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Today I hike for Ms. Brummit, my 7th grade science teacher. She absolutely loved her job, and nothing was impossible for the kids. In one year she created a saltwater aquarium, a walk-through heart diagram, and 4 huge paper-mache dinosaurs. She definitely did not teach for a test.
I got my other boots in the mail today. Lighter is better. I can tell a big difference each time I pick up my foot. It was a direct climb of 2,500 ft to 4,100 ft North Crocker out of Stratton today. We were at the first campsite by 2:30. We pushed another 5.3 mi to Spaulding Mt. lean-to for the night. It had rained so I stayed wet from all the trees along the trail. My stomach hurts from the half gallon of chocolate milk I drank yesterday. Seth and 'Contact' who started with us rolled in about sunset.
Day 17 8.0 miles
I woke up this morning with “migraine eyes," the ones where I can’t see anything I look directly at. I haven’t had them since cycling. I can only figure that is due to the amino acid vitamins I am taking. GNC mighty man, they have too much of every vitamin. I’m not going to take those and see what happens.
It was an uphill battle today with lots of climbing. I felt tired from the headache all morning. We hiked into Poplar Ridge lean-to, 'Contact' came in right after. It started to rain, thunder, then hail so we all called it an early day. I took a nap which was much needed.
Day 18 20.1 miles
Today I hike for Sherman Jackson, my great Grandfather. I never spent much time with him; he didn’t pass away until I was 15. As a young kid I picked up on his easy going attitude, which felt familiar to me.
Today started with a climb of 1,100 ft straight up to Saddleback Mt. They say on a clear day you can see Mt. Katahdin and Mt Washington. Beautiful views. It was then straight down to Highway 4, which goes to Rangeley. Some of the others are going into town there, but we’re making a push to Gorham, NH and out of this state. It's pretty flat terrain for the last 10 miles. When we got to Sabbath Day lean-to there was a Boy Scout group and 'Marley' (Northbound ’06) with his daughter who was out on her first overnight. Marley gave us 5 hotdogs, and the boy scouts, real macaroni and cheese. I ate my regular dinner of Lipton noodles after that. It was a good meal after 20 mi.
Day 19 17.0 miles
Today I hike for Vincent Dial. He was my middle school band teacher and percussion instructor. He could take kids who knew nothing about music and make them extraordinary. He is another that taught for the love of children.
Today was a long day. Started out in the rain, so it was hard to get motivated. My boots are still soaked from the hiking before today. Me and 'Stayin’ hiked 8 long miles to the first lean-to, no water available. We climbed 3 more mountains, and then down some spots that used rebar ladders. Knees hurting, sweating and the roots and rocks were super slick. We camped at South Arm Rd. I soaked my wrinkled, wet feet in the stream. Made a dinner of Lipton Noodles and went to sleep at sunset.
Day 20 14.1 miles
Woke up this morning jumped out of the tent because we heard cars at the road, and we needed a ride to the campground for our food drop. We crossed the creek, jumped right into a car and rode at a redneck pace down the bumpy road. Our mail had not arrived yet, but she was going to the P.O. at 10 am. It was 8. I had a big piece of carrot cake, and sat around while it rained. We got our package, got dropped off at our camp. We headed out at 12:30. Straight up and straight down again. I wrote a song in my head called “The Maine Appalachian Trail Club Is Trying To Kill Me Blues.” Came to Hall Mt. lean-to after 4 miles. It was raining. 'Stayin' came in, we called it a day. The dryness of the shelter called me in.
Today I hike for Mike Foster. He has had many roles in his life. Mike is one I looked to for inspiration when deciding to make this journey.
I slept well last night. We started out at 6:30 this morning with soggy boots and cold wet clothes, but miles to hike. I crossed a stream about 6 miles in around 8:30 and couldn’t resist a bath. I climbed over Baldplate Mt. after lunch. It was straight up the rock face. Where are my climbing shoes? We could see the White Mountains from here. Then down to Baldplate Shelter where we laid our clothes out to dry. My boots are still wet though. We had 4 north bounders stay with us. It’s the first time I cut up with some of them. more>>
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