Date: 2018-06-23
From: Route 7 mile 1520.6

To: Blue Hill Rd mile 1530.2
Miles today: 10.4

I slept pretty well last night on the almost level platform. My head was a little low so I got a little stuffy until I put my fleece under my pillow for more elevation. I went back to sleep until 5:50. Surprisingly I seem to be sleeping past the birds at 4ish which is nice. I dressed and went for a walk to see if I could locate the port-a-potty I think I saw last night on the way in. I found it way at the back of the second parking lot near a dumpster. It was cleaned on the 21st and still pristine. A sight to behold! I walked back through the lots and across the grass up the blue blaze trail to my tent platform and began to break down camp. When I was all packed up I brushed my teeth and headed to the picnic tables in the field. River soon joined me and we ate our breakfast. Jimmy came by to see how the tenting was as he and I Believe are likely going to stay here tonight. He reminded me that McDonald's is close by. When he left I told River I was going to walk there for coffee and a hash brown. She wished that she hadn't just eaten her oatmeal. So we met at McDonald's and each charged our phones and fueled up. Jimmy and I Believe were there and after giving River some oatmeal packets and a couple of other things they drove us to the trail. They are super kind people. I can't say enough positive words about them and what they do. I look forward to seeing them again when I'm in the south. As usual this morning was a climb. A few hikers passed us and River gave her extra breakfast burrito that she packed out of McDonald's to a thru hiker nobo from GA. He was happy! At the top of the climb we sat on the ledges snacking and looking at the mountains we climbed yesterday. Race, Everett, Bushnell and Jug End. It was a WOW moment looking at them. Showtime and Sour Patch arrived for a snack also. They stayed at the community center and were slack packing today. We all left together and they said they'd be stopping at the next shelter for lunch as the proceeded ahead. We climbed again for what seemed like forever even though the shelter was 2.6 miles from the ledges. Finally I stopped to check on Guthooks to see if we'd passed the blue blaze trail without seeing it but we were still 3/10th of a mile from it. We were looking forward to a 45 minute max stop for lunch and then to push on 5 more miles to the next shelter. As we arrived at Tom Leonard shelter I saw Showtime and Sour Patch at the picnic table with their food spread out and I asked if they'd brought me a grinder for lunch. He replied with " I brought you something better" and then from behind him out of the shelter I saw my husband! I'm pretty sure I screamed and suddenly at once I saw my Mom and Dad and my sister in-law Pek Wan and her husband Danny. I cried and laughed and hugged and kissed my family even though I was all sweaty. River introduced herself and got hugs too. I was so surprised, especially that they all walked over a mile of trail plus a blue blaze trail to surprise me at a shelter. It felt almost dream like for a few minutes. It gave them a look at a section of my life and they met other hikers. Actually Brian gave Showtime and Sour Patch a ride to the trail from the McDonald's that River and I were at this morning and they knew all about the surprise and kept it a secret. He also met Jimmy and I Believe who confirmed they'd dropped us off at the trail earlier. We hiked out with my family and said goodbye to my Mom and Dad after scoring some root beer and Gatorade from them and they headed home. They knew just what to bring me! Brian, Pek Wan and Danny took our packs and went to get a couple of hotel rooms while slacking us 2 more miles. We got picked up after our short slack pack and shuttled back to the hotel for showers before dinner and a great visit at the Barrington Brewery. After dinner Pek Wan did our laundry for us and Brian had to drive back home to take care of our diabetic cat and keep his appointments for tomorrow. It was late and I retired to the room and crawled into bed. I closed my eyes and replayed my day which started as any other day has out here but is now my best and favorite hiking day EVER. Thank you to my wonderful husband for his great surprise and my Mom and Dad and Pek Wan and Danny for all their love and support and for driving and hiking to surprise me and make my day!