Day 22, "The Ethan"

August 4

229.8 down, 1956.1 to go

It was a rough morning for me. It was one of those days where I was finding things to be upset about. We started hiking with Unitic and then hung back for a bit. We stopped for a few minutes for me to complain and sob about how terrible my life was. Ha. After a bit of dabbing my eyes with toliet paper and a hug from my compassionate husband, we were off and hiking happy again. Another point where things are bad when you choose focus on the negative.

We completed our 11.2 miles for the day, fairly flat hike compared to the rest of Southern Maine. A nice break for our knees! We have definitely developed hiker hunger. Tortillas with peanut butter on them have been our most recent obsession (so good, really!) But our treat was taken to new levels when NotYet decided to place a Snickers in the middle and then wrap it....Um, crazy good. We call it "The Ethan." Unitic, who typically tries to eat healthy, seemed to be turned on to the idea, and even suggested adding Nutella and calling it "The Ethan Squared" or "The Double Ethan." Have we converted him to processed hiker food? We'll see at the next resupply if he buys a Snickers.

When we got to Sabbath Day Lean To (it was a Sunday, perfect), we pumped water, which took about an hour between the two of us. Pumping water using our MSR filter has become more of a chore each day. We appreciate the tase of clean water and would rather take the time to pump than to use Aquamira, blech or iodine, but between the two of us, it takes a lot of time and energy. The MSR pump filter wouldn't be bad at all for a weekend or weeklong backpacking trip. But an extended trip with two people really becomes more of a hassle and time consumer. We will be ordering a Sawyer Squeeze, which filters water through a little tube that you squeeze from a bag into a water bottle or bladder, and takes only a few seconds. Found one for $38 on Amazon....not bad.

"The Ethan"