Date: 2021-07-13
From: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hiker Hostel 

To: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So the nero originally planned for today became a zero once we hiked the 22 miles into Monson yesterday. I slept outside in my hammock and had a peaceful, dry night and a leisurely morning as I took my hammock down well before breakfast. Iceberg woke hungry and pre-gamed the rest of his ice cream from the night before by 6:15 while awaiting the 7:00 breakfast. After everyone was done and those leaving settled their bills, we said goodbye to Ally, Peps, and Trebek as they left in the shuttle to enter the 100 mile wilderness for their planned summit on July 18th. Whisper also headed out to Katahdin, but we will likely see him as he¢s not planning to summit until the 22nd, so he¢s going to be camping for a few days. Being this was a zero day in town, I ate waaaaay too much. Iceberg and I had lunch with TP (Trail Pimp) at the one restaurant open for lunch. I¢ve bumped into TP a handful of times since Gorham, NH and have really enjoyed her chill energy. When she went full thru-hiker and ordered Key Lime Pie for dessert, I just had to do the same. It was so good and so unnecessary after the food and beer I had already had - but I can live with the slight regret. Two Tums and a 25 minute nap later at the Hostel, all was well once more.TP has a trail story few can match, as two days ago an aggressive Goshawk swooped down on her and snatched away the hat and bug net right off of her head.  There had been warnings posted about the nesting hawks protecting their turf, but no warnings about their apparent intense interest in haberdashery.  On the downside, TP got a scare and is out some gear.  On the plus side, she covered the next half mile of trail in record time.Back at Shaw¢s, Quiksilver¢s wife arrived in the early afternoon, driven here from the airport by his Father and wife who came to Maine from Michigan to spend a few days exploring.  Lamb¢s Ear is joining us for the last 115 miles to the northern terminus of the AT.  She owned the 51 miles of trail she hiked over three days back in Vermont last month and she¢ll be a nice addition to our little hiking group over the next week.  So overall, plans have changed a bit. Tomorrow won¢t be another zero, instead we will be doing a 15 mile slack pack back to Monson from the north. Then Thursday will be another slack pack 16 miles over the Chairback Mountains. Friday we¢ll be dropped back on the trail with full packs (well, mostly - more on that later this week) for the last 85 miles of hiking. The trail ahead has many, many tree roots and if the predictions of rain thru Sunday materialize it¢ll be slow going. We do have a lot of flexibility on when we finish, with a three day window between the 20th and 22nd. So the miles shouldn¢t be an issue. But that¢s all in the future. The task at hand is to just take each step, each mile, and each day as it comes. I want to make sure to enjoy whatever comes my way and be in the moment. The hikers who started in Georgia are really feeling the end of their journey rushing at them as they stay at their last hostel and do their last resupply.  For flip-floppers like Quiksilver and I, climbing Katahdin will be cool, but just another climb in a way.  But we are both looking forward to being there and experiencing the culmination of the NOBO¢s hikes.  We¢re really curious to see how the mostly stoic Iceberg will react!As far as things go with me, overall I feel pretty good.  Dudley is a little swollen as two days ago I once again reaggravated the never-quite-healed arch sprain that I¢ve been dealing with since Virginia. I¢ll likely pop some ibuprofen in the morning and once I start hiking, things be fine, as long as I remember to eat and hydrate. I¢m happy with my gear and feel good about what lies ahead. I glued the peeling areas of my shoes once more and have my fingers crossed that they¢ll hold until the end.  My only other option at this point would be to buy a pair of ill-fitting Altras from the gear store here at the Hostel.  I gave two more data to make that call.So being that I¢ll be here at the Hostel thru Thursday, I should have daily journal posts up. After that, it¢s possible I won¢t have a chance to post again until I get to Bangor, Maine on Friday the 23rd. If that¢s the case, I¢ll probably post two days of journaling per day as I make my way towards the SOBO section of my hike from Troutville, Virginia to Mt. Springer in Georgia.