Date: 2019-08-01
To: Nahmakanta Stream Lean-To
Miles today: 27.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I discovered a love for Maine's waters today. Two summer's ago, in my hurry to get to Katahdin, I lingered for a few moments at a perfect sandy white beach by a lake weighing whether to take a quick dip. I passed it up and have regretted it ever since. I'm not in such a rush this time. So today I swam in Crawford Pond, the swimming hole at Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To, and Lower Jo-Mary Lake. The waters were consistently cool and refreshing. Jo-Mary had a sandy beach. The swimming hole, on the other hand, had leeches. Two were on me when I got out but they came off easily. Disgusting if you think about it too much, but no big deal if you just go with the flow. Not only does swimming cool me off, it also keeps the bugs away for awhile. And soothes existing bug bites, of which there are many!The terrain was flat and the trail largely pine needle with fewer rocks and roots. After two wearying days I wasn't as fatigued today, but my feet felt sore after twenty-plus miles. We've been pretty talkative the last two days but not as much today. Just a long day. There are beautiful lakes and tranquil evergreen woods. In some areas the understory is cleared and looks like old growth forest. We passed through private land, mostly logging territory, over Jo-Mary road, past many ponds and lakes. We ate lunch at Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To. UNICEF'S Smartwater bottle finally cracked after 2100 miles and untold abuse. Now that's a sturdy bottle! One most people throw away after a single use. But the water bottle was the second thing to fail today. His REI Flash sleeping pad sprung a slow leak overnight. It's a replacement for the same model that collapsed on him in North Carolina. It's widely known for leaking so probably lucky it lasted 1800 miles. Add in the fact that his phone bricked two days ago, and UNICEF deadpanned "Valley, I'm coasting in on fumes!"Leaving the shelter this morning I forgot to bring my water bottles, which I had just filled. Didn't realize until we were well down the trail. Took maybe ten minutes to jog back so it must have been nearly a mile. UNICEF waited patiently. He was also patient during all my swims. The water was too cool for him so he took a nap on the beach instead.We saw a handful of section hikers, but the only new thruhiker was Silent Bob (formerly Bash or Doctor Farts) who we discovered tenting at the shelter this morning when he recognized UNICEF'S voice and called out. He left Monson a day after us and hiked 28 miles yesterday over the entire Chairback and White Cap ranges. Talk about a big day. Even so he paced us today and usually was well ahead. He intends to summit with us in three days. Another thruhiker with a long beard left the shelter before us but we didn't know him and never saw him again. At Jo-Mary a group of eight to ten girls were gathered. One of them showed up at the nearby lake while I was swimming and told us they were with a camp in Maine (not the one the Quebec girls hailed from). She's a counselor but is getting replaced today and heading out. The campers are hiking about 180 miles from the Bigelows to Katahdin. Pretty amazing camp experience.At Nahmakanta Stream shelter another large youth group had taken over the shelter and filled the area with laughter and equipment. We were exhausted by then, so UNICEF, Silent Bob, and I tented away from the commotion on less than ideal spots. The bugs have been miserable today. Finally we can escape them.