Day 38, Lincoln Waiting

August 21

389.4 down, 1796.5 to go

NotYet and I were up early with the sun. We had a slow time packing up, enjoying the fact we didn't have a long day ahead of us. He showed me how to adjust the back of my pack differently to fit my height (I've been having sore shoulders for a while)...what a difference it made. I feel guilty for not reading the owner's manual. Gulp.

On the way to Kinsman Notch, we saw GoodNewsTom, he was the elderly gentleman who we met waiting the rain at Rattle River Shelter on the rough day near Gorham. He really encouraged us. We didn't think we'd see him again, but the trail has a funny way of doing such. He skipped The Whites because of a time constraint and was hiking with his son, who was from Seattle and was sporting a Seahawks pillow on the side of his pack -- woo! Go Hawks! A little taste of home... We also met two friends who thru hiked in 2010. The guy was from Australia. He said, "speaking of trail magic, take this." He gave us some Australian jelly beans and taffy.

When we got to the road, about 7 miles from our stealth site, we attempted to hitch a ride to Lincoln. Route 112 was not very well travelled so it took us a while. But finally a young couple picked us up. 

Back at Chet's, we chatted for a while with him and then went to retrieve our mail drops. Woo hoo! It was like Christmas! So many goodies and fun stuff to eat. We are so blessed with love and support from both of our families! We spent the afternoon running around town and enjoying riding bikes. It's nice to not have to walk! We almost feel like, if it doesn't count toward the trail mileage what's the point? Hehe...

We got a text from Unitic, he was doing Franconia Notch, we were crossing out fingers he would push into Lincoln today and we'd see him, but he fell going down and needed to rest. Bummer, so close! He is just two days behind us now. We also got a message from Floss, he had just left Chet's before us. He is a day behind us. We should see him soon. 

Waiting for our filter to arrive tomorrow and it's back on the trail! Just 50 more miles and we will have our second date under our belt...I really think we will feel like we're making more progress as we pass through some of the little states, which will take a few days or weeks. Maine took us about a month. So enjoying this!

Waiting for a ride. You better believe we were listening to 80s music.

New Hampshire has so many different trails the AT borrows from. You really have to pay attention. So many of the trails were there before the AT.

Not the best, but quick pictures of Mt. Moosilauke from the road. Our next climb and the last of the harder stuff for a while!

In a backpacker magazine. Hey! What about the SoBos? Didn't know we are gaining 500,000 ft in elevation. The AT is considered the "root canal" of the Triple Crown, the three long trails in the US -- Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail -- for that reason.