"What's up!?" from Monson, Maine! The Hundred Mile Wilderness was pretty fierce, but the occasional vistas compensated, plus hanging with Tag and Preston at night. White Cap Mountain was especially awesome. We covered a few miles of gradual incline, then 1.4 miles of ridiculous, practically-vertical stone staircase action, before the bald top of the mountain. I could see forever, with the deepest layers of mountains covered over in a blue haze. Spotting the lakes and mountains we'd traversed was a treat. Plus, I saw a thunderstorm roll in. The clear view turned all spooky and hostile, and only the nearest peaks were visible. Cool stuff.
The animal sightings have been more of the same, except a cool orange salamander with red spots, he had a slick design. Oh, there was also a crazy bird that leapt out of the bushes at me, hissing like a cat, with the feathers around it's neck all sticking out, kind of like that poison-spitting dinosaur that killed Newman in Jurassic Park. At that point, I was really in the hiking groove, kind of playing Dance Dance Revolution with the rocks and the roots, in my zone, ya' know, so it was extremely surprising.
Oh (again), another animal, a dog, surprised me that day. This lady's dog, her thru-hike companion actually, snuck up behind me and stole my bagel! I should have bought more food, just in case we were held up for an additional day before Monson, so I was a bit concerned. But it was mostly funny, especially how the dog acted so mischievous.
At the end of the day, I fell into a river, then trudged the last mile to the shelter, which we've referred to repeatedly as the most impossibly-long-seeming mile on the trail (but there are plenty of contenders).
Yesterday a killer storm rolled by, just as we were about to ford a river, so we put on our rain gear and waited until the lightning passed before passing. It was real close for a while, all purple, with long thunder roars. Tag and I agreed that it added some intrigue to our trip. Then we hiked through the remaining drizzle as the night closed in.
I was amazed by how the sunset colors diffused into the fog. It seemed to fill the spaces between trees, the atmosphere was so dense. We passed a large lake with a few islands. I was impressed by how the air and the water seemed continuous, with only the islands and their reflections marking the dividing line. In fact, that was probably the most beautiful part of the trip so far. It was like a Chinese ink painting or something, with simple colors and black shapes. It got dark though, and we had our headlamps on before we finally found the shelter.
Now I'm taking it easy at the Lakeside House, a hostel/bar/laundromat/restaurant, watching Blazing Saddles with some other thru-hikers, including Charizard (he has a bad ass Pokemon shirt) and three ex-military dudes from the same platoon (they call themselves the Men of Action Team, or MOAT for short). It's the best place ever, so comfy and casual. Plus, they have kayaks and a water trampoline, which I might take advantage of soon. It's a real home-y place to let our feet heal before heading out for the rest of Maine, which is allegedly the hardest state on the trail.
Having access to so much food is the best part of getting to town. I've already lost 4 pounds, but Tag's lost 5 and Preston's lost 10! I ate 13 tacos, and could've gone for another 13, but i didn't want abuse the manager's Thursday all-you-can-eat taco special. The manager, Rebecca, is the busiest woman on the planet. In my hour at the counter, she answered the phone at least eight times, tended to the bar, directed multiple work-for-stay-employees, and small-talked with numerous groups of regulars.
Well, I'm going to finish watching the movie, down the rest of this tube of Pringles, and check out the bluegrass show later tonight. I'll try to post some photos too.
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