Day 135: Pure Beauty.

August 12, 2017

9:24 PM

Total Miles: 1943

Day 134

For some reason sleep last night was difficult in the shelter. Tossing and turning, waking up every couple hours. Miserable. I couldn’t wait for it to be time to wake up.

Finally, six o clock rolled around and it was time to get moving. Outside was foggy, wet, and cold.

Dang this rain I thought. But let’s get these miles over with.

Planner and I started the day together and got to a stream to fill up water after 3 miles or so.

I looked at planner’s shorts and saw that she had holes in them…right smack in the middle. I busted out laughing since we had both worried about this happening to our shorts after Mahoosuc Notch

Her eyes went wide with a gasped face “No there isn’t!” until she reached around and felt them. We got a good laugh with tears from it.

While there a group of boys past and one of them let us know a woman was doing trail magic at the bottom.

No way.

No way!!!! We haven’t had trail magic in a while and just that morning I told planner I was craving some.

We made it to the bottom and Mr. Tom a fellow thru hikers girlfriend was giving out sodas, chips, watermelon, the works for the rest of us till he reached her.

It was just what I needed.

We pigged out and Alex and Woodpile let us know that that parking lot and road was the best place to hitch from to get into a town for a resupply.

The one we were aiming for was near impossible and we all need food.

So we got a hitch from a weekend hiker to the town of Bethel, Maine.

From there we resupplied and were talked to by multiple people who were so amazed by what we were doing.

Some even offering us rides without us asking.

One older woman came up and started talking to us about our trip. Then she wanted to know where we were going next and if she could take us.

Absolutely.

So she took us to a Chinese restaurant, let us eat and hang out then she came back after her errands to take us to the trail.

She was so persistent. She wanted to help out in the deeps of her core.

“When life drops new opportunities in your lap different from your normal day, you have to take them”

When she dropped us back at the trail she said she didn’t want to leave us. So we asked to get a picture with her. An absolute lovely woman. I wanted to spend the day listening to get stories.

When we got back to the parking lot the boys had had too much to drink.

During the trail magic and at the Chinese restaurant. They were not looking to hike on.

It was hilarious but frustrating.

Planner and I were pretty adamant on hiking at least 6 miles more to at least make it a ten miles day.

I got to camp first and on my way up a guy going southbound says “Hey I know you” uhhhh… Nope?

He says yeah and signs my mother and father are deaf.

Ah! My face lights up and he tells me about his parents and how they were watching my YouTube videos and were from Nashville.

Wow… How cool social media can be. His name was B square and it was such a neat experience meeting another thru hiker coda on trail. I wished we had been able to hike together!

Once up the mountain the trail was absolutely breath taking.

I found myself popping a squat to relax and take it all in.

This is breath taking.

I made it to shelter first and later Alex and Planner showed up.

Woodpile never to show which caused me to worry per usual.

While we laid in the shelter, Alex asleep and Planner and I reading we hear a loud, juicy fart.

Like the kind of fart where you think that person might need to check their pants.

Planner gasps and looks at me.

“was that you?!?!”

I am dying from a silent laughter.

A southbounder we had met had set up his tent right next to the shelter. Aka we could hear everything and he could hear us.

I shake my head no while trying to stifle my laughter and point next to us and Planner immediately realizes that it was him.

He had to of heard her ask and we both felt like middle school kids because we are trying so hard not to let our laugh make noise.

We failed miserably and I about peed my pants as a 24 year old from laughing so hard.

I would try to calm myself and all it took was for us to look at each other and we would repeat another round of trying to hold our hysteria in.

It is my absolute favorite kind of laughs. The laughs that happen at inappropriate times. The laughs that you just can’t hold in. The laughs that hurt your belly.

Oh man… I was in tears.

The man never said anything and we left in the morning before he woke.

I was kind of glad…

Day 135

During the night it thunderstorms pretty violently and I found myself constantly worrying about Woodpiles where abouts. I knew he had to be somewhere near the ridgeline.

I woke up however to a stunning sunrise. Peaking through the trees…man… These little things will never get old.

We headed out for the day and left a note for woodpile about where we would end up today.

He had to be okay.

About halfway through the morning we hear our hoop and holler we tell at each other coming from behind us.

“He’s alive!!” I tell out.

Woodpile tells us about his survival night of setting his tarp up and sleeping under it in the mud during the storm on a ridgeline…

I shook my head. He is insane I think to myself. But that’s who he is. An adventurer and explorer at heart. Those kind of wild moments is what he loves.

To each their own is all I can think. 😂

We cruised over some mountains to pop up rain showers all day.

The weirdest weather Maine has.

I wish the sun would just stay out and the clouds away.

Planner and I hiked the whole day together and spent a good portion taking about this and that.

We came to a view and had stellar service (Service is quite terrible up north) and plopped down for an hour doing stuff in our phones. Like accepting my official Peace Corps Invitation!

We had plenty of time since we only had a 15 mile day planned and knew we only had a mile and half left to finish our day.

We made it to camp by 5 and sat around eating food and chatting with two section hikers.

We all are coming to the realization that we have two weeks left.

I find myself fluctuating between being excited to be done and to just rest my body and I also feel…

Not ready.

I am currently laying in my tent. My home for the past four and a half months and it is my oasis. Its my favorite place to lay my head.

Its going to be weird being inside alot again. I wonder how life will be when I return.

Iz and Oz