Day 29, July 28, 8.1 miles

Had a very nice thunderstorm last night. The only problem is now I have to carry a wet tent. Oh well. There are much worse problems to have. When I got up and packed up, we met down at the bear box for a 6 am departure to try to get to US2, which is in Gorham, and is a 0.1 mile road walk to the White Mountain Hostel.

After an hour or so, the sun came thru the clouds and it was a very nice day. The rocks were still wet from last night’s rain. I was not in a good mood today. I had those thoughts of why am I doing this. I’m tired. I want to see Danny. I want to see all of my family and friends. I want my bathtub and my bed. I want a good home cooked meal with lots of veggies. I want to drive my car to the store and not have to be shuttled around. I want cell service all the time. I want my washing machine and dryer. I want to lay on the sofa (one that 10,000 stinky hikers have not layer on). The list goes on and on. I was walking along, almost in tears, and I came to the Rattle River and as I was crossing, I saw a nice little fall and pool and decided to go for a dip (aka bath, laundry).  Wow. It was freezing, but so refreshing. It lifted my spirits for a bit. After my dip, the trail leveled out for the last 2 miles to the road. I thought I must have lost my way. There was no way I was on the right trail–but, I was. It was a nice end to the day. I got in to the hostel about 1:00. I got to make a few phone calls home and it was great and hard.

So the hostel is another very nice place. Marnie, the owner, had a son who thru-hiked a few years ago and opened the hostel because of his experiences. She runs a tight ship and keeps the place very nice. I know she also serves quite a carbo loaded breakfast to the hikers that stay with her. I’ll let you know tomorrow what it consists of.

There is room here for about 20 hikers. There are 6 hikers here staying several days for recuperation from different things. One man fell coming down Mt. Madison and busted his head and gashed his leg and now has cellulitis. Another woman I’d met a few days earlier who is a day ahead of me had fallen and busted her chin and also has some serious Achilles issues going on. Another young girl from Savannah was there recovering from a virus. Another guy was there going to see the dr. this afternoon thinking he has a stress fracture. This trail is beating people up right and left. Another shout out to all the prayer warriors. I know it’s because of all the prayers going up that I’ve been not had any serious falls or injuries. Thanks!!!!

I’m getting shuttled to Walmart to buy dinner and resupply items. Not looking forward to hiking out in the morning with heavyweight, Olfrie on my back. The day after a resupply is always hard, and now that I can’t seem to get enough to eat, I am actually carrying about an extra 1pound per day of food which adds up to 4-5 lbs. more than I use to carry. Good grief😓.

I’m excited that I’ve been assigned a bunk with Lady Bird, the lady who busted her chin. I enjoy her company. Wish we were hiking the same so we could hike together.

Getting packed up before bed so after breakfast at 7 am, we can hit the trail heading north to Katahdin.