Day 140, miles today - 10.1, total - 1,939.1

August 5, 2013

East B Hill Road to campsite near South Arm Road, Andover, ME.

B-Rocket's Aunt Annette drove us back to the trail. We left the camp at 8:00 am. It was 9:30 by the time we were on trail. The two days we spent at the camp were very enjoyable and relaxing.

Because of the shelter and campsite locations we needed to do either 10 or 18 miles today. With our late start we planned to do 10. We had a long gradual up to start the day. Overall pretty mild. We stopped at the Hall Mountain Lean-to for a lunch break. In Maine the shelters are referred to as a lean-to. From there we only had four more miles to reach the campsite we planned to stay at. We took a longer than normal lunch break. After lunch we went up and over Moody Mountain. It was a 1,400 ft. up in 0.8 of a mile. That's pretty steep. At the base of the up, B-Rocket and I were talking about the difficulty of the climb. I told her to think of it as two 0.4 sections. I told her that made it seem easier. She wasn't buying it. We met a thru-hiker named Mohawk. He started May 7. He's doing high miles. He was slack packing today. He passed us going up Moody. At the top was a nice overlook. It was clear and sunny today giving us a view of the surrounding mountains. We reached the campsite area at 5:30.

We were next to a road that was 8 miles from Andover. After setting up our tents we decided to give hitching a try. B Rockets cell phone needed to be charged, so we thought if we could get a ride she could charge it at the deli in town. The road was very small and not heavily traveled. After fifteen minutes we were ready to head back to our campsite. Just then a vehicle pulled up. Mohawk was in the passenger seat. Driving was the mother of one of his friends. She has been helping him with support through several states. She was dropping him off and then going to meet him at a road crossing further up trail. She got out and gave both of us each a bottle of Gatorade. She then offered us a ride into town. As she was dropping us off at the general store/deli, she asked how we were getting back to the trail. We said we would have to hitch hike. She offered to stay at the deli with us and then drive us the eight miles back to the trail. Her name is Shelley. She lives in Delaware. She sat in a booth with us as we got something to eat and charged our phones. It was very enjoyable talking to her about everything she's been doing to help Mohawk. We both told her about several of our experiences of trail magic and about life on the trail. She was very nice. While in the deli I met two girls that are thru-hiking. Their names were Cricket and Pancake. They started March third. I hadn't heard of them. They were staying in town.  Shelley dropped us off at the trail, I thanked her and told her that she had made our day, she said that we had made her day. Trail magic is great for those receiving and for those giving.

We met two more thru-hikers camping near us. One was Bulldog and the other Todd. Bulldog started March 19. The same day as me. So today we have met five nobo's (north bounders) for the first time.

It's a little after 9:00. I'm ready to get in my sleeping bag. It's just a little cool, it should be nice sleeping weather.