They Forded A River!

"Today we forded a river!" Gretel announce.  Just like they do in Oregon Trail!  Their very first river.  Did they have to ford a river?  Probably not, but they figured it would be good practice for the future rivers they would likely need to ford.  Maine is apparently loaded with them.  One south bound hiker claimed there were 30 rivers you had to ford.  Hansel and Gretel thought that sounded a little high considering they haven't had to ford any in all of the states they have hiked through, but it could be possible.  There is actually one river crossing that is actually impossible to ford.  The Kennebec River is far too deep so the Trail Guide dictates that the true white blaze trail includes a ride on a ferry.  Typically speaking, white blazer thru-hikers (Hansel and Gretel) are not allowed to take any kind of transportation that is not in their own hiking boots, but it is actually very dangerous to cross the Kennebec any other way.

What does it actually mean to ford a river you might ask?  It really just means that you walk straight though the water because there are no bridges or stones to cross.  This was not a particularly high or rapid river.  In fact, the highest point only came up to just bellow the knee.  Gretel did her best to take a picture of Hansel, making the experience look as epic as possible.  Mostly, crossing the river in this manner was just a nice way to end the day.  They put on their Crocks and the cold water feels great after a long day of hiking.  The road marking the end of their hike was visible from the river so they knew they would not be traveling miles in wet attire.

Happy trails and pleasant fording!

Hansel fording the river

Clearly, this is NOT the most epic river fording experience, but there will be more to come!