The last update I gave you was from the Northern Outdoors Center, where we hobnobbed with some NOBOs and enjoyed the center's luxuries. We even ran into some friends from NH (Grant and Jill who run Untamed New England Adventure Race). They gave us a dose of trail magic by picking up our tab at the bar!!! (did I mention there was a brewery there?)
On Sunday morning, we took the official canoe shuttle across the Kennebunk River at 9 and started following the white blazes again.
The last few days, the weather has been fantastic with nice breezes and less bugs (except of course when you stop moving and they swarm you). We have gone over some of Maine's bigger mountains (we have three 4,000 footers today!), so the terrain has definitely changed from the boggy mess (with the exception of one section where we crossed a crazy damn that was a little scary - see below).
Another highlight is that we attacked by a territorial grouse trying to protect her young!
Also, we hit the 2,000 mile marker, meaning we have less than 2,000 miles left! Today we should hit 200 miles, meaning Maine is almost over.
Last night, we spent the night at a hostel in Stratton as a last-minute decision at the road crossing. So many NOBOs recommended it. Glad we stopped because as with the hostel in Monson, the lady is selling and we are already dreaming!
We did get some sad news the other day that our fellow SOBO Overload had to get off the trail because part of his toe fell off!!! It is a bummer because we enjoyed hiking and camping with him on and off. There are about 10ish SOBOs that we have met and some of them have already gotten off the trail ... One guy (Fire Marshall) is still in front of us (we think) and 2 other guys (Lexus and FootZ) are 1 day behind us. By the way, these are all trail names and hopefully I will explain them someday!
Also not sure if this posted the other day, but we will be arriving to our next mail drop - Pinkham Notch - earlier than we expected. So if you were planning to send anything via regular mail, do it by June 23. Our ETA is July 3.
Location:Carrabassett Rd,Stratton,United States
Labels: AT, Outdoor Recreation
