Date: 2021-07-28
From: Bangor, Maine

To: The Mitten 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It is said ¢confession is good for the soul.  I won¢t pry into anyone¢s metaphysical leanings, but regardless of where one stands on the question of the soul, letting a secret out for a walk can lift a weight of one¢s shoulders.The secret I¢ve been hiding is that I¢ve been scheming for almost two weeks to make an unannounced trip home to Holland, Michigan, which I have now done!  There were many reasons great and small for doing so, but the big hike-related reason is that this will allow time for Quiksilver to close the 200 miles between our ¢flip¢ points and we can hook back up in early August and hike the final 731 miles together to Springer Mountain.  There is obviously something seriously amiss with him as he didn¢t object to hiking another 8 weeks with me walking shotgun, but we had both talked about how different the SOBO miles were going to be without the community of thru hikers we had been around for nearly three months. I¢m sure the trail won¢t be empty as there will be many section hikers and campers enjoying their summer sojourns, but other long distance flip-floppers and SOBO thru hikers won¢t be as far south as we will be. I¢m guessing Quiksilver¢s main motivation is to have someone with which to split the cost of shuttle rides.  Or I¢m a charity case. Either way, I¢m looking forward to having a friend as I continue hiking south. To catch everyone up: after submitting Katahdin and spending a night in Millinocket, Quicksilver, Lamb¢s Ear, Iceberg and I took a shuttle to Bangor last Wednesday and had a farewell dinner that night before Quiksilver and LE flew out Thursday morning for Front Royal (Quiksilver) and home (Lamb¢s Ear). Iceberg had already rented a car to spend two days explore some non-hik8ng parts of Maine and invited me to tag along as my friend Jason wouldn¢t be getting to Bangor until Friday evening for our drive back to his home in Pennsylvania. Thursday we went to Bar Harbor for the de rigueur lobster experience and to find some of that iconic rocky Maine coast to admire (picture above).  Friday we went to the LL Bean headquarters/store and played tourist. My friend arrived Friday night after a grueling fourteen and a half hour drive, then we turned around early Saturday morning for the return trip which was thankfully not as time consuming due to the much lighter traffic.  I spent Sunday doing nothing but eating and enjoying his families hospitality before he took me to the Pittsburgh airport for my flight back to Michigan. Upon arrival my friend Paul collected me and then drove me home, dropping me in my driveway about 7pm.Whether my surprise was kind or not, it was a rousing success!  My wife and family had not seen through my subterfuges (what a fantastic word to transform ¢lying¢ into something that sounds almost altruistic!) and were genuinely shocked at my arrival.  So, points for me?Anyway, I did get an opportunity to help my daughter as she moved into a new apartment and to also go and see my parents, as my dad had back surgery on Monday and was still awaiting discharge from the hospital.  My bushy and overgrown beard won universal acclaim (at least that¢s how I¢m choosing to interpret the comments) and my backpack has been banished to the garage where it awaits a thorough cleaning.I plan on getting some trail chores done the next few days including some gear swaps and phone battery replacement.  I will have some posts up over the next week doing some gear reviews and updating when I¢ll be back on trail once more - likely August 7th or thereabouts.Throw any questions you¢d like answered in the guest book and once again, thanks for reading along!