Date: 2015-08-25
From: Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 18.2

This morning, I said goodbye to my shelter friends, and asked the Aussie Legs to bring my bear bag line/clothesline with them since it was still covered with their clothes.I passed Iso's tent on my way back to the AT and yelled goodbye. He said something about blue skies as I departed.Blue sky. Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Yeah right.The sky was overcast and the day was gloomy. The trail started very flat. Most of the day was flat, actually. But NOT SMOOTH. It was slippery and wet. And rocks and roots and not my favorite. There were lots of board bridges, slick and slippery from months in the woods. But I did not fall! For once...The trail really was pretty rough. Still, I did ELEVEN BY ELEVEN.It was a hard eleven miles, though. Not too hard... but I was so tired. I just wanted to roll off the trail and into the woods for a nice long nap. A 200 year nap. After I finish the trail, I think I will just climb into bed for like two weeks in a row. It will be glorious.I am just sick of hiking. I mean... I love the forest. I love the wilderness, the animals, the fresh air. I love bathing in rivers (although I really would also like a real shower at the end of the day). But my body is so tired.SO TIRED. I am tired of navigating around rocks and roots. I am tired of carrying a heavy pack all day. I am tired of wearing dirty, wet clothing.Today, I was so tired. I barely made it three miles until I needed a snack. I needed a lot of snacks today, even though it was so flat. It wasn't that hard but I am just. So. Tired.Tomorrow I will buy more snacks. Abol Bridge Campsite has a store. I need more chocolate. I already ate all of the M&Ms out of my trail mix. I just want chocolate. I don't care about dinner. I NEED MORE CHOCOLATE.I asked mom to bring me one last bag of M&Ms for the bottom of Katahdin. My tummy is already rumbling for them.How long will it be until my feet stop hurting?Both of the streams that were supposed to be forded today did not actually require fording. I got to keep my shoes on! Hooray!!!One of the streams, however, required one last rock hop to the bank, which had a metal staircase (I kid you not, a METAL STAIRCASE on the trail. In the wilderness). I did not make it without dragging a foot through the water.Speaking of wilderness, I passed a dirt road with a Unity College van pulling a boat trailer. WILDERNESS MY BUTT.Okay, I know the reason they call it the Hundred Mile Wilderness because it isn't EASY to resupply or get into town. However, I feel that the name is a bit misleading.There was only one mountain today. I had to stop and eat half my lunch early before heading up, because I was so tired. I NEEDED CALORIE ENERGY. I wanted to stop at the first shelter, but as I was approaching, I heard someone playing loud music and singing.NOPE. Nope nope nope.Then people that sing tend to be the people that talk. And talk. And talk.I was tired and grumpy and hungry. I decided to skip the potential talker, and sat on a very wet and rotten branch to do my snacking.Then it was up, up, up the mountain of the day. Nesuntabunt. That is the name of the mountain. I wonder what that means, too.It was a climb of STRAIGHT UP and then flat, STRAIGHT UP and flat. There were some very nice stone steps near the top, though. I ate the rest of my lunch plus the last of my candy at a viewpoint, from which I could not see Katahdin because it was up in the clouds.Silent Force was at the summit when I returned to the trail from the viewpoint, wringing out his shirt. He said that he didn't know if he would be able to do that climb four more times, which would be the equivalent of Katahdin."You have to do it!" I told him.WE ALL HAVE TO DO IT. THE END IS SO NEAR.Two miles later, I stopped to collect some delicious pond water. Yum.Then it was four UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN miles to the shelter. Rocks and roots and I JUST WANTED TO GET THERE AND BE DONE. AGH SO TIRED.After ages of hiking, I made it. I saw that lovely shelter roof peeking through the trees, next to a very beautiful and delightful stream.I took a nice bath. Silent Force even shared some of his biodegradable soap. Cleanliness! Yayyy!I also rinsed out my clothes. I put them on wet every day anyway, I might as well have them slightly cleaner tomorrow. I hung them up to dry, but it is hopeless. Nothing is ever dry.As I