Day 17, The Bigelows

July 30
183.1 down, 2002.8 to go
We woke around 5:30 and enjoyed coffee and a couple cookies we had packed from the day before for breakfast. We hiked around 13 miles today, over the Bigelows, which were quite the climb!
There is a missing hiker, Inchworm, who has been missing since last Tuesday (a week ago). She is a 66 year old woman, whose husband was waiting to pick her up off of a Maine highway. We have heard search helicopters today and yesterday and are now going into the area where she went missing. How heartbreaking it must be for her family. We are praying God will comfort them during this hard time.
Just over 5 miles into Stratton tomorrow, where our first care packages arrive, hooray! Knowing we have packages with various goodies arriving has really been keeping us going!

The view of Avery Peak from Little Bigelow Mountain. Doesn't look like much but it's over 4,000 ft

Enjoying lunch and the sun on Little Bigelow

At the top of Avery Peak

Day 16, Trail Magic

July 29
170.3 down, 2015.6 to go
We enjoyed sleeping in. It was a bit of a rough start after doing nothing the day before. We stopped at West Carry Pond Lean To for lunch for our first encounter with trail magic. We'd heard Trail Magic was something great when you least expect it, and it was definitely unexpected at just the right time! Snickerdoodles, cookie bars, cupcakes, Ramen, instant coffee, Juicy Fruit gum and candy...and wine in a box! We weren't planning on staying at the shelter that night, so we used our empty Gatorade bottles to fill up. It was perfect.
We left the shelter with happy spirits. It was thundering on our way to Flagstaff Lake, our campsite for the night, so we booked it and were able to put up the tent by the time it started raining. After 15 miles and a bit of some wine, we are feeling great! Lovin' life! Happy one month anniversary to Amy and Trevor!

Trail magic from the West Carry Pond Trail Angel

Note with the trail magic

Day 15, Zero Day, 12 Pancakes, Tutie and Kayaks

July 28
Zero Day!
We had a relaxing day. We had breakfast at Harrison's with Unitic. Breakfast include 12 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 4 cups of coffee and juice. Needless to say, we all finished our plates. Hiker hunger developed? Check!
After breakfast, we sat and talked with Tim Harrison, the owner of Pierce Pond Camps. Unitic got on his way to finish his hike and NotYet and I were enjoying the backporch at Harrison's with Tutie, Tim's adorable black miniature poodle. There were more hummingbirds than we could count at four feeders. We got real close and stood still and they hovered around us, not minding us at all. Meanwhile Tutie, who is smart as a whistle, would bring us a toy. We would throw it over the porch onto the first floor. She would study to see where it landed, go over and down the stairs and bring the toy back up! She also outsmarted us when we put a pile of treats on the table. She tricked us into looking the other way and grabbed the last treat! Tutie  also liked to growl and Bonnie (a stuffed something or other) and bark at Clyde (a big moose head on the wall). The view from the back porch was breaktaking. Surrounded by greenery, we looked over at a waterfall in the distance and a footbride going over the river. The perfect spot to relax!
After a while, Tim offered to let us take his kayaks out....Um....yes! We enjoyed an hour or two out on the lake, surrounded by sun and calm beauty.
Nighttime brought a raging fire and an early night's rest. It was the zero perfect day!

A sleepy but happy NotYet

Playing with Tutie and breakfast 

Unitic and NotYet

Breakfast, including blueberry, raspberry and apple pancakes

Tutie looking for her toy 

Hummingbirds on the back patio 

Kayaking on Pierce Pond

Day 14, First Long Day

July 27
155.2 down, 2030.7 to go
We did 18.7 today! The most we have done so far. It feels great to be able to do this amount of miles, after averaging nearly 10 on previous days. Although we are still building mileage and won't do 18 everyday, it's nice to know that we have it in us and that we're getting in better shape!
We booked it to Pleasant Mountain, which was hard with a lot of ups and downs and false summits. After a very steep downhill, we made it down the mountain. We were leapfrogging with Unitic all day, our new friend! We made our best pace yet after the mountain, to make it to Caratunk to resupply and make it to the ferry to cross the Kennebec by 4. We made it and enjoyed a pint of ice cream once we crossed the ferry. The ferry was a little canoe trip that took a whole minute and a half to cross. We made it to Pierce Pond today and are taking our much anticipated first zero day tomorrow!

Unitic crossing the Kennebec River. The man giving the ride said his record this year was 78 passengers a day! Over 40 crossings!

