Date: 2014-08-15
From: Stratton, ME

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 32.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Our last post was dedicated to thanking everyone for all of the support and love we have received on this journey. Because of that, it has been a while since we have done an actual trail update. Here are a few highlights from the last 50 miles or so of trail. The mountains continued to be incredibly difficult to climb, but also incredibly beautiful. The terrain was extremely challenging with almost every step involving roots, rocks, and/or mud. We crossed the mighty Kennebec River in the official AT Canoe with ¢Hillbilly Dave¢. At a shelter, we were treated to incredible trail magic (acts of kindness usually from non-hikers to hikers) in the form of homemade brownies, cookies, and even boxed wine. We were camped at over 3,000 feet on Crocker Mountain during a terrible lightning storm (it literally felt/looked like lightning struck yards from our tent). The trail has continued to challenge, but also reward us each day. Currently, we are in Rangeley, Maine, where we received an amazing care package filled with hiking goodies from Kelly¢s Uncle Randy and Aunt Marcela (and their daughters)! We have been here for several days taking an unplanned injury break. Kelly has been dealing with foot pain for most of the trip. She has done a great job of managing it, but when the swelling and pain got out of hand, we decided to get it checked out. After an initial trip to the doctor, we left feeling somewhat optimistic that the pain was due to an entrapped nerve in her right foot. We followed the doctor¢s orders and spent a few days following the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) form of treatment, and unfortunately, we only saw marginal improvement. The metropolis of Rangeley offers X-Ray services only one day per week, so we finally went back to the doctor to have a scan of her foot to rule out stress fractures. The good news is nothing is broken; the bad news is that Kelly is still dealing with quite a bit of pain and numbness in her right foot. Obviously, pain is going to be a part of life on the trail, but we are trying to be patient and get her foot back in reasonable condition before hitting the last 60 miles of Maine and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. On the bright side, Rangeley is a beautiful place to recover. At the Farmhouse Inn hiker hostel, we caught up with some of our hiker buddies, Dan and Jen (¢GI Jen¢) from St. Louis, Mark (¢Sweet Feet¢) and Amber from Denver, Timon (¢Swiss Miss¢) from Switzerland, and John (¢Rodeo¢) from New York. We had some fierce horse-shoe competitions while enjoying the backyard! We have had access to good restaurants, kayaks, and stand-up paddle boards. We even rented scooters on Kelly¢s birthday (it felt so weird to have transportation other than our feet). I felt like Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber with my 50CC scooter! We hope to head back out soon and cover some of the infamous miles of Southern Maine. I have added several pictures from Caratunk to Rangeley in the album on the side. Thanks for all of the prayers and support. ¢. . . we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.¢ Romans 5: 3-5