was wringing out my sad attempts at laundry, two southbound hikers arrived. One asked if Silent Force and I minded if he lit up, as his friend had a migraine. We just shook our heads. As long as it's not in the shelter, no problem.He also later spent quite some time chopping down trees with a hatchet and started to prepare what promised to be quite a large fire in the fire pit in front of the shelter.Us grumpy thru-hikers were not pleased with this idea. Firebear asked him to make it a small fire, so as not to smoke us out.I have no idea why this guy seemed to think that a fire would help his friend's migraine (does this make sense at all?!) but after a few choice words from the shelter residents (tonight's companions are the Aussie Legs and Silent Force again, with Iso and Mufasa tenting nearby), he decided to relocate his fire to where he and his friend had set up their hammocks. He also had to relocate half of the stones from the fireplace up to his campsite to build a fire pit. How much do you want to bet that he won't put them back in the morning?I have mixed feelings. He should be allowed to build a fire if he wants... but fires are only allowed in specified areas. At the same time, I agree with everyone else... I don't want him to build that fire in front of the shelter. I want to sleep.Oh well.... No one can win.There is a sign on this shelter about thru-hikers respecting the Baxter State Park. Some people are jerks and totally abuse the rules. There has been so much trouble that Baxter has raised the idea of moving the AT out of the park.At the shelter last night, a southbounder (who I think flip-flopped) named Sky was talking about this. She complained that she only saw section hikers and day hikers leaving trash around and wandering off-trail. There are plenty of thru-hikers that are jerks, too, though.This girl was kind of a nut. She read the shelter register or someone mentioned another hiker with a name that had something to do with Bean. Her name was Bean something or something Bean. I can't keep track. But upon mention of Bean, Sky flew off the handle, yelling about how much she hated this girl, and how she wanted to punch her, and how she had dealt with her for 200 miles...It was INTENSE. She used swears I haven't heard in MONTHS.I was very glad Sky tented. She is the kind of person whose personality clashes with my own.Iso and Mufasa came over to the shelter to talk while everyone had dinner. Lots of hikers were named and discussed, as always.Mufasa told us that Sky's hiker enemy might have been her ex-fiancee. THE PLOT THICKENS.We also talked about fast food chains in Australia, and I don't remember what else...Two interesting things about this shelter:1. The floor is made of ROUND LOGS. Not flat. Not comfortable.2. There is a swimming hole UPSTREAM. UPSTREAM. AND THE STREAM IS THE WATER SOURCE. GROSS. I am glad I arrived early and hopefully will not be drinking someone else's bathwater.Tomorrow will be a shorter day. The end of the Hundred Mile Wilderness! I will buy a SNACK. MAYBE TWO SNACKS. AHHHHHHHHH I CAN'T WAIT.I think that tomorrow will be the day when it starts to hit. Lately my mind is just concerned with how exhausted I am. How tired my body is. How much I just want to stop walking.But tomorrow... tomorrow will come and the end will be SO CLOSE that I will start to get anxious. Maybe. My trail family has been doing an excellent job of distracting me so far.Someone left a bucket here, on the other side of the shelter wall where I am sleeping. Of course, jerk hikers have filled it with trash (and what smells like a bit of urine, too). What a delightful stench I will have the pleasure of enjoying through the nightAt least there is the wonderful sound of flowing water to make up for it.Which reminds me! The trail passed by a GORGEOUS lake today. It was so pretty... I scooted along, five feet from the water's edge, and enjoyed the sound of the waves lapping up on the pebbles. I will miss that. I will miss the constant beauty of the wilderness.I will not miss hiker trash and throbbing feet.Bedtime!I am thankful for snacks. I am thankful for beautiful views and lakes and peaceful streams in the woods. I am thankful that the end is in sight, but not too close yet. I am thankful for darkness and time to rest my tired limbs. I am thankful that Silent Force let me use his battery charger so I am not 100% worried that my phone will die before I can take pictures on Katahdin.