Date: 2014-07-18
From: Cooper Brook Lean-To

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean-To
Miles today: 21.5

Today was, in all likelihood, our final day on the trail with over 20 miles of hiking. The AT was completely flat other than one long, steady 200 ft. climb to break up the day. Had the entire trail been like this, it would have gotten monotonous very quickly. Yet after several weeks of extreme climbs and unforgiving terrain, my body was grateful for this physically refreshing section.And just because the trail was flat doesn¢t mean that it was boring. The entire day was filled with beautiful views, with the trail skirting the edges of Jo-Mary and Nahmakanta Lakes; these sites were so pristine that they seemed untouched by humans. It also didn¢t hurt that the weather was absolutely gorgeous today, with clear azure skies and temperatures in the low seventies. Birdman and I stopped on the shores several times throughout the day to snack, nap, and soak in the beauty around us. Supposedly Birdman and I missed a great look at Katahdin from a side trail today, but even that knowledge couldn¢t detract from the beauty we did experience. Besides, we¢ll be seeing plenty of Katahdin soon.But what made today truly memorable today were our interactions with our fellow hikers. First, after they ran around Cooper Brook Lean-To all morning without wearing any pants (Birdman¢s face was again priceless), the older ladies at the campsite offered us a ton of their extra food; they had arranged a food drop on one of the old logging roads, and they had way more than they needed. Birdman and I quickly snatched these up, thankful that we wouldn¢t have to ration our own food supplies so closely from here on out (this was literally our only stressor at this point). We then hiked the first three miles of our day with Spider-Man and Socks, chatting about our plans for our Katahdin summit on Monday (hooray!) and life after the trail (yikes!).Time flew by during our walk-and-talk, and we soon found ourselves crossing over Jo-Mary Road. This road is one of the largest and most well kept of the logging roads, and its position at slightly over the halfway point has made it a popular spot for food drops¢and by food drop, I mean a 5-gallon bucket filled with food, sealed with duck tape, and left at a predetermined spot. Sure enough, we found LoJack and Nails here desperately searching for their food drop, as it was not behind the ¢tree with a pink ribbon¢ that was described to them. Birdman, Socks, Spider-Man, and I spent the next twenty minutes or so helping our hungry hiker friends find their food drop, which ended up being behind a boulder on the side of the road (along with that of Socks and Spider-Man). Cheers went up all around, and Birdman and I continued on as the other four began stuffing their food sacks full of fresh supplies.We all once again found ourselves at the same lean-to, and we all spent the evening swapping stories by the campfire and gorging on a surprise treat: LoJack had packed in a ton of graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows for s¢mores. I¢m not sure how it happened, but this was actually the first time I had eaten s¢mores on this entire trip, and the amount of sugar made my head spin. Spider-Man then broke out his ukulele, and he and LoJack serenaded us well into the evening. When I climbed into my tent at dusk, I realized that this day encompassed some of my favorite things about life on the trail; even though I am extremely excited for the end of my adventure, I think I¢m beginning to understand just how much I¢m going to miss my days in the Appalachians.