Monson, ME

I took 2 zero days in Monson and my body absolutely loved it!  The Lakeshore House was a perfect oasis right after the wilderness and the staff was so friendly!  One of the employees told me that I was the most enthusiastic hiker she'd ever picked up and the owner said she loved my enthusiasm!  The happiness I felt at the end of surviving the wilderness was just so much that I had to share it with others! 
In order to celebrate, Faith got a round of Jack Daniels shots for the group.  This was my first shot of Jack Daniels!  I didn't like the initial burn too much, but the aftertaste of victory was oh so sweet :)
I have eaten a ton of greens (my body has never wanted so much salad!), slept in a bed, and showered.  Oh, that first shower after coming out of the wilderness is a completely mind-blowing experience.  There was so much dirt caked on my legs, I hadn't washed my hands in 12 days, and my hair was completely filthy.  That shower was life-changing!  A popular saying on the trail is "it's all about the little things".  I enjoyed the heck out of the shampoo, q-tips, washcloth, and soap provided.  I spent most of my time in Monson hanging out outside (it feels a bit weird to be inside now) or working on my blog. 
I had been dreaming about a pizza since day 1 in the wilderness- marinara sauce is one of my favorite foods and I hadn't had any in over 2 weeks!  I had heard that the gas station up the road had good pizza, so I went up there to order one for dinner.  Well, loving marinara sauce so much, I decided to order my pizza with sauce on it and sauce on the side.  Somehow, she thought I meant salsa.  Haha, so when I got back to the Lakeshore House and sat down all ready to chow down on this pizza, I realized that it was salsa.  Such a bummer!  I then took a bite of my weird salsa pizza and proceeded to scarf down the rest of it.  Mustn't have bothered me too much!  (It actually wasn't bad- or maybe that was the hunger talking?? ;)
I got to talk to Bomber, the northbounder I had met in Millinocket that gave me my first trail magic, and I discussed my plans for resupplying in Caratunk and Stratton.  Bomber told me that there was absolutely nowhere to resupply in Caratunk and that it was best to have something shipped to the post office there for pick-up.  Bomber then offered to send me enough food to get me to Stratton from Caratunk.  He said that another hiker had done the same quite a few times for him and this was his way of repaying the kindness.  Trail magic!!!  Bomber and I are planning to hike for a week in New Hampshire together, which should be tons of fun!  I hope that I can keep up with him by that point in time!  He finished the entire trail in a little over 100 days- phew! 
Getting ready to start the madness again :)