Date: 2015-07-20
From: Caratunk

To: Moxie Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

Last night before falling asleep, I had a long conversation with another NOBO girl in the opposite bunk. We talked about how we felt about the trail, and how strange it is that the end is coming. She said that even knowing that there are only so few miles left, it doesn't make it any easier than before. She also had a similar contempt as I do for the rain, and she was pretty furious about its entire existence on the trail. We talked about how at some point, the trail becomes your life and how thats the major ideological difference between thru hikers and section hikers. For section hikers, it's more like a vacation but for us it's our life. There's a point where it doesn't feel like a choice, and you have to take the hard parts with the easy, just like in real life. But section hikers can skip the hard parts and luxuriate in the easier parts. We also spoke to a SOBO who told us about a supposed escaped killer who is hiding out near Monson. It sounded like a hikers boogeyman, because apparently this killer goes around and steals hikers food. He doesn't seem to hurt anyone or steal any gear, just the food. Which for some hikers, it would be the end of the world. But still, it's made me uncomfortable about camping by myself again. There was an incredible thunderstorm last night. I woke up because of the sheer noise, and I saw the Lightning even with my eyes closed tight.I woke up before 6. My bug bites were itching but I had managed to get a decent nights sleep. I put on my dirty clothes and felt absolutely disgusting. I could smell my foul Tshirt and socks, and I could smell my clean blanket at the same time. I'm going to do laundry in Monson, there hardly seemed any point yesterday. I went down to breakfast at 6.30. It was a decent breakfast buffet that was almost exactly like the breakfasts I've had at motels in the past. I was all ready but had to wait for a while to get a shuttle back to the trail. I was back on by 8am, and soon after the sun started creeping through the clouds. It was a bit patchy throughout the morning, but there was no more rain. It was very humid though, which did nothing to help my smell situation. At one point, I was shaking my head to get the sweat to flick off. I felt like a wet dog, there was so much of it. After all the rain last night, the trail was predictably muddy and slippery. I managed to fall twice in the first part of the morning, and got my legs covered in mud. The first time I managed to cut open the scabs on my leg too. The second time, I covered the open cuts with more pmud. I also had to ford twice (Holly brook), and I took my socks and shoes off both times. It was SO cold. The first time it was about knee high and fast flowing, so it took a while for me to cross as I could hardly move my legs. Both times I yelled out when I stepped in. There is no way I would ever get used to that instant freezing feeling.Later, I sat and had lunch with Brightside2, Rolling Thunder, Heat Pack and Sparkles. I got to eat yesterday's lunch too, so that was nice. (Though I'm not sure how nice extremely squashed hamburger buns can be). But then about 20 minutes later I slipped into a stream up to my thigh, so I was annoyed and squelching along for a while. There were only two mountains today, and both were only about 2000 ft. I probably would have died from too much sweat if they had been any higher. On the second mountain (Moxie), Brightside2 pointed out the wild blueberries. There aren't too many that are ripe right now, but it looks like there are going to be a LOT in the near future. Still, I spent about 30 minutes at the top of the mountain, collecting blueberries. I stored them in a ziplock and had them after dinner later. They were really small compared to the blueberries you can buy, but they tasted just as good. The amount I picked would have probably cost a small fortune in England. I got to the shelter just after 5, which was fine. The shelter is on the edge of a large pond, where (I think) a thru hiker drowned a couple of years ago. His legs cramped up when he was swimming too far from shore, and he's been a cautionary tale ever since. It's a really nice spot though, despite that sad story and the billions of mosquitoes. The bugs have been eating me all day long, despite the DEET. I have counted 8 bites so far. I've been hiding my tent since just after I arrived, since it's the only place I'm actually safe from bugs. I did however leave to watch a beaver swim by in the lake. That was pretty cool, beavers are way bigger than I thought. There are also random wildlife noises- geese honks and squirrel squeaks. And some not-so-wild noises, someone angrily shouting that their air mattress has a leak in it.About 18 miles to Monson tomorrow. I'm looking forward to town, but I'm afraid I'm going to lose another toenail in the interim. It's half hanging on, and it's pretty gross. There's nothing I can do though. I hope it can just hold on a little longer. I'm going to have to ford at least 3 rivers tomorrow, including the one that comes with a little warning. Hiking with soaked feet is why my toenail is so mangled, and why my toes are feeling rubbed raw.