Date: 2006-06-28
From: Big Wilson Road

To: Monson, Maine
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

I slept good, was up around 4:45. Packed quickly and was on the trail at 5:10, just a little ahead of Stick. The trail started out real rough, but it was nice and cool, so I just cruised along. It didn't last for long. When the sun rose, it got HOT. After 2.5 miles, I had to ford Little Wilson. They had a rope across the stream to hold on to, which I did, and to my dismay, I still fell in. It was a glorious blunder. I scrambled up and sat down on the other side. A man camped right there on the bank said that it was slippery. He's a regular Sherlock Holmes, I tell ya. Other than the knot on my shin the size of Jay Leno's chin, the only thing hurt was my ego. I decided that this was a good point to sit down, rest, water up, regain my composure and wait for Stick. It ended up being a long nine miles. Our boots, still wet from yesterday, tore up our feet, which are still tender from the months off the trail. We passed a bunch of people today, including a group of 10 kids with only one adult. Have fun with that! There ended up being a total of five big ups today. Believe me, I counted! Stick ended up losing his hat, but we're hoping somebody behind us brings it in. We made it to the road around a quater after 11, and sat down to wait for Humpty. A man pulled up and chatted with us awhile about the wilderness. He said that he has been walking on the treadmill on the highest incline to train, and wants to do it in four days. Well, the way I see it is that treadmills don't have rocks and roots! But good luck anyway. Humpty showed up about 12, and we went to Shaw's, got checked in, showered, laundered, went to the PO for maildrops, then Greenville for steak. On the way back to Monson, we really got to see a lot of Moose on the side of the road. Humpty knows where they all are at. A little later, we went to the bar, which just opened yesterday. Talk about great timing! It is right behind the laundrymat in the same building. So while your clothes are in the suds, out back, you can be drinking suds. We hikers are all about multi-tasking!!Last stop for the day was the pay phone to call home. The folks were a little worried about me; there was a little mis-communication about how long the wilderness would take. They thought it would be only five days, but it took 9, so needless to say, they were worried. But all is well now. Originally, we weren't going to zero, but seeing how tired we are, it's looking really good right now. The wilderness really put the beatdown on us. If I had done this for the first section of my thru hike last year, I would have probably have gone home. But luckily I was with some great people at the start last year: Humpty (there isn't a better guy around),Chuckles & Gotta-Go, Spoonie, the Super Sisters, Sci-Fi, Gravity & Danger, and of course, my partner in crime, Stick. You really couldn't find a better group of people if you tried. Those were some of the best days of my life, really. I think about it everytime March 1st rolls around. (Which has only been twice, but that's beside the point) I miss all of you guys! Anyway, off on a tangent a little there, but long story short, we're going to zero tomorrow.