Date: 2023-09-14
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: US Route 201
Miles today: 4.0

Today was emotional for me. Don¢t get me wrong, it was a really good day! And I was in much better spirits! I just had this feeling that from here on out, the hike would be great! But the group is putting off weird vibes today. Apparently, a couple of their tents flooded last night and they are completely over trail, which I get. But it seems like they want to hike on after resupply instead of staying at the inn to shower and do laundry. Toaster and Bandit expressed that they just want to get the trail done, so they are going to keep pushing miles. My worry is that we all won¢t be able to summit together, which would be a great shame. We¢ve hiked together for a long time at this point. I guess time will only tell. We had to ford a small river right after camp, so I changed into my crocs. Not sure if it¢s the best idea, because they aren¢t as secure as our hiking shoes. But it worked this time around. I walked with Tenderfoot for awhile. Apparently, they have having some group discord as well. Glad to know it¢s not unique to our group! We arrived at the Kennebec river and waited in line to be ferried across in a canoe. The dam releases water without warning, so all hikers must be ferried across. I wanted to help paddle, so Moose sat in the middle. The gentleman, Greg, canoeing us called it the Princess seat. Moose Jaw proceeded to flex and say in a deep voice, ¢You mean princess with muscles.¢ I was was cracking up!! So, yes, I helped paddle buff princess across the river. As we got out, Greg said I was really good at paddling. I was beaming! I was like, ¢why thank you!¢ *hair toss*Half a mile past the river, all six of us got a ride to the Sterling Inn. Moose Jaw and I already planned on staying the night. So, we laid out our tent to dry. Everyone else laid out their things as well. At the Sterling Inn, we ran into Firewalker and Captain Fantastic! It was great seeing them!! They always bring me so much joy when I see them. Captain fantastic was really kind and shared some heartfelt words to Moose Jaw and I. We are so blessed to have met him, and I know we will stay friends with him!! While we had service, we heard from Captain! She summitted Katahdin and thanked us for being part of her journey. She said, ¢Thank you! I so wish we could have gotten more time together on trail. Believe it or not, you¢re still one of my favorite couples on trail. °¥° I still stand by my statement that I want to be like you guys if I get married one day!¢ She¢s been such a blessing, and I¢m so thankful for the little bit of time we did spend with her on trail. I know that God is going to do amazing things through her! Not long after arriving at the inn and setting our things out to dry, everyone rushed into the attached store to resupply. Then the driver took us into ¢town¢ to a restaurant for lunch. While we were there, I got distracted by the claw machines. And there was a machine full of rubber ducks. I was like, ¢I need to win a duck.¢ Well¢¦. Five dollars later¢¦ I won five ducks with the helpful eye of toaster!! I was addicted!! It gave me such a thrill I couldn¢t stop. Every time I won a duck, I went back to the table for more single dollar bills to win more ducks! HA! So, I won everyone a duck, but Moose Jaw and I have to share. Because I won five (one sparkly gold, two sparkly red, one sparkly pink, and a teal one). The waitress laughed at my enthusiasm when she brought us our food. Unfortunately, it was time to be picked up by our driver. The scariest shuttle I have ever been in. He likes to take turns at 50 mph and turn past the entrance to literally everything!! I kept praying that none of us would die! Absolutely horrifying. Once we got to safe ground, everyone bolted for the trail. Moose Jaw told everyone to say goodbye, because it¢s likely we wouldn¢t see them again, but they weren¢t having it. They disagreed. I sided with Moose. So, after everyone Nero¢d out, Moose Jaw and I did our laundry, bought some ice cream and sodas, and FaceTimed my mom. It was a great evening. Extremely relaxing! I¢m happy to spend time with my husband!!