1, 2, 3, and 4, based on the number of each item you want (including blueberry pancakes, bacon, sausage, and potatoes). It was a very good meal.

At the Lakeshore House, we collected all of our packages, including the large one Susan had left last week, and started organizing our food for the final week on the trail. After much discussion, we decided to try the bucket drop system offered by the caretakers here at Lakeshore House. They will drop off a large plastic 6-gallon bucket we have filled with our own food on a road crossing about 30 miles through the Wilderness. This will allow us to begin with only a few days of food, then go up to four days’ worth for the rest of the trip. We hope the system works…

We will also worry about the one inch of rain in the forecast, but one way or the other, the final stage begins tomorrow.