A 6 month, 2,180 mile, southbound thru hike on the Appalachian Trail as a charity hike for the American Heart Association. This hike is in loving honor and memory of my wonderful father, Porter Ballard.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Day 23- Little Bigelow lean-to to Stratton, ME. 16 miles.
I woke up this morning with my game face on. If I completed the 16 miles into Stratton, it would be the most miles I had ever done in one day. The terrain today consisted up 5 climbs, one being close to a 2,000 ft. elevation increase, making it the most difficult terrain I had seen since Katahdin. Whoo! I knew I was in for a wild ride as soon as I opened my eyes and a wild ride it was! You see, Maine and I have a love-hate relationship- one minute I'm thinking that could never picture a place more beautiful and then the next minute it's trying to kill me. There were moments today when I was just so angry at Maine for all the huge boulders and rocks at ankle-twisting-angles. Today didn't turn out to be as much about enjoying the beauty as it has been lately; today was about pushing myself hard and proving to myself that I can still do the tough days that I don't find to be as fun. The last 5 miles I was pretty much just zoned in on getting into Stratton. Right as I was falling apart, about .5 miles away from the highway into Stratton, I received the most amazing trail magic ever. There was a 12 year old bottle of Jameson sitting on the side of the trail with a note in it. There was only a small swig at best left, but the group passed it around so that everyone could have a little taste. I'd never tasted it before and it was definitely a nice treat to get me the rest of the way to the highway. I arrived at the highway with Faith, Old School, and Sleepwalker. I am told very often that since I am a female I will have no trouble hitchhiking. Of course that would also be a benefit to any males that I am with. So, I stuck my thumb right on out there and had my first hitchhiking experience. We all got a friendly ride easily and ended up on Main Street in Stratton in no time. Woohoo! I am so happy from being able to complete today and have never been so exhausted!
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