Sunset at Pierce Pond

Sunrise

Day 13, Eerie Mountain

July 26
136.5 down, 23049.4 to go
No sign of Karma after leaving Monson, but just as we were dropped off onto the trailhead, who do we see coming off the trail? Karma! We were able to chat with her before the people from Shaw's turned back around to pick her up.
After leaving Monson, we made a quick 9 miles to Horseshoe Canyon. We had a great fire and NotYet even cleaned around the Lean To he was so bored! Last night we talked with Isaac and MountainCity, who was completing the AT after being on the trail for 11 years, a little bit each summer. We talked abourt marriage being a lot like the AT, with its ups and downs. MountainCity has been married for 43 years. He gave us Lifesavers, which were a treat on the trail the next day! We also met Sunshine and Sunrise, a Brazillian woman and her fiance, who had started NoBo but switched because of bad weather in the South. This morning we got going around 7:30, making great time. (We are getting better and better at getting out of camp in the mornings!) We had a 9 mile climb up Moxie Bald Mountain. It was eerie at the top, because it was a cloudy day and we were in the clouds, but a great experience. We made it to Bald Moxie Pond Lean To and talked with Unitic, a fellow SoBo who has Lyme Disease, after being bit by some tics a few years ago. A lot of NoBos, since it's raining.

Our friend Karma!

Moxie Bald Mountain

Day 12, AYCE Breakfast

July 25

114.5 down, 2071.4 to go

Ahhhh, remember when we said it was the little things? It really is. Taking off wet boots, taking a shower after 11 days of not having one and clean clothes! The difference between being overwhelmed and rejuvenated is just a stay away at Shaw's...I sound like a commercial.

We enjoyed relaxing in our room last night and waking up early to the small of bacon. We had our first AYCE breakfast, all you can eat...I had five blueberry pancakes, two pieces of bacon, a sausage patty, two eggs and some hash brown. NotYet had even more.

When we left the trailhead yesterday we were blessed with a car waiting for us! Our new friend Flaco (Spanish for thin), who we met the rainy night before at the lean to, was a few minutes ahead of us all day and called for the ride. They waited a few minutes for us, how nice! Flaco is SoBo as well, having done two precious NoBo thru hikes in 2010 and 2011. Flaco is taking a zero day. We'd love to take our first one, but want to get back on the trail to avoid spending excessive money in towns. We've heard one of the biggest ways to save money on the trail is to not linger in towns too long. We did pack enough food to take a zero day before hitting the next town. It'd be nice to stop by a great swimming hole. Forecast predicts a lot of rain this weekend so we will see...

NotYet is chatting outside with Flaco and Floss (promoting dental hygiene on the trail or named for his awesome Mohawk?) before we hit the trail again. We met Floss at breakfast this morning. He is SoBo as well, a Spanish teacher and marathoner, taking the year off. He did Katahdin last Tuesday so he's got a quicker pace than us. Like us, it sounds like he's been wanting to do more mileage, comparing it to running and being able to do more in less time... However, running and hiking really don't compare! We want to get going before the rain hits hard tonight.

Thanks to our family an friends for the support! Love is an incredible form of motivation.

Dog across from Shaw's, the twin of Lucy, our family dog back in Washington. He even rolls around in the dirt on his back! The only difference is this dog doesn't seem to be heftily overweight...

Flaco, Floss and NotYet enjoying some sitting and conversation outside.

Informative fridge at Shaw's, including a map of Monson, hiker code and my favorite sticker so far on black flies, ha.

Day 11, Out of the Wilderness

July 24

114.5 down, 2071.4 to go
We made it out of the 100 mile wilderness! Hooray!
Let us tell you, it has never felt soo good to shower! And eat a big, fat juicy burger you've been dreaming about for the last week.
The wilderness has been tough. The trail isn't easy, but any ordinary man's terms, but again, it's a mental challenge and it's how you think of it. NotYet and I are both in good physical shape, healthy and ready for whatever terrain the trail brings, but it will be a test of how we endure the hardships along the way.
We are staying at Shaw's tonight to resupply and enjoy a nice easy day tomorrow, since we haven't had a day off since starting. NotYet stepped onto the scale...He dropped 12 pounds. I stepped on, half expecting to have lost 20....nothing. Oh, the joys of being a woman. If anything, I've gained muscle....Is it just me looking down at the trail all day, noticing my legs...Or do my calves look DARN good?
It is so nice to catch up with family and friends! NotYet and I are out for the night... Splitting a half gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream. We saw so many moose tracks on the trail that it's only right to celebrate...right?....RIGHT?

Shaw's, the people here are wonderful!

Clean clothes to wear while yours wash? Please! Love the hiker chic sign!

Our hiker chic clothes and water crossing shoes.

Lake in Monson