Date: 2018-09-15
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: Cranberry Stream Campsite
Miles today: 9.1

Last night I heard my plastic cup making noise. I realized that my cup was in my food bag. I shined my light on my bag and a mouse ran out of my bag and up the paracord line. It was the first time a mouse got into my bag from my bear hang. I checked the damage. He had eaten into my chip snack bag and gotten my combos. I took my bag down and brought it into my tent for safe keeping. The mouse didn't come back. In the morning, Maga and Grape packed up early. I joined them near where the fire pit was. Maga had moved all the stones back into the river. I ate some poptarts for breakfast and then headed out.From the campsite it was a 1.2 mile climb to South Crocker Mountain. It was pretty steep but I didn't have to grab on any roots to help myself climb. At the top was a small view. I made my way to North Crocker Mountain to find Grape admiring the view. There was a cloud ocean in the distance. We waited for Maga but he didn't show. We figured he passed us at some point. I talked to Grape about her last year in medical school. She was going to become a family medicine doctor. She would need to go through 3 years of residency first before coming a doctor though. We pushed on from the cloud ocean and then descended down the mountain. Maga was waiting in the forest near the 2000 mile marker! I can't believe I had walked 2000 miles. There were only 190 miles left to go. We got a few pictures near the sign. Mayday showed up and helped us take a picture of all 3 of us. We hiked down to the road to get a ride into Stratton, ME.At the gap we hitched into town. The driver told us to get lunch at the plaza in town. The town had more options than Andover and had a small grocery store to resupply. We went to the plaza and got lunch. I ate a Philly cheese steak sandwich with sweet potato fries. Maga got a 16 inch pizza for himself. We played ping pong and table hockey while we waited for our food. Today was the last day Grape would be on the trail. She was sectioning up to this town and was getting a shuttle to Boston to fly back home. We ate our food then played some corn hole. Maga was pretty good at all the games. We walked over to the grocery store to grab our resupply. Fotters market had everything a hiker needed. I also got brats to pack out of town tonight. I said goodbye to Grape. Sometimes you don't know if you'll see someone again, but that's life on the trail. Maga and I waited outside the grocery store. A church van pulled up asking if we needed a ride back to the trail. We got on board and got a ride back. Back at the gap the woman gave us popsicles and they were on their way. Maga and I hiked 2 miles to the campsite to find a few hikers already their with a fire going. I setup camp then collected some wood for the fire. Maga and I sharpened sticks and cooked brats on the fire. They were so tasty. I felt sleepy around 8 pm and headed off to bed. I got a text from Theresa showing a dog in our house. She had fostered a dog named TJ. He was really tired since he had been in the animal shelter for 3 months. I started passing out and went to bed.Tonight I'm thinking about the last big range that I'll be hiking up before Katahdin. The Bigelows.