Sorry it's out of order! :/
SUPER relaxing day :). Woke up late, made tea, read, slowly packed up, and left the lean-to around 9:00 a.m. Only 3.6 miles to go today and I am taking my time! I basically made it a zero day, just with a little bit of moving in the middle of it.
Faith and I met 2 northbounders, Tuna and Bojangles, and we all sat down on the trail for about 30 minutes and chatted. Tuna had the same pair of boots all the way through the trail! He said that they were definitely the heaviest that he'd seen and his foot was hanging out of one side of one, but they'd gotten him there! They gave us some advice on the hike- it's always such a nice treat to get positive advice from a northbounder.
Faith and I heard in passing that a northbounder had drown around Caratunk- may he rest in peace- and I spent a little bit of the evening thinking about him and the indefiniteness of anything in life. I was told that he had had a long mileage day and that his leg cramped up in the pond. It's so crazy to think about because I have swam on multiple occasions here and have never thought twice about it. It was a reminder of my own lack of control over anything- whether I'm out on the trail or not- and that I must continue to maintain the highest awareness of my surroundings and my body. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.
Once we got to the lean-to, we found Sticks and French Fry taking a zero day. We had all decided to take a lazy day :). I have been blessed with such good company these past few days! The water at this lean-to was ice cold and perfect for icing my knee and getting drinking water from. I love finding springs with icy cold water flowing out of them. Being so close to water reminds me of how dirty I am! One week with no soap, no shower, etc will definitely do it! I'm excited to see how dirty I'll be in 5 more days, when I should be out of the wilderness.
Late in the evening, just as I was about to go to bed, a hiker from Ireland rolled into camp. He walked straight up to the fire pit and pulled birch shavings out of his pocket and proceeded to quickly build a fire. He cooked up some lentil soup and was going uber lightweight with no stove, no tent, etc., which just completely blows my mind at this stage in my hike. He told us about a dairy farm in Vermont where we can get unpasteurized milk- definitely going there and getting some of that fatty goodness! Haha he said he got the milk, walked 5 miles while drinking it, and then walked 5 miles back in order to get more- it's that good! Yum :).
Tomorrow starts the grueling climbs up and down multiple mountains for 30 miles or so. I'm a little nervous, but ready to get into Monson for a big dinner, a shower, and a bed! Bring it on mountains!
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