Date: 2014-07-24
From: Stratton, Maine

To: Monson, Maine
Miles today: 73.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 134: Thursday, 24 July 2014 Monson, Maine (Mile 2069.7)Mum here¢¦ I saw a bald eagle this morning! When Buffalo was hiking the PCT last year, every time I saw a bald eagle, like up close and personal, Buffalo called within a day or two. On the PCT, that was pretty good, since his phone calls were 5-10 days apart. On the AT, we get calls 3-5 days apart. The eagle this morning flew over my head twice as I walked the dogs down the road. Now, it could have meant that the eagle had its eye on our little Chihuahua, but I took it to mean¢¦¢Hi Mom! I¢m in Monson, Maine! Can¢t wait for the 100 Mile Wilderness that¢s not really a total wilderness. It¢s just more difficult to get to a town from the trail! Did you leave a message?¢¢I left a couple. I thought we would have heard from you from Caratunk a couple days ago. But thinking that you might not have good coverage, I wanted to let you know that if you could find a landline, you can call us ¢collect¢.¢¢We¢re taking a shuttle into Greenville from here, for the night. My food planning is way off and I¢m a little concerned (as concerned as Buffalo can get) about the 100 Mile Wilderness and planning for more than 2 or 3 days at a time!!!¢ he said laughingly. ¢Caratunk had a nice place to stay, if I¢d stayed there. There was a facility that was a combination restaurant/bar with showers and laundry. But we didn¢t stay. But I am getting pretty good at resupplying at a convenience store, especially with the stuff you send. All that stuff is so great ¢ the vegan bars, granola, and I¢m eating a lot of PB&J with maple syrup in a wrap and fresh fruit! I¢ll be carrying some fresh fruit out on the 50-miler for us, especially if we¢re getting resupplied 3 days in!¢¢If I send a package home, I¢ll be sending the NeoAir. It doesn¢t seem to make a difference with my back. I still wake up stiff until I get walking. I don¢t know what¢s going on, but if the NeoAir isn¢t helping, might as well get rid of it!¢¢So who is now in the Extended Herd?¢¢Oh yeah, so there¢s West, Gentle Spirit, Violet, Moose, Boot Burner, Thirsty, Mariposa, Joules, Canary, Sticks, and Legs. We¢re doing Christmas In July tomorrow! We each have a Secret Santa. They drew names a couple days ago. I wasn¢t with them but when I caught up, they said they¢d put MY name in as well! So, when I got the box today and saw the chocolate caramel bar, I thought it would make a great present and decided to save it for the Secret Santa gift! All those different bars you¢ve sent are great! The chocolate raspberry was especially good!¢¢Being Vegan has thrown me into another dimension at the Co-op, finding all these different things.¢ (For non-vegans, typical ¢caramel¢ has milk in it, but I made sure this was really vegan. It was and it sounded yummy!)¢I¢ve learned a lot out here, but what I really learned is that out here, you can do whatever you want and it¢s OK! I found the top of the pineapple in my pack and Boot Burner as 2 hats and a sheet! Go figure! Some people are doing the 24 Challenge: 24 beers in 24 hours in 24 miles! I met a SOBO, who was out of water and wanted to trade water for power bars!¢¢How can you be out of water up there in Maine?¢¢Young hikers! Just starting out, they haven¢t learned yet! And that pineapple top, guess I ought to do something with it. Don¢t worry; it was the second pineapple I hiked out with, not the first one.¢¢It can be the ¢bow¢ on your Secret Santa gift!¢¢What a great idea! Now for wrapping paper. Someone mentioned using toilet paper, but someone else said, ¢That¢s too much like a real gift!¢¢¢I think we missed Black Fly Season, but there¢s a biting bug that takes a chunk out. I have a bite on my arm that has one of those clear fluid scabs. Every time the scab comes off, more clear fluid drains out. There are a couple places they were bad but it¢s not been continual.¢¢I¢m so excited to get to Katahdin, but the main reason I¢m excited to be done is to heal my body ¢ figure out the back pain, and to do more healthy cooking and eating!¢¢Well, we¢re getting the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box from the folks down the road. We can do a lot of stuff with that!¢¢And we can take some of that on the 50-miler with us. That¢ll be great!¢¢Speaking of the 50-miler, what do you think about taking that oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough. I used flax meal and coconut oil instead of eggs and butter. There was a little left after that last batch I sent and I¢d have a couple spoonfuls every once in a while. It was pretty darn good!¢¢That sounds awesome! But maybe just bake it a little and make bars so it¢s not as gooey but still chewy.¢¢I reached a low point last night when I had to use my umbrella under the tarp to keep water from dripping on my face!¢¢Do we need a new tarp before the 50-miler?¢¢This is the smaller one. The larger one we used, with 3 grommets missing will be fine! Those grommets are non-essential!¢ [It¢s a serious trust thing to go out backpacking with our son!]¢Did you cross the river that has the ferry for hikers? Is that the Kennebec?¢¢Oh yeah! That was just before Caratunk. The ferry is the Official AT Route across the river. It¢s free so hikers aren¢t tempted to try and ford the river. The guy that does the ferry said that he¢s already had to rescue 2 hikers and a few more wondered why they were still alive!¢¢That was one of the things I was looking forward to ¢ taking the boat across the river!¢ Dear Readers, we got a little sentimental here at the end of our phone conversation¢¦.¢I¢m only beginning to realize how wonderful you and Dad are as parents, letting me follow my heart and dreams and supporting me and my friends along the way. I was thinking about this the other day, sitting on a mountain top. I can¢t express it as eloquently as I had thought it but it really does mean a lot to me how you have raised me and have allowed me to grow. I¢ve met older people out here who had wished they had done the trail at my age, but the expectation was that they go to college and get a job. Then came responsibilities. I am set to look for a job over the winter to support myself and save for the CDT next year. Are you and Dad still interested in doing some Trail Magic for that?¢¢Oh yeah! And as a matter of fact, Beth was here yesterday and she mentioned that we will need to coordinate when and where so that we don¢t overlap the Trail Magic! We love doing this! It has made for some great little vacation trips. Even Beth commented about our trips to Seiad Valley, Belden, and Sierra City! All ¢unknown¢ vacation destinations!¢¢Some of my friends hiking the AT this year are interested in hiking the PCT next year. Would you be interested in doing Trail Magic even if it wasn¢t me hiking?¢¢Hey, it¢s all connected! We could help out at Snoqualmie Pass like we did for you, Scones, and Doodles ¢ taking you to North Bend for resupply. And don¢t forget the pizza that got you connected with Ginger Beard Man¢s family in New York! It¢s all good stuff!¢ (Or maybe it was doggie kisses from Chena, our Chihuahua!)¢And maybe you can get to that magical place ¢ Stehekin. It¢s so amazing to be eating a pie that you can only get by hiking or boat! It¢s just a magical place!¢[This is why I had to at least attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail with my son. He wanted me to experience what he experiences out there, and to show me the world where he is most at home.]The Mum of¢¦..