Date: 2016-09-06
From: NH, US2, hikers paradise hostel, 1890.8

To: NH, stealth site near wockett ledge, 1899.3
Miles today: 8.5

This morning we took a slow morning. We didn't want to zero after the whites, but we also wanted to have a leisurely day. We did laundry. The only options for breakfast nearby were Burger King and McDonalds a half mile away. We opted for Burger King. We then caught a local city bus for $2 to Walmart which was a couple miles away. We picked up supplies for 7 days which should get us to Rangeley. The couple from Hikers Paradise where we stayed gave us a ride back to the trailhead, which we were grateful for.We got back on the trail around 1pm. We thought we would be able to filter water at a spring, but it was actually dried up so we only had about 2 liters. The water sources further up the mountain were also dried up. It was really hot and all uphill. To make matters worse, the Burger King breakfast left both of our stomachs in knots and feeling tired. It ended up not being a leisurely afternoon at all. We were completely exhausted and still thirsty by the end of it. One thing that was nice was that we have started to see southbounders that we know. Lots of the slower northbound hikers flip flop to Maine about half way thru and begin hiking south to beat the winter. Today we saw Burly! He was he one we ran into at the NOC in Georgia who said "I think I've found my waist". He is one of these flip floppers. He has found a lot more than his waist. He has lost 75 lbs since he started and is off most of his medications. His doctor asked him what advice he could give to others struggling with weight related health issues. His advice was for them to go on the "put your dinner on the other side of a mountain" plan. We also met an interesting southbound family along the way that was new to us. 3 children were sitting waiting for their mom along the trail near a sidetrail to a campsite. While Sherpa fetched water from a nearly dried up spring, porter chatted with them. Ages were 12, 14, and 15. The mom sold their house in Coral Springs, Florida in January. They began walking North from Key West,slowly making their way thru Florida mostly along the ECT. As they hiked roughly 1000 miles in Florida, they told us the worst part was drinking from canals polluted with fertilizers, pesticides, and other agricultural runoff. They did use a bleach dropper to treat the water. They complained about being mistaken for homeless people. For education, they were "unschooled". It was a little painful to watch them try to read a sign marking the trail. They had jumped up to Maine after hiking most of Florida and have been slowly making their way south with their two dogs. They were really excited to be getting off the trail in less than 6 miles, because their mom had bought a house in Missouri for $16k and they needed to fix some things before winter. We said goodbye and walked away. We eventually passed the mom, happily chatting away on her phone, we told her that the kids were waiting for her less than 10 minutes up the trail. As it got dark, we started praying that we would find a good place to setup our tent. The woods were really dense and we were still going uphill which generally means you can't put up a tent. Right as it was getting dark we spotted a stealth site on a cliff! It was awesome. We had dinner with a view of mount Washington in the distance from a giant exposed rock. Porter inspected her feet and noticed a nail that looked like it might have seen better days. Sherpa told her she wouldn't be getting a pedicure with a foot like that, but she was quick to respond that she would get 10 percent off since she only had 9 toes to work